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The Great British exodus...
The Great British exodus
4th June 2008
Category: Lifestyle / Travel / Emigration
Level: Intermediate / Upper intermediate
This lesson is the copyright of www.newsflashenglish.com
|
The Great British exodus...
Almost two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile. The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government." Over the years, people's attitudes to emigration have changed. Relatives of families in the UK who went to Australia or Canada during the 60's referred to their emigration like a mini bereavement. Today though many in the UK openly discuss their family and friends living abroad. That's globalisation for you. Brits live all over the world, communicating via e-mail, keeping in touch with everyone back home. If you think about it, history is actually repeating itself. For 150 years, the British Empire needed emigrants from every social class to serve the Empire. Today British expat's live worldwide: From Dubai to Sydney. From L.A. to Sao Paulo. Those expat's who do return home for a visit have many anecdotes to tell their old friends before these raconteurs return to their far off places in time for happy hour at a local bar. |
START
1. EMIGRATION: What is emigration? Can you give some examples? What do you know about Britons emigrating? Where do they go? Go round the room swapping stories. Change partners often.
2.DICTATION: The teacher will read some of the article slowly and clearly. Students will write down what they hear. The teacher will repeat the passage slowly again. Self correct your work from page 2 - filling in spaces and correcting mistakes. Be honest with yourself on the number of errors. Advise the teacher of your total number of errors. Less than 5 is very good. 10 are acceptable. Any more is room for improvement! More than 20 - we need to do some work!
3. READING: Get students to read the passage aloud. Swap readers every paragraph.
4. VOCABULARY: Students look through the article. Underline/highlight any vocabulary you do not know. Look in dictionaries. Discuss and help each other out. The teacher will go through & explain any words or phrases you do not understand.
5. KEY DEBATE:
Debate with your partner the following...
1) Why are so many Britons emigrating?
2) Is it the prospect of a better life elsewhere, or are British citizens repelled by life in their native land?
3) Has globalisation made it easier to settle abroad?
(See page 7 for some responses by bloggers to these questions)
6. EXPAT TYPES: If you had the opportunity to escape Britain / your country - which of the following might you choose to be? Compare and discuss with your partner.
| 1 Sensation seeker | 6 Retiree, on a budget |
| 2 International job seeker | 7 Double summer seeker |
| 3 Lifestyle migrant | 8 Criminal & fugitive |
| 4 Angry Briton | 9 A mixture of the above |
| 5 Tax exile | 10 Your category |
7. QUALITY OF LIFE: What do you consider to be quality of life? Then consider the following negative points that may apply in the country you live in or used to live in? Discuss with your partner.
| 1 Over regulation | 5 Nanny state |
| 2 Near police state | 6 Over taxation |
| 3 Rampant crime | 7 Uncontrolled immigration |
| 4 Disastrous economy heavily in debt | 8 Curtailed freedom of speech |
8. SOME COUNTRIES BRITS EMIGRATE TO:
Look at the countries listed below that many Brits emigrate to. Which of these countries appeal to you? Why? Discuss with your partner. Give 3 reasons why you would want to live there. Which country wouldn't you want to live in? Why?
| 1 Australia | 12 China |
| 2 South Korea | 13 Slovakia |
| 3 New Zealand | 14 Canada |
| 4 Argentina | 15 South Africa |
| 5 America | 16 France |
| 6 Spain | 17 Germany |
| 7 Saudi Arabia | 18 Malaysia |
| 8 Thailand | 19 Cyprus |
| 9 Luxembourg | 20 Holland |
| 10 Portugal | 21 U.A.E. |
| 11 Dubai | 22 Brazil |
The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss their findings in front of the class.
9. PROS & CONS OF LIVING ABROAD: Think of 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of living abroad. Discuss them with your partner.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
10. ARTICLE QUIZ: With your partner or in small groups: (1 point for each correct answer. Lose ½ point if you look at the article for help!)
Student A
1) How many people from the UK emigrated in 2006?
2) What happened between 1911-1914?
3) Which government is in power in the UK?
4) How many foreigners arrived in 2006?
5) Who is the Shadow Home Secretary?
6) What percentage of the UK population now lives abroad?
7) What happens every 3 minutes?
8) What is there much more of these days?
Student B
1) What is a relatively new phenomenon?
2) When did the other significant spike in emigration take place?
3) How many foreigners arrived in the last decade?
4) Where did the Brits go in the late 50's and early 60's
5) What was emigration liked to in the 60's?
6) What is repeating itself?
7) Name the Empire.
8) Name the cities mentioned in the article.
11. CROSSWORD GAME - STUDENT A: Compile some clues below of the words in the crossword for your partner (student B) to work out. Student B crossword is on page 14.
| 1M | 4I | N | U | T | 5E | S | ||
| M | X | |||||||
| M | 2C | R | I | M | 6E | |||
| I | L | X | ||||||
| G | E | O | ||||||
| R | D | |||||||
| A | U | |||||||
| T | S | |||||||
| I | S | |||||||
| 3W | O | R | K | F | O | R | C | E |
| N |
Across
Down
1________________________________________
4________________________________________
2________________________________________
5________________________________________
3________________________________________
6________________________________________
12. THE BRITISH EMPIRE: Think of 10 countries that used to be part of The British Empire. (You may need to use the internet to help you) Write them below. Compare and discuss with your partner. Draw a map of the world (on the board) to show where The British Empire once was. Create a short British Empire story about your friends and relatives living in your listed countries. Tell your partner. Be creative! Use the stiff upper lip! The posh accent etc...
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 9 |
| 5 | 10 |
13. BRITISH EMPIRE QUICK DEBATE:
Students A think The British Empire was good. Explain why. Students B doesn't. Explain why.
14. UN-SCRAMBLE: Put the following into the right order:
Easy
1) emigration is period of the it greatest
2) Britons are living currently 5.5m abroad there
3) more than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006
4) an more of is internationalised there workforce
5) this abroad lot of a people retiring is
Harder
6) 1 the 10 of population UK in abroad live
7) UK 1 person is leaving the 3 every minutes
8) lives to left Britons thousands start new of
9) two to abroad work a people year for or go
10) UK left million almost British citizens have the two
(Answers are on the end - sentences adapted from article)
15. EMMIGRATION:
Prepare to give the class a one-minute discussion on why you would emigrate?
16. SENTENCE STARTERS:
Finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.
The Great British exodus __________________________________________
Expat's ________________________________________________________
Living abroad ___________________________________________________
Foreigners _____________________________________________________
1 in 10 ________________________________________________________
SPEAKING - in pairs or small groups
DEBATE 1: INTERNET BLOGGER 1: Debate the following left by an internet blogger who has departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?
|
|
DEBATE 2: INTERNET BLOGGER 2: Debate the following left by another internet blogger who has also departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?
|
|
DEBATE 3: INTERNET BLOGGER 3: Debate the following left by yet another internet blogger who has also departed the UK for the following reasons. How do these factors compare against living in your country?
|
AFTER READING / LISTENING
1. TRUE / FALSE: After reading the article guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): If false, why?
|
a. |
Two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade |
T / F |
|
b. |
More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006 |
T / F |
|
c. |
1.59m foreign nationals resident in Britain also left in this time |
T / F |
|
d. |
500,000 foreign nationals arrived in the UK in 2006 |
T / F |
|
e. |
1 in 10 of the UK now lives abroad in exile |
T / F |
|
f. |
The departure is parallel to 1941 in the countries history |
T / F |
|
g. |
The Prime Minister of England is blamed for the departures |
T / F |
|
h. |
Expat's enjoy Happy Hour while living abroad |
T / F |
2. SYNONYM MATCH:
Match the following synonyms from the article:
|
a. |
Revealed |
Expatriation |
|
b. |
Left |
Term |
|
c. |
Commonplace |
Image |
|
d. |
Reflection |
Investigator |
|
e. |
Exile |
Shown |
|
f. |
Resident |
Overseas |
|
g. |
Period |
Departed |
|
h. |
Phenomenon |
Citizen |
|
i. |
Abroad |
Experience |
|
j. |
Researcher |
Normal |
3. PHRASE MATCH:
Match the following phrases from the article:
|
a. |
Almost two million British citizens |
country under a Labour government |
|
b. |
This is the greatest exodus from the |
leaving the UK every three minutes |
|
c. |
More than 200,000 Britons |
1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain |
|
d. |
The total no of people who left the UK |
emigrated in 2006 |
|
e. |
These figures mean 1 person is |
is people retiring abroad |
|
f. |
This seems |
country in almost a century |
|
g. |
The last comparable exodus came between |
5.5m Britons living abroad |
|
h. |
A lot of this |
was 1.97m |
|
i. |
It is a reflection of the state of the |
have left the UK... |
|
j. |
It's estimated that there are currently over |
a ridiculously high figure |
GAP FILL: READING
Put the words into the gaps in the text.|
The Great British exodus... |
foreign |
|
|
The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable ______ came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant _____ in __________ came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior _________ researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new __________ and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." __________ who come to Britain, gain ___________ and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a __________ of the state of the country under a labour government." |
phenomenon |
GAP FILL: LISTENING:
Listen and fill in the spaces.
|
The Great British exodus... |
|
The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between _____________, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left __________________ in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "________________ people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised _________________ workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for ____________________." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is ___________________ state of the country under a labour government." |
LANGUAGE:
CORRECT WORD:
Choose the correct words from a-d below and write them in the article.
|
Almost two (1)__ British (2)__ have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! (3)__ the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This (4)__ a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile. |
|
The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new (5)__ in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people (6)__ abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only (7)__ because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants (8)__ come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason (9)__ so many people are being (10)__ out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the (11)__ of the country under a (12)__ government." |
| 1. | (a) | thousand | (b) | million | (c) | billion | (d) | trillion | 2. | (a) | subjects | (b) | people | (c) | citizens | (d) | expat's | 3. | (a) | over | (b) | sideways | (c) | under | (d) | across | 4. | (a) | seam | (b) | seems | (c) | seem | (d) | seams | 5. | (a) | living | (b) | life | (c) | lived | (d) | lives | 6. | (a) | retired | (b) | retire | (c) | retiring | (d) | retires | 7. | (a) | possible | (b) | happening | (c) | possibly | (d) | impossible | 8. | (a) | whom | (b) | why | (c) | whose | (d) | who | 9. | (a) | who | (b) | when | (c) | why | (d) | where | 10. | (a) | driving | (b) | driven | (c) | drives | (d) | drive | 11. | (a) | date | (b) | bate | (c) | mate | (d) | state | 12. | (a) | Green | (b) | Lib-Dem | (c) | biggest | (d) | huge |
GRAMMAR 1: MIDWAY
Put the words into the gaps in the text.|
The Great British exodus... |
|
|
|
The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The (1)__ significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, (2)__ thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, (3)__ is a relatively new phenomenon and is (4)__ possible (5)__ we are all better off. There is (6)__ much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and (7)__ leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so (8)__ people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government." |
many |
GRAMMAR 2: EASY
Put the words into the gaps in the text.|
The Great British exodus... |
|
|
|
The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "(1)__ is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot (2)__ this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon (3)__ is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of (4)__ internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work (5)__ a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add (6)__ the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason (7)__ so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under (8)__ labour government." |
of |
HOMEWORK
1. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
Write an article on "Why are so many Britons emigrating?" (You may need to use the internet for this!)
(Minimum 200 words)
2. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
Write an article on "Has globalisation made it easier to settle abroad?" (You may need to use the internet for this!)
(Minimum 200 words)
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?
10. CROSSWORD GAME - STUDENT B: Compile some clues below of the words in the crossword for your partner (student A) to work out. Student A crossword is on page 14.
| 5U | |||||||||||
| N | 6C | ||||||||||
| 1I | 4M | M | I | G | R | A | N | T | S | ||
| I | T | N | |||||||||
| G | E | 2A | B | R | O | A | D | ||||
| R | D | D | |||||||||
| A | K | A | |||||||||
| T | I | ||||||||||
| I | N | ||||||||||
| O | G | ||||||||||
| N | D | ||||||||||
| 3O | V | E | R | S | E | A | S | ||||
| M |
Across
Down
1________________________________________
4________________________________________
2________________________________________
5________________________________________
3________________________________________
6________________________________________
SPELLING TEST
The teacher will ask the class individually to spell the following words that are in the article:
|
1 citizens |
11 bereavement |
|
2 ridiculously |
12 anecdotes |
|
3 significant |
13 raconteurs |
|
4 emigrants |
14 worldwide |
|
5 reflection |
15 attitudes |
|
6 relatively |
16 communicating |
|
7 phenomenon |
17 opposition |
|
8 emigration |
18 internationalised |
|
9 practically |
19 commonplace |
|
10 departure |
20 nevertheless |
ANSWERS: 1
UN-SCRAMBLED: (adapted from article)
Easy
1) It is the greatest period of emigration
2) There are currently 5.5m Britons living abroad
3) More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006
4) There is more of an internationalised workforce
5) A lot of this is people retiring abroad
Harder
1) 1 in 10 of the UK population live abroad
2) 1 person is leaving the UK every 3 minutes
3) Thousands of Britons left to start new lives
4) People go abroad to work for a year or two
5) Almost two million British citizens have left the UK
ANSWERS: 2
2. SYNONYM MATCH:
|
a. |
Revealed |
Shown |
|
b. |
Left |
Departed |
|
c. |
Commonplace |
Normal |
|
d. |
Reflection |
Image |
|
e. |
Exile |
Expatriation |
|
f. |
Resident |
Citizen |
|
g. |
Period |
Term |
|
h. |
Phenomenon |
Experience |
|
i. |
Abroad |
Overseas |
|
j. |
Researcher |
Investigator |
3. PHRASE MATCH:
|
a. |
Almost two million British citizens |
have left the UK... |
|
b. |
This is the greatest exodus from the |
country in almost a century |
|
c. |
More than 200,000 Britons |
emigrated in 2006 |
|
d. |
The total no of people who left the UK |
was 1.97m |
|
e. |
These figures mean 1 person is |
leaving the UK every three minutes |
|
f. |
This seems |
a ridiculously high figure |
|
g. |
The last comparable exodus came between |
1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain |
|
h. |
A lot of this |
is people retiring abroad |
|
i. |
It is a reflection of the state of the |
country under a Labour government |
|
j. |
It's estimated that there are currently over |
5.5m Britons living abroad |
GAP FILL: The Great British exodus... Almost two million British citizens have left the UK over the last decade new figures have revealed. This is the greatest exodus from the country in almost a century - according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. More than 200,000 Britons emigrated in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, the total number of people who left the UK was 1.97m. Another 1.58m foreign nationals resident in Britain left the country during the same period. Put bluntly these figures mean 1 person is leaving the UK every three minutes! Over the same period, almost 4 million foreigners have arrived including more than 500,000 in 2006. It's estimated that there are currently over 5.5m Britons living abroad. This seems a ridiculously high figure. Nevertheless, the sad truth is nearly 10% - that's practically 1 in 10 - of the UK population now live overseas in exile. The departure of two million Britons is almost unparalleled in the countries history. The last comparable exodus came between 1911 and 1914, when 2.4m left Britain. The other significant spike in emigration came in the late 1950's and early 60's, when thousands of Britons left to start new lives in Canada, Australia and the United States. Jill Rutter, a senior migration researcher at the Institute of Public Policy Research said, "It is probably the greatest period of emigration we've ever seen." She added, "A lot of this is people retiring abroad, which is a relatively new phenomenon and is only possible because we are all better off. There is also much more of an internationalised labour market and workforce - it is quite commonplace for people to go to work for a year or two abroad." Immigrants who come to Britain, gain citizenship and then leave add to the total number of British emigrants. Opposition parties say high levels of crime and taxation are the main reason why so many people are being driven out of Britain. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says, "It is a reflection of the state of the country under a labour government."
LANGUAGE WORK
| 1 - b | 2 - c | 3 - a | 4 - b | 5 - d | 6 - c | 7 - a | 8 - d | 9 - c | 10 - b | 11 - d | 12 - c |