Breaking News English Lesson: Gold Mining

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Congo gold mining threatening endangered species (24th October, 2022)

The Reading / Listening - Gold Mining - Level 6

Species around the world are being increasingly threatened by human activity. Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of creatures have already become extinct as the result of humans' ever-increasing demands on Earth's resources. Gold mining in a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting at risk an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a relative of the giraffe. However, its neck is nowhere near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped hind legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that is being mined.

Conservationists have called for an immediate halt to the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining. They have urged the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the unique forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend on it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine itself, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory in and around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Gold Mining - Level 4 or Gold Mining - Level 5

Sources

https://phys.org/news/2022-10-gold-threatens-forest-giraffe-dr.html
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/refuge-of-endangered-african-unicorn-threatened-by-mining-poaching-habitat-loss/
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-62845575

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. GOLD MINING: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about gold mining. 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?
species / human activity / creatures / gold / mining / threatened / okapi / giraffe /
conservationist / unique / forest / ecosystem / wildlife / hunter / trafficking / ivory
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. NO MINING: Students A strongly believe all mining should be stopped; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. EARTH'S RESOURCES: How important are these resources? What is endangering them? What can we do to protect them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How Important	Threats	Protection
Gold
Coal
Cocoa
Tuna
Water
Trees

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. GIRAFFE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "giraffe". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. MINED RESOURCES: Rank these with your partner. Put the resources that should be left in the ground at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

Gold
Coal
Clay
Chalk
Salt
Rare-earth metals
Iron
Diamond

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	species	a.	Unfortunately or regrettably.
2.	lamentably	b.	Of an animal, plant or other life form having no more living members; died out.
3.	creature	c.	Especially of a bodily part - situated at the back; back.
4.	extinct	d.	An animal, as distinct from a human being.
5.	demands	e.	Marked with long, narrow bands of differing colour or texture from the ones either side.
6.	striped	f.	A group of living things that are similar and can produce young together.
7.	hind	g.	The non-stop desire of people, consumers, companies, etc. for a particular commodity, service, or other item.

Paragraph 2

8.	conservationist	h.	A stopping of movement or activity.
9.	halt	i.	Officially cancel.
10.	revoke	j.	A hard white substance that forms the tusks of an elephant.
11.	depend	k.	A protected area for wildlife.
12.	reserve	l.	Need for financial or other support.
13.	trafficking	m.	A person who speaks or acts for the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife.
14.	ivory	n.	Deal or trading in something illegal.

Before reading / listening

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

The article says millions of creatures have become extinct. T / F
Gold mining is taking place outside a UNESCO World Heritage Site. T / F
The okapi is also called the zebra giraffe because it has stripes. T / F
The okapi is found all over central and southern Africa. T / F
Conservationists want the mining to be scaled down a little. T / F
Conservationists want the mining company's license revoked. T / F
Miners have killed many animals in the park so they can eat them. T / F
Hunters in the park are killing animals for ivory and skins. T / F

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

threatened
lamentably
extinct
resources
hind
immediate
revoke
massively
trafficking
unique

riches
remarkable
rear
wiped out
hugely
endangered
instant
peddling
tragically
cancel

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

Species around the world are being
creatures have already
ever-increasing demands
putting at risk
nowhere near
Conservationists have called for
urged the government to revoke the
Miners are literally eating the reserve
cases of armed hunters
elephant

mining company's license
an animal called the okapi
trafficking okapi skins
become extinct
an immediate halt
out of its wildlife
increasingly threatened
ivory
on Earth's resources
as long

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

risk
striped
creatures
mined
relative
increasingly
nowhere
national

Species around the world are being (1) _____________________ threatened by human activity. Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of (2) _____________________ have already become extinct as the result of humans' ever-increasing demands on Earth's resources. Gold mining in a (3) _____________________ park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting at (4) _____________________ an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a (5) _____________________ of the giraffe. However, its neck is (6) _____________________ near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its (7) _____________________ hind legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that is being (8) _____________________.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

reserve
ivory
urged
itself
halt
cases
unique
massively

Conservationists have called for an immediate (9) _____________________ to the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining. They have (10) _____________________ the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the (11) _____________________ forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend on it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally eating the (12) _____________________ out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine (13) _____________________, and wildlife numbers are (14) _____________________ reduced around mining towns. There have even been (15) _____________________ of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant (16) _____________________ in and around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) Species around the world are being increasingly threatened ______
     a. by human activity
     b. by human actively
     c. by humane activity
     d. by human vitality
2) Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of creatures have ______
     a. already become extinct
     b. already become extant
     c. already become egg stink
     d. already become ex-tincture
3) The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it ______
     a. is a relatives
     b. is a relatively
     c. is a relative
     d. is a real tiff
4) It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its ______
     a. stripped hind legs
     b. striped hind leg
     c. striped find legs
     d. striped hind legs
5) The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that ______
     a. is being mine
     b. is being maimed
     c. is being mined
     d. is being named

6) Conservationists have called for ______
     a. an immediate fault
     b. an immediate hilt
     c. an immediate halt
     d. an immediate flat
7) They have urged the government to revoke the ______
     a. mining company's lie sense
     b. mining company's license
     c. mining company's lice ants
     d. mining company's lice sense
8) protect the unique forest ecosystem and the local communities that ______
     a. depend in it
     b. depend innit
     c. depending it
     d. depend on it
9) There is almost no wildlife left around ______
     a. the mine it self
     b. the mine it serves
     c. the mine itself
     d. the mine its shelf
10) There have even been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins ______
     a. and elephant eye very
     b. and elephant I've airy
     c. and elephant library
     d. and elephant ivory

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Species around the world are being increasingly threatened (1) ____________________. Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of creatures have already (2) ____________________ the result of humans' ever-increasing demands on Earth's resources. Gold mining in a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is (3) ____________________ an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called (4) ____________________ as it is a relative of the giraffe. However, its neck is nowhere near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to (5) ____________________ legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that (6) ____________________.

Conservationists have called for (7) ____________________ to the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining. They have urged the government (8) ____________________ mining company's license, to "(9) ____________________ forest ecosystem and the local communities that (10) ____________________". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around (11) ____________________, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant (12) ____________________ around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."

Comprehension questions

What does the article say species are being threatened by?
Where in Congo is the gold mining taking place?
What part of the okapi is not as long as that of a giraffe?
Why is the okapi also called the zebra giraffe?
Where is the only place the okapi is found?
What do conservationists want to be revoked?
Who depends on the national reserve?
Why has so much wildlife disappeared around the mines?
What are hunters trafficking?
What might happen to the World Heritage Site if the government acts?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say species are being threatened by?
a) climate change
b) human activity
c) demand for goal
d) predators
2) Where in Congo is the gold mining taking place?
a) all over
b) the north
c) in the mountains
d) the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
3) What part of the okapi is not as long as that of a giraffe?
a) its tail
b) its tongue
c) its neck
d) its DNA
4) Why is the okapi also called the zebra giraffe?
a) it has striped legs
b) it neighs like a zebra
c) it has stripes all over
d) it belongs to the zebra family
5) Where is the only place the okapi is found?
a) central Africa
b) the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
c) Congo and Burundi
d) Congo, Burundi and Rwanda

6) What do conservationists want to be revoked?
a) the mining company's license
b) climate change
c) all mining
d) gold
7) Who depends on the national reserve?
a) aid workers
b) farmers
c) local communities
d) teachers
8) Why has so much wildlife disappeared around the mines?
a) hunters killed it for food
b) climate change
c) deforestation
d) invasive species
9) What are hunters trafficking?
a) okapi skins and people
b) people and okapi skins
c) elephant ivory and people
d) elephant ivory and okapi skins
10) What might happen to the World Heritage Site if the government acts?
a) it could grow
b) it could close down
c) it might be saved
d) it could be the world's biggest gold mine

Role play

Role A – Gold
You think gold is the thing we most need to mine. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their resources aren't needed as much. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): coal, rare-earth metals or salt.

Role B – Coal
You think coal is the thing we most need to mine. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their resources aren't needed as much. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): gold, rare-earth metals or salt.

Role C – Rare-earth Metals
You think rare-earth metals are the thing we most need to mine. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their resources aren't needed as much. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): coal, gold or salt.

Role D – Salt
You think salt is the thing we most need to mine. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their resources aren't needed as much. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why): coal, rare-earth metals or gold.

After reading / listening

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

'gold'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'mine'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• 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:

species

extinct

risk

forest

long

area

immediate

revoke

depend

massively

ivory

now

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 - Gold Mining

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

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'gold'?
What do you think of gold?
Why do we need mining?
How concerned are you about endangered species?
Should the Congo gold mine close down?
How many more species will become extinct?
What do you know about the okapi?
What can you do to help the okapi?
What advice do you have for the conservationists?

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

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'mining'?
What do you think about what you read?
Why do we need gold?
What do you think of mining?
How do you feel when a species becomes extinct?
How can we stop species extinction?
What do you think of the trade in ivory?
Why is profit more important than the environment?
What questions would you like to ask the conservationists?

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)

Species around the world are (1) ____ increasingly threatened by human activity. Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of creatures have already become extinct as the (2) ____ of humans' ever-increasing demands on Earth's resources. Gold mining in a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting (3) ____ risk an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a (4) ____ of the giraffe. However, its neck is (5) ____ near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped (6) ____ legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that is being mined.

Conservationists have called for an immediate (7) ____ to the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining. They have (8) ____ the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the unique forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend (9) ____ it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are (10) ____ eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine itself, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even been cases of (11) ____ hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant (12) ____ in and around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) bean (b) be (c) been (d) being
(a) conclusion (b) upshot (c) solution (d) result
(a) on (b) at (c) to (d) by
(a) relatively (b) relations (c) relative (d) relate
(a) anywhere (b) somewhere (c) nowhere (d) where
(a) hind (b) bind (c) rind (d) find
(a) hilt (b) halt (c) shalt (d) holt
(a) urged (b) purged (c) surged (d) curbed
(a) it (b) on (c) of (d) at
(a) laterally (b) reality (c) literally (d) collaterally
(a) harmed (b) balmy (c) armed (d) calmed
(a) gory (b) peony (c) ebony (d) ivory

Spelling

Paragraph 1

scieesp around the world
hundreds of thousands of suacrrete
already become tenxtci
The okapi is also called the forest ffiareg
it is a etveiral
due to its ditsrpe hind legs

Paragraph 2

rapidly xpgnaneid levels of mining
kevoer the mining company's license
protect the uuqnie forest ecosystem
ivesslamy reduced
armed hunters tcnkiigffar okapi skins
elephant vyiro

Put the text back together

(...) called the forest giraffe as it is a relative of the giraffe. However, its neck is nowhere
(...) mining. They have urged the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the unique
(...) resources. Gold mining in a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting at
(...) been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory in and around
(...) hind legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that is being mined.
( 1 ) Species around the world are being increasingly threatened by human activity. Lamentably, hundreds of
(...) Conservationists have called for an immediate halt to the "rapidly expanding" levels of
(...) thousands of creatures have already become extinct as the result of humans' ever-increasing demands on Earth's
(...) eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the mine
(...) risk an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also
(...) itself, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even
(...) forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend on it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally
(...) the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."
(...) near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped

Put the words in the right order

increasingly the around are Species being world threatened .
have of creatures Thousands become already extinct .
resources . result of demands The humans' on ever-increasing
is as near Its long . neck nowhere
of Congo is being that The mined . area
for Conservationists halt . an have called immediate
company's government license . the the revoke to Urged
no There's almost around left the mine . wildlife
mining massively numbers Wildlife reduced towns . around are
skins . hunters trafficking armed cases Many of okapi

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

Species around the world are being increasingly / increasing threatened by human activity. Lamentably, hundreds of thousands of creatures have already become extinct / extinction as the result of humans' ever-increasing demanding / demands on Earth's resources. Gold mining in a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting at / to risk an animal called the okapi. The park is called / calling the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a relatively / relative of the giraffe. However, its neck is somewhere / nowhere near as long as that / what of a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped bind / hind legs. The okapi is only found in the area of Congo that is being / having mined.

Conservationists have called for an immediate hilt / halt to the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining. They have purged / urged the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the uniquely / unique forest ecosystem and a / the local communities that depend on them / it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally eating the reverse / reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food. There is almost no wildlife left around the ours / mine itself, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even been cases of harmed / armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory in and about / around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saving / saved."

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)

Sp_c__s _r__nd th_ w_rld _r_ b__ng _ncr__s_ngly thr__t_n_d by h_m_n _ct_v_ty. L_m_nt_bly, h_ndr_ds _f th__s_nds _f cr__t_r_s h_v_ _lr__dy b_c_m_ _xt_nct _s th_ r_s_lt _f h_m_ns' _v_r-_ncr__s_ng d_m_nds _n __rth's r_s__rc_s. G_ld m_n_ng _n _ n_t__n_l p_rk _n th_ D_m_cr_t_c R_p_bl_c _f C_ng_ _s p_tt_ng _t r_sk _n _n_m_l c_ll_d th_ _k_p_. Th_ p_rk _s c_ll_d th_ _k_p_ W_ldl_f_ R_s_rv_. _t _s _ _N_SC_ W_rld H_r_t_g_ S_t_. Th_ _k_p_ _s _ls_ c_ll_d th_ f_r_st g_r_ff_ _s _t _s _ r_l_t_v_ _f th_ g_r_ff_. H_w_v_r, _ts n_ck _s n_wh_r_ n__r _s l_ng _s th_t _f _ g_r_ff_'s. _t _s _ls_ kn_wn _s th_ z_br_ g_r_ff_ d__ t_ _ts str_p_d h_nd l_gs. Th_ _k_p_ _s _nly f__nd _n th_ _r__ _f C_ng_ th_t _s b__ng m_n_d.

C_ns_rv_t__n_sts h_v_ c_ll_d f_r _n _mm_d__t_ h_lt t_ th_ "r_p_dly _xp_nd_ng" l_v_ls _f m_n_ng. Th_y h_v_ _rg_d th_ g_v_rnm_nt t_ r_v_k_ th_ m_n_ng c_mp_ny's l_c_ns_, t_ "pr_t_ct th_ _n_q__ f_r_st _c_syst_m _nd th_ l_c_l c_mm_n_t__s th_t d_p_nd _n _t". Th_ c_ns_rv_t__n_sts w_rn_d th_t: "M_n_rs _r_ l_t_r_lly __t_ng th_ r_s_rv_ __t _f _ts w_ldl_f_ by h_nt_ng _n_m_ls f_r f__d. Th_r_ _s _lm_st n_ w_ldl_f_ l_ft _r__nd th_ m_n_ _ts_lf, _nd w_ldl_f_ n_mb_rs _r_ m_ss_v_ly r_d_c_d _r__nd m_n_ng t_wns. Th_r_ h_v_ _v_n b__n c_s_s _f _rm_d h_nt_rs tr_ff_ck_ng _k_p_ sk_ns _nd _l_ph_nt _v_ry _n _nd _r__nd th_ m_n_s." Th_y _dd_d th_t: "_f th_ C_ng_ g_v_rnm_nt _cts n_w, th_s _n_q__ W_rld H_r_t_g_ S_t_ c_n st_ll b_ s_v_d."

Punctuate the text and add capitals

species around the world are being increasingly threatened by human activity lamentably hundreds of thousands of creatures have already become extinct as the result of humans everincreasing demands on earths resources gold mining in a national park in the democratic republic of congo is putting at risk an animal called the okapi the park is called the okapi wildlife reserve it is a unesco world heritage site the okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a relative of the giraffe however its neck is nowhere near as long as that of a giraffes it is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped hind legs the okapi is only found in the area of congo that is being mined

conservationists have called for an immediate halt to the rapidly expanding levels of mining they have urged the government to revoke the mining companys license to protect the unique forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend on it the conservationists warned that miners are literally eating the reserve out of its wildlife by hunting animals for food there is almost no wildlife left around the mine itself and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns there have even been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory in and around the mines they added that if the congo government acts now this unique world heritage site can still be saved

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Speciesaroundtheworldarebeingincreasinglythreatenedbyhumanac
tivity.Lamentably,hundredsofthousandsofcreatureshavealreadybe
comeextinctastheresultofhumans'ever-increasingdemandsonEart
h'sresources.GoldmininginanationalparkintheDemocraticRepublico
fCongoisputtingatriskananimalcalledtheokapi.TheparkiscalledtheO
kapiWildlifeReserve.ItisaUNESCOWorldHeritageSite.Theokapiisals
ocalledtheforestgiraffeasitisarelativeofthegiraffe.However,itsneckis
nowherenearaslongasthatofagiraffe's.Itisalsoknownasthezebragira
ffeduetoitsstripedhindlegs.TheokapiisonlyfoundintheareaofCongot
hatisbeingmined.Conservationistshavecalledforanimmediatehaltto
the"rapidlyexpanding"levelsofmining.Theyhaveurgedthegovernme
nttorevoketheminingcompany'slicense,to"protecttheuniqueforeste
cosystemandthelocalcommunitiesthatdependonit".Theconservatio
nistswarnedthat:"Minersareliterallyeatingthereserveoutofitswildlife
byhuntinganimalsforfood.Thereisalmostnowildlifeleftaroundthemin
eitself,andwildlifenumbersaremassivelyreducedaroundminingtown
s.Therehaveevenbeencasesofarmedhunterstraffickingokapiskinsan
delephantivoryinandaroundthemines."Theyaddedthat:"IftheCongo
governmentactsnow,thisuniqueWorldHeritageSitecanstillbesaved."

Free writing

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

All mining of gold and other precious metals and minerals should stop. 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 this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. GOLD MINING: Make a poster about gold mining. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. ENDANGERED SPECIES: Write a magazine article about stopping all activities that endanger flora and fauna. 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 gold mining. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on it. 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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Breaking News English Lesson: Gold Mining

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