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UK leader tells schools - teach Mandarin, not French (10th December, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is implementing a big change in the languages taught in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin instead of French and German. He told his hosts that he plans to double the number of students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next three years. He will also provide subsidies to schools that start teaching Mandarin. He believes stronger educational ties with China are a necessary element in keeping Britain competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain linked up to the world's fast-growing economies, and that includes our young people learning the languages to seal tomorrow's business deals."

Mr Cameron explained to journalists the importance of introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the time the children born today leave school, China is set to be the world's largest economy, so it's time to look beyond the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin." The initiative includes a tie-up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. They have already signed an agreement to double the number of Chinese language assistants in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin in the top five most important languages for British children to study to improve their job prospects.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2518549/David-Cameron-Pupils-ditch-French-German-study-Mandarin-instead.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/056eb1da-5ccd-11e3-81bd-00144feabdc0.html
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/david-cameron-ditch-french-and-german-for-mandarin-lessons-29811883.html

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. MANDARIN: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Mandarin. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

big change / journalists / hosts / subsidies / competitive / learning / business deals / importance / traditional / focus / initiative / foreign language / double / assistants

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. LANGUAGE: Which is better to study, English or Mandarin? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Why English is better	Why Mandarin is better
Writing
Internet
Business
Fun
Culture
Friends

4. GLOBAL LANGUAGE: Students A strongly believe Mandarin will overtake English as the world's most important language; Students B strongly believe this will never happen. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. LANGUAGES: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the language you most want to study at the top. Change partners often.

• Spanish

• Hindi

• Russian

• Arabic

• Mandarin

• Japanese

• Portuguese

• Swahili

6. TEACHING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "teaching". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	David Cameron is removing French from the curriculum in UK schools.	T / F
b.	The British Prime Minister was speaking to reporters in China.	T / F
c.	There will be 400,000 Mandarin teachers in Britain by 2016.	T / F
d.	Mr Cameron said Britain is one of the world's fast-growing economies.	T / F
e.	Cameron said China will become the world's biggest economy.	T / F
f.	The British leader said more children should also learn German.	T / F
g.	The number of Chinese language assistants in UK schools will double.	T / F
h.	The British Council said Mandarin will help people find jobs.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	implementing	a.	reporters
2.	provide	b.	agreements
3.	ties	c.	further on than
4.	seal	d.	links
5.	deals	e.	carrying out
6.	journalists	f.	emphasis
7.	beyond	g.	penned / inked
8.	focus	h.	offer
9.	signed	i.	chances
10.	prospects	j.	conclude

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	David Cameron is implementing	a.	ties with China
2.	he plans to	b.	the traditional focus
3.	stronger educational	c.	business deals
4.	linked up to the world's fast-	d.	assistants
5.	seal tomorrow's	e.	introducing Mandarin
6.	the importance of	f.	world's largest economy
7.	set to be the	g.	growing economies
8.	it's time to look beyond	h.	a big change
9.	language	i.	prospects
10.	study to improve their job	j.	double the number

GAP FILL

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is (1) ___________ a big change in the languages taught in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told (2) ___________ that British schools should teach Mandarin instead of French and German. He told his (3) ___________ that he plans to double the (4) ___________ of students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next three years. He will also (5) ___________ subsidies to schools that start teaching Mandarin. He believes stronger (6) ___________ ties with China are a necessary element in keeping Britain competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain (7) ___________ up to the world's fast-growing economies, and that includes our young people learning the languages to (8) ___________ tomorrow's business deals."

number
linked
seal
implementing
provide
journalists
educational
hosts

Mr Cameron (9) ___________ to journalists the importance of introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the time the children born today leave school, China is (10) ___________ to be the world's largest economy, so it's time to look (11) ___________ the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin." The (12) ___________ includes a tie-up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. They have already signed an (13) ___________ to double the number of Chinese language (14) ___________ in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin in the (15) ___________ five most important languages for British children to study to improve their job (16) ___________.

beyond
assistants
set
agreement
prospects
explained
top
initiative

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron ______ a big change
	a. is implementation b. is implemented c. is implementing d. is implement in
2)	He will also provide ______ schools that start teaching Mandarin.
	a. subsidies to b. subsidise to c. subsidises to d. subsides to
3)	He believes stronger educational ties with China are a ______
	a. necessary elementary b. necessary element c. necessary elemental d. necessary elements
4)	I want Britain linked up to the world's ______ economies
	a. fast-grown b. fast-grow in c. fast-growing d. fast-growth
5)	learning the languages to seal tomorrow's ______
	a. business seals b. business meals c. business peals d. business deals
6)	Mr Cameron explained to journalists the importance ______ Mandarin in UK schools
	a. of introduce in b. of introducing c. of introduction d. of intro producing
7)	China ______ the world's largest economy
	a. is set to be b. is yet to be c. is bet to be d. is let to be
8)	it's time to ______ the traditional focus on French and German
	a. look be yonder b. look beneath c. look behind d. look beyond
9)	They have already signed an agreement ______ number
	a. to triple the b. to quadruple the c. to double the d. to dabble the
10)	important languages for British children to study to improve ______
	a. their job prospectus b. their job prospects c. their job prospectors d. their job prospect

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (1) ___________________ big change in the languages taught in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin instead of French and German. He (2) ___________________ plans to double the number of students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next three years. He will also (3) ___________________ schools that start teaching Mandarin. He believes stronger (4) ___________________ China are a necessary (5) ___________________ Britain competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain linked up to the world's fast-growing economies, and that includes our young people learning the languages to (6) ___________________ deals."

Mr Cameron explained to journalists (7) ___________________ introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the time the children born today leave school, China (8) ___________________ world's largest economy, so it's time to look (9) ___________________ focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin." The (10) ___________________ tie-up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language. They have already (11) ___________________ to double the number of Chinese language assistants in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin in the top five most important languages for British children to study to improve (12) ___________________.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	In which country did David Cameron talk about his education plans?
2.	How many students will be studying Chinese in the next three years?
3.	What will schools receive for starting to teach Mandarin?
4.	What does David Cameron want Britain to be in China?
5.	What does David Cameron want young people to sign?
6.	To whom did Mr Cameron talk about the importance of Mandarin?
7.	What does Cameron want people to look beyond?
8.	What has the British Council agreed with its Chinese counterpart?
9.	Where did the British Council rank Mandarin in terms of importance?
10.	According to the British Council, how will Mandarin help British kids?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	In which country did David Cameron talk about his education plans?	6.	To whom did Mr Cameron talk about the importance of Mandarin?
	a) England b) China c) Germany d) France		a) schoolchildren b) language assistants c) journalists d) French teachers
2.	How many students will be studying Chinese in the next three years?	7.	What does Cameron want people to look beyond?
	a) 440,000 b) four million c) 40 thousand d) 400,000		a) the horizon b) textbooks c) cultural boundaries d) the focus on French and German
3.	What will schools receive for starting to teach Mandarin?	8.	What has the British Council agreed with its Chinese counterpart?
	a) subsidies b) books c) computers d) new buildings		a) to have more Chinese teachers b) to stop teaching French c) to share resources d) to only use Mandarin in class
4.	What does David Cameron want Britain to be in China?	9.	Where did the British Council rank Mandarin in terms of importance?
	a) a leader b) number one c) competitive d) a cultural guide		a) in the top five b) number one c) third d) in China
5.	What does David Cameron want young people to sign?	10.	According to the British Council, how will Mandarin help British kids?
	a) learning contracts b) business deals c) autographs d) the back of their credit cards		a) with understanding Chinese movies b) with job hunting c) with learning d) with intercultural relationships

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Mandarin

You think Mandarin is the most important language to learn. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what problems there are with their language. Also, tell them which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Spanish or English.

Role B – Arabic

You think Arabic is the most important language to learn. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what problems there are with their language. Also, tell them which is the least important of these (and why): Mandarin, Spanish or English.

Role C – Spanish

You think Spanish is the most important language to learn. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what problems there are with their language. Also, tell them which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Mandarin or English.

Role D – English

You think English is the most important language to learn. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what problems there are with their language. Also, tell them which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Spanish or Mandarin.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'French' and 'German'.

French

German

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

big
hosts
three
ties
linked
deals

importance
born
beyond
office
puts
jobs

MANDARIN SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about Mandarin in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

MANDARIN DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'Mandarin'?
c)	How important is Mandarin?
d)	Are the languages taught in schools in your country very useful?
e)	How important are French and German?
f)	Will countries whose schools teach Mandarin do better in the world?
g)	What other languages would you like to study?
h)	Why is learning another language good for us?
i)	Are young people lucky today with the language-learning opportunities available?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	How important is Mandarin compared with English?
c)	How will China becoming the biggest economy change the world?
d)	Why do you think British schools traditionally taught French and German?
e)	Do you think Mandarin will become the world's global language?
f)	Have you noticed Mandarin becoming more important in your country?
g)	How important is your language in the world?
h)	Would you like a job in which you need to speak another language?
i)	What questions would you like to ask a Mandarin teacher?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is (1) ____ a big change in the languages taught in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin (2) ____ of French and German. He told his hosts that he plans to double the number of students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next three years. He will also provide (3) ____ to schools that start teaching Mandarin. He believes stronger educational (4) ____ with China are a necessary element in keeping Britain competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain linked (5) ____ to the world's fast-growing economies, and that includes our young people learning the languages to (6) ____ tomorrow's business deals."

Mr Cameron explained to journalists the importance (7) ____ introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the time the children born today leave school, China is (8) ____ to be the world's largest economy, so it's time to look (9) ____ the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin." The initiative includes a tie-up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin (10) ____ a foreign language. They have already signed an agreement to double the number of Chinese language (11) ____ in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin in the top five most important languages for British children to study to improve their job (12) ____.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	implanting	(b)	implementing	(c)	complimenting	(d)	complementing
2.	(a)	rather	(b)	instead	(c)	preference	(d)	over
3.	(a)	subtitles	(b)	subsides	(c)	subsidise	(d)	subsidies
4.	(a)	pins	(b)	ties	(c)	knots	(d)	liaisons
5.	(a)	on	(b)	at	(c)	down	(d)	up
6.	(a)	deals	(b)	heals	(c)	seals	(d)	meals
7.	(a)	of	(b)	from	(c)	at	(d)	as
8.	(a)	get	(b)	let	(c)	set	(d)	bet
9.	(a)	beneath	(b)	between	(c)	behest	(d)	beyond
10.	(a)	as	(b)	has	(c)	is	(d)	was
11.	(a)	assistants	(b)	assistance	(c)	assists	(d)	assisted
12.	(a)	prospects	(b)	chancing	(c)	opportune	(d)	expects

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	tgipmelmenin a big change
2.	he told nrstsoujila
3.	provide dsbiseisu to schools
4.	stronger dlaceontaiu ties
5.	a necessary eteemnl
6.	the world's fast-growing meioeoscn
Paragraph 2
7.	the importance of rcniugdotin Mandarin
8.	look beyond the attdraliino focus
9.	The ieittaivin includes a tie-up with the British Council
10.	Chinese language sassasitnt
11.	study to porvmei
12.	job pcpsteors

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	beyond the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin." The initiative includes a tie-
( )	growing economies, and that includes our young people learning the languages to seal tomorrow's business deals."
( )	up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin as a foreign
( 1 )	Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is implementing a big change in the languages taught
( )	competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain linked up to the world's fast-
( )	most important languages for British children to study to improve their job prospects.
( )	assistants in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin in the top five
( )	of French and German. He told his hosts that he plans to double the number of
( )	Mr Cameron explained to journalists the importance of introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the
( )	teaching Mandarin. He believes stronger educational ties with China are a necessary element in keeping Britain
( )	students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next three years. He will also provide subsidies to schools that start
( )	in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin instead
( )	language. They have already signed an agreement to double the number of Chinese language
( )	time the children born today leave school, China is set to be the world's largest economy, so it's time to look

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	in Implementing the a languages big taught change.
2.	Chinese studying students of number the Double.
3.	Stronger with a ties are element educational China necessary.
4.	up world's growing Linked the - to fast economies.
5.	business languages deals to seal Learning tomorrow's the.
6.	children leave By the today time born school the.
7.	largest China to world's set the economy is be.
8.	British the with up - tie a includes initiative The Council.
9.	number Signed . an agreement to double the
10.	most top for important five British languages The children.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is implanting / implementing a big change in the languages taught / teaching in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin instead / rather of French and German. He told his heists / hosts that he plans to double the number of students studying Chinese in British schools to 400,000 in the next / last three years. He will also provide subdivides / subsidies to schools that start teaching Mandarin. He believes / beliefs stronger educational ties with China are a necessary / necessarily element in keeping Britain competitive in the Chinese market. He said: "I want Britain linked up to the world's fast-growing economies, and that excludes / includes our young people learning the languages to seal / deal tomorrow's business deals."

Mr Cameron explained to journalists the importance by / of introducing Mandarin in UK schools. He said: "By the time / timing the children born today leave school, China is set / let to be the world's largest economy, so it's time to look yonder / beyond the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning / learned Mandarin." The initiative includes a tie-up / tied up with the British Council and the Chinese office for teaching Mandarin is / as a foreign language. They have already singed / signed an agreement to double the number of Chinese language assistants in UK schools. The British Council puts Mandarin on / in the top five most important languages for British children to study to improve their job prospects / prospectus.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

Br_t__n's Pr_m_ M_n_st_r D_v_d C_m_r_n _s _mpl_m_nt_ng _ b_g ch_ng_ _n th_ l_ng__g_s t__ght _n _K sch__ls. _n _ v_s_t t_ Ch_n_, h_ t_ld j__rn_l_sts th_t Br_t_sh sch__ls sh__ld t__ch M_nd_r_n _nst__d _f Fr_nch _nd G_rm_n. H_ t_ld h_s h_sts th_t h_ pl_ns t_ d__bl_ th_ n_mb_r _f st_d_nts st_dy_ng Ch_n_s_ _n Br_t_sh sch__ls t_ 400,000 _n th_ n_xt thr__ y__rs. H_ w_ll _ls_ pr_v_d_ s_bs_d__s t_ sch__ls th_t st_rt t__ch_ng M_nd_r_n. H_ b_l__v_s str_ng_r _d_c_t__n_l t__s w_th Ch_n_ _r_ _ n_c_ss_ry _l_m_nt _n k__p_ng Br_t__n c_mp_t_t_v_ _n th_ Ch_n_s_ m_rk_t. H_ s__d: "_ w_nt Br_t__n l_nk_d _p t_ th_ w_rld's f_st-gr_w_ng _c_n_m__s, _nd th_t _ncl_d_s __r y__ng p__pl_ l__rn_ng th_ l_ng__g_s t_ s__l t_m_rr_w's b_s_n_ss d__ls."

Mr C_m_r_n _xpl__n_d t_ j__rn_l_sts th_ _mp_rt_nc_ _f _ntr_d_c_ng M_nd_r_n _n _K sch__ls. H_ s__d: "By th_ t_m_ th_ ch_ldr_n b_rn t_d_y l__v_ sch__l, Ch_n_ _s s_t t_ b_ th_ w_rld's l_rg_st _c_n_my, s_ _t's t_m_ t_ l__k b_y_nd th_ tr_d_t__n_l f_c_s _n Fr_nch _nd G_rm_n _nd g_t m_ny m_r_ ch_ldr_n l__rn_ng M_nd_r_n." Th_ _n_t__t_v_ _ncl_d_s _ t__-_p w_th th_ Br_t_sh C__nc_l _nd th_ Ch_n_s_ _ff_c_ f_r t__ch_ng M_nd_r_n _s _ f_r__gn l_ng__g_. Th_y h_v_ _lr__dy s_gn_d _n _gr__m_nt t_ d__bl_ th_ n_mb_r _f Ch_n_s_ l_ng__g_ _ss_st_nts _n _K sch__ls. Th_ Br_t_sh C__nc_l p_ts M_nd_r_n _n th_ t_p f_v_ m_st _mp_rt_nt l_ng__g_s f_r Br_t_sh ch_ldr_n t_ st_dy t_ _mpr_v_ th__r j_b pr_sp_cts.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

britain's prime minister david cameron is implementing a big change in the languages taught in uk schools on a visit to china he told journalists that british schools should teach mandarin instead of french and german he told his hosts that he plans to double the number of students studying chinese in british schools to 400000 in the next three years he will also provide subsidies to schools that start teaching mandarin he believes stronger educational ties with china are a necessary element in keeping britain competitive in the chinese market he said "i want britain linked up to the world's fast-growing economies and that includes our young people learning the languages to seal tomorrow's business deals"

mr cameron explained to journalists the importance of introducing mandarin in uk schools he said "by the time the children born today leave school china is set to be the world's largest economy so it's time to look beyond the traditional focus on french and german and get many more children learning mandarin" the initiative includes a tie-up with the british council and the chinese office for teaching mandarin as a foreign language they have already signed an agreement to double the number of chinese language assistants in uk schools the british council puts mandarin in the top five most important languages for british children to study to improve their job prospects

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Britain'sPrimeMinisterDavidCameronisimplementingabigchangeinthelangua
gestaughtinUKschools.OnavisittoChina,hetoldjournaliststhatBritishschoolss
houldteachMandarininsteadofFrenchandGerman.Hetoldhishoststhatheplans
todoublethenumberofstudentsstudyingChineseinBritishschoolsto400,000int
henextthreeyears.HewillalsoprovidesubsidiestoschoolsthatstartteachingMa
ndarin.HebelievesstrongereducationaltieswithChinaareanecessaryelementi
nkeepingBritaincompetitiveintheChinesemarket.Hesaid:"IwantBritainlinked
uptotheworld'sfast-growingeconomies,andthatincludesouryoungpeoplele
arningthelanguagestosealtomorrow'sbusinessdeals."MrCameronexplainedt
ojournaliststheimportanceofintroducingMandarininUKschools.Hesaid:"Byth
etimethechildrenborntodayleaveschool,Chinaissettobetheworld'slargesteco
nomy,soit'stimetolookbeyondthetraditionalfocusonFrenchandGermanandge
tmanymorechildrenlearningMandarin."Theinitiativeincludesatie-upwithth
eBritishCouncilandtheChineseofficeforteachingMandarinasaforeignlanguage
.TheyhavealreadysignedanagreementtodoublethenumberofChineselanguag
eassistantsinUKschools.TheBritishCouncilputsMandarininthetopfivemostimp
ortantlanguagesforBritishchildrentostudytoimprovetheirjobprospects.

FREE WRITING

Write about Mandarin for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Compare and contrast the importance of English and Mandarin.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Mandarin. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MANDARIN: Make a poster about the importance of Mandarin. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Write a magazine article about foreign languages. Include imaginary interviews with people who are good at learning them.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a language expert. Ask him/her three questions about Mandarin. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

F

d

F

e

T

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	implementing	a.	carrying out
2.	provide	b.	offer
3.	ties	c.	links
4.	seal	d.	conclude
5.	deals	e.	agreements
6.	journalists	f.	reporters
7.	beyond	g.	further on than
8.	focus	h.	emphasis
9.	signed	i.	penned / inked
10.	prospects	j.	chances

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	China
2.	400,000
3.	Subsidies
4.	Competitive
5.	Business deals
6.	Journalists
7.	The focus on French and German
8.	To employ more Mandarin teachers
9.	In the top five languages
10.	They'll have better chances of finding a job

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

c

7.

d

8.

a

9.

a

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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UK leader tells schools - teach Mandarin, not French (10th December, 2014)

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