Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Racism

Australians took part in an eating-fest on February 23rd to protest against recent racist attacks on Indians. Thousands went to Indian restaurants to show support for the country’s Indians. Diners included leading politicians and celebrities. The ‘Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign attracted 10,000 diners to restaurants across Australia’s Victoria state. Victorian leader John Brumby said: "The Vindaloo against Violence initiative is a unique opportunity for us to unite and send a message that the actions of a few will not be allowed to hurt the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city." Restaurant owners reported they were all fully booked. Australian expatriates all around the world also showed their support by having an Indian meal for lunch.

A number of racist attacks against Indians in Melbourne has damaged the reputation of Australia's second most populous city. These include the murder of a graduate student Nitin Garg at the beginning of this year. The violence has caused great anger among the Indian community. This has affected political relations between the two countries. Australia was angered earlier this year when an Indian newspaper printed a cartoon showing an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. There has also been a reduction in the number of students wishing to study in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he hoped the event would help mend relations. He added his support by visiting a curry house.

WARM-UPS

1. INDIAN FOOD: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Indian food. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

eating / protest / Indian restaurants / support / violence / reputation / friendly city / racist attacks / graduate students / political relations / cartoons / study / curry

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. PROTESTS: What’s the best way to protest against these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change again and share what you heard.

	Ideas
Racism
Sexism
Ageism
Religious intolerance
Weightism
Class / Caste

4. EQUALITY: Students A strongly believe the world will be more equal in the future; Students B strongly believe discrimination will increase in the future. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. MENDING RELATIONS: How could these things mend relations between countries? Rank them – put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings.

food
cartoons
sport
marriage

children
English
business
art

6. RACIST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘racist’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Australians are protesting in the streets because of high curry prices.	T / F
b.	Many Australians went to Indian restaurants to support Indians.	T / F
c.	An Australian leader said Melbourne was a hurt and friendless city.	T / F
d.	Australians living in other countries also had Indian food for lunch.	T / F
e.	More people live in Melbourne than in any other Australian city.	T / F
f.	The violence against Indians has affected Indo-Australian relations.	T / F
g.	Indian students have stopped studying in Australia.	T / F
h.	Australia’s Prime Minister visited an Indian restaurant.	T / F

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

1.	took part	a.	created
2	support	b.	one of a kind
3.	initiative	c.	several
4.	unique	d.	backing
5.	fully	e.	cut
6.	A number of	f.	plan
7.	reputation	g.	participated
8.	caused	h.	repair
9.	reduction	i.	totally
10.	mend	j.	image

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

1.	protest against recent	a.	to study in Australia
2	show support	b.	and celebrities
3.	leading politicians	c.	for us to unite
4.	a unique opportunity	d.	help mend relations
5.	fully	e.	most populous city
6.	A number	f.	racist attacks
7.	Australia's second	g.	relations
8.	This has affected political	h.	for the country’s Indians
9.	students wishing	i.	booked
10.	he hoped the event would	j.	of racist attacks

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Australians took part in an ____________-fest on February 23rd to protest against ____________-racist attacks on Indians. Thousands went to Indian restaurants to show ____________-for the country’s Indians. Diners included leading politicians and celebrities. The ‘Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign ____________-10,000 diners to restaurants across Australia’s Victoria state. Victorian leader John Brumby said: "The Vindaloo against Violence ____________-is a unique opportunity for us to unite and send a message that the actions of a ____________-will not be allowed to hurt the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city." Restaurant owners reported they were all ____________-booked. Australian expatriates all around the world also showed their ____________-by having an Indian meal for lunch.

support
fully
attracted
eating
support
few
recent
initiative

A ____________-of racist attacks against Indians in Melbourne has damaged the ____________-of Australia's second most populous city. These include the murder of a graduate student Nitin Garg at the beginning of this year. The violence has ____________-great anger among the Indian community. This has affected political relations ____________-the two countries. Australia was angered earlier this year when an Indian newspaper ____________-a cartoon showing an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. There has also been a ____________-in the number of students wishing to study in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he ____________-the event would help mend relations. He added his support by ____________-a curry house.

printed
caused
hoped
between
number
visiting
reputation
reduction

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Australians ____________________-fest on February 23rd to protest against recent racist attacks on Indians. Thousands went to Indian restaurants ____________________ the country’s Indians. Diners included leading politicians and celebrities. The ‘Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign attracted 10,000 diners to restaurants across Australia’s Victoria state. Victorian leader John Brumby said: "The Vindaloo against Violence initiative is a unique opportunity ____________________ a message that the actions of a few will ____________________ the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city." Restaurant owners reported they ____________________. Australian expatriates all around the world also ____________________ having an Indian meal for lunch.

A number ____________________ Indians in Melbourne has damaged the reputation of Australia's second most populous city. These ____________________ graduate student Nitin Garg at the beginning of this year. The violence has ____________________ among the Indian community. This has affected political relations between the two countries. Australia ____________________ year when an Indian newspaper printed a cartoon showing an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. There has also been ____________________ number of students wishing to study in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he hoped the event would help mend relations. He ____________________ visiting a curry house.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

curry

protest

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:

part
included
unique
hurt
fully
lunch

number
most
anger
printed
wishing
added

STUDENT RACISM SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about racism 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.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

RACISM DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘racism’?
c)	How much racism exists where you live?
d)	Do you think everyone in the world is racist (even a tiny bit)?
e)	What do you think of the Vindaloo Against Violence initiative?
f)	Do you think it will change anything?
g)	What other things could Melbourne do to promote better race relations?
h)	How much do you think racism damages a city’s reputation?
i)	How would you feel if you were the victim of a racist attack?
j)	What do you think of Indian food?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you know about the Australian city Melbourne?
c)	Are you worried about violence in your city?
d)	Would you worry about your safety if you went to study in another country?
e)	How can Australia and India mend their relations over this?
f)	Why do you think Indian newspapers printed a cartoon showing an Australian policeman to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan?
g)	Do you think racism is increasing or decreasing in the world?
h)	Is there anyone you need to mend relations with?
i)	What’s your image of Australia?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Australians took (1) ____ in an eating-fest on February 23rd to protest against recent racist attacks on Indians. Thousands went to Indian restaurants to show support (2) ____ the country’s Indians. Diners included leading politicians and celebrities. The ‘Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign attracted 10,000 (3) ____ to restaurants across Australia’s Victoria state. Victorian leader John Brumby said: "The Vindaloo against Violence initiative is a unique opportunity for us to (4) ____ and send a message that the actions of (5) ____ few will not be allowed to hurt the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city." Restaurant owners reported they were all (6) ____ booked. Australian expatriates all around the world also showed their support by having an Indian meal for lunch.

A (7) ____ of racist attacks against Indians in Melbourne has damaged the reputation of Australia's second most populous city. These include the murder of a (8) ____ student Nitin Garg at the beginning of this year. The violence has caused great anger among the Indian community. This has affected political relations between the two countries. Australia was (9) ____ earlier this year when an Indian newspaper printed a cartoon showing an Australian police officer (10) ____ a member of the Ku Klux Klan. There has also been a reduction in the number of students (11) ____ to study in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he hoped the event would help (12) ____ relations. He added his support by visiting a curry house.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	party	(b)	parted	(c)	parts	(d)	part
2.	(a)	for	(b)	at	(c)	to	(d)	from
3.	(a)	dinners	(b)	diners	(c)	dining	(d)	dined
4.	(a)	untie	(b)	auntie	(c)	unite	(d)	unit
5.	(a)	some	(b)	two	(c)	a	(d)	one
6.	(a)	full	(b)	fully	(c)	filling	(d)	filled
7.	(a)	numeral	(b)	numbers	(c)	numerical	(d)	number
8.	(a)	graduate	(b)	grading	(c)	graduation	(d)	gradual
9.	(a)	anger	(b)	angered	(c)	angers	(d)	angering
10.	(a)	has	(b)	was	(c)	is	(d)	as
11.	(a)	wished	(b)	wishes	(c)	wishing	(d)	wish
12.	(a)	mend	(b)	send	(c)	bend	(d)	lend

WRITING

Write about racism for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 the Vindaloo Against Violence campaign. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. RACISM: Make a poster about racism. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. VIOLENCE: Write a magazine article about a racist attack. Include imaginary interviews with the racist and the victim.

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. LETTER: Write a letter to the creator of Vindaloo Against Violence. Ask him/her three questions about racism. Give him/her three of your opinions on how to stamp out racism. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	representative	a.	spokesperson
2	support	b.	backing
3.	feast	c.	banquet
4.	rich in	d.	full of
5.	praised	e.	applauded
6.	deeply	f.	greatly
7.	vital	g.	essential
8.	allows	h.	permits
9.	cruel	i.	bloodthirsty
10.	issue	j.	topic

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	caused a scandal by	a.	eating the heart of a seal
2	show support	b.	for seal hunters
3.	She joined hundreds of Inuit for	c.	a community feast
4.	it was absolutely	d.	delicious
5.	Canada’s Inuit leaders praised	e.	Ms Jean’s gesture
6.	deeply	f.	upset animal rights groups
7.	seal hunting is a vital part	g.	of their culture
8.	they say hunting	h.	methods are cruel
9.	a controversial	i.	issue
10.	We don't really care about how the	j.	outside world thinks

GAP FILL:

Australia’s curry protest against racism

Australians took part in an eating-fest on February 23rd to protest against recent racist attacks on Indians. Thousands went to Indian restaurants to show support for the country’s Indians. Diners included leading politicians and celebrities. The ‘Vindaloo Against Violence’ campaign attracted 10,000 diners to restaurants across Australia’s Victoria state. Victorian leader John Brumby said: "The Vindaloo against Violence initiative is a unique opportunity for us to unite and send a message that the actions of a few will not be allowed to hurt the reputation of Melbourne as a peaceful and friendly city." Restaurant owners reported they were all fully booked. Australian expatriates all around the world also showed their support by having an Indian meal for lunch.

A number of racist attacks against Indians in Melbourne has damaged the reputation of Australia's second most populous city. These include the murder of a graduate student Nitin Garg at the beginning of this year. The violence has caused great anger among the Indian community. This has affected political relations between the two countries. Australia was angered earlier this year when an Indian newspaper printed a cartoon showing an Australian police officer as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. There has also been a reduction in the number of students wishing to study in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he hoped the event would help mend relations. He added his support by visiting a curry house.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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Breaking News English

February 25, 2010

Australia’s Curry Protest Against Racism