The Reading / Listening - Language Barriers - Level 3

New research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world. English is widely accepted to be the language of science, but one-third of research is not published in English. This means a lot of important research is not seen or read by scientists and researchers. The research is from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said important science is being missed at the international level. They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's key findings in multiple languages. They also said universities around the world should translate their research into different languages, especially Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Many international companies are now asking all their staff to communicate only in English. They hope this will reduce language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has just announced that English and not German is its official language. VW executives said the switch to English was to attract employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has also announced that all its staff must use English by 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue." He used the example that important research about avian flu in China initially went unnoticed by the World Health Organization because it was published in journals in Chinese.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Language Barriers - Level 0 Language Barriers - Level 1   or  Language Barriers - Level 2

Sources
  • http://www.science20.com/news_articles/lingua_franca_needed_too_much_science_is_not_published_in_english-205757
  • http://qz.com/875491/japanese-white-collar-workers-are-already-being-replaced-by-artificial-intelligence/
  • http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/science-missing-out-on-non-english-studies-says-cambridge-study/story-MUnlMALQIjknh5zVtZeXeL.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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. LANGUAGE BARRIERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about language barriers. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

       research / language / barrier / science / international / key / multiple / translate /
       international / communicate / staff / official / switch / community / carmaker / flu

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

3. ONE LANGUAGE: Students A strongly believe English should be the world's only language; Students B strongly believe that's a very silly idea. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

4. ENGLISH: How can we learn English more quickly? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Difficulties?

How to improve quickly?

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Pronunciation

 

 

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Writing

 

 

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

6. ADVANTAGES: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest advantages of speaking English at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • travel
  • Internet
  • novels
  • friends
  • science
  • love
  • job
  • movies

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. The article says language barriers are holding science back in Europe.     T / F
  2. Nearly half of all global research is not published in English.     T / F
  3. Researchers said journals should print whole articles in many languages. T / F
  4. Researchers said universities should translate research.     T / F
  5. The official language in the German carmaker Volkswagen is now English.  T / F
  6. The official language in the Japanese carmaker Honda is now English.     T / F
  7. A researcher said the scientific community should tackle this issue.     T / F
  8. The WHO initially missed research on avian flu because it was in Chinese. T / F

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

  1. holding back
  2. accepted
  3. publish
  4. key
  5. especially
  6. staff
  7. reduce
  8. switch
  9. tackling
  10. initially
  1. important
  2. particularly
  3. at first
  4. blocking
  5. lessen
  6. change
  7. believed
  8. addressing
  9. employees
  10. issue

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

  1. holding back science
  2. one-
  3. important research is not seen
  4. science journals should publish basic
  5. in multiple
  6. They hope this will reduce
  7. English and not German is
  8. the switch to English was to attract
  9. start seriously tackling this
  10. research about avian flu in China initially
  1. languages
  2. summaries
  3. its official language
  4. third of research
  5. employees
  6. went unnoticed
  7. around the world
  8. language barriers
  9. or read by scientists
  10. issue

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
third
important
translate
around
especially
widely
seen
key

New research says that language barriers are holding back science (1) ____________ the world. English is (2) ____________ accepted to be the language of science, but one-(3) ___________ of research is not published in English. This means a lot of important research is not (4) ____________ or read by scientists and researchers. The research is from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said (5) ____________ science is being missed at the international level. They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's (6) ____________ findings in multiple languages. They also said universities around the world should (7) ____________ their research into different languages, (8) ____________ Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
official
issue
staff
journals
reduce
initially
believe
attract

Many international companies are now asking all their (9) ____________ to communicate only in English. They hope this will (10) ____________ language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has just announced that English and not German is its (11) ____________ language. VW executives said the switch to English was to (12) ____________ employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has also announced that all its staff must use English by 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I (13) ____________ the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this (14) ____________." He used the example that important research about avian flu in China (15) ____________ went unnoticed by the World Health Organization because it was published in (16) ____________ in Chinese.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  New research says that language barriers are holding back science ______
     a.  abound the world
     b.  around the world
     c.  a round the world
     d.  rounding the world

2) accepted to be the language of science, but one-third of research is ______ English
     a.  not published in
     b.  not publishing in
     c.  not publish it in
     d.  not publishes in

3)  This means a lot of important research is not seen or read by scientists ______
     a.  and researches
     b.  and researchers
     c.  and research is
     d.  and researcher

4)  They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's ______
     a.  kin findings
     b.  cue findings
     c.  kid findings
     d.  key findings

5) universities around the world should translate their research into ______
     a.  difference languages
     b.  differential languages
     c.  different languages
     d.  differently languages

6) international companies are now asking all their staff to communicate ______
     a.  only on English
     b.  only at English
     c.  only of English
     d.  only in English

7)  Volkswagen has just announced that English and not German is ______
     a.  its officially language
     b.  its officials language
     c.  its official language
     d.  its officer language

8)  VW executives said the switch to English was to ______
     a.  attractive employees
     b.  attracted employees
     c.  attract employees
     d.  attracts employees

9)  I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously ______
     a.  tackle in this issue
     b.  tack cling this issue
     c.  tackling this issue
     d.  tackle cling this issue

10)  important research about avian flu in China initially ______
     a.  went not noticed
     b.  went an noticed
     c.  went non-noticed
     d.  went unnoticed

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

New research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world. English (1) ___________________ to be the language of science, but one-third of research is not published in English. (2) ___________________ of important research is not seen or read by scientists and researchers. The research is from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said important science (3) ___________________ at the international level. They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's (4) ___________________ multiple languages. They also said universities around the world (5) ___________________ their research into different languages, (6) ___________________, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

Many international companies are now asking (7) ___________________ to communicate only in English. They hope this will reduce language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has (8) ___________________ that English and not German is (9) ___________________. VW executives said the switch to English was to attract employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has also announced that all its (10) ___________________ English by 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously (11) ___________________." He used the example that important research about avian flu in China (12) ___________________ unnoticed by the World Health Organization because it was published in journals in Chinese.

Comprehension questions

  1. What is English widely accepted as being?
  2. How much of the world's research is not published in English?
  3. Which university carried out the research?
  4. What did the article say the summary of a study should include?
  5. How many languages did the writer mention regarding translation?
  6. What kind or companies are asking staff to communicate in English?
  7. What is the official language of Volkswagen?
  8. By when will Honda employees have to speak English?
  9. Who did a researcher say had to start seriously tackling this issue?
  10. What language was a study on avian flu published in?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What is English widely accepted as being?
a) the language of science
b) the best language
c) difficult
d) the language of love

2) How much of the world's research is not published in English?
a) most
b) over half
c) a third
d) between 5 -7%

3) Which university carried out the research?
a) Tokyo
b) Cambridge
c) Cairo
d) Brasilia

4) What did the article say the summary of a study should include?
a) the author's name
b) 300 words
c) two paragraphs
d) key findings

5) How many languages did the writer mention regarding translation?
a) 4
b) 3
c) 5
d) 7

6) What kind or companies are asking staff to communicate in English?
a) English companies
b) dictionary makers
c) language schools
d) international companies

7) What is the official language of Volkswagen?
a) French
b) English
c) none
d) German

8) By when will Honda employees have to speak English?
a) 2025
b) 2022
c) 2030
d) 2020

9) Who did a researcher say had to start seriously tackling this issue?
a) Chinese people
b) people with flu
c) the scientific community
d) the World Health Organization

10) What language was a study on avian flu published in?
a) English
b) Chinese
c) Japanese
d) Korean

Role play

Role A — Science

You think knowing English is best for moving science forward. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): love, a job or travel.

Role B — Love

You think knowing English is best for love. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): moving science forward, a job or travel.

Role C — Job

You think knowing English is best for a job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): love, moving science forward or travel.

Role D — Travel

You think knowing English is best for travel. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): love, a job or moving science forward.

After reading / listening

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

'language'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'barrier'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • • 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:

    • all
    • just
    • switch
    • must
    • issue
    • because
    • new
    • third
    • lot
    • missed
    • basic
    • especially

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Language barriers holding back global science

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What springs to mind when you hear the phrase 'language barrier'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How important is English in your life?
    5. Would it be better to have just one language in the world?
    6. Why is language holding back science?
    7. How can we make sure more research is in English?
    8. How useful is it to have summaries in English?
    9. What do you need to read English for?
    10. What difficulties do you have reading English?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. Is it a good idea for global companies to use English only?
    3. What happens if there are language barriers?
    4. How can we make sure more research is seen?
    5. What language would be best for a global language?
    6. How difficult is it for an international company to switch to English?
    7. How will English make your life better?
    8. What languages should research be translated into?
    9. What advantage does English give you in life?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    New research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world. English is (1) ____ accepted to be the language of science, but one-(2) ____ of research is not published in English. This means a (3) ____ of important research is not seen or read by scientists and researchers. The research is from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said important science is being missed (4) ____ the international level. They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's (5) ____ findings in multiple languages. They also said universities around the world should translate (6) ____ research into different languages, especially Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

    Many international companies are now asking all their staff to communicate only in English. They (7) ____ this will reduce language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has just announced that English and not German is its official language. VW executives said the (8) ____ to English was to attract employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has also announced that all its staff must use English (9) ____ 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I believe the scientific community needs to start seriously (10) ____ this issue." He used the example that important research about avian flu in China initially (11) ____ unnoticed by the World Health Organization because it was published in journals (12) ____ Chinese.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)           width        (b)        wide        (c)        widely        (d)        wider       
    2. (a)           third        (b)        thirds        (c)        thirdly        (d)        threes       
    3. (a)           lot        (b)        loads        (c)        lid        (d)        many       
    4. (a)           at        (b)        of        (c)        as        (d)        to       
    5. (a)           hole        (b)        chain        (c)        lock        (d)        key       
    6. (a)           they        (b)        these        (c)        them        (d)        their       
    7. (a)           hope        (b)        aspire        (c)        wait        (d)        aim       
    8. (a)           dial        (b)        lever        (c)        button        (d)        switch       
    9. (a)           by        (b)        of        (c)        at        (d)        to       
    10. (a)           shooting        (b)        tackling        (c)        fouling        (d)        scoring       
    11. (a)           gone        (b)        went        (c)        seen        (d)        been       
    12. (a)           in        (b)        at        (c)        by        (d)        on

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. English is ilwdye accepted
    2. one-third of research is not updlsehbi in English
    3. imotrpnta science is being missed
    4. publish sibac summaries
    5. upmeltli languages
    6. alttsrane their research

    Paragraph 2

    1. tonmacucmie only in English
    2. this will reudec language barriers
    3. English and not German is its oafficil language
    4. taattrc employees
    5. start seriously ktncilga this issue
    6. iyniiltal went unnoticed by the World Health Organization

    Put the text back together

    (    )     language. VW executives said the switch to English was to attract employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has

    (    )     avian flu in China initially went unnoticed by the World Health Organization

    (    )     in English. This means a lot of important research is not seen or read by scientists and researchers. The research is

    (    )     New research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world. English is widely

    (    )     also announced that all its staff must use English by 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I believe

    (    )     accepted to be the language of science, but one-third of research is not published

    (    )     level. They said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's key findings in multiple languages. They also

    (    )     because it was published in journals in Chinese.

    (    )     reduce language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has just announced that English and not German is its official

    (    )     Many international companies are now asking all their staff to communicate only in English. They hope this will

    (    )     from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said important science is being missed at the international

    (    )     said universities around the world should translate their research into different

    (    )     the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue." He used the example that important research about

    (    )     languages, especially Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

    Put the words in the right order

    1. world   back  Language   science  barriers   around   are   the  holding  .
    2. language   English   accepted   the   science   widely   be   of   is   to   .
    3. not   English   third   is   in   -   research   published   One   of   .
    4. a   important   not   means   of   is   This   lot   research   seen   .
    5. the  around   Universities   research   their   translate   should   world   .
    6. their   are   staff   now  Many   asking   international   all   companies   .
    7. barriers   hope   will   language   They   this   reduce   .
    8. switch   was  employees  the  English  attract  said   to  to  Executives  .
    9. community  tackling  needs   this  to  The   start  scientific   seriously   .
    10. research   important   that   example   The   flu   avian  about   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    New research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world. English is wide / widely accepted to be the language of science, but one-third of / for research is not published / publishing in English. This means a lot of important research is not seeing / seen or read by scientists and researchers. The research is from the University of Cambridge. Researchers said importance / important science is being missed / missing at the international level / anvil. They said science journals should publish basic / basically summaries of a study's keys / key findings in multiple languages. They also said universities around the world should translate their research into different languages, special / especially Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

    Many international companies are known / now asking all their staff to communicate only on / in English. They hope this will reduce / reducing language barriers. The German carmaker Volkswagen has just announcement / announced that English and not German is its official language. VW executives said the switched / switch to English was to attract employees. The Japanese carmaker Honda has also announced that all / every its staff must use / useful English by 2020. Researcher Tatsuya Amano said: "I belief / believe the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue." He using / used the example that important research about avian flu in China initially went unnoticed by the World Health Organization because it was published on / in journals in Chinese.

    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)

    N_w r_s__rch s_ys th_t l_ng__g_ b_rr__rs _r_ h_ld_ng b_ck sc__nc_ _r__nd th_ w_rld. _ngl_sh _s w_d_ly _cc_pt_d t_ b_ th_ l_ng__g_ _f sc__nc_, b_t _n_-th_rd _f r_s__rch _s n_t p_bl_sh_d _n _ngl_sh. Th_s m__ns _ l_t _f _mp_rt_nt r_s__rch _s n_t s__n _r r__d by sc__nt_sts _nd r_s__rch_rs. Th_ r_s__rch _s fr_m th_ _n_v_rs_ty _f C_mbr_dg_. R_s__rch_rs s__d _mp_rt_nt sc__nc_ _s b__ng m_ss_d _t th_ _nt_rn_t__n_l l_v_l. Th_y s__d sc__nc_ j__rn_ls sh__ld p_bl_sh b_s_c s_mm_r__s _f _ st_dy's k_y f_nd_ngs _n m_lt_pl_ l_ng__g_s. Th_y _ls_ s__d _n_v_rs_t__s _r__nd th_ w_rld sh__ld tr_nsl_t_ th__r r_s__rch _nt_ d_ff_r_nt l_ng__g_s, _sp_c__lly Ch_n_s_, Fr_nch, P_rt_g__s_ _nd Sp_n_sh.

    M_ny _nt_rn_t__n_l c_mp_n__s _r_ n_w _sk_ng _ll th__r st_ff t_ c_mm_n_c_t_ _nly _n _ngl_sh. Th_y h_p_ th_s w_ll r_d_c_ l_ng__g_ b_rr__rs. Th_ G_rm_n c_rm_k_r V_lksw_g_n h_s j_st _nn__nc_d th_t _ngl_sh _nd n_t G_rm_n _s _ts _ff_c__l l_ng__g_. VW _x_c_t_v_s s__d th_ sw_tch t_ _ngl_sh w_s t_ _ttr_ct _mpl_y__s. Th_ J_p_n_s_ c_rm_k_r H_nd_ h_s _ls_ _nn__nc_d th_t _ll _ts st_ff m_st _s_ _ngl_sh by 2020. R_s__rch_r T_ts_y_ _m_n_ s__d: "_ b_l__v_ th_ sc__nt_f_c c_mm_n_ty n__ds t_ st_rt s_r___sly t_ckl_ng th_s _ss__." H_ _s_d th_ _x_mpl_ th_t _mp_rt_nt r_s__rch _b__t _v__n fl_ _n Ch_n_ _n_t__lly w_nt _nn_t_c_d by th_ W_rld H__lth _rg_n_z_t__n b_c__s_ _t w_s p_bl_sh_d _n j__rn_ls _n Ch_n_s_.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    new research says that language barriers are holding back science around the world english is widely accepted to be the language of science but one-third of research is not published in english this means a lot of important research is not seen or read by scientists and researchers the research is from the university of cambridge researchers said important science is being missed at the international level they said science journals should publish basic summaries of a study's key findings in multiple languages they also said universities around the world should translate their research into different languages especially chinese french portuguese and spanish

    many international companies are now asking all their staff to communicate only in english they hope this will reduce language barriers the german carmaker volkswagen has just announced that english and not german is its official language vw executives said the switch to english was to attract employees the japanese carmaker honda has also announced that all its staff must use english by 2020 researcher tatsuya amano said "i believe the scientific community needs to start seriously tackling this issue" he used the example that important research about avian flu in china initially went unnoticed by the world health organization because it was published in journals in chinese

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Newresearchsaysthatlanguagebarriersareholdingbacksciencearoun
    dtheworld.Englishiswidelyacceptedtobethelanguageofscience,buto
    ne-thirdofresearchisnotpublishedinEnglish.Thismeansalotofimport
    antresearchisnotseenorreadbyscientistsandresearchers.Theresear
    chisfromtheUniversityofCambridge.Researcherssaidimportantscien
    ceisbeingmissedattheinternationallevel.Theysaidsciencejournalssh
    ouldpublishbasicsummariesofastudy'skeyfindingsinmultiplelangua
    ges.Theyalsosaiduniversitiesaroundtheworldshouldtranslatetheirre
    searchintodifferentlanguages,especiallyChinese,French,Portugues
    eandSpanish.Manyinternationalcompaniesarenowaskingalltheirstaf
    ftocommunicateonlyinEnglish.Theyhopethiswillreducelanguagebar
    riers.TheGermancarmakerVolkswagenhasjustannouncedthatEnglis
    handnotGermanisitsofficiallanguage.VWexecutivessaidtheswitchto
    Englishwastoattractemployees.TheJapanesecarmakerHondahasals
    oannouncedthatallitsstaffmustuseEnglishby2020.ResearcherTatsu
    yaAmanosaid:"Ibelievethescientificcommunityneedstostartseriousl
    ytacklingthisissue."Heusedtheexamplethatimportantresearchabout
    avianfluinChinainitiallywentunnoticedbytheWorldHealthOrganizatio
    nbecauseitwaspublishedinjournalsinChinese.

    Free writing

    Write about language barriers for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    There should only be one language in the world – English. 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 this news. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

    3. LANGUAGE BARRIERS: Make a poster about language barriers. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

    4. ENGLISH: Write a magazine article about English becoming the world's only language. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

    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 English as a global language. Ask him/her three questions about this. Give him/her three of your opinions on this. 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

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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