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Euro politicians told to stop speaking English (8th February, 2016)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has urged Euro politicians to speak more slowly and to stick to their native language instead of using English. This is to help the hundreds of interpreters who work at the institution. Mr Welle said many interpreters were encountering difficulties doing their job. He said: "It's extremely important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their native language as this complicates things for the translators. He added: "It's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their own language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation goes down."

There are 24 official languages spoken at the European Parliament. The most recent additions are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A small army of 330 interpreters is employed to ensure everyone understands each other. The parliament employs an additional 1,800 freelancers. It also has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 pages each month. If everyone followed Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would be allowed to speak English, even though many members are multi-lingual. Many prefer to speak in English to avoid the confusion of having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's annual budget for interpreters is $50 million.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35501198
https://euobserver.com/institutional/132136
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/641484/Stop-speaking-ENGLISH-it-s-driving-us-CRAZY-MEPs-told

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. INTERPRETERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about interpreters. 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?

politicians / native language / interpreters / institution / difficulties / important / quality / official languages / army / freelancers / translate / multilingual / confusion / budget

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

3. FOREIGN LANGUAGE: How useful is knowing a foreign language and why? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

Useful for..	How useful?	Why?
Movies
Job
Social media
City life
Friends
Daily life

4. ENGLISH: Students A strongly believe all international organisations should use English only; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

5. LANGUAGES: Rank these with your partner. Put the most useful at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Spanish

• French

• Arabic

• Swahili

• Chinese

• Urdu

• Hindi

• Japanese

6. SPEAK: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "speak". 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.	The European Parliament (EP) wants politicians to speak more slowly.	T / F
b.	Many interpreters at the EU are having problems with their job.	T / F
c.	The parliament wants politicians to stick to their native language.	T / F
d.	The EP Secretary General said using English makes things easier.	T / F
e.	There are 26 official languages in use at the European Parliament.	T / F
f.	There are fewer than 300 interpreters employed by the parliament.	T / F
g.	EP translators translate over 100,000 pages every week.	T / F
h.	The European Parliament spends $50 million a year on interpreters.	T / F

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

1.	urged	a.	confuses
2.	instead of	b.	keep away from
3.	encountering	c.	lessens
4.	complicates	d.	yearly
5.	goes down	e.	inclusions
6.	official	f.	experiencing
7.	additions	g.	encouraged
8.	additional	h.	rather than
9.	avoid	i.	extra
10.	annual	j.	authorised

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

1.	stick to their native language	a.	languages
2.	encountering	b.	speak their own language
3.	this complicates things	c.	lingual
4.	important for interpreters that people	d.	instead of using English
5.	the quality of interpretation goes	e.	freelancers
6.	24 official	f.	for the translators
7.	The most recent	g.	difficulties
8.	employs an additional 1,800	h.	budget
9.	many members are multi-	i.	down
10.	annual	j.	additions

GAP FILL

The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has (1) ____________ Euro politicians to speak more slowly and to stick to their native language (2) ____________of using English. This is to help the hundreds of interpreters who work at the (3) ____________. Mr Welle said many interpreters were (4) ____________difficulties doing their job. He said: "It's (5) ____________important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their native language as this (6) ____________things for the translators. He said "It's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their (7) ____________language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation goes (8) ____________."

institution
extremely
own
urged
down
encountering
instead
complicates

There are 24 (9) ____________languages spoken at the European Parliament. The most (10) ____________additions are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A small army of 330 interpreters is employed to (11) ____________everyone understands each other. The parliament employs an (12) ____________1,800 freelancers. It also has about 700 translators, who (13) ____________over 100,000 pages each month. If everyone followed Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would be allowed to speak English, even though many members are (14) ____________-lingual. Many prefer to speak in English to avoid the (15) ____________of having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's annual (16) ____________for interpreters is $50 million.

additional
recent
confusion
ensure
budget
translate
official
multi

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	urged Euro politicians to speak more slowly and to stick to their native language ______ English
	a. instead of using b. instead of using c. instead of using d. instead of using
2)	This is to help the hundreds of interpreters who ______ institution
	a. work at the b. work at the c. work at the d. work at the
3)	He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their native language ______ things
	a. as this complicates b. as this complicates c. as this complicates d. as this complicates
4)	It's also extremely important for interpreters that people ______ language
	a. speak their own b. speak their own c. speak their own d. speak their own
5)	If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation ______
	a. goes down b. goes down c. goes down d. goes down
6)	A small army of 330 interpreters is employed to ensure everyone understands ______
	a. each other b. each other c. each other d. each other
7)	The parliament employs an additional ______
	a. 1,800 freelancers b. 1,800 freelancers c. 1,800 freelancers d. 1,800 freelancers
8)	It also has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 ______
	a. pages each month b. pages each month c. pages each month d. pages each month
9)	Many prefer to speak in English to avoid the confusion of having ______ interpreters
	a. several simultaneous b. several simultaneous c. several simultaneous d. several simultaneous
10)	The parliament's annual budget for interpreters ______
	a. is $50 million b. is $50 million c. is $50 million d. is $50 million

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has urged Euro politicians to speak more slowly (1) ___________________ their native language instead of using English. This is to (2) ___________________ of interpreters who work at the institution. Mr Welle said many interpreters (3) ___________________ difficulties doing their job. He said: "It's extremely important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their (4) ___________________ as this complicates things for the translators. He said "It's also (5) ___________________ for interpreters that people speak their own language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the (6) _____________________ goes down."

There are 24 (7) ___________________ spoken at the European Parliament. The most recent additions are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A (8) ___________________ 330 interpreters is employed to ensure everyone understands each other. The parliament employs (9) ___________________ 1,800 freelancers. It also has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 pages each month. If everyone followed Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would (10) ___________________ speak English, even though many members are multi-lingual. Many prefer to speak in English to avoid (11) ___________________ having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's (12) ___________________ interpreters is $50 million.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What is the job title of Klaus Welle?
2.	What does Mr Welle want people to use instead of English?
3.	Who does Mr Welle want to help at the European Parliament?
4.	Who did Mr Welle say the use of English complicates things for?
5.	What happens to the quality of interpretation if English is used?
6.	How many official languages are there at the European Parliament?
7.	How many freelance interpreters does the parliament employ?
8.	How many pages get translated at the parliament every month?
9.	What do politicians hope to avoid by speaking English?
10.	How much does the parliament spend on interpreters every year?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What is the job title of Klaus Welle?	6.	How many official languages are there at the European Parliament?
	a) CEO b) Secretary General c) President d) Communications Minister		a) 24 b) 25 c) 26 d) 27
2.	What does Mr Welle want people to use instead of English?	7.	How many freelance interpreters does the parliament employ?
	a) French b) Esperanto c) German d) their native language		a) 700 b) 330 c) 1,800 d) 100,000
3.	Who does Mr Welle want to help at the European Parliament?	8.	How many pages get translated at the parliament every month?
	a) interpreters b) his boss c) all Europeans d) English speakers		a) more than 100,000 b) less than 100,000 c) exactly 100,000 d) around 100,000
4.	Who did Mr Welle say the use of English complicates things for?	9.	What do politicians hope to avoid by speaking English?
	a) security staff b) politicians c) translators d) the average European		a) confusion b) fights c) costs d) language schools
5.	What happens to the quality of interpretation if English is used?	10.	How much does the parliament spend on interpreters every year?
	a) it increases b) it goes down c) it is enhanced d) nothing		a) $50 billion b) $500,000,000 c) $5,000,000 d) $50 million

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Spanish

You think Spanish is the most important language. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their languages aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Chinese or French.

Role B – Arabic

You think Arabic is the most important language. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their languages aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Spanish, Chinese or French.

Role C – Chinese

You think Chinese is the most important language. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their languages aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Spanish or French.

Role D – French

You think French is the most important language. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their languages aren't so important. Also, tell the others which is the least important of these (and why): Arabic, Chinese or Spanish.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

native

language

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:

stick
hundreds
fast
complicates
own
quality

24
recent
army
100,000
allowed
annual

INTERPRETERS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about interpreters 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.

INTERPRETERS DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'interpreter'?
3)	Would you be a good interpreter?
4)	What do you think about what you read?
5)	What do you know about the European Parliament?
6)	Should only English be used at the European Parliament?
7)	How important is English?
8)	How difficult do you think it is to be an interpreter?
9)	How would the world be different if everyone spoke the same language?
10)	What problems have you had interpreting things into English?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	Would you like to work as an interpreter?
13)	How difficult is it for an organization to have 24 official languages?
14)	What will you need English for in life?
15)	How important is English in your country?
16)	What are the advantages of being multilingual?
17)	How would your life be different if you could not speak English?
18)	What advantages do UK politicians have in Europe?
19)	How important is your native language in the world?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the head of the European Parliament?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

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

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has (1) ____ Euro politicians to speak more slowly and to (2) ____ to their native language instead of using English. This is to help the hundreds of interpreters who work at the institution. Mr Welle said many interpreters were (3) ____ difficulties doing their job. He said: "It's extremely important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their native language as this (4) ____ things for the translators. He said "It's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their (5) ____ language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation (6) ____ down."

There are 24 (7) ____ languages spoken at the European Parliament. The most recent additions are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A small army of 330 interpreters is (8) ____ to ensure everyone understands each other. The parliament employs an additional 1,800 (9) ____. It also has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 pages each month. If everyone (10) ____ Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would be allowed to speak English, even though many members are multi-lingual. Many (11) ____ to speak in English to avoid the confusion of having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's (12) ____ budget for interpreters is $50 million.

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

1.	(a)	verged	(b)	merged	(c)	purged	(d)	urged
2.	(a)	paste	(b)	tack	(c)	glue	(d)	stick
3.	(a)	discounting	(b)	encountering	(c)	cantering	(d)	decanting
4.	(a)	replicates	(b)	inculcates	(c)	complicates	(d)	duplicates
5.	(a)	own	(b)	owned	(c)	owner	(d)	owns
6.	(a)	goes	(b)	going	(c)	went	(d)	gone
7.	(a)	officially	(b)	officialdom	(c)	officials	(d)	official
8.	(a)	employed	(b)	distilled	(c)	embroiled	(d)	beguiled
9.	(a)	freestylers	(b)	freelancers	(c)	free-fallers	(d)	free-loaders
10.	(a)	chased	(b)	stalked	(c)	followed	(d)	shadowed
11.	(a)	rather	(b)	sooner	(c)	prefer	(d)	partial
12.	(a)	annul	(b)	annual	(c)	manual	(d)	year

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	The European rtnaeiPlam
2.	hundreds of rprrnseettei
3.	work at the ttsninuotii
4.	It's yeelxetmr important
5.	their vatnei language
6.	this oislamctepc things
Paragraph 2
7.	24 fcaliiof languages
8.	an additional 1,800 elfearnrsec
9.	It also has about 700 sntrslroata
10.	many members are ullnltmagiiu
11.	avoid the icofonnsu
12.	nnuaal budget

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 pages each
( )	job. He said: "It's extremely important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to
( )	own language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation goes down."
( )	understands each other. The parliament employs an additional 1,800 freelancers. It also
( )	confusion of having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's annual budget for interpreters is $50 million.
( )	month. If everyone followed Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would be allowed to speak English,
( 1 )	The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has urged Euro politicians to speak more
( )	even though many members are multi-lingual. Many prefer to speak in English to avoid the
( )	of interpreters who work at the institution. Mr Welle said many interpreters were encountering difficulties doing their
( )	use English if it was not their native language as this complicates things for
( )	slowly and to stick to their native language instead of using English. This is to help the hundreds
( )	are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A small army of 330 interpreters is employed to ensure everyone
( )	There are 24 official languages spoken at the European Parliament. The most recent additions
( )	the translators. He added: "It's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	and to stick to their native language Speak more slowly .
2.	who the The interpreters at of work institution hundreds .
3.	that not fast important do too Extremely people speak .
4.	native their not was it if English use to Not language .
5.	for important Extremely speak people that interpreters .
6.	spoken parliament are languages the There official at 24 .
7.	A interpreters small is army employed of 330 .
8.	The an employs 1,800 freelancers parliament additional .
9.	interpreters simultaneous several having of confusion The .
10.	annual interpreters $50 parliament's for budget The is million .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

The European Parliament's Secretary General, Klaus Welle, has urgent / urged Euro politicians to speak more slowly and to stick / glue to their native language instead of / for using English. This is to help the hundreds of interpreters who work at the institution / instigation. Mr Welle said many interpreters were encountering difficulties do / doing their job. He said: "It's extremely / extremity important that people do not speak too fast." He asked politicians not to use English if it was not their native language was / as this complicates thing / things for the translators. He said "It's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their own / owned language. If the politicians speak a foreign language, the quality of interpretation goes / go down."

There are 24 officially / official languages spoken at the European Parliament. The most recent / recently additions are Croatian, Irish, Bulgarian and Romanian. A small army / armed of 330 interpreters is employed to reassure / ensure everyone understands each / one other. The parliament employs an additional 1,800 freelancers. It also has about 700 translators, who translate over 100,000 pages each monthly / month. If everyone followed / follow Mr Welle's request, only politicians from the UK would be allowed to speak English, even though many membered / members are multi-lingual. Many prefer / rather to speak in English to avoid the confusion of having several simultaneous interpreters. The parliament's annually / annual budget for interpreters is $50 million.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

Th_ __r_p__n P_rl__m_nt's S_cr_t_ry G_n_r_l, Kl__s W_ll_, h_s _rg_d __r_ p_l_t_c__ns t_ sp__k m_r_ sl_wly _nd t_ st_ck t_ th__r n_t_v_ l_ng__g_ _nst__d _f _s_ng _ngl_sh. Th_s _s t_ h_lp th_ h_ndr_ds _f _nt_rpr_t_rs wh_ w_rk _t th_ _nst_t_t__n. Mr W_ll_ s__d m_ny _nt_rpr_t_rs w_r_ _nc__nt_r_ng d_ff_c_lt__s d__ng th__r j_b. H_ s__d: "_t's _xtr_m_ly _mp_rt_nt th_t p__pl_ d_ n_t sp__k t__ f_st." H_ _sk_d p_l_t_c__ns n_t t_ _s_ _ngl_sh _f _t w_s n_t th__r n_t_v_ l_ng__g_ _s th_s c_mpl_c_t_s th_ngs f_r th_ tr_nsl_t_rs. H_ s__d "_t's _ls_ _xtr_m_ly _mp_rt_nt f_r _nt_rpr_t_rs th_t p__pl_ sp__k th__r _wn l_ng__g_. _f th_ p_l_t_c__ns sp__k _ f_r__gn l_ng__g_, th_ q__l_ty _f _nt_rpr_t_t__n g__s d_wn."

Th_r_ _r_ 24 _ff_c__l l_ng__g_s sp_k_n _t th_ __r_p__n P_rl__m_nt. Th_ m_st r_c_nt _dd_t__ns _r_ Cr__t__n, _r_sh, B_lg_r__n _nd R_m_n__n. _ sm_ll _rmy _f 330 _nt_rpr_t_rs _s _mpl_y_d t_ _ns_r_ _v_ry_n_ _nd_rst_nds __ch _th_r. Th_ p_rl__m_nt _mpl_ys _n _dd_t__n_l 1,800 fr__l_nc_rs. _t _ls_ h_s _b__t 700 tr_nsl_t_rs, wh_ tr_nsl_t_ _v_r 100,000 p_g_s __ch m_nth. _f _v_ry_n_ f_ll_w_d Mr W_ll_'s r_q__st, _nly p_l_t_c__ns fr_m th_ _K w__ld b_ _ll_w_d t_ sp__k _ngl_sh, _v_n th__gh m_ny m_mb_rs _r_ m_lt_-l_ng__l. M_ny pr_f_r t_ sp__k _n _ngl_sh t_ _v__d th_ c_nf_s__n _f h_v_ng s_v_r_l s_m_lt_n___s _nt_rpr_t_rs. Th_ p_rl__m_nt's _nn__l b_dg_t f_r _nt_rpr_t_rs _s $50 m_ll__n.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

the european parliament's secretary general klaus welle has urged euro politicians to speak more slowly and to stick to their native language instead of using english this is to help the hundreds of interpreters who work at the institution mr welle said many interpreters were encountering difficulties doing their job he said "it's extremely important that people do not speak too fast" he asked politicians not to use english if it was not their native language as this complicates things for the translators he said "it's also extremely important for interpreters that people speak their own language if the politicians speak a foreign language the quality of interpretation goes down"

there are 24 official languages spoken at the european parliament the most recent additions are croatian irish bulgarian and romanian a small army of 330 interpreters is employed to ensure everyone understands each other the parliament employs an additional 1800 freelancers it also has about 700 translators who translate over 100000 pages each month if everyone followed mr welle's request only politicians from the uk would be allowed to speak english even though many members are multi-lingual many prefer to speak in english to avoid the confusion of having several simultaneous interpreters the parliament's annual budget for interpreters is $50 million

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

TheEuropeanParliament'sSecretaryGeneral,KlausWelle,hasurgedE
uropoliticianstospeakmoreslowlyandtosticktotheirnativelanguagein
steadofusingEnglish.Thisistohelpthehundredsofinterpreterswhowor
kattheinstitution.MrWellesaidmanyinterpreterswereencounteringdi
fficultiesdoingtheirjob.Hesaid:"It'sextremelyimportantthatpeopled
onotspeaktoofast."HeaskedpoliticiansnottouseEnglishifitwasnotthe
irnativelanguageasthiscomplicatesthingsforthetranslators.Hesaid"I
t'salsoextremelyimportantforinterpretersthatpeoplespeaktheirownl
anguage.Ifthepoliticiansspeakaforeignlanguage,thequalityofinterpr
etationgoesdown."Thereare24officiallanguagesspokenattheEurope
anParliament.ThemostrecentadditionsareCroatian,Irish,Bulgariana
ndRomanian.Asmallarmyof330interpretersisemployedtoensureeve
ryoneunderstandseachother.Theparliamentemploysanadditional1,
800freelancers.Italsohasabout700translators,whotranslateover10
0,000pageseachmonth.IfeveryonefollowedMrWelle'srequest,onlyp
oliticiansfromtheUKwouldbeallowedtospeakEnglish,eventhoughma
nymembersaremulti-lingual.ManyprefertospeakinEnglishtoavoidth
econfusionofhavingseveralsimultaneousinterpreters.Theparliamen
t'sannualbudgetforinterpretersis$50million.

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

All international organisations should use English only. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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 European Parliament and the work it does. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. ENGLISH: Write a magazine article about English being the only language at all international organisations. 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 interpreter. Ask him/her three questions about interpreting. Give him/her three ideas on what to do about politicians at the European Parliament being asked to not speak English. 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...

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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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

F

f

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	urged	a.	encouraged
2.	instead of	b.	rather than
3.	encountering	c.	experiencing
4.	complicates	d.	confuses
5.	goes down	e.	lessens
6.	official	f.	authorised
7.	additions	g.	inclusions
8.	additional	h.	extra
9.	avoid	i.	keep away from
10.	annual	j.	yearly

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Secretary General
2.	Their native language
3.	Interpreters
4.	Complicates them
5.	It goes down
6.	24
7.	1,800
8.	Over 100,000
9.	Confusion
10.	$50 million

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

a

7.

c

8.

a

9.

a

10.

d

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Breaking News English Lesson on Interpreters

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Euro politicians told to stop speaking English (8th February, 2016)

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The Reading / Listening - Level 6

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

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