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U.N. very sorry as Syria talks end in failure (18th February, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

The man in charge of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations’ peace envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil war make peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a way to end the war. It is the second time they have sat down together. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can reach a deal. They are tired of the fighting. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian aid. Mr Brahimi said: "I’m very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and reflects, and accepts their responsibility."

The two sides in Syria's peace talks ended their discussions being angry with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to continue or not. They did not set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the breakdown of the talks was very sad. He said it was "a serious setback in the search for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader blamed Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to say there is nothing positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very much hope there will be a third round."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/02/16/world/u-n-very-sorry-as-syria-talks-end-in-failure/
http://www.dawn.com/news/1087325/un-envoy-sorry-as-syria-talks-break-off-in-failure
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-233008-Syria-peace-talks-break-down-as-death-toll-passes-140,000

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. PEACE TALKS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about peace talks. 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.

in charge / apologized / civil war / difficult problems / reach a deal / fighting / reflect / peace / angry / a serious setback / failure / positive / opposition / amateurs / hopeful

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

3. APOLOGISE: Is it difficult to say 'sorry'? Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners often.

Apologise to…	Difficult? / Easy?	Your experiences
your best friend
your parents
a stranger
a sibling
someone you dislike
yourself

4. SYRIA: Students A strongly believe Syria's civil war will never end; Students B strongly believe it will end this year. 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. PROBLEMS: Rank these problems with your partner. Put the biggest at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• money

• stress

• too much work

• neighbours

• what to wear

• bad hair day

• relationships

• weight

6. PEACE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "peace". 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.	The U.N. Secretary-General apologized to all Syrians.	T / F
b.	Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace envoy to Syria.	T / F
c.	Nearly 100,000 people have died in Syria's civil war.	T / F
d.	Brahimi told both sides to take time to think about their responsibility.	T / F
e.	Brahimi said the two sides didn't want to talk peace.	T / F
f.	The two sides agreed to talk again next month.	T / F
g.	The opposition blamed Syria's government for the failed talks.	T / F
h.	Syria's government suggested the opposition were not professional.	T / F

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

1.	in charge	a.	thinks
2.	apologise	b.	assist
3.	help	c.	problem
4.	deal	d.	finished
5.	reflects	e.	hopeful
6.	ended	f.	agreement
7.	set	g.	in control
8.	setback	h.	expect
9.	positive	i.	say sorry
10.	hope	j.	decided on

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

1.	The man in	a.	aid
2.	try and find a way	b.	we can take from this
3.	humanitarian	c.	responsibility
4.	I think it is better that every	d.	round
5.	accepts their	e.	failed
6.	They did not set a	f.	to end the war
7.	Syria's opposition	g.	charge
8.	there is nothing positive	h.	date for future talks
9.	the talks	i.	side goes back
10.	there will be a third.	j.	leader

GAP FILL

The man in (1) ____ of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' (2) ____ envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil war make peace. Syria's government and Syrian (3) ____ leaders are in Geneva to try and find a way to end the war. It is the second time they have sat down (4) ____. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can reach a (5) ____. They are tired of the (6) ____. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian (7) ____. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and (8) ____, and accepts their responsibility."

together
aid
peace
fighting
charge
reflects
rebel
deal

The two sides in Syria's peace talks (9) ____ their discussions being angry with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to (10) ____ or not. They did not set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the (11) ____ of the talks was very sad. He said it was "a serious setback in the (12) ____ for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader blamed Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not (13) ____ ….I'm very sorry to say there is nothing (14) ____ we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks (15) ____ because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still (16) ____ and said: "I very much hope there will be a third round."

breakdown
positive
hopeful
search
ended
failed
continue
serious

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	The man in charge of the Syrian peace ______
	a. talks has apologising b. talks has apologise c. talks has apologises d. talks has apologised
2)	His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil ______
	a. war make peace b. war take peace c. war fake peace d. war bake peace
3)	The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can ______
	a. leech a deal b. reach a deal c. beach a deal d. teach a deal
4)	…and three million need ______
	a. human it air and aid b. humanly tearing aid c. humanitarian aid d. who man it air in an aid
5)	it is better that every side goes back and reflects, and accepts ______
	a. their responsibilities b. their responsibility c. their response ability d. their response abilities
6)	They did not set a date ______
	a. for future talks b. for future talking c. for future talkative d. for future talk
7)	He said it was "______ in the search for peace in Syria"
	a. a seriously setback b. a serious setback c. a series setback d. a series as setback
8)	The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to say there is nothing positive we can ______
	a. take from these b. take from this c. take from those d. take from this and that
9)	Syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition ______
	a. people were "amateurs" b. people were "a meters" c. people were "a man chores" d. people were "am a cheers"
10)	I very much hope there will be ______
	a. a thirdly round b. a thirds round c. a third rounds d. a third round

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The man (1) ___________________ Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace envoy to Syria. His job was to (2) ___________________ in Syria's civil war make peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a (3) ___________________. It is the second time they have sat down together. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides (4) ___________________. They are tired of the fighting. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million (5) ___________________. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side (6) ___________________, and accepts their responsibility."

The two sides in Syria's (7) ___________________ their discussions being angry with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks (8) ___________________. They did not set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague (9) ___________________ of the talks was very sad. He said it was " (10) ___________________ in the search for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader blamed Syria's government for the (11) ___________________. He said: "The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to say there is nothing positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very much hope there will (12) ___________________."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Who did Lakhdar Brahimi apologise to?
2.	Where did the two sides talk?
3.	How many times have the two sides met for talks?
4.	What are the Syrian people tired of?
5.	What did Mr Brahimi say the two sides had to accept?
6.	How did the two sides feel after the peace talks?
7.	When are the next peace talks?
8.	Who did the opposition leader blame for the failure of the talks?
9.	What did the opposition leader say was positive about the talks?
10.	What did Mr Brahimi say he hoped for?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Who did Lakhdar Brahimi apologise to?	6.	How did the two sides feel after the peace talks?
	a) the opposition leader b) the world c) his boss d) Syrians		a) hopeful b) angry c) pleased d) bored
2.	Where did the two sides talk?	7.	When are the next peace talks?
	a) Damascus b) Geneva c) Cairo d) Paris		a) next week b) the end of the month c) July d) no one knows
3.	How many times have the two sides met for talks?	8.	Who did the opposition leader blame for the failure of the talks?
	a) four b) three c) two d) one		a) the Syrian government b) the U.N. c) the USA d) himself
4.	What are the Syrian people tired of?	9.	What did the opposition leader say was positive about the talks?
	a) fighting b) talks c) the U.N. d) everything		a) everything b) many things c) nothing d) a few things
5.	What did Mr Brahimi say the two sides had to accept?	10.	What did Mr Brahimi say he hoped for?
	a) the end of the war b) a new beginning c) their responsibility d) compromises		a) sleep b) a third round of talks c) better peace partners d) a better job

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Money

You think money is the biggest problem in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their problems. Also, tell the others which is the least problematic of these (and why): stress, too much work or relationships.

Role B – Stress

You think stress is the biggest problem in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their problems. Also, tell the others which is the least problematic of these (and why): money, too much work or relationships.

Role C – Too much work

You think too much work is the biggest problem in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their problems. Also, tell the others which is the least problematic of these (and why): stress, money or relationships.

Role D – Relationships

You think relationships are the biggest problems in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their problems. Also, tell the others which is the least problematic of these (and why): stress, too much work or money.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

end

failure

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:

charge
job
way
time
tired
better

angry
sad
blamed
positive
people
third

PEACE TALKS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about peace talks 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.

SYRIA PEACE TALKS 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 'Syria'?
c)	What do you know about how Syria's war started?
d)	How interested are you in Syria's war?
e)	How and when do you think the war will end?
f)	Why do you think the peace talks failed?
g)	Who do you think is wrong in the peace talks?
h)	Should other countries do more to get the two sides to reach peace?
i)	What do you think life in Syria will be like in ten years from now?
j)	What image did you have of Syria before the war?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Should the two sides keep talking and never end the talks?
c)	Do you think the peace talks will bring peace?
d)	What do opposition leaders want?
e)	Would you be a good negotiator in the peace talks?
f)	What do you think life is like for people living in Syria?
g)	Should the two sides talk on TV so the people can see and hear?
h)	Why is Syria's war dangerous for all the Middle East?
i)	What is your solution to the war in Syria?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Lakhdar Brahimi?

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

The man in (1) ____ of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil war (2) ____ peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a way to end the war. It is the second time they have sat (3) ____ together. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can reach a (4) ____. They are tired of the fighting. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian (5) ____. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and (6) ____, and accepts their responsibility."

The two sides in Syria's peace talks ended their discussions being (7) ____ with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to continue or (8) ____. They did not set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the (9) ____ of the talks was very sad. He said it was "a serious setback in the search for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader (10) ____ Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to say there is (11) ____ positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very (12) ____ hope there will be a third round."

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

1.	(a)	change	(b)	char	(c)	charge	(d)	chore
2.	(a)	make	(b)	take	(c)	fake	(d)	sake
3.	(a)	down	(b)	in on	(c)	in	(d)	on
4.	(a)	deal	(b)	seal	(c)	real	(d)	meal
5.	(a)	stuff	(b)	aid	(c)	assist	(d)	tents
6.	(a)	pictures	(b)	images	(c)	mirrors	(d)	reflects
7.	(a)	be	(b)	were	(c)	being	(d)	was
8.	(a)	non	(b)	no	(c)	never	(d)	not
9.	(a)	breakdown	(b)	accident	(c)	stall	(d)	obstacle
10.	(a)	said	(b)	blamed	(c)	pointed	(d)	apologised
11.	(a)	not	(b)	nothing	(c)	never	(d)	none
12.	(a)	many	(b)	most	(c)	much	(d)	more

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	oeopsdalig (UK) / pizeaoglod (USA) to the Syrian people
2.	Syria's nengotvemr
3.	many difficult problems to ssicusd
4.	hauataninrim aid
5.	it is better that every side goes back and tfereslc
6.	accepts their loibspiiyenstr
Paragraph 2
7.	they really wanted the peace talks to icuetnon
8.	a ousrsie setback in the search for peace
9.	the lreiufa of the talks
10.	there is nothing tispoevi we can take from this
11.	the opposition people were saumaret
12.	Mr Brahimi was still flopuhe

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	time they have sat down together. There are many difficult problems to discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two
( )	other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to continue or not. They did not set a
( )	sad. He said it was "a serious setback in the search for peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader
( )	sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and reflects, and accepts their responsibility."
( )	sides can reach a deal. They are tired of the fighting. More than 140,000 have
( )	envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides in Syria's civil war make
( )	blamed Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not serious….I'm very sorry to
( )	opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very much hope there will be a third round."
( )	The two sides in Syria's peace talks ended their discussions being angry with each
( )	peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a way to end the war. It is the second
( 1 )	The man in charge of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace
( )	died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian aid. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very
( )	date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the breakdown of the talks was very
( )	say there is nothing positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed because the

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	talks man of peace The charge Syrian in the.
2.	war make peace Help the two sides in Syria's civil.
3.	together It is the second time they have sat down.
4.	two the hoping are people Syrian deal a reach can sides.
5.	- have More three 140,000 the , war in year died than.
6.	sides discussions talks in ended Syria's Two . their peace
7.	wanted the peace talks Brahimi asked them if they really.
8.	Syria A serious setback in the search for peace in.
9.	nothing I'm to is sorry there positive very say.
10.	much will third very there a I hope be round.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

The man in change / charge of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations' peace convoy / envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides / aides in Syria's civil war make peace. Syria's government and Syrian rebel leaders are in Geneva to try and find a why / way to end the war. It is the second time they have sat in / down together. There are many difficult problems to / for discuss. The Syrian people are hoping the two sides can each / reach a deal. They are tired for / of the fighting. More than 140,000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian / humane aid. Mr Brahimi said: "I'm very, very sorry. I think it is better that every side goes back and reflects, and accepts their responsible / responsibility."

The two sides in Syria's peace talks ended their discussions being anger / angry with each other. Mr Brahimi asked them if they really / real wanted the peace talks to continue or not. They did not let / set a date for future talks. The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the broken / breakdown of the talks was very sad. He said it was "a serious setback / cutback in the search for piece / peace in Syria". Syria's opposition leader blamed / blaming Syria's government for the failure of the talks. He said: "The regime is not seriously / serious….I'm very sorry to say there is nothing positive we can take from this." Syria's government team said the talks failed / foiled because the opposition people were "amateurs". Mr Brahimi was still hopeful and said: "I very much hope there will be a three / third round."

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)

Th_ m_n _n ch_rg_ _f th_ Syr__n p__c_ t_lks h_s _p_l_g_s_d t_ th_ Syr__n p__pl_. L_khd_r Br_h_m_ _s th_ _n_t_d N_t__ns' p__c_ _nv_y t_ Syr__. H_s j_b w_s t_ h_lp th_ tw_ s_d_s _n Syr__'s c_v_l w_r m_k_ p__c_. Syr__'s g_v_rnm_nt _nd Syr__n r_b_l l__d_rs _r_ _n G_n_v_ t_ try _nd f_nd _ w_y t_ _nd th_ w_r. _t _s th_ s_c_nd t_m_ th_y h_v_ s_t d_wn t_g_th_r. Th_r_ _r_ m_ny d_ff_c_lt pr_bl_ms t_ d_sc_ss. Th_ Syr__n p__pl_ _r_ h_p_ng th_ tw_ s_d_s c_n r__ch _ d__l. Th_y _r_ t_r_d _f th_ f_ght_ng. M_r_ th_n 140,000 h_v_ d__d _n th_ thr__-y__r w_r _nd thr__ m_ll__n n__d h_m_n_t_r__n __d. Mr Br_h_m_ s__d: "_'m v_ry, v_ry s_rry. _ th_nk _t _s b_tt_r th_t _v_ry s_d_ g__s b_ck _nd r_fl_cts, _nd _cc_pts th__r r_sp_ns_b_l_ty."

Th_ tw_ s_d_s _n Syr__'s p__c_ t_lks _nd_d th__r d_sc_ss__ns b__ng _ngry w_th __ch _th_r. Mr Br_h_m_ _sk_d th_m _f th_y r__lly w_nt_d th_ p__c_ t_lks t_ c_nt_n__ _r n_t. Th_y d_d n_t s_t _ d_t_ f_r f_t_r_ t_lks. Th_ _K's F_r__gn S_cr_t_ry W_ll__m H_g__ s__d th_ br__kd_wn _f th_ t_lks w_s v_ry s_d. H_ s__d _t w_s "_ s_r___s s_tb_ck _n th_ s__rch f_r p__c_ _n Syr__". Syr__'s _pp_s_t__n l__d_r bl_m_d Syr__'s g_v_rnm_nt f_r th_ f__l_r_ _f th_ t_lks. H_ s__d: "Th_ r_g_m_ _s n_t s_r___s…._'m v_ry s_rry t_ s_y th_r_ _s n_th_ng p_s_t_v_ w_ c_n t_k_ fr_m th_s." Syr__'s g_v_rnm_nt t__m s__d th_ t_lks f__l_d b_c__s_ th_ _pp_s_t__n p__pl_ w_r_ "_m_t__rs". Mr Br_h_m_ w_s st_ll h_p_f_l _nd s__d: "_ v_ry m_ch h_p_ th_r_ w_ll b_ _ th_rd r__nd."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

the man in charge of the syrian peace talks has apologised to the syrian people lakhdar brahimi is the united nations' peace envoy to syria his job was to help the two sides in syria's civil war make peace syria's government and syrian rebel leaders are in geneva to try and find a way to end the war it is the second time they have sat down together there are many difficult problems to discuss the syrian people are hoping the two sides can reach a deal they are tired of the fighting more than 140000 have died in the three-year war and three million need humanitarian aid mr brahimi said "i'm very very sorry i think it is better that every side goes back and reflects and accepts their responsibility"

the two sides in syria's peace talks ended their discussions being angry with each other mr brahimi asked them if they really wanted the peace talks to continue or not they did not set a date for future talks the uk's foreign secretary william hague said the breakdown of the talks was very sad he said it was "a serious setback in the search for peace in syria" syria's opposition leader blamed syria's government for the failure of the talks he said "the regime is not serious…i'm very sorry to say there is nothing positive we can take from this" syria's government team said the talks failed because the opposition people were "amateurs" mr brahimi was still hopeful and said "i very much hope there will be a third round"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

ThemaninchargeoftheSyrianpeacetalkshasapologisedtotheSyria
npeople.LakhdarBrahimiistheUnitedNations'peaceenvoytoSyria.
HisjobwastohelpthetwosidesinSyria'scivilwarmakepeace.Syria's
governmentandSyrianrebelleadersareinGenevatotryandfindawa
ytoendthewar.Itisthesecondtimetheyhavesatdowntogether.The
rearemanydifficultproblemstodiscuss.TheSyrianpeoplearehopin
gthetwosidescanreachadeal.Theyaretiredofthefighting.Moretha
n140,000havediedinthethree-yearwarandthreemillionneedhu
manitarianaid.MrBrahimisaid:"I'mvery,verysorry.Ithinkitisbette
rthateverysidegoesbackandreflects,andacceptstheirresponsibilit
y."ThetwosidesinSyria'speacetalksendedtheirdiscussionsbeinga
ngrywitheachother.MrBrahimiaskedthemiftheyreallywantedthe
peacetalkstocontinueornot.Theydidnotsetadateforfuturetalks.T
heUK'sForeignSecretaryWilliamHaguesaidthebreakdownofthetal
kswasverysad.Hesaiditwas"aserioussetbackinthesearchforpeac
einSyria".Syria'soppositionleaderblamedSyria'sgovernmentfort
hefailureofthetalks.Hesaid:"Theregimeisnotserious….I'mveryso
rrytosaythereisnothingpositivewecantakefromthis."Syria'sgover
nmentteamsaidthetalksfailedbecausetheoppositionpeoplewere"
amateurs".MrBrahimiwasstillhopefulandsaid:"Iverymuchhopeth
erewillbeathirdround."

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

The problems in Syria are too big for the sides to find an answer. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 the Syrian peace talks. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. PEACE TALKS: Make a poster about peace talks. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. BREAKDOWN: Write a magazine article about the breakdown of Syria's peace talks. Include imaginary interviews with the government and rebel leaders.

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 an expert on Syria. Ask him/her three questions about peace. Give him/her three of your ideas. 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

T

e

F

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	in charge	a.	in control
2.	apologise	b.	say sorry
3.	help	c.	assist
4.	deal	d.	agreement
5.	reflects	e.	thinks
6.	ended	f.	finished
7.	set	g.	decided on
8.	setback	h.	problem
9.	positive	i.	hopeful
10.	hope	j.	expect

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The Syrian people
2.	Geneva
3.	Two
4.	Fighting
5.	Their responsibility
6.	Angry
7.	No one knows
8.	Syria's government
9.	Nothing
10.	A third round of talks

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

c

4.

a

5.

c

6.

b

7.

d

8.

a

9.

c

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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U.N. very sorry as Syria talks end in failure (18th February, 2014)

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