The Reading / Listening - First and Last Name - Level 6

A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing a namesake of his drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an octogenarian.

Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated at breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were thwarted largely because of the association's insistence on all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a more lenient criterion. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka reflected on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of silliness".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    First and Last Name - Level 4  or  First and Last Name - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/10/29/national/guiness-record-hirokazu-tanaka/
  • https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221029/p2g/00m/0na/037000c
  • https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hirokazu-tanaka-namesake-gathering-in-tokyo-smashes-world-record


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. SURNAMES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about surnames. 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?
       group / men / Tokyo / world record / successful / inspiration / baseball / generation /
       leader / elated / association / Chinese characters / achievement / reporter / silliness
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SURNAME FIRST: Students A strongly believe we should always write our surname first; Students B strongly believe given name first is better. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. BEST NAME: What are the best names for these people / things, and why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Best Name

Why?

A newborn baby boy

 

 

A newborn baby girl

 

 

A pet dog

 

 

A sports car

 

 

A bookshop

 

 

An English school

 

 
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. MEN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "men". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. NAMED AFTER: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to be named after at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • An ancestor
  • A movie star
  • A flower
  • A celestial body
  • A month
  • An inspirational noun
  • A religious figure
  • A cartoon character

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. convened a. A person who is between 80 and 89 years old.
      2. inspiration b. A person or thing that has the same name as another.
      3. namesake c. Extend across a period of time or a range of subjects.
      4. drafted d. Came or brought together for a meeting or activity.
      5. span e. All of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively.
      6. generation f. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.
      7. octogenarian g. Selected a player for a sports team.

    Paragraph 2

      8. elated h. Average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.
      9. thwarted i. Prevented someone from achieving or doing something.
      10. insistence j. Thought deeply or carefully about.
      11. lenient k. Very, very, very happy.
      12. criterion l. A principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided.
      13. deemed m. The fact or quality of saying that something is definitely the case or should be done.
      14. reflected n. Regarded or considered in a specified way.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A group of women who all had the same name broke a world record.     T / F
  2. The record attempt was organized by the John Smith Association.     T / F
  3. A former professional baseball player helped to break the record.     T / F
  4. The oldest person in the group was in his/her eighties.     T / F
  5. This was the third time for the group to attempt to break the record.     T / F
  6. This attempt required participants to have the same Chinese characters.  T / F
  7. The person who organized the attempt knew it would be broken.     T / F
  8. The person called the record an example of silliness.     T / F

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

  1. convened
  2. gathering
  3. attempt
  4. established
  5. span
  6. elated
  7. thwarted
  8. eligible
  9. reflected
  10. ridiculous
  1. foiled
  2. set up
  3. allowed
  4. assembly
  5. thrilled
  6. laughable
  7. effort
  8. thought about
  9. met
  10. cross

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

  1. the largest gathering
  2. This group was established
  3. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing
  4. The 178 new record holders span
  5. the eldest being
  6. Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated
  7. These attempts were
  8. having to have the same
  9. regardless of the kanji used
  10. Tanaka reflected on his
  1. at breaking the world record
  2. a namesake of his
  3. of people
  4. Chinese characters
  5. world-beating achievement
  6. the generations
  7. by a guy called Tanaka
  8. to spell their name
  9. an octogenarian
  10. thwarted

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
established
namesake
octogenarian
convened
inspiration
span
gathering
part

A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu (1) _____________________ in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest (2) _____________________ of people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was (3) _____________________ by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's (4) _____________________ came from seeing a (5) _____________________ of his drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also (6) _____________________ of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders (7) _____________________ the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an (8) _____________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
lenient
elated
achieve
insistence
regardless
thwarted
silliness
characters

Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was (9) _____________________ at breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were (10) _____________________ largely because of the association's (11) _____________________ on all participants having to have the same Chinese (12) _____________________ (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a more (13) _____________________ criterion. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, (14) _____________________ of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka reflected on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would (15) _____________________ such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of (16) _____________________".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu ______
     a.  contravened in Tokyo
     b.  combined in Tokyo
     c.  convened in Tokyo
     d.  convene din Tokyo
2)  on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest ______
     a.  gather ring of people
     b.  gather inner people
     c.  gathering off people
     d.  gathering of people
3)  (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from ______
     a.  seeing a names ache
     b.  seeing a namesake
     c.  seeing a names sake
     d.  seeing a name shake
4)  part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders ______
     a.  span the generations
     b.  spans the generations
     c.  sprain the generations
     d.  stain the generations
5)  being three years old, and the eldest ______
     a.  been an octogenarian
     b.  being an octogenarian
     c.  being a knocked oh geranium
     d.  being an October geranium

6)  Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, ______
     a.  53, was berated
     b.  53, was elated
     c.  53, was ill later
     d.  53, was eel waited
7)  before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These ______
     a.  attempts were thwarted
     b.  attempts were the wart add
     c.  attempts were thwart it
     d.  attempt swerve warty
8) same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a ______
     a.  moor lenient cry teary on
     b.  more lenience criterion
     c.  more lenient criteria on
     d.  more lenient criterion
9)  I never expected we would achieve such ______
     a.  a ridicule as record
     b.  a ridicule us record
     c.  a ridiculous record
     d.  a rid icicle record
10)  He added that the 178 Tanakas had set an ______
     a.  example of silly mess
     b.  egg sample of silliness
     c.  examples of silliness
     d.  egg sample of illness

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A group of 178 (1) ____________________ the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the (2) ____________________ people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group (3) ____________________ a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing a namesake of (4) ____________________ a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part of (5) ____________________. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest (6) ____________________.

Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was (7) ____________________ the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts (8) ____________________ because of the association's (9) ____________________ participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a (10) ____________________. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka (11) ____________________ world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an (12) ____________________".

Comprehension questions

  1. In which city did the men break the world record?
  2. When was the Tanaka Hirokazu association started?
  3. Who started the Tanaka Hirokazu association?
  4. What sport did one of the record breakers use to play?
  5. How old was the oldest record breaker?
  6. How did Tanaka Hirokazu feel about breaking the world record?
  7. How many times in total did the group try to break the record?
  8. What did the first attempts require all names to have?
  9. Who did Tanaka Hirokazu talk to about breaking the record?
  10. What did Tanaka Hirokazu call the world record an example of?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  In which city did the men break the world record?
a) Sydney
b) Tokyo
c) Lima
d) Beijing
2) When was the Tanaka Hirokazu association started?
a) 1991
b) 1992
c) 1993
d) 1994
3) Who started the Tanaka Hirokazu association?
a) Tanaka Hirokazu
b) Guinness World Records
c) the Namesake Association
d) Genealogy International
4) What sport did one of the record breakers use to play?
a) ice hockey
b) football
c) baseball
d) tennis
5) How old was the oldest record breaker?
a) 79
b) in his eighties
c) 90
d) a centenarian

6) How did Tanaka Hirokazu feel about breaking the world record?
a) bewildered
b) relieved
c) elated
d) mildly surprised
7) How many times in total did the group try to break the record?
a) ten
b) four
c) two
d) three
8) What did the first attempts require all names to have?
a) the same Chinese characters
b) a middle name
c) a birth certificate
d) a history
9) Who did Tanaka Hirokazu talk to about breaking the record?
a) reporters
b) Mrs Tanaka
c) his neighbours
d) a group on Zoom
10) What did Tanaka Hirokazu call the world record an example of?
a) naming
b) silliness
c) hard work
d) achievement

Role play

Role  A – An Ancestor
You think it is best to call a newborn baby after an ancestor. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): a movie star, a flower or a religious figure.

Role  B – A Movie Star
You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a movie star. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): an ancestor, a flower or a religious figure.

Role  C – A Flower
You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a flower. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): a movie star, an ancestor or a religious figure.

Role  D – A Religious Figure
You think it is best to call a newborn baby after a religious figure. Tell them what is wrong with their names. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): a movie star, a flower or an ancestor.

After reading / listening

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

'first'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'last'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • group
    • attempt
    • guy
    • drafted
    • part
    • eldest
    • elated
    • largely
    • characters
    • deemed
    • never
    • example

    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 - First and Last Name

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'name'?
    3. What do you think of your name?
    4. What do you think of this record?
    5. What do you think of common surnames in your country?
    6. Would you like to change your name?
    7. Do you have any namesakes?
    8. Should men or women change their surname after marriage?
    9. What do you think of nicknames?
    10. Should we write our surname or given name first?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'record'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What world record would you like to break?
    5. How do you feel when you see your surname written down?
    6. What do you think of middle names?
    7. What do you think of double-barrelled (hyphenated) surnames?
    8. Do you prefer your surname or given name?
    9. Do you think the record is 'an example of silliness'?
    10. What questions would you like to ask one of the Tanaka Hirokazus?

    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)

    A group of 178 men (1) ____ sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest (2) ____ of people with the same first and last name. The successful record (3) ____ was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration (4) ____ from seeing a namesake of (5) ____ drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an (6) ____.

    Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated (7) ____ breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were (8) ____ largely because of the association's insistence on all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their name. Saturday's meeting had a more (9) ____ criterion. The association deemed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, (10) ____ of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka (11) ____ on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of (12) ____ ".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     whole     (b)     all     (c)     every     (d)     total    
    2. (a)     garnishing     (b)     gathering     (c)     guttering     (d)     grating    
    3. (a)     contempt     (b)     temptation     (c)     tempting     (d)     attempt    
    4. (a)     gone     (b)     came     (c)     went     (d)     arrived    
    5. (a)     their     (b)     that     (c)     them     (d)     his    
    6. (a)     octagon     (b)     octuplet     (c)     octogenarian     (d)     octopus    
    7. (a)     at     (b)     on     (c)     in     (d)     as    
    8. (a)     thwacked     (b)     thrashed     (c)     thwarted     (d)     threadbare    
    9. (a)     sentient     (b)     lean     (c)     leaning     (d)     lenient    
    10. (a)     regardless     (b)     regarding     (c)     regards     (d)     regarded    
    11. (a)     reflected     (b)     mirrored     (c)     shone     (d)     bounced    
    12. (a)     silliness     (b)     dizziness     (c)     sloppiness     (d)     business

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. nneveodc in Tokyo on Saturday
    2. organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu osnasiatico
    3. inspiration came from seeing a eksmaaen
    4. edtfard into a professional Japanese baseball team
    5. span the tngensiaero
    6. the eldest being an ornotcaeaing

    Paragraph 2

    1. Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was daleet
    2. These attempts were redttawh
    3. because of the association's iistesennc
    4. a more einltne criterion
    5. the name Hirokazu Tanaka was liigblee
    6. achieve such a uiuioldcsr record

    Put the text back together

    (...)  surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing a namesake of his drafted
    (...)  reflected on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve
    (...)  name. Saturday's meeting had a more lenient criterion. The association deemed that anyone
    (...)  with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka
    (...)  into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was also part
    (...)  by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise,
    (...)  for the largest gathering of people with the same first and last name. The successful record attempt was organized
    (...)  twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were thwarted largely because
    (..1.) A group of 178 men all sharing the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record
    (...)  of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span the generations, with
    (...)  the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an octogenarian.
    (...)  such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of silliness".
    (...)  Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elated at breaking the world record. His association had tried
    (...)  of the association's insistence on all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in their

    Put the words in the right order

    1. of   A   sharing   men   178   the   name   .   group
    2. The   the   name   .   with   people   gathering   largest   of
    3. group   established   guy   .   a   This   by   was
    4. a   namesake   .   came   seeing   Tanaka's   inspiration   from
    5. generations   .   178   new   the   holders   record   The   span
    6. the   at   was   Tanaka   elated   breaking   world   record   .
    7. Thwarted   of   because   association's   largely   insistence   .   the
    8. name   .   characters   (kanji)   in   same   Chinese   their   The
    9. of   used   kanji   name   .   their   in   Regardless   the
    10. expected   record   .   I   achieve   a   we'd   ridiculous   never

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A group of 178 men all sharing / shared the name Tanaka Hirokazu convened in Tokyo on Saturday to break / broken the Guinness World Record for the largest garnishing / gathering of people with the same first and last name. The successful recorded / record attempt was organized by the Tanaka Hirokazu association. This group was established / establishment by a guy called Tanaka Hirokazu (surprise, surprise) in 1994. Mr Tanaka's inspiration came from seeing / seeking a namesake of his drafted / drifted into a professional Japanese baseball team. Ex-baseball player Tanaka Hirokazu was alas / also part of Saturday's record meeting. The 178 new record holders span them / the generations, with the youngest being three years old, and the eldest being an / the octogenarian.

    Association leader Tanaka Hirokazu, 53, was elected / elated at breaking the world record. His association had tried twice before, in 2011 and 2017, to break the record. These attempts were thwarted largely / hugely because of the association's insistence on / in all participants having to have the same Chinese characters (kanji) in / on their name. Saturday's meeting had a more lenient creation / criterion. The association deemed / doomed that anyone with the name Hirokazu Tanaka was eligible / eligibility, regardless of the kanji used to spell their name. Mr Tanaka reflected in / on his world-beating achievement. He told reporters: "I never expected we would achieve so / such a ridiculous record." He added that the 178 Tanakas had "set an example of silliness / silly".

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

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _  gr__p  _f  178  m_n  _ll  sh_r_ng  th_  n_m_  T_n_k_  H_r_k_z_  c_nv_n_d  _n  T_ky_  _n  S_t_rd_y  t_  br__k  th_  G__nn_ss  W_rld  R_c_rd  f_r  th_  l_rg_st  g_th_r_ng  _f  p__pl_  w_th  th_  s_m_  f_rst  _nd  l_st  n_m_.  Th_  s_cc_ssf_l  r_c_rd  _tt_mpt  w_s  _rg_n_z_d  by  th_  T_n_k_  H_r_k_z_  _ss_c__t__n.  Th_s  gr__p  w_s  _st_bl_sh_d  by  _  g_y  c_ll_d  T_n_k_  H_r_k_z_  (s_rpr_s_,  s_rpr_s_)  _n  1994.  Mr  T_n_k_'s  _nsp_r_t__n  c_m_  fr_m  s___ng  _  n_m_s_k_  _f  h_s  dr_ft_d  _nt_  _  pr_f_ss__n_l  J_p_n_s_  b_s_b_ll  t__m.  _x-b_s_b_ll  pl_y_r  T_n_k_  H_r_k_z_  w_s  _ls_  p_rt  _f  S_t_rd_y's  r_c_rd  m__t_ng.  Th_  178  n_w  r_c_rd  h_ld_rs  sp_n  th_  g_n_r_t__ns,  w_th  th_  y__ng_st  b__ng  thr__  y__rs  _ld,  _nd  th_  _ld_st  b__ng  _n  _ct_g_n_r__n.

    _ss_c__t__n  l__d_r  T_n_k_  H_r_k_z_,  53,  w_s  _l_t_d  _t  br__k_ng  th_  w_rld  r_c_rd.  H_s  _ss_c__t__n  h_d  tr__d  tw_c_  b_f_r_,  _n  2011  _nd  2017,  t_  br__k  th_  r_c_rd.  Th_s_  _tt_mpts  w_r_  thw_rt_d  l_rg_ly  b_c__s_  _f  th_  _ss_c__t__n's  _ns_st_nc_  _n  _ll  p_rt_c_p_nts  h_v_ng  t_  h_v_  th_  s_m_  Ch_n_s_  ch_r_ct_rs  (k_nj_)  _n  th__r  n_m_.  S_t_rd_y's  m__t_ng  h_d  _  m_r_  l_n__nt  cr_t_r__n.  Th_  _ss_c__t__n  d__m_d  th_t  _ny_n_  w_th  th_  n_m_  H_r_k_z_  T_n_k_  w_s  _l_g_bl_,  r_g_rdl_ss  _f  th_  k_nj_  _s_d  t_  sp_ll  th__r  n_m_.  Mr  T_n_k_  r_fl_ct_d  _n  h_s  w_rld-b__t_ng  _ch__v_m_nt.  H_  t_ld  r_p_rt_rs:  "_  n_v_r  _xp_ct_d  w_  w__ld  _ch__v_  s_ch  _  r_d_c_l__s  r_c_rd."  H_  _dd_d  th_t  th_  178  T_n_k_s  h_d  "s_t  _n  _x_mpl_  _f  s_ll_n_ss".

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a group of 178 men all sharing the name tanaka hirokazu convened in tokyo on saturday to break the guinness world record for the largest gathering of people with the same first and last name the successful record attempt was organized by the tanaka hirokazu association this group was established by a guy called tanaka hirokazu surprise surprise in 1994 mr tanakas inspiration came from seeing a namesake of his drafted into a professional japanese baseball team exbaseball player tanaka hirokazu was also part of saturdays record meeting the 178 new record holders span the generations with the youngest being three years old and the eldest being an octogenarian

    association leader tanaka hirokazu 53 was elated at breaking the world record his association had tried twice before in 2011 and 2017 to break the record these attempts were thwarted largely because of the associations insistence on all participants having to have the same chinese characters kanji in their name saturdays meeting had a more lenient criterion the association deemed that anyone with the name hirokazu tanaka was eligible regardless of the kanji used to spell their name mr tanaka reflected on his worldbeating achievement he told reporters i never expected we would achieve such a ridiculous record he added that the 178 tanakas had set an example of silliness

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Agroupof178menallsharingthenameTanakaHirokazuconvenedinTo
    kyoonSaturdaytobreaktheGuinnessWorldRecordforthelargestgathe
    ringofpeoplewiththesamefirstandlastname.Thesuccessfulrecordatt
    emptwasorganizedbytheTanakaHirokazuassociation.Thisgroupwas
    establishedbyaguycalledTanakaHirokazu(surprise,surprise)in1994.
    MrTanaka'sinspirationcamefromseeinganamesakeofhisdraftedinto
    aprofessionalJapanesebaseballteam.Ex-baseballplayerTanakaHi
    rokazuwasalsopartofSaturday'srecordmeeting.The178newrecordh
    oldersspanthegenerations,withtheyoungestbeingthreeyearsold,an
    dtheeldestbeinganoctogenarian.AssociationleaderTanakaHirokazu,
    53,waselatedatbreakingtheworldrecord.Hisassociationhadtriedtwic
    ebefore,in2011and2017,tobreaktherecord.Theseattemptswerethw
    artedlargelybecauseoftheassociation'sinsistenceonallparticipantsh
    avingtohavethesameChinesecharacters(kanji)intheirname.Saturda
    y'smeetinghadamorelenientcriterion.Theassociationdeemedthatan
    yonewiththenameHirokazuTanakawaseligible,regardlessofthekanji
    usedtospelltheirname.MrTanakareflectedonhisworld-beatingachiev
    ement.Hetoldreporters:"Ineverexpectedwewouldachievesucharidic
    ulousrecord."Headdedthatthe178Tanakashad"setanexampleofsillin
    ess".

    Free writing

    Write about first and last name for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    No two people should ever have the same name. 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 story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. SURNAMES: Make a poster about surnames. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SURNAME LAST: Write a magazine article about always writing surnames last. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    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 surnames. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your favourite names and why you like them. 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.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You