The Changing UK - Southampton

You are going to

• watch a clip from a BBC documentary about the effects of immigration on the city of Southampton
• do a gap fill exercise
• discuss / write about immigration

1) Discuss

• How has your life changed in the last few years? 
• Has your city / town / country changed much in the last 10 years? How?
• What are the biggest changes in the world in the last 10 years?

2) Watch
You are going to watch a clip from a BBC documentary called the "The Truth About Immigration". The clip talks about the  changes in the population in the UK city of Southampton in the last 10 years. Southampton is a port on the south coast of England with a population of around 250,000.



Watch and answer

• How has Southampton been transformed in the last 10 years?
• What is special about the school in the clip?
• What nationalities are mentioned?

3) Practise
Do the gap-fill exercise. Watch the clip again if you need to check any answers.

Printable worksheet here

4) Discuss

• Do / Would you like to live or work in another country?
• Why do many people emigrate?
• What problems do you think people have when they emigrate?
• Why do you think so many immigrants have come to the UK in the last 10 years?
• What are the positive contributions that immigrants make to the economy and society?
• Do you think that immigrants have a responsibility to adapt to their new country? Should they learn the language and adapt to local customs?
• What are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives? How does it affect culture?
• What can be done to avoid problems in the future? What can politicians do? What should society do? How do you think the media should report immigration?

Many of these questions are discussed in the complete BBC documentary "The Truth About Immigration". If you have time you can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHplEJgevqM

A summary of the documentary is here http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/01/08/the-truth-about-the-bbcs-the-truth-about-immigration/

5) Write (IELTS)

Choose one
1) To what extent will migration from the developing world to the developed world become a social and political issue in the 21st century? (250 words) (IELTS Task 2 Academic)

Plan your essay.

• Think about population, work, housing, education, health... What can be done to avoid problems in the future? Also think about culture - what are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?

2) One of the major problems facing the world today is the growing number of refugees. The developed nations in the world should tackle this problem by taking in more refugees. To what extent do you agree with this opinion? (IELTS Task 2 Academic)







More

• Katie Melua on the BBC's 'This Week' discussing migration Advanced, Discussion Activities, IELTS, Katie Melua, Life in the UK, Listening, Migration, Writing

• Describe a city - Superlative Southampton Comparatives and Superlatives, Describing a place, Intermediate, Reading, Southampton, Upper Intermediate, Webquest  

• Icing on the Cake FCE, Gerunds, Intermediate, Listening, Past Habits, Remember + Gerund, Migration, The Icing On The Cake, Used to, Would

• The Terminal Discussion Activities, Film and TV, IELTS, Intermediate, Listening, Migration, Modal Verbs, Reading,  Upper Intermediate, Writing

The Icing on the Cake

You are going to

• watch a video about memories and do a listening exercise
• use remember + gerund for talking about memories
• practise would and used to for talking about past habits
• describe and write about memories and past habits

1) Discuss

• What things do you remember from your childhood?
• What are your earliest memories?
• What are your favourite memories?

2) Introduction
You are going to watch a StoryCorps video.
Blanca Alvarez and her husband crossed the border to immigrate into the U.S. and then struggled to make ends meet. They hoped to shelter their children from these harsh realities, but Blanca's daughter Connie reveals how much children can really see of their parents' lives—and the inspiration they draw from their struggles.

A) Watch the video
What does Connie remember from her childhood?
The film is called "The Icing on the Cake" what do you think that means?

B) Answer the questions

3) Grammar

Look again at what Connie says

Remember. If you are remembering things in the past and you use the verb remember, what must you do with the verb which follows?

Answer - Highlight here = Use a gerund -ing. I remember eating, I remember playing...

If we want to talk about past habits and repeated activities what language can we use?

Answer - Highlight here = Would. You can also use Used to

See here - Contrast of Used to and Would

http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/ask-the-experts/grammar-questions/grammar-contrasts-1-used-to-and-would/146344.article

4) Practise

Have a look at this presentation and practise Remember + Gerund, Would and Used to

Remember the Past from David Mainwood

5) Gap-fill

Practise Remember + Gerund, Would and Used to in this gap-fill exercise

Printable version here

6) Writing

Memories

Write about a memory you have of something you did in the past.

It could be a holiday, your first visit to the UK (or another country), a school trip, a memory from your childhood or just somewhere you used to live...

• Talk about what you remember doing
• Use Would and Used to but remember the secret of good writing is variety so try and use both of them with a variety of other past tenses
• Introduce the topic and have a concluding sentence or paragraph
• You can use the ex 5 gap-fill as a model

7) More Practice

Would for Past Habit Jumbled Sentence Games 1 - 10

http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/grammar/jumbled-past-would-1.htm

Past habits - Used to / Would interative exercises

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/cgi2/myexam/liaison.php?liaison=_use_

More videos from StoryCorps

http://www.youtube.com/storycorps

Never Left Home: Chandra from India - What is "traditional" Britain?

You are going to 

• discuss tradition and change
• watch a short clip about a man who is looking for "traditional Britain" and answer some comprehension questions
• discuss some IELTS writing questions on tradition and change
• write an IELTS / argument question on tradition and change 

1) Discuss

• Has your country changed much in the last 50 years?
• Is life for you different to when your parents or grandparents were young?
• What are the differences between now and the past?
• Do you think change is a good thing? Why / Why not?

Before you watch the video

• Have you been to Britain? / Would you like to visit Britain?
• How do / did  you imagine Britain?
• What do you think is "traditional Britain"?
• Do you think traditional Britain is the same as modern Britain?
• Do you think this poem describes modern or traditional Britain?  

 I wandered lonely as a Cloud    
That floats on high over Vales and Hills,    
When all at once I saw a crowd    
A host of dancing Daffodills;
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.

(William Wordsworth)

2) Watch

Answer

1. How does Chandra feel about his first visit to the UK?
2. What kind of education did he have?
3. Why was he surprised when he came to the UK?
4. How many Indians live in the UK?
5. What percentage of them live in London?
6. Why does he go to "Chaucer's" Canterbury?
7. What is he worried about?
8. What are the answers to his question about “traditional Britain”?
9. What does he find strange in the countryside?
10. What does he say about modern Britain?

Answers - highlight below

1. Excited
2. British influenced
3. He found so many Indians
4. More than 1.8 million
5. 35%
6. Maybe he’ll find the Britain he’s looking for
7. Has traditional Britain gone forever?
8. Countryside, “difficult to pin down”, Fish and chips, bad summer, tea…
9. The British don’t seem to know what he’s looking for. He thinks he learnt more about English history in India than the locals.
10. Modern Britain is full of global brands. Immigration has made it multicoloured. There is something for everyone

3) Discuss

What do you think?

• Why don't the British people in the video know what he's looking for?
• What are traditional values? Are they worth keeping?
• What is globalization? Is it a good thing?
• Should people know more about their history and traditions or should we look more to the future?
• Are we losing traditions and traditional values in the race to be modern? Is that good or bad?

4) Discuss / Write

Look at these IELTS writing topics. Discuss them and choose one to write (250 words).

1. Some people believe that visitors to other countries should follow local customs and behaviour. Others disagree and think that the host country should welcome cultural differences. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
2. People nowadays work hard to buy more things. This has made our lives generally more comfortable, but many traditional values and customs have been lost and this is a pity.
3. Society advances most when people break from the traditions of their predecessors. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
4. Cultural traditions today are often used for money making purposes, especially in the tourism industry.  Do you feel this development is more positive or negative?
5. It is inevitable that as technology develops so traditional cultures must be lost. Technology and tradition are incompatible – you cannot have both together. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
6. There are many different types of music in the world today, why do we need music? Is the traditional music of a country more important than the international music that is heard everywhere nowadays?

Remember to plan your essay.
Look here for advice on introductions IELTS: Writing introductions for task 2

Read

Chandra mentions 3 famous British writers / poets; Shelley, Wordsworth and Chaucer. 
Search on the net and find out about them. When did they live? What did they write?





More
Find out more about the UK here Life in the UK; The British and how to understand them
here  Visit Britain - Webquest
and here  Visit Britain - You're invited

The Terminal

Teacher's Note - Post updated 15/1/12 due to disappearing youtube clips.
The video comprehension is quite a long activity (20 minutes) and was designed to be used in a language lab / computer room while watching the DVD (worksheet below).  However Ex1 and Ex2 A-C can be done with the 2 youtube clips embedded here.

You are going to

1. Discuss airports and flying
2. Watch the beginning of the film "The Terminal" and do some comprehension activities.
3. Do some online research on the man on whom the story of the film is based
4. Do a pair-work speaking, listening, reading and writing activity from the TeachingEnglish website
5. Write an IELTS task 2 question on refugees

The Terminal is a 2004 comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is about a man trapped in a terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time cannot return to his native country, the fictitious Krakozhia, due to a revolution. The film is partially inspired by the story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminal

DVD on Amazon

1) You are going to watch part of a film about a man who lived in an airport.

 Before you watch. Discuss.

• Do you like flying?
• What things do you have to take if you fly to another country?
• Do you like airports?
• What must you do in an airport?
• What mustn't you do?
• Have you ever spent a long time delayed in an airport?
• Would you like to live in an airport?
• Where would you eat / sleep/ wash?

2) Watch the trailer. 

What do you find out about the main character?

Highlight below for answers 

• His name is Viktor Navorski
• He's just arrived in New York
• There was a military coup in his country (Krakozhia) while he was flying
• He must live in the airport terminal
• He will find a job
• He will make new friends, play matchmaker ( = someone who tries to arrange relationships or marriages between people), help a stranger and discover America

3) Watch the beginning of the film and do the 3 activities below

Watch the clip

A) Order the sentences.
You can drag and drop the sentences to the right number.

B - Answer. Highlight to see the answers.      

1. What is Mr. Navorski doing in the United States?  Visiting
2. Does he know anyone in New York?  No
3. What does the guard take from Mr. Navorski?  Ticket and passport

C - Fill in the spaces with a suitable verb.     

Clips for Ex D and E not currently available on youtube.
D – The guard explains the rules. 
Put these modal verbs of permission, prohibition and obligation into the spaces. 

can, can, need, must, allowed, can’t, may

1. Mr. Navorski is allowed to enter the International Transit Lounge.
2. He may use food vouchers in the Food Court.
3. He has a minute prepaid calling card. He can call home.
4. He has pager in case they need to contact him
5. He must keep it with him at all times.
6. He can’t go out of the  International Transit Lounge
7. There's only one thing he can do… Shop.

E - Put these sentences into the correct order (finishes 08:10 clip 2).
The first and last have been done for you.

1. He tries to make a phone call
2. He pulls the plugs on the lights and music
3. He tries to sleep
4. He sees the news= 1
5. He breaks the girl's bag
6. He shouts "Don't shoot!" = 9
7. He loses his meal vouchers
8. He makes an appointment with the cleaner for Tuesday
9. He makes the chairs into a bed

All answers are in black and can be highlighted

Highlight the letters below to see the answers to ex E.

 

a	2
b	8
c	6
d	1
e	3
f	9
g	4
h	5
i	7

 

 

 

3) Reading and research

The film was partly based on the life of Mehran Karimi Nasseri . Go online, do a search for him and answer these questions.

• What similarities and differences are there between Mehran and Viktor? 
• Write some sentences. Use some language for comparing ( = both, also, as well...) and contrasting (= but, however, on the other hand, although...) 

eg Both Viktor and Mehran lived in a terminal.
     Viktor is from Krakozhia however Mehran is from...

• How long did Mehran live in the terminal?
• Where is he now?
• Why do you think the film changes some details?  

4) Activities

From TeachingEnglish - An Interview with Sir Peter. A pair-work speaking, listening, reading and writing exercise for students who are at a good intermediate level or above. Time: at least an hour.   
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/interview-sir-peter

5) Discussion / Writing

• Would you like to live or work in another country?
• Why do many people emigrate (go to live and work in other countries)?
• What problems do you think people have when they emigrate?
• Why do people become refugees?
• What problems do refugees have?
• What can countries and governments do to solve these problems? 

Writing Topic

One of the major problems facing the world today is the growing number of refugees. The developed nations in the world should tackle this problem by taking in more refugees. To what extent do you agree with this opinion? (IELTS Task 2 Academic)

Video worksheet

The Terminal for EFL

View more documents from David Mainwood

Katie Melua on the BBC's 'This Week' discussing migration (ADV / IELTS)

Ketevan "Katie" Melua (born 16 September 1984) is a singer, songwriter and musician. Katie made her musical debut in 2003. In 2006, she was the United Kingdom's bestselling female artist and Europe's highest selling European female artist.

Official website http://www.katiemelua.com/

You are going to watch a video in which  Katie Melua talks about coming to live in the UK, migration, integration and being British. 

There are some questions to answer and discuss, and a writing activity (IELTS)

Before you watch
Check you know what these words mean here http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/ 

a) perception
b) fortunate
c) whinge
d) asylum
e) take advantage of something
f) "under one umbrella"
g) positive impact
h) integration
i) politically correct
j) immigrant



Look at the questions

1. Where did Katie come from?
   
2. How old was she when she came to Britain? 
3. Where did she and her family first move to? 
4. Why did they feel fortunate to move to the west? 
5. If she had stayed in Georgia, what did she think she would be doing now? 
6. What are the three different types of immigrants she mentions who come to the UK? 
7. Why does she say immigration should be celebrated? 
8. What does she say older immigrants should do to help integration?
9. What does she say the government should do to help integration?
10. How did she and her family feel when they got their British passports?
11. Why does she get angry with her English mates? 

Now watch



Answer the questions

Discussion

• Why do you think the media puts all the different kinds of immigrants "under one umbrella"?
• What are the positive contributions that immigrants make to the economy and society?
• What are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?
• What can be done to avoid problems in the future?

Writing

To what extent will migration from the developing world to the developed world become a social and political issue in the 21st century? (250 words) (IELTS)

• Think about population, work, housing, education, health... What can be done to avoid problems in the future? Also think about culture - what are the effects of migration on both the migrants and the natives?

Reading

You might find these pages helpful for ideas, reading and vocabulary. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/special/migration/default.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/3523208.stm




Here is another video clip from Time Video which explores the same theme

For Berry