The Reading / Listening - Reclusiveness - Level 3

Many people around the world stay at home and do not want to go out. They cut themselves off from the world outside. They are recluses … people who do not want to meet other people. The government in South Korea has thought of an idea to encourage these people to "re-enter society". It will pay young people $500 a month to leave their home. The monthly payment will be for lonely people aged nine to 24 years old who come from poorer families. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said it wants to help younger people. It said it wants young people to go out. This will support their "psychological and emotional stability, and healthy growth".

There are many reasons for people not wanting to leave the house. The number of recluses has gone up because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of young Koreans are reclusive. They "have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life". The government said children shut themselves off from society for many reasons. These include bullying, exam stress, family problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month payment will help these young people. This means they could be less likely to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an ageing society. It needs young people to work so they can help old people.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Reclusiveness - Level 0 Reclusiveness - Level 1   or  Reclusiveness - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/14/asia/south-korea-youth-recluse-stipend-intl-hnk/index.html
  • https://news.yahoo.com/korea-pay-reclusive-lonely-young-190420633.html
  • https://time.com/6270853/south-korea-reclusive-children-cash-handout/


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. LONELINESS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about loneliness. 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?
       stay at home / the world / recluse / idea / $500 a month / poorer families / growth /
       leave the house / pandemic / a normal life / bullying / ageing society / old people
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. SUPPORT: Students A strongly believe all towns should have a support program to help lonely people; Students B strongly believe this is not necessary. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. RECLUSES: How can these things help people who do not want to leave their house? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How They Can Help

Money to go out

 

Online jobs

 

Home visits

 

Zoom meetings

 

Shopping events

 

Picnics in local parks

 

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. SOCIETY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "society". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest difficulties at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Bullying
  • Exam stress
  • The pandemic
  • Family problems
  • Technology
  • Social media
  • Money
  • Getting old

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. government a. Done, made, or happening once a month.
      2. encourage b. Help.
      3. pay c. The group of people who control a country and decide how to help the people.
      4. monthly d. The state of someone's mental condition staying at a "normal" level and not changing.
      5. support e. Say something to help a person to make him/her keep doing something, or to be more confident.
      6. psychological f. Give someone money for work, or for things you bought.
      7. stability g. Affecting, or happening in the mind; about the mental and emotional state of a person.

    Paragraph 2

      8. pandemic h. The process of growing old.
      9. reclusive i. When a disease spreads over a whole country or the world at a particular time.
      10. noticeable j. Staying away from other people; not wanting to be with other people.
      11. society k. The problem of people who hurt or frighten other people (every day, week or month).
      12. bullying l. All of the people living in a particular country or region with shared customs, laws, and organizations.
      13. payment m. Easily seen; clear.
      14.

ageing

n. The action of giving money to someone for work they did.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Many people cut themselves off from their homes.     T / F
  2. A recluse is someone who likes meeting new people.     T / F
  3. S. Korea will pay young, lonely people $500 a month to go out.     T / F
  4. The Ministry of Gender Equality wants to help older people to go out.     T / F
  5. The pandemic increased the number of people who are reclusive.     T / F
  6. The article says about 31% of Koreans are reclusive.     T / F
  7. One reason for reclusiveness is social media.     T / F
  8. More people in South Korea are living to be an older age.     T / F

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

  1. stay
  2. idea
  3. encourage
  4. lonely
  5. growth
  6. gone up
  7. noticeable
  8. likely
  9. ageing
  10. society
  1. support
  2. probable
  3. isolated
  4. easy-to-see
  5. plan
  6. nation
  7. remain
  8. greying
  9. development
  10. increased

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

  1. They cut themselves off from
  2. They are recluses – people who do not
  3. monthly
  4. it wants young people
  5. psychological and emotional
  6. children shut themselves
  7. exam
  8. the $500-a-month
  9. they could be less likely to have
  10. Korea has an ageing
  1. to go out
  2. stress
  3. stability
  4. mental problems
  5. payment
  6. society
  7. the world outside
  8. off from society
  9. want to meet other people
  10. payment

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
lonely
cut
stability
thought
help
stay
wants
pay

Many people around the world (1) _____________________ at home and do not want to go out. They (2) _____________________ themselves off from the world outside. They are recluses – people who do not want to meet other people. The government in South Korea has (3) _____________________ of an idea to encourage these people to "re-enter society". It will (4) _____________________ young people $500 a month to leave their home. The monthly payment will be for (5) _____________________ people aged nine to 24 years old who come from poorer families. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said it wants to (6) _____________________ younger people. It said it (7) _____________________ young people to go out. This will support their "psychological and emotional (8) _____________________, and healthy growth".

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
society
ageing
number
stress
likely
wanting
difficulty
payment

There are many reasons for people not (9) _____________________ to leave the house. The (10) _____________________ of recluses has gone up because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of young Koreans are reclusive. They "have noticeable (11) _____________________ in living a normal life". The government said children shut themselves off from (12) _____________________ for many reasons. These include bullying, exam (13) _____________________, family problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month (14) _____________________ will help these young people. This means they could be less (15) _____________________ to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an (16) _____________________ society. It needs young people to work so they can help old people.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Many people around the world stay at home and do not want ______
     a.  to gone out
     b.  to goo out
     c.  to go out
     d.  Togo out
2)  They are recluses – people who do not want to ______
     a.  meet another people
     b.  meet other people
     c.  meet others people
     d.  meet othered people
3)  It will pay young people $500 a month to ______
     a.  leave them home
     b.  leave there home
     c.  leave their home
     d.  leave they home
4)  lonely people aged nine to 24 years old who come ______
     a.  from pore a families
     b.  from poor a families
     c.  from pour a families
     d.  from poorer families
5)  This will support their psychological and emotional stability, ______
     a.  and healthy grown
     b.  and healthy growth
     c.  and healthy growths
     d.  and healthy gross

6)  The number of recluses has gone up because ______
     a.  of a pandemic
     b.  of their pandemic
     c.  of these pandemic
     d.  of the pandemic
7)  They have noticeable difficulty in living ______
     a.  a normally life
     b.  a norm all life
     c.  a normality life
     d.  a normal life
8)  The government said children shut themselves off from society ______
     a.  form any reasons
     b.  form many reasons
     c.  for any reasons
     d.  for many reasons
9)  This means they could be less likely to ______
     a.  have mentally problems
     b.  have menthol problems
     c.  have mentally problems
     d.  have mental problems
10)  They will also be healthier. Korea has ______
     a.  an ageing society
     b.  an age in society
     c.  an a gin society
     d.  an again society

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Many people around the world stay at home and do not want (1) ____________________. They cut themselves off from the world outside. (2) ____________________ – people who do not want to meet other people. The government in South Korea has thought (3) ____________________ to encourage these people to "re-enter society". It will pay young people $500 a (4) ____________________ their home. The monthly payment will be for lonely people aged nine to 24 years old who come (5) ____________________. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said it wants to help younger people. It said it wants young people to go out. This will support their "psychological and emotional stability, (6) ____________________".

There are (7) ____________________ people not wanting to leave the house. The number of recluses (8) ____________________ because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of young Koreans are reclusive. They "have noticeable difficulty (9) ____________________ normal life". The government said children shut themselves (10) ____________________ for many reasons. These include bullying, exam stress, family problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month payment will help these young people. This means they could (11) ____________________ to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an ageing society. It needs young people (12) ____________________ they can help old people.

Comprehension questions

  1. What does the article say young people cut themselves off from?
  2. Who do recluses not want to meet?
  3. How often will people get money from the government?
  4. What is the age range of people who will get the money?
  5. What does the government want young people to do?
  6. What percentage of young Koreans are reclusive?
  7. What do many young people have difficulty in doing?
  8. What might young people get stressed about?
  9. What kind of society does the article say Korea has?
  10. Who does the government want young people to help?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say young people cut themselves off from?
a) the world outside
b) the workplace
c) their family
d) their local community
2) Who do recluses not want to meet?
a) each other
b) their parents
c) other people
d) their bosses
3) How often will people get money from the government?
a) every now and then
b) every month (monthly)
c) weekly
d) twice a year
4) What is the age range of people who will get the money?
a) 19-24
b) 14-29
c) 19-24
d) 9-24
5)  What does the government want young people to do?
a) go out
b) get a job
c) have fun
d) be more mature

6) What percentage of young Koreans are reclusive?
a) 1.3%
b) 31%
c) 13%
d) 3.1%
7) What do many young people have difficulty in doing?
a) making conversation
b) living a normal life
c) waking up early
d) finding a job
8) What might young people get stressed about?
a) jobs
b) dating
c) health
d) exams
9) What kind of society does the article say Korea has?
a) a modern society
b) a productive society
c) an ageing society
d) a nice society
10) Who does the government want young people to help?
a) each other
b) old people
c) children
d) their parents

Role play

Role  A – Bullying
You think bullying is the biggest difficulty in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least difficult of these (and why): exam stress, family problems or getting old.

Role  B – Exam Stress
You think exam stress is the biggest difficulty in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least difficult of these (and why): bullying, family problems or getting old.

Role  C – Family Problems
You think family problems are the biggest difficulty in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least difficult of these (and why): exam stress, bullying or getting old.

Role  D – Getting Old
You think getting old is the biggest difficulty in life. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least difficult of these (and why): exam stress, family problems or bullying.

After reading / listening

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

'lonely'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • and 'society'.

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

    • world
    • cut
    • meet
    • aged
    • equality
    • growth
    • number
    • pandemic
    • difficulty
    • stress
    • less
    • old

    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 - Reclusiveness

    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 'lonely'?
    3. Do you ever get lonely?
    4. What do you do when you are lonely?
    5. Do you like going out or staying at home?
    6. Why does someone become a recluse?
    7. Do you like meeting other people?
    8. Will the $500 payment encourage people to go out?
    9. What damage can loneliness do?
    10. What advice do you have for someone who is lonely?

    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 'society'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Did you get lonely during the pandemic?
    5. Do you prefer being alone or being with other people?
    6. Do you have difficulties in leading a normal life?
    7. How can we deal with bullying?
    8. Do technology and social media make people lonelier?
    9. What problems might an ageing society have?
    10. What questions would you like to ask a recluse?

    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)

    Many people around the world stay at home and do not want to go (1) ____. They cut themselves (2) ____ from the world outside. They are recluses – people who do not want to meet other people. The government in South Korea has thought of an idea to (3) ____ these people to "re-enter society". It will pay young people $500 a month to leave (4) ____ home. The monthly payment will be for lonely people aged nine to 24 years old who come from (5) ____ families. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said it wants to help younger people. It said it wants young people to go out. This will support their "psychological and emotional stability, and healthy (6) ____".

    There are many reasons for people not wanting to leave the house. The number (7) ____ recluses has gone up because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of young Koreans are (8) ____. They "have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life". The government said children shut themselves off from society for many reasons. These include (9) ____, exam stress, family problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month payment will help these young people. This means they could be (10) ____ likely to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an (11) ____ society. It needs young people to work so they can (12) ____ old people.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     down     (b)     in     (c)     up     (d)     out    
    2. (a)     on     (b)     in     (c)     up     (d)     off    
    3. (a)     encourages     (b)     encourage     (c)     encouraging     (d)     encouraged    
    4. (a)     them     (b)     they     (c)     their     (d)     there    
    5. (a)     poorly     (b)     pourer     (c)     poorer     (d)     pore    
    6. (a)     growth     (b)     grown     (c)     grower     (d)     grows    
    7. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     on     (d)     is    
    8. (a)     reclusive     (b)     recluse     (c)     reclusively     (d)     reclusion    
    9. (a)     bully     (b)     bullying     (c)     bullied     (d)     bulls    
    10. (a)     lots     (b)     much     (c)     less     (d)     down    
    11. (a)     ages     (b)     ageist     (c)     ageing     (d)     ageism    
    12. (a)     helpfulness     (b)     helpfully     (c)     helpful     (d)     help

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. They are sleucers
    2. The vgmenorent in South Korea
    3. an idea to recueaogn these people
    4. The hlymton payment
    5. aleotonim stability
    6. healthy rghtow

    Paragraph 2

    1. because of the padcemni
    2. They have noticeable diftcfuliy
    3. These include yilgblnu
    4. gyheoolnct and social media
    5. they could be less llyeki
    6. Korea has an ageing ctisoey

    Put the text back together

    (...)   other people. The government in South Korea has thought of an idea to encourage these people to "re-enter
    (...)   themselves off from society for many reasons. These include bullying, exam stress, family
    (...)   society". It will pay young people $500 a month to leave their home. The monthly payment will be for lonely people aged
    (...)   Equality and Family said it wants to help younger people. It said it wants young people to go
    (...)   people. This means they could be less likely to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an
    (...)   off from the world outside. They are recluses – people who do not want to meet
    (...)   There are many reasons for people not wanting to leave the house. The number of recluses has gone
    (...)   up because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of young Koreans are
    (...)   out. This will support their "psychological and emotional stability, and healthy growth".
    1  ) Many people around the world stay at home and do not want to go out. They cut themselves
    (...)   reclusive. They "have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life". The government said children shut
    (...)   problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month payment will help these young
    (...)   nine to 24 years old who come from poorer families. The Ministry of Gender
    (...)   ageing society. It needs young people to work so they can help old people. 

    Put the words in the right order

    1. home   .   world   Many   the   at   people   stay   around
    2. cut   the   from   outside   .   themselves   off   world   They
    3. don't   to   meet   want   People   people   .   who   other
    4. payment   will   for   be   monthly   people   .   lonely   The
    5. out   .   people   It   wants   to   go   young
    6. wanting   reasons   for   There   to   .   not   are   people
    7. normal   difficulty   They   in   a   living   life   .   have
    8. shut   said   off   .   children   government   themselves   The
    9. mental   problems   .   less   be   to   They'll   have   likely
    10. help   .   can   to   people   Young   they   so   work

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Many people around the world stay at home and do not want to go in / out. They cut themselves off from the world outside / inside. They are recluses – people who do not want to meet another / other people. The government in South Korea has thought of the / an idea to encourage these people to "re-enter society". It will paid / pay young people $500 a month to leave their home. The monthly / month payment will be for lonely / lovely people aged nine to 24 years old who come from poorer / poorly families. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said it wants to help / helping younger people. It said it wants young people to go out. This will support / supports their "psychological and emotional stability, and healthy growth / grown".

    There are many reasons / reason for people not wanting to leave the house. The number of recluses has gone ups / up because of the pandemic. Korea says about 3.1 per cent of / off young Koreans are reclusive. They "have noticeable difficulty / difficult in living a normal life". The government said children shut / open themselves off from society to / for many reasons. These include bullying / bully, exam stress, family problems, bad parenting and technology and social media. It said the $500-a-month payment will help them / these young people. This means they could be less / lots likely to have mental problems. They will also be healthier. Korea has an ageing society. It needs young people to work so / such they can help old people.

    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)

    M_ny  p__pl_  _r__nd  th_  w_rld  st_y  _t  h_m_  _nd  d_  n_t  w_nt  t_  g_  __t.  Th_y  c_t  th_ms_lv_s  _ff  fr_m  th_  w_rld  __ts_d_.  Th_y  _r_  r_cl_s_s  –  p__pl_  wh_  d_  n_t  w_nt  t_  m__t  _th_r  p__pl_.  Th_  g_v_rnm_nt  _n  S__th  K_r__  h_s  th__ght  _f  _n  _d__  t_  _nc__r_g_  th_s_  p__pl_  t_  "r_-_nt_r  s_c__ty".  _t  w_ll  p_y  y__ng  p__pl_  $500  _  m_nth  t_  l__v_  th__r  h_m_.  Th_  m_nthly  p_ym_nt  w_ll  b_  f_r  l_n_ly  p__pl_  _g_d  n_n_  t_  24  y__rs  _ld  wh_  c_m_  fr_m  p__r_r  f_m_l__s.  Th_  M_n_stry  _f  G_nd_r  _q__l_ty  _nd  F_m_ly  s__d  _t  w_nts  t_  h_lp  y__ng_r  p__pl_.  _t  s__d  _t  w_nts  y__ng  p__pl_  t_  g_  __t.  Th_s  w_ll  s_pp_rt  th__r  "psych_l_g_c_l  _nd  _m_t__n_l  st_b_l_ty,  _nd  h__lthy  gr_wth".

    Th_r_  _r_  m_ny  r__s_ns  f_r  p__pl_  n_t  w_nt_ng  t_  l__v_  th_  h__s_.  Th_  n_mb_r  _f  r_cl_s_s  h_s  g_n_  _p  b_c__s_  _f  th_  p_nd_m_c.  K_r__  s_ys  _b__t  3.1  p_r  c_nt  _f  y__ng  K_r__ns  _r_  r_cl_s_v_.  Th_y  "h_v_  n_t_c__bl_  d_ff_c_lty  _n  l_v_ng  _  n_rm_l  l_f_".  Th_  g_v_rnm_nt  s__d  ch_ldr_n  sh_t  th_ms_lv_s  _ff  fr_m  s_c__ty  f_r  m_ny  r__s_ns.  Th_s_  _ncl_d_  b_lly_ng,  _x_m  str_ss,  f_m_ly  pr_bl_ms,  b_d  p_r_nt_ng  _nd  t_chn_l_gy  _nd  s_c__l  m_d__.  _t  s__d  th_  $500-_-m_nth  p_ym_nt  w_ll  h_lp  th_s_  y__ng  p__pl_.  Th_s  m__ns  th_y  c__ld  b_  l_ss  l_k_ly  t_  h_v_  m_nt_l  pr_bl_ms.  Th_y  w_ll  _ls_  b_  h__lth__r.  K_r__  h_s  _n  _g__ng  s_c__ty.  _t  n__ds  y__ng  p__pl_  t_  w_rk  s_  th_y  c_n  h_lp  _ld  p__pl_.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    many people around the world stay at home and do not want to go out they cut themselves off from the world outside they are recluses  people who do not want to meet other people the government in south korea has thought of an idea to encourage these people to reenter society it will pay young people 500 a month to leave their home the monthly payment will be for lonely people aged nine to 24 years old who come from poorer families the ministry of gender equality and family said it wants to help younger people it said it wants young people to go out this will support their psychological and emotional stability and healthy growth

    there are many reasons for people not wanting to leave the house the number of recluses has gone up because of the pandemic korea says about 31 per cent of young koreans are reclusive they have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life the government said children shut themselves off from society for many reasons these include bullying exam stress family problems bad parenting and technology and social media it said the 500amonth payment will help these young people this means they could be less likely to have mental problems they will also be healthier korea has an ageing society it needs young people to work so they can help old people

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Manypeoplearoundtheworldstayathomeanddonotwanttogoout.The
    ycutthemselvesofffromtheworldoutside.Theyarerecluses–peoplew
    hodonotwanttomeetotherpeople.ThegovernmentinSouthKoreahast
    houghtofanideatoencouragethesepeopleto"re-entersociety".Itwillp
    ayyoungpeople$500amonthtoleavetheirhome.Themonthlypaymen
    twillbeforlonelypeopleagednineto24yearsoldwhocomefrompoorerfa
    milies.TheMinistryofGenderEqualityandFamilysaiditwantstohelpyo
    ungerpeople.Itsaiditwantsyoungpeopletogoout.Thiswillsupportthei
    r"psychologicalandemotionalstability,andhealthygrowth".Thereare
    manyreasonsforpeoplenotwantingtoleavethehouse.Thenumberofre
    cluseshasgoneupbecauseofthepandemic.Koreasaysabout3.1perce
    ntofyoungKoreansarereclusive.They"havenoticeabledifficultyinlivin
    ganormallife".Thegovernmentsaidchildrenshutthemselvesofffroms
    ocietyformanyreasons.Theseincludebullying,examstress,familypro
    blems,badparentingandtechnologyandsocialmedia.Itsaidthe$500-
    a-monthpaymentwillhelptheseyoungpeople.Thismeanstheycouldb
    elesslikelytohavementalproblems.Theywillalsobehealthier.Koreaha
    sanageingsociety.Itneedsyoungpeopletoworksotheycanhelpoldpeo
    ple.

    Free writing

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

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    All schools should teach children about how to help society.  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. LONELINESS: Make a poster about loneliness. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. FRIENDSHIP CLUBS: Write a magazine article about requiring all children to join a friendship club. 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 loneliness. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to cut loneliness. 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.)

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You