SESSION 5: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 5: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:

2.1 HOAXES: What hoaxes could these people play? And how far would people believe them?

• Your English teacher
• Your nation´s leader
• Your best friend
• A family member
• Google

2.2 NO JOKE: Which of these are most believable and which are a total joke? Rate them from 1 to 7:

• Scientists have found aliens
• Chinese will be the world language
• We can live to be 150
• Jobs will become unnecessary
• A young adult will be US President
• All music will be free
• The world will end

2.3 PUBLICITY: Write down all the words you associate with the word 'publicity' and 'stunt' you may want to use in our discussion.

2.4 PUBLICITY STUNT DISCUSSION: Here are some questions you can try asking yourself before you come to our discussion on Wednesday:

1. What did you think when you read the headline?

2. Have you heard this news on TV? What did you think at the time?

3. What do you think of this story? What do you know about this story?

4. What do you think of amateur scientists?

5. What springs to mind when you hear the word 'stunt'?

6. What publicity stunts can you remember?

7. Do you believe Richard Heene?

8. What would you do to become famous for a few minutes?

9. Why do you think Richar Heene might have been seeking publicity?

10. Do you think wanting to become famous changes people?

11. This story is huge on Twitter and on US and UK television. Do you understand why?

12. Have you ever seen a rescue operation?

13. Why did Heene say his son was inside the balloon?

14. What criminal charges should there be?

15. Would you like to or have you ever gone up in a hot-air balloon?

16. How would you feel if you were a passenger on a plane at Denver International Airport and you had to wait several hours?

17. Do you know of any case where people have lied to appear on TV and become famous?

18. What things would people be prepared to do just to appear five or ten minutes on TV?

19. Have you seen any film where becoming popular for a short time was the plot?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:

THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.
THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT.

FINAL TASK:

HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.

Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 5, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions.

Choose one of the following topics:

1. Search the Internet and find out more about this story, then write a newspaper or magazine article giving your point of view of the story and why it has become one of the most important issues in America.

2. Write a letter to Mr. Heene supporting him and saying you believe him or critizising and saying you believe he is a liar. Ask him about the balloon incident, give him suggestions about what he should do at the moment and about what he should have done when he saw his child was missing.

SESSION 5: ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

SESSION 5: ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

1.1 TRUE/FALSE

a.F / b.T / c.F / d.T / e.F / f.F / g.T / h.F

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH

1.f / 2.e / 3.i / 4.b / 5.j / 6.h / 7.d / 8.a / 9.c / 10.g

1.3 PHRASE MATCH

1.e / 2.h / 3.i / 4.b / 5.c / 6.j / 7.f / 8.a / 9.g /10.d

1.4 GAP FILL

CHARGE-OPERATION-QUESTION-FILLED-LIVE-GLUED-CANCELLED-FIELD

SCIENTIST-APPEARED-VERSION-BENEATH-FLOATED-SEEKING-INCIDENT-HOAX

SESSION 5: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 5: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES.

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT:
THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:
EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.


1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or False (F):
a. The father of "Baloon Boy" is now in prison.
b. The father told reporters the incident was not a publicity stunt.
c. Many Americans glued their hands to their television screens.
d. Flights from Denver to overseas destinations were disrupted.
e. The father makes a lot of money working as a scientist.
f. The father went on the Larry King show and made some jokes.
g. The police believe the father wanted to get a lot of public attention.
h. The police said the father would face criminal charges.

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
1. massive .................... a. under
2. noting more than ......... b. fixed
3. live ......................... c. looking for
4. glued ....................... d. story
5. dashed ..................... e. simply
6. shocked .................... f. huge
7. version ..................... g. happening
8. beneath .................... h. upset
9. seeking ..................... i. in real time
10. incident ................... j. hurried

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one option is possible):
1. a massive emergency ............... a. a small attic
2. nothing more than a publicity ..... b. to their sets
3. a giant helium- ...................... c. down in a field
4. TV viewers were glued ............. d. no hoax
5. The balloon eventually came ...... e. rescue operation
6. an amateur scientist ................ f. all a big joke
7. people thought it was .............. g. charges filed
8. hidden for four hours in ............ h. stunt
9. there will be some criminal ....... i. filled balloon
10. it was absolutely .................. j. and inventor

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

FILLED - CANCELLED - QUESTION - GLUED - CHARGE - FIELD - OPERATION - LIVE

Police in Colorado, USA, are to __________ a man who started a massive emergency rescue __________ for his son. It seems the search may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in __________, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-__________ balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. The chase for the balloon was __________ on American television. Millions of TV viewers were __________ to their sets as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were __________ at the Denver International Airport. The balloon eventually came down in a __________. Police officers dashed to it to rescue the boy, but no one was inside.

SEEKING - VERSION - HOAX - SCIENTIST - FLOATED - APPEARED - INCIDENT - BENEATH

Mr. Heene is an amateur __________ and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He __________ on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it was all a big joke. His __________ of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment __________ the balloon. The balloon then broke free from where it was tied in the garden and __________ away. Suspicions arose when the boy, named Falcon, stated he had hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was __________ publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be some criminal charges files in respect to this __________." Heene told reporters it was "absolutely no __________".

SESSION 5: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTUBER

SESSION 5: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTOBER

POLICE TO CHARGE BALLOON BOY FATHER

Text taken and adapted from:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

The text:

Police in Colorado, USA, are to charge a man who started a massive emergency rescue operation for his son. It seems the search may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt. Richard Heene, the man in question, had the emergency services scrambling after a giant helium-filled balloon on Thursday. He told the police his six-year-old son was inside the balloon. The chase for the balloon was live on American television. Millions of TV viewers were glued to their sets as helicopters and patrol cars pursued the UFO-shaped balloon. Flights were cancelled at the Denver International Airport. The balloon eventually came down in a field. Police officers dashed to it to rescue the boy, but no one was inside.

Mr Heene is an amateur scientist and inventor. He is shocked that people think it was all a publicity stunt. He appeared on the Larry King show and said he was appalled people thought it was all a big joke. His version of events is that his son crawled into a small compartment beneath the balloon. The balloon then broke free from where it was tied in the garden and floated away. Suspicions arose when the boy, named Falcon, stated he had hidden for four hours in a small attic above the garage. Police believe Mr. Heene was seeking publicity. Sherriff Jim Alderden told reporters: "We do anticipate...there will be some criminal charges filed in respect to this incident." Heene told it was "absolutely no hoax".

Police to charge Balloon Boy father - 19th October, 2009
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

SESSION 4: FINAL TASK

SESSION 4: FINAL TASK

WRITE A COMPOSITION OF NOT MORE THAN 180 WORDS AND LEAVE IT IN THE BLOG AS A COMMENT TO SESSION 4. I WILL EDIT IT IN THE BLOG SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE´S OPINIONS.

Express your opinion:

• FOOTBALL: A BUSINESS OR A SPORT?

LESSON 4: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 21ST OCTOBER

LESSON 4: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 21ST

CAN CRISTIANO RONALDO EARN IT LIKE BECKHAM?

Text taken from:

http://www.onestopenglish.com/

Just click on http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=58224&docid=157450 and you have the text together with some exercises and the key for you to work on.

Hope you enjoy it!

IPCC FOURTH REPORT 2007: GLOBAL WARMING IS A FACT

IPPC FOURTH REPORT 2007: GLOBAL WARMING IS A FACT

ANTONIO DEL SAZ, WHO RECENTLY JOINED OUR CONVERSATION CLUB HAS JUST SENT ME THE LAST REPORT OF THE IPCC, WHICH IS THE AUTHORITY RECOGNISED BY THE UN TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS HAVING IN OUR PLANET.

I THINK IT´S A VERY INTERESTING REPORT WORTH HAVING A LOOK AT.

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm

SESSION 3: FINAL TASK

SESSION 3: FINAL TASK

WRITE A COMPOSITION OF NOT MORE THAN 180 WORDS AND LEAVE IT IN THE BLOG AS A COMMENT TO SESSION 3. I WILL EDIT T IN THE BLOG SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE´S OPINIONS.

Find out about Mohamed Nasheed and write a brief biography. Include in what points you agree with him. Do you think Nasheed´s measures as the president of this country are correct?

SESSION 3: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER

TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER

PARADISE ALMOST LOST: MALDIVES SEEK TO BUY NEW HOMELAND

Text taken from:

http://www.onestopenglish.com/

Just click on http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?catid=58224&docid=156992 and you have the text together with some exercises and the key for you to work on. Hope you enjoy it!

SESSION 2: 7th OCTOBER

SESSION 2: 7th OCTOBER

The first oral session we had on the 30th September was mainly dedicated to introducing ourselves and talking about our interests and jobs as some of the members of the club are new this year. We didn´t have time to start with the topic we had prepared 'sexting craze increasing among chindren'.

The text and exercises for working with the text and the exercises for discussion are now proposed for session 2. Those who didn´t have time to prepare the discussion last week, can do it now.

Remember you can also send me the final task, one composition of the two alternatives you have.