The Reading / Listening - Surnames - Level 6

A court in South Africa has ruled that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-barrelled name after marriage. Prior to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had stipulated that a husband needed to apply to the Home Affairs department in order to take his wife's surname or to hyphenate it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it would be granted. The request was denied in many cases. The new decree stipulates that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his spouse's family name was discriminatory on the basis of gender. It says a man has the right to assume the last name of a woman he marries.

The court's pronouncement has been met with mixed reaction on social media. Many people lauded the decision as being forward-thinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality. They highlighted the fact that the previous law was passed in the colonial, apartheid era and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's progressiveness. The country was the first in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others have criticized the new ruling. They view it as being counter to the country's traditions. One user on X said it would "destroy the norms and values" of indigenous citizens.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Surnames - Level 4  or  Surnames - Level 5

Sources
  • https://nz.news.yahoo.com/south-africa-rules-law-banning-145451042.html
  • https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/837351/big-changes-for-surnames-in-south-africa/
  • https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/south-africa-s-top-court-says-banning-a-husband-from-taking-wife-s-family-name-is-unconstitutional/ar-AA1Mmd4C


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?
       court / South Africa / surname / marriage / guarantee / decree / spouse / gender /
       mixed reaction / social media / decision / equality / apartheid / same-sex marriage
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. MARRIED NAMES: Students A strongly believe that people should not change their names when they get married.; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. GENDER/MARRIAGE NORMS: What usually happens in your country when people get married? What do you think of this? Do/Will you follow these norms? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What Usually Happens

Your Thoughts

Follow?

Surname

 

 

 

Career

 

 

 

Housework

 

 

 

Financial Decisions

 

 

 

Childcare

 

 

 

In-laws

 

 

 
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. NAME: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "name". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. MARRIAGE CHANGES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best changes after marriage at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Eternal love
  • Better finances
  • Children
  • Support
  • Intimacy
  • In-laws
  • Happiness
  • Shared housework

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. double-barrelled a. Join two words with a dash/short line ( - ).
      2. prior b. An official decision made by a judge or authority.
      3. ruling c. Happening before something else.
      4. stipulated d. A husband or a wife.
      5. hyphenate e. A name that has two family names joined together.
      6. granted f. Said clearly as a rule or condition.
      7. spouse g. Officially given or allowed.

    Paragraph 2

      8. pronouncement h. A system that kept people of different races separate.
      9. lauded i. Something done to act against or oppose something else.
      10. colonial j. Controlling people in a way like a father, not letting them decide for themselves.
      11. apartheid k. Praised or spoken of with respect.
      12. paternalistic l. The first people who lived in a place.
      13. counter m. An important public statement.
      14. indigenous n. Related to a country that controls another country.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. A court ruled that a man must take his wife's surname in South Africa.   T / F
  2. A man could automatically get a name change from the government.     T / F
  3. A court said it was discriminatory to deny a man a name change.    T / F
  4. The court says it's a man's right to change his surname upon marriage.   T / F
  5. There have been wholly positive responses on social media platforms.     T / F
  6. Most of S. Africa's laws regarding names were from pre-colonial times.    T / F
  7. S. Africa was the second African country to legalize same-sex marriage.  T / F
  8. An X user said the new law would destroy values of indigenous citizens.   T / F

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

  1. ruled
  2. submitted
  3. granted
  4. spouse
  5. assume
  6. pronouncement
  7. lauded
  8. counter to
  9. norms
  10. indigenous
  1. (life) partner
  2. accepted
  3. take on
  4. put in
  5. decreed
  6. native
  7. decision
  8. standards
  9. praised
  10. against

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

  1. Prior
  2. in order to take his wife's surname or to
  3. there was no guarantee
  4. prohibiting a man from adopting his
  5. a man has the right to assume
  6. The court's pronouncement has been met
  7. Many people lauded
  8. the previous law was passed in the
  9. the first in Africa to legalize
  10. They view it as being counter to the
  1. spouse's family name
  2. same-sex marriage
  3. the last name
  4. country's traditions
  5. the decision
  6. hyphenate it
  7. colonial, apartheid era
  8. that it would be granted
  9. with mixed reaction
  10. to this ruling

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
apply
barrelled
gender
granted
order
right
ruled
spouse's

A court in South Africa has (1) ____________ that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-(2) ____________ name after marriage. Prior to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had stipulated that a husband needed to (3) ____________ to the Home Affairs department in (4) ____________ to take his wife's surname or to hyphenate it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it would be (5) ____________. The request was denied in many cases. The new decree stipulates that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his (6) ____________ family name was discriminatory on the basis of (7) ____________. It says a man has the (8) ____________ to assume the last name of a woman he marries.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
counter
era
fact
first
indigenous
lauded
mixed
norms

The court's pronouncement has been met with (9) ____________ reaction on social media. Many people (10) ____________ the decision as being forward-thinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality. They highlighted the (11) ____________ that the previous law was passed in the colonial, apartheid (12) ____________ and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's progressiveness. The country was the (13) ____________ in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others have criticized the new ruling. They view it as being (14) ____________ to the country's traditions. One user on X said it would "destroy the (15) ____________ and values" of (16) ____________ citizens.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) a man can now take his wife's surname or have a ______
     a. double-barrelled name
     b. double-tramelled name
     c. double-paralleled name
     d. double-buffeted name
2) in order to take his wife's surname or ______
     a. to hyphen ate it
     b. to hyphen eight it
     c. to hyphenate it
     d. to hyphen not it
3) if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it ______
     a. would be granted
     b. would be grunted
     c. would be grafted
     d. would be grant it
4) adopting his spouse's family name was discriminatory on the ______
     a. basest of gender
     b. base is of gender
     c. basics of gender
     d. basis of gender
5) a man has the right to assume the last name of a ______
     a. woman he marriage
     b. woman he marries
     c. woman he parries
     d. women he marries

6) The court's pronouncement has been met ______
     a. with mixture reaction
     b. with mixed reaction
     c. without mixed reaction
     d. with mixed reactive
7) being forward-thinking and a sign that the country was ______
     a. provide din greater equality
     b. provision greater equality
     c. providing greater equality
     d. provide in greater equality
8) the fact that the previous law was passed in the ______
     a. colonial, apartheid era
     b. colonial, apart hide era
     c. colonial, upper tide era
     d. colonial, app are tied era
9) They view it as being counter to ______
     a. the country's traditions
     b. the country's trade additions
     c. the country's trade missions
     d. the country's traditional
10) One user on X said it would "destroy the norms and values" ______
     a. of engenders citizens
     b. of endangers citizens
     c. of industrious citizens
     d. of indigenous citizens

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A court in South Africa has (1) __________________________ man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-barrelled name after marriage. Prior to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had (2) __________________________ husband needed to apply to the Home Affairs department (3) __________________________ take his wife's surname or to hyphenate it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it (4) __________________________. The request was denied in many cases. The new decree stipulates that the (5) __________________________ man from adopting his spouse's family name was discriminatory on the basis of gender. It says a man has (6) __________________________ assume the last name of a woman he marries.

The court's pronouncement has been met (7) __________________________ on social media. Many people (8) __________________________ as being forward-thinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality. They highlighted (9) __________________________ the previous law was passed in the (10) __________________________ and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's progressiveness. The country was the first in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others have criticized the new ruling. They view it (11) __________________________ to the country's traditions. One user on X said it would "destroy the norms and (12) __________________________ citizens.

Comprehension questions

  1. What name could a man have after marriage beside his wife's name?
  2. Where did a man in S. Africa have to apply to adopt his wife's surname?
  3. What happened to name-change requests in many cases in South Africa?
  4. On what basis was the old law about name changes discriminatory?
  5. What does the article say a man has a right to after he gets married?
  6. What kind of reaction was there to the new law on social media?
  7. What did many people laud the new law for being?
  8. When was the older law passed?
  9. Which African country was the first to legalize same-sex marriage?
  10. Who did an X user say the law would destroy the norms and values of?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What name could a man have after marriage beside his wife's name?
a) a name chosen by a lottery
b) a government-chosen name
c) a double-barrelled name  
d) a traditional name
2) To which department did a man in S. Africa have to apply to adopt his wife's surname?
a) the Home Affairs department
b) the Home Names department
c) the Name Affairs department
d) the Affairs Home department
3) What happened to name-change requests in many cases in South Africa?
a) They were reversed.
b) They got lost.
c) They were accepted.
d) They were not granted.
4) On what basis was the old law about name changes discriminatory?
a) tradition
b) gender
c) paternalism
d) maternalism
5) What does the article say a man has a right to after he gets married?
a) to chose his wife's name
b) to choose his own name
c) to adopt his wife's name
d) a happy life

6) What kind of reaction was there to the new law on social media?
a) a positive reaction
b) a mixed reaction
c) a non-reaction
d) a negative reaction
7) What did many people laud the new law for being?
a) thought provoking
b) a masterstroke
c) fair
d) forward-thinking
8) When was the older law passed?
a) post-apartheid
b) in colonial times
c) a thousand years ago
d) last year
9) Which African country was the first to legalize same-sex marriage?
a) South Africa
b) Kenya
c) Madagascar
d) Rwanda
10) Who did a user on X say the new law would destroy the norms and values of?
a) divorced women
b) all men worldwide
c) married woman
d) indigenous citizens

Role play

Role  A – Eternal Love
You think eternal love is the best thing about marriage. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): better finances, having in-laws or shared housework.

Role  B – Better Finances
You think better finances is the best thing about marriage. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): eternal love, having in-laws or shared housework.

Role  C – Having In-laws
You think having in-laws is the best thing about marriage. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): better finances, eternal love or shared housework.

Role  D – Shared Housework
You think shared housework is the best thing about marriage. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least desirable of these (and why): better finances, having in-laws or eternal love.

After reading / listening

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

'husband'

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

    • and 'surname'.

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

    • • 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:

    • ruled
    • apply
    • guarantee
    • denied
    • cases
    • right
    • mixed
    • sign
    • era
    • first
    • counter
    • values

    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 - Surnames

    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 'husband'?
    3. Why shouldn't a man adopt his wife's surname after marriage?
    4. Would you like to change your surname?
    5. What do you think of double-barrelled surnames?
    6. What do you think of triple-barrelled surnames?
    7. How important is your surname to you?
    8. Why is the married woman expected to change her surname?
    9. Is the system of changing names after marriage discriminatory?
    10. What is the meaning of your surname?

    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 'surname'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Do people get too excited when they comment on social media?
    5. Why haven't all countries legalized same-sex marriage?
    6. What do you think of the word 'maiden name'?
    7. How bothersome is it to have to change your surname?
    8. Should everyone keep their own surnames after marriage?
    9. How progressive is it for a country to allow a man to change his name?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the South African lawmakers?

    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 court in South Africa has (1) __________ that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-(2) __________ name after marriage. Prior to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had stipulated (3) __________ a husband needed to apply to the Home Affairs department in order to take his wife's surname or to (4) __________ it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it would be granted. The request was denied in many cases. The new (5) __________ stipulates that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his spouse's family name was discriminatory on the basis of gender. It says a man has the right to (6) __________ the last name of a woman he marries.

    The court's pronouncement has been met with (7) __________ reaction on social media. Many people (8) __________ the decision as being forward-thinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality. They highlighted the fact that the previous law was passed in the (9) __________, apartheid era and was (10) __________ paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's progressiveness. The country was the first in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others have criticized the new ruling. They view it as being (11) __________ to the country's traditions. One user on X said it would "destroy the norms and values" of (12) __________ citizens.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     ruled     (b)     rules     (c)     ruling     (d)     rulered    
    2. (a)     kegged     (b)     barrelled     (c)     tinned     (d)     canned    
    3. (a)     for     (b)     so     (c)     what     (d)     that    
    4. (a)     hydrate     (b)     hyphenate     (c)     hyper     (d)     hyperbole    
    5. (a)     decree     (b)     voucher     (c)     consent     (d)     vow    
    6. (a)     assume     (b)     presume     (c)     resume     (d)     consume    
    7. (a)     mix     (b)     mixing     (c)     mixture     (d)     mixed    
    8. (a)     lauds     (b)     lauded     (c)     lauding     (d)     laud    
    9. (a)     colon     (b)     semi-colon     (c)     colonial     (d)     colonoscomy    
    10. (a)     level     (b)     average     (c)     underling     (d)     overly    
    11. (a)     numeral     (b)     computing     (c)     counter     (d)     addition    
    12. (a)     invasive     (b)     invidious     (c)     ingenious     (d)     indigenous

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. have a lduboe-ealbrerdl name
    2. latdipsetu that a husband needed to apply
    3. or to tneapheyh it
    4. a man submitted an naictioplpa
    5. The new reedec stipulates that
    6. adopting his spe'ssuo family name

    Paragraph 2

    1. The court's oopcnmnertneu
    2. Many people uldeda the decision
    3. in the iocalnol, apartheid era
    4. overly csptlrateaini
    5. tcrueno to the country's traditions
    6. gosnnieudi citizens

    Put the text back together

    (    )   A court in South Africa has ruled that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-
    (    )   apartheid era and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's
    (    )   barrelled name after marriage. Prior to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had
    (    )   criticized the new ruling. They view it as being counter to the country's traditions. One
    (    )   granted. The request was denied in many cases. The new decree stipulates that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his
    (    )   progressiveness. The country was the first in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others have
    (    )   spouse's family name was discriminatory on the basis of gender. It says a man has the right to assume the last name of a woman he marries.
    (    )   stipulated that a husband needed to apply to the Home Affairs department in order to take his wife's surname or
    (    )   The court's pronouncement has been met with mixed reaction on social media. Many people lauded the decision as being forward-
    (    )   thinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality. They highlighted the fact that the previous law was passed in the colonial,
    (    )   to hyphenate it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it would be
    (    )   user on X said it would "destroy the norms and values" of indigenous citizens.
    (  1  )   A court in South Africa has ruled that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-
    (    )   apartheid era and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's

    Put the words in the right order

    1. man   A   now   can   his   take   surname   wife's   .
    2. Stipulated   a   that   needed   husband   apply   to   .
    3. Take   wife's   his   or   surname   it   hyphenate   .
    4. It   discriminatory   was   the   on   of   basis   gender   .
    5. last   The   of   name   woman   a   marries   he   .
    6. Many   lauded   people   decision   the   being   as   forward-thinking   .
    7. previous   The   was   law   in   passed   times   colonial   .
    8. They   the   say   continues   law   Africa's   South   progressiveness   .
    9. others,   However   criticized   have   new   the   ruling   .
    10. the   Destroy   and   norms   of   values   citizens   indigenous   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A court in South Africa has ruling / ruled that a man can now take his wife's surname or have a double-barrelled name afterwards / after marriage. Prior at / to this ruling, the country's Births and Deaths Registration Act had stimulated / stipulated that a husband needed to apply to / up the Home Affairs department in order to take his wife's surname or to hyphenate / highfaluting it. However, even if a man submitted an application, there was no guarantee that it would be granted. The request was denied / decried in many cases. The new decree stipulates / spatulas that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his spouse's family name was discriminatory in / on the basis of gender. It says a man has the right to resume / assume the last name of a woman he marries.

    The court's pronouncement has been met / gathered with mixed reaction on social media. Many people launched / lauded the decision as being forward-thinking and a resign / sign that the country was providing / provision greater equality. They highlighted the fact that the previous law was passed in the colonial, apartheid era / error and was overly paternalistic. They also say the law continues South Africa's progressiveness. The country was the first in Africa for / to legalize same-sex marriage. However, others were / have criticized the new ruling. They view / seem it as being / been counter to the country's traditions. One user on X said it would "destroy the norms and values" of outrageous / indigenous citizens.

    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)

    _  c__rt  _n  S__th  _fr_c_  h_s  r_l_d  th_t  _  m_n  c_n  n_w  t_k_  h_s  w_f_'s  s_rn_m_  _r  h_v_  _  d__bl_-b_rr_ll_d  n_m_  _ft_r  m_rr__g_.  Pr__r  t_  th_s  r_l_ng,  th_  c__ntry's  B_rths  _nd  D__ths  R_g_str_t__n  _ct  h_d  st_p_l_t_d  th_t  _  h_sb_nd  n__d_d  t_  _pply  t_  th_  H_m_  _ff__rs  d_p_rtm_nt  _n  _rd_r  t_  t_k_  h_s  w_f_'s  s_rn_m_  _r  t_  hyph_n_t_  _t.  H_w_v_r,  _v_n  _f  _  m_n  s_bm_tt_d  _n  _ppl_c_t__n,  th_r_  w_s  n_  g__r_nt__  th_t  _t  w__ld  b_  gr_nt_d.  Th_  r_q__st  w_s  d_n__d  _n  m_ny  c_s_s.  Th_  n_w  d_cr__  st_p_l_t_s  th_t  th_  l_w  pr_h_b_t_ng  _  m_n  fr_m  _d_pt_ng  h_s  sp__s_'s  f_m_ly  n_m_  w_s  d_scr_m_n_t_ry  _n  th_  b_s_s  _f  g_nd_r.  _t  s_ys  _  m_n  h_s  th_  r_ght  t_  _ss_m_  th_  l_st  n_m_  _f  _  w_m_n  h_  m_rr__s.

    Th_  c__rt's  pr_n__nc_m_nt  h_s  b__n  m_t  w_th  m_x_d  r__ct__n  _n  s_c__l  m_d__.  M_ny  p__pl_  l__d_d  th_  d_c_s__n  _s  b__ng  f_rw_rd-th_nk_ng  _nd  _  s_gn  th_t  th_  c__ntry  w_s  pr_v_d_ng  gr__t_r  _q__l_ty.  Th_y  h_ghl_ght_d  th_  f_ct  th_t  th_  pr_v___s  l_w  w_s  p_ss_d  _n  th_  c_l_n__l,  _p_rth__d  _r_  _nd  w_s  _v_rly  p_t_rn_l_st_c.  Th_y  _ls_  s_y  th_  l_w  c_nt_n__s  S__th  _fr_c_'s  pr_gr_ss_v_n_ss.  Th_  c__ntry  w_s  th_  f_rst  _n  _fr_c_  t_  l_g_l_z_  s_m_-s_x  m_rr__g_.  H_w_v_r,  _th_rs  h_v_  cr_t_c_z_d  th_  n_w  r_l_ng.  Th_y  v__w  _t  _s  b__ng  c__nt_r  t_  th_  c__ntry's  tr_d_t__ns.  _n_  _s_r  _n  X  s__d  _t  w__ld  "d_str_y  th_  n_rms  _nd  v_l__s"  _f  _nd_g_n__s  c_t_z_ns.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a court in south africa has ruled that a man can now take his wifes surname or have a doublebarrelled name after marriage prior to this ruling the countrys births and deaths registration act had stipulated that a husband needed to apply to the home affairs department in order to take his wifes surname or to hyphenate it however even if a man submitted an application there was no guarantee that it would be granted the request was denied in many cases the new decree stipulates that the law prohibiting a man from adopting his spouses family name was discriminatory on the basis of gender it says a man has the right to assume the last name of a woman he marries

    the courts pronouncement has been met with mixed reaction on social media many people lauded the decision as being forwardthinking and a sign that the country was providing greater equality they highlighted the fact that the previous law was passed in the colonial apartheid era and was overly paternalistic they also say the law continues south africas progressiveness the country was the first in africa to legalize samesex marriage however others have criticized the new ruling they view it as being counter to the countrys traditions one user on x said it would destroy the norms and values of indigenous citizens

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AcourtinSouthAfricahasruledthatamancannowtakehiswife'ssurnam
    eorhaveadouble-barrellednameaftermarriage.Priortothisruling,the
    country'sBirthsandDeathsRegistrationActhadstipulatedthatahusba
    ndneededtoapplytotheHomeAffairsdepartmentinordertotakehiswif
    e'ssurnameortohyphenateit.However,evenifamansubmittedanappli
    cation,therewasnoguaranteethatitwouldbegranted.Therequestwas
    deniedinmanycases.Thenewdecreestipulatesthatthelawprohibiting
    amanfromadoptinghisspouse'sfamilynamewasdiscriminatoryonthe
    basisofgender.Itsaysamanhastherighttoassumethelastnameofawo
    manhemarries.Thecourt'spronouncementhasbeenmetwithmixedre
    actiononsocialmedia.Manypeoplelaudedthedecisionasbeingforward
    -thinkingandasignthatthecountrywasprovidinggreaterequality.Th
    eyhighlightedthefactthatthepreviouslawwaspassedinthecolonial,ap
    artheideraandwasoverlypaternalistic.Theyalsosaythelawcontinues
    SouthAfrica'sprogressiveness.ThecountrywasthefirstinAfricatolegal
    izesame-sexmarriage.However,othershavecriticizedthenewrulin
    g.Theyviewitasbeingcountertothecountry'straditions.OneuseronXs
    aiditwould"destroythenormsandvalues"ofindigenouscitizens.

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    No one should change their surname after getting married. Discuss.

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    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. NO CHANGE: Write a magazine article about no one changing their names when they get married. 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 opinions on changing names after marriage. 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

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    Answers

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

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