The Reading / Listening - Jobs - Level 3

Germany needs lots of workers. It is struggling to find enough skilled people to work in many areas. This is because many older workers are retiring and the birth rate is falling. There are not enough young people to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies. It needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers per year. A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to fix this problem by asking workers from India to fill many vacancies. India has 600 million people below the age of 25. In particular, Germany needs people to work in engineering, healthcare, and manufacturing. The country needs thousands of nurses and caregivers. It also needs thousands of IT professionals.

Germany is Europe's largest economy. It is famous for manufacturing, especially for cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW make some of the most famous cars in the world. Germany is also a leader in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. The government has made it easier for people to get visas to work in Germany. It has increased the number of visas available to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many business owners say more workers are needed. Indian employment expert Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a huge labour surplus in India." She is helping many young Indian workers to find work in Germany.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Jobs - Level 0,  Jobs - Level 1   or  Jobs - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.dw.com/en/germany-launches-alliance-to-fairly-recruit-skilled-workers/a-76461953
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wlww83yv4o
  • https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/why-indian-talent-is-in-high-demand-as-germany-struggles-with-workforce-shortages-11253593


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. WORKERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about workers. 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?
       Germany / workers / skilled people / retiring / birth rate / job vacancies / age / nurses
       economy / manufacturing / cars / renewable energy / pharmaceuticals / expert / work
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. AI: Students A strongly believe companies should use AI if there are job vacancies; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. WORKER SHORTAGES: How serious are worker shortages in these areas? How can we fix them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Seriousness

Fixes

Engineering

 

 

Caregiving

 

 

Manufacturing

 

 

Financial services

 

 

Pharmaceuticals

 

 

Nursing

 

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

  • English teacher
  • Nurse
  • Influencer
  • Police officer
  • Graphic designer
  • Gardener
  • Fisherman/woman
  • Farmer

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. struggling a. The number of babies born in a country/the world.
      2. skilled b. Trying hard but not succeeding easily.
      3. retiring c. Stopping work forever because you are older.
      4. birth rate d. To make someone want to come or join.
      5. vacancies e. More than others; especially.
      6. attract f. Having the ability to do something well.
      7. in particular g. Jobs that no one is doing yet and need to be filled.

    Paragraph 2

      8. economy h. Medicines and the industry that makes them.
      9. manufacturing i. More than what is needed.
      10. renewable j. A person who knows a lot (or everything) about something.
      11. pharmaceuticals k. Something that can be used again and does not run out.
      12. available l. Ready to be used or taken.
      13. expert m. The system of money, jobs, and business in a country.
      14. surplus n. Making things in factories.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Germany has a worker shortage in two areas.     T / F
  2. The birth rate in Germany is rising.     T / F
  3. There are 600 million people in India under the age of 25.     T / F
  4. The article says Germany needs thousands of nurses.     T / F
  5. The article says Germany is the largest economy in Europe.     T / F
  6. Germany's government has made it harder for Indians to get a visa.     T / F
  7. Many business owners in Germany want more workers.     T / F
  8. An employment expert said there are very few extra workers in India.     T / F

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

  1. struggling
  2. retiring
  3. vacancies
  4. fix
  5. people
  6. especially
  7. leader
  8. expert
  9. surplus
  10. find
  1. pioneer
  2. repair
  3. look for
  4. openings
  5. specialist
  6. battling
  7. excess
  8. individuals
  9. giving up work
  10. mainly

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

  1. It is struggling
  2. fill hundreds of thousands of
  3. asking workers from India to fill
  4. Germany needs people to work
  5. It also needs thousands of IT
  6. It is famous
  7. Germany is also a leader in renewable
  8. It has increased the number of visas
  9. business owners say more
  10. There's a huge labour
  1. workers are needed
  2. many vacancies
  3. surplus in India
  4. available to Indians
  5. in engineering
  6. to find enough
  7. for manufacturing
  8. professionals
  9. energy
  10. job vacancies

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
attract
retiring
vacancies
struggling
thousands
fix
engineering
enough

Germany needs lots of workers. It is (1) ______________________________________________ to find enough skilled people to work in many areas. This is because many older workers are (2) ______________________________________________ and the birth rate is falling. There are not (3) ______________________________________________ young people to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies. It needs to (4) ______________________________________________ 288,000 foreign workers per year. A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to (5) ______________________________________________ this problem by asking workers from India to fill many (6) ______________________________________________. India has 600 million people below the age of 25. In particular, Germany needs people to work in (7) ______________________________________________, healthcare, and manufacturing. The country needs thousands of nurses and caregivers. It also needs (8) ______________________________________________ of IT professionals.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
renewable
available
economy
expert
visas
helping
famous
owners

Germany is Europe's largest (9) ______________________________________________. It is famous for manufacturing, especially for cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW make some of the most (10) ______________________________________________ cars in the world. Germany is also a leader in (11) ______________________________________________ energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. The government has made it easier for people to get (12) ______________________________________________ to work in Germany. It has increased the number of visas (13) ______________________________________________ to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many business (14) ______________________________________________ say more workers are needed. Indian employment (15) ______________________________________________ Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a huge labour surplus in India." She is (16) ______________________________________________ many young Indian workers to find work in Germany.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) It is struggling to find enough skilled people to work ______
     a.  in many area
     b.  in any areas
     c.  on many areas
     d.  in many areas
2)  This is because many older workers are retiring and the birth ______
     a.  rate is falling
     b.  rate is failing
     c.  rate is felling
     d.  rate is fall in
3)  not enough young people to fill hundreds of thousands ______
     a.  off job vacancies
     b.  of job vacancy
     c.  of job vacancies
     d.  of jobs vacancies
4)  A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to ______
     a.  fix this problems
     b.  fix this problem
     c.  fix these problem
     d.  affix this problem
5)  The country needs thousands of ______
     a.  nurses and caregiver
     b.  nurses and caregivers
     c.  nurse and caregivers
     d.  nurse and caregiver

6)  Germany is Europe's largest economy. It is famous for manufacturing, ______
     a.  especially four cars
     b.  especially for cars
     c.  especially fore cars
     d.  especially afore cars
7)  Germany is also a leader in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, ______
     a.  and financial service
     b.  and financial services
     c.  and financially services
     d.  and financially service
8)  The government has made it easier for people to get ______
     a.  visas to work
     b.  visas too work
     c.  visas to works
     d.  visas to worked
9)  However, many business owners say more ______
     a.  workers are needy
     b.  workers are needing
     c.  workers are need it
     d.  workers are needed
10)  Aditi Banerjee said there's a huge labour ______
     a.  surplus in India
     b.  surplus on India
     c.  sir plus in India
     d.  sap plus in India

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Germany needs (1) __________________________________________________. It is struggling to find enough skilled people to work (2) __________________________________________________. This is because many older workers are retiring and the birth rate is falling. There are not enough young people (3) __________________________________________________ of thousands of job vacancies. It needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers per year. A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to (4) __________________________________________________ by asking workers from India to fill many vacancies. India has 600 million people (5) __________________________________________________ of 25. In particular, Germany needs people to work in engineering, healthcare, and manufacturing. The country needs thousands of (6) __________________________________________________. It also needs thousands of IT professionals.

Germany is Europe's largest economy. It (7) __________________________________________________ manufacturing, especially for cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW (8) __________________________________________________ the most famous cars in the world. Germany is also a leader in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, (9) __________________________________________________. The government has made it easier for people to get visas to work in Germany. It has increased the number of (10) __________________________________________________ Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many (11) __________________________________________________ more workers are needed. Indian employment expert Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a huge labour surplus in India." She is (12) __________________________________________________ Indian workers to find work in Germany.

Comprehension questions

  1. What are many older workers in Germany doing?
  2. What does the article say is falling in Germany?
  3. How many foreign workers a year does Germany need each year?
  4. How many people in India are under the age of 25?
  5. What kind of professionals does the article say Germany needs?
  6. What is Germany famous for manufacturing?
  7. What kind of energy is Germany a leader in?
  8. How many working visas are available to Indians each year?
  9. What is Aditi Banerjee's job?
  10. What did Aditi Banerjee say there was a surplus of in India?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What are many older workers in Germany doing?
a) retraining
b) retiring
c) returning to work
d) travelling
2) What does the article say is falling in Germany?
a) exchange rates
b) marriages
c) divorce rates
d) the birth rate
3) How many foreign workers a year does Germany need each year?
a) 288,000
b) 286,000
c) 284,000
d) 282,000
4) How many people in India are under the age of 25?
a) six-hundred thousand
b) six-hundred billion
c) six-hundred million
d) six-hundred trillion
5) What kind of professionals does the article say Germany needs?
a) banking professionals
b) IT professionals
c) AI professionals
d) education professionals

6) What does the article say Germany is famous for manufacturing?
a) cars
b) beer
c) hair dryers
d) computers
7) What kind of energy is Germany a leader in?
a) oil
b) solar energy
c) renewable energy
d) nuclear energy
8) How many working visas are available to Indians each year?
a) ninety thousand
b) nineteen thousand
c) ninety-nine thousand
d) 999,000
9) What is Aditi Banerjee's job?
a) She's an employment expert.
b) She's an AI professional.
c) She's a nurse.
d) She's an English teacher.
10) What did Aditi Banerjee say there was a surplus of in India?
a) AI coders
b) ideas
c) fish
d) labour

Role play

Role  A – English Teacher
You think an English teacher is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nurse, farmer or influencer.

Role  B – Nurse
You think a nurse is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): English teacher, farmer or influencer.

Role  C – Farmer
You think a farmer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nurse, English teacher or influencer.

Role  D – Influencer
You think an influencer is the best job. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their jobs. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): nurse, farmer or English teacher.

After reading / listening

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

'skilled'

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

    • and 'worker'.

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

    • • 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:

    • lots
    • falling
    • fill
    • recent
    • fix
    • needs
    • especially
    • leader
    • easier
    • number
    • owners
    • helping

    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 - Jobs

    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 'labour'?
    3. What job would you really like?
    4. What is the job situation like in your country?
    5. How surprised are you about Germany's labour shortage?
    6. What skills would you like to have?
    7. What age is best for people to retire at?
    8. What do you think of getting workers from other countries?
    9. How easy is it to find a job in your country?
    10. Is Germany's plan a problem for India?

    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 'worker'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about Germany's economy?
    5. What do you think of German cars?
    6. Would you like to work in another country?
    7. How is technology changing jobs?
    8. What do you think of AI replacing many jobs?
    9. What do you think of working?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the German government?

    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)

    Germany (1) ____ lots of workers. It is (2) ____ to find enough skilled people to work in many areas. This is because many older workers are retiring and the (3) ____ rate is falling. There are not enough young people to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies. It needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers (4) ____ year. A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to fix this problem by asking workers from India to fill many vacancies. India has 600 million people below the age of 25. (5) ____ particular, Germany needs people to work in engineering, healthcare, and manufacturing. The country needs (6) ____ of nurses and caregivers. It also needs thousands of IT professionals.

    Germany is Europe's largest economy. It is famous (7) ____ manufacturing, especially for cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW make some of the most famous cars (8) ____ the world. Germany is also a leader in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. The government has (9) ____ it easier for people to get visas to work in Germany. It has increased the number of visas (10) ____ to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many business owners (11) ____ more workers are needed. Indian employment expert Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a (12) ____ labour surplus in India." She is helping many young Indian workers to find work in Germany.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     need     (b)     needing     (c)     needy     (d)     needs    
    2. (a)     stinging     (b)     strangling     (c)     straggling     (d)     struggling    
    3. (a)     birth     (b)     born     (c)     baby     (d)     pregnant    
    4. (a)     for     (b)     purr     (c)     per     (d)     fur    
    5. (a)     At     (b)     In     (c)     By     (d)     On    
    6. (a)     thousands     (b)     thousand     (c)     thousandths     (d)     thousandth    
    7. (a)     of     (b)     for     (c)     at     (d)     on    
    8. (a)     in     (b)     at     (c)     by     (d)     on    
    9. (a)     did     (b)     made     (c)     been     (d)     taken    
    10. (a)     ready     (b)     use     (c)     available     (d)     prepare    
    11. (a)     speak     (b)     talk     (c)     say     (d)     voice    
    12. (a)     hug     (b)     splurge     (c)     surge     (d)     huge

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. It is rlgituggsn to find enough
    2. older workers are irgrntie
    3. thousands of job svaniccae
    4. It needs to atattrc 288,000 foreign workers
    5. Germany needs people to work in iegrnegienn
    6. thousands of IT irpofaoesssln

    Paragraph 2

    1. Germany is Europe's largest yemoocn
    2. It is famous for ngnctfauiurma
    3. a leader in earbleenw energy
    4. the number of visas ilbaavlae
    5. Indian employment trpxee
    6. a huge labour srlusup in India

    Put the text back together

    (    )   age of 25. In particular, Germany needs people to work in engineering, healthcare, and
    (    )   areas. This is because many older workers are retiring and the birth rate is falling. There are not enough
    (    )   cars in the world. Germany is also a leader in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial
    (    )   for cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW make some of the most famous
    (    )   from India to fill many vacancies. India has 600 million people below the
    (    )   Germany is Europe's largest economy. It is famous for manufacturing, especially
    (  1  )   Germany needs lots of workers. It is struggling to find enough skilled people to work in many
    (    )   increased the number of visas available to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many business
    (    )   manufacturing. The country needs thousands of nurses and caregivers. It also needs thousands of IT professionals.
    (    )   owners say more workers are needed. Indian employment expert Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a huge labour
    (    )   services. The government has made it easier for people to get visas to work in Germany. It has   
    (    )   surplus in India." She is helping many young Indian workers to find work in Germany.
    (    )   year. A recent report from the BBC said Germany wants to fix this problem by asking workers
    (    )   young people to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies. It needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers per

    Put the words in the right order

    1. enough   find   is   It   people   skilled   struggling   to   .
    2. are   because   is   many   older   retiring   This   workers   .
    3. Fill   hundreds   job   of   thousands   vacancies   of   .
    4. 25   age   below   Six-hundred   million   of   people   the   .
    5. and   caregivers   country   needs   nurses   of   thousands   The   .
    6. cars   especially   famous   for   for   is   It   manufacturing   .
    7. cars   famous   Make   most   of   some   the   worldwide   .
    8. easier   for   government   has   it   made   people   The   .
    9. are   business   Many   more   needed   owners   say   workers   .
    10. a   India   in   is   labour   surplus   There   huge   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    Germany needs lots / lot of workers. It is struggling / struggle to find enough skilled people to work in many area / areas. This is because many older workers are retiring and the birth rate is falling. There are not enough young people to fill hundreds of thousands on / of job vacancies. It needs to attract 288,000 foreign workers for / per year. A recent / recently report from the BBC said Germany wants to fix this problem by / to asking workers from India to fill many vacancies. India has 600 million people below the old / age of 25. In particular, Germany needs people to work in engineering, healthcare, and manufacture / manufacturing. The country needs thousands of nurses and caregivers. It also needs thousands at / of IT professionals.

    Germany is Europe's largest economics / economy. It is famous for manufacturing, especially for / from cars. Companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW make much / some of the most famous cars in the world. Germany is also a leader / leading in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial service / services. The government has made it easier for people to get visas to work in Germany. It has increased / increasing the number of visas available / ready to Indians from 20,000 per year to 90,000. However, many business owners / owns say more workers are needed. Indian employment expert / expat Aditi Banerjee said: "There's a huge labour surplus in India." She is helping many young Indian workers to finding / find work in Germany.

    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)

    G_rm_ny  n__ds  l_ts  _f  w_rk_rs.  _t  _s  str_ggl_ng  t_  f_nd  _n__gh  sk_ll_d  p__pl_  t_  w_rk  _n  m_ny  _r__s.  Th_s  _s  b_c__s_  m_ny  _ld_r  w_rk_rs  _r_  r_t_r_ng  _nd  th_  b_rth  r_t_  _s  f_ll_ng.  Th_r_  _r_  n_t  _n__gh  y__ng  p__pl_  t_  f_ll  h_ndr_ds  _f  th__s_nds  _f  j_b  v_c_nc__s.  _t  n__ds  t_  _ttr_ct  288,000  f_r__gn  w_rk_rs  p_r  y__r.  _  r_c_nt  r_p_rt  fr_m  th_  BBC  s__d  G_rm_ny  w_nts  t_  f_x  th_s  pr_bl_m  by  _sk_ng  w_rk_rs  fr_m  _nd__  t_  f_ll  m_ny  v_c_nc__s.  _nd__  h_s  600  m_ll__n  p__pl_  b_l_w  th_  _g_  _f  25.  _n  p_rt_c_l_r,  G_rm_ny  n__ds  p__pl_  t_  w_rk  _n  _ng_n__r_ng,  h__lthc_r_,  _nd  m_n_f_ct_r_ng.  Th_  c__ntry  n__ds  th__s_nds  _f  n_rs_s  _nd  c_r_g_v_rs.  _t  _ls_  n__ds  th__s_nds  _f  _T  pr_f_ss__n_ls.

    G_rm_ny  _s  __r_p_'s  l_rg_st  _c_n_my.  _t  _s  f_m__s  f_r  m_n_f_ct_r_ng,  _sp_c__lly  f_r  c_rs.  C_mp_n__s  l_k_  V_lksw_g_n,  M_rc_d_s,  P_rsch_,  _nd  BMW  m_k_  s_m_  _f  th_  m_st  f_m__s  c_rs  _n  th_  w_rld.  G_rm_ny  _s  _ls_  _  l__d_r  _n  r_n_w_bl_  _n_rgy,  ph_rm_c__t_c_ls,  _nd  f_n_nc__l  s_rv_c_s.  Th_  g_v_rnm_nt  h_s  m_d_  _t  __s__r  f_r  p__pl_  t_  g_t  v_s_s  t_  w_rk  _n  G_rm_ny.  _t  h_s  _ncr__s_d  th_  n_mb_r  _f  v_s_s  _v__l_bl_  t_  _nd__ns  fr_m  20,000  p_r  y__r  t_  90,000.  H_w_v_r,  m_ny  b_s_n_ss  _wn_rs  s_y  m_r_  w_rk_rs  _r_  n__d_d.  _nd__n  _mpl_ym_nt  _xp_rt  _d_t_  B_n_rj__  s__d:  "Th_r_'s  _  h_g_  l_b__r  s_rpl_s  _n  _nd__."  Sh_  _s  h_lp_ng  m_ny  y__ng  _nd__n  w_rk_rs  t_  f_nd  w_rk  _n  G_rm_ny.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    germany needs lots of workers it is struggling to find enough skilled people to work in many areas this is because many older workers are retiring and the birth rate is falling there are not enough young people to fill hundreds of thousands of job vacancies it needs to attract 288000 foreign workers per year a recent report from the bbc said germany wants to fix this problem by asking workers from india to fill many vacancies india has 600 million people below the age of 25 in particular germany needs people to work in engineering healthcare and manufacturing the country needs thousands of nurses and caregivers it also needs thousands of it professionals

    germany is europes largest economy it is famous for manufacturing especially for cars companies like volkswagen mercedes porsche and bmw make some of the most famous cars in the world germany is also a leader in renewable energy pharmaceuticals and financial services the government has made it easier for people to get visas to work in germany it has increased the number of visas available to indians from 20000 per year to 90000 however many business owners say more workers are needed indian employment expert aditi banerjee said theres a huge labour surplus in india she is helping many young indian workers to find work in germany

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Germanyneedslotsofworkers.Itisstrugglingtofindenoughskilledpeo
    pletoworkinmanyareas.Thisisbecausemanyolderworkersareretiring
    andthebirthrateisfalling.Therearenotenoughyoungpeopletofillhundr
    edsofthousandsofjobvacancies.Itneedstoattract288,000foreignwor
    kersperyear.ArecentreportfromtheBBCsaidGermanywantstofixthis
    problembyaskingworkersfromIndiatofillmanyvacancies.Indiahas60
    0millionpeoplebelowtheageof25.Inparticular,Germanyneedspeople
    toworkinengineering,healthcare,andmanufacturing.Thecountrynee
    dsthousandsofnursesandcaregivers.ItalsoneedsthousandsofITprof
    essionals.GermanyisEurope'slargesteconomy.Itisfamousformanufa
    cturing,especiallyforcars.CompanieslikeVolkswagen,Mercedes,Pors
    che,andBMWmakesomeofthemostfamouscarsintheworld.Germanyi
    salsoaleaderinrenewableenergy,pharmaceuticals,andfinancialservi
    ces.ThegovernmenthasmadeiteasierforpeopletogetvisastoworkinG
    ermany.IthasincreasedthenumberofvisasavailabletoIndiansfrom20
    ,000peryearto90,000.However,manybusinessownerssaymorework
    ersareneeded.IndianemploymentexpertAditiBanerjeesaid:"There's
    ahugelaboursurplusinIndia."SheishelpingmanyyoungIndianworker
    stofindworkinGermany.

    Free writing

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

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    Academic writing

    Countries should use AI more to fill job shortages.  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. WORKERS: Make a poster about workers. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. AI WORKERS: Write a magazine article about countries using AI to do more jobs. 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 workers. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your opinions on working. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

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

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