Kia investment transforms Zilina

URL: http://www.newsflashenglish.com/220207Kia2.htm

22^nd February 2007

THE ARTICLE

Kia investment transforms Zilina

While many western European countries fret about car factories closing Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive hubs in Central and Eastern Europe. Zilina, a remote mountain town in Slovakia has been quietly transformed into an industrial giant the BBC News recently reported. It now forms part of a strategically crucial piece of an ever expanding global industrial car manufactures jigsaw. This is thanks to the Slovak government’s successful efforts in attracting investment from automotive groups by offering comprehensive incentive packages and tailored infrastructure programmes. The new mayor of Zilina Ivan Harman is in charge of the orderly management of the prosperity. “Future changes include the rebuilding of the railway station. The railway network will be restored”, he declared adding, “Kia’s investment has created a lot of jobs. Unemployment has dramatically fallen. The next challenge is meeting the labour demands from both Kia and the other global manufacturers queuing up to invest here.”

The Korean car maker Kia has built a vast 166 hectare industrial complex that includes its factory, a training centre, a 3km test track and two parts plants operated by Kia’s suppliers. Kia has invested €1bn into the project. “By the end of the year 150,000 cars will be produced rising to 225,000 next year,” explained Kia’s President and chief executive In-Kyu Bae. Kia plans to boost its current workforce from 1,800 to 3,000 in 2009 - with production capacity reaching 300,000 cars. Another 600,000 engines will also be built, half of which will be exported to sister company Hyundai across the border in The Czech Republic. Elsewhere in Slovakia similar developments are happening. Peugeot’s new factory in Trnava and the expansion of Volkswagen just outside Bratislava will produce a projected 800,000 units by 2008 - 90% of them for export. The economic boom should allow the gross domestic product to grow by more than 6% in 2007.

BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6298651.stm

START

1. KIA: What do you know about Kia? Do you know anyone who works for them? Go round the room swapping stories. Find out if other students have a Kia car? Change partners often.

2. ZILINA: Where is it? What do you know about it? What is it famous for? What industry used to be there? What replaced it? Discuss with your partner.

3. DICTATION: The teacher will read the article slowly and clearly. Students will write down what they hear. The teacher will repeat the passage slowly again.

Self correct your work. Compare your work with your partner(s) and try to recreate the full text. Listen again to check, fill in spaces or correct mistakes. Be honest with yourself on the number of errors. Advise the teacher of your total no 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!

4. READING: Get students to read the passage aloud. Swap readers every paragraph.

5. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting (circle) and which are most boring (underline).

Kia / investment / western Europe / car factories / Slovakia / automobile hubs / Zilina / industrial giant / car manufacturers / infrastructure / jobs / GDP

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

6. CAR MANUFACTURERS: With your partner(s), choose and discuss 3 different car manufacturers in Slovakia. Compare locations, availability of labour, costs, size, the actual vehicles made, their quality, quantity, cost etc…

a)

b)

c)

Ask your partner the following questions…

a) Where are your car manufacturers based?

b) Would you buy a car from them?

c) If so which one?

c) Your question_________________________________________________

d) Your question_________________________________________________

7. RELOCATION: Swap partners! List five economic advantages and five economic disadvantages of relocating a car factory from one country to another. Compare and discuss with your partner(s).

Advantages Disadvantages

1 6

2 7

3 8

4 9

5 10

The teacher will choose some pairs to discuss in front of the class.

8. CAR MANUFACTURERS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with car manufacturers. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

9. THREE SENTENCES: Choose six/nine of these words. Write three sentences using two/three words in each. Try to associate them with car manufacturers. Discuss with your partner. Spend five minutes on this exercise.

10. SENTENCE STARTERS: With your partner(s), finish these sentence starters. Change partner(s) and talk about the sentences you made.

a) Kia __________________________________________________________

b) Slovakia is _____________________________________________________

c) The economic __________________________________________________

d) Unemployment _________________________________________________

e) The new mayor _________________________________________________

f) The Koreans ___________________________________________________

g) Kia’s President __________________________________________________

h) GDP __________________________________________________________

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: After reading the article guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Many western European countries car factories are booming	T / F
b.	Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive hubs	T / F
c.	Zilina is a small remote mountain village	T / F
d.	The new major of Zilina is Rasto Harman	T / F
e.	The airport will be rebuilt	T / F
f.	Kia’s investment has created a lot of jobs	T / F
g.	Unemployment has dramatically risen	T / F
h.	GDP should grow by more than 7% in 2007	T / F

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

a.	Jobs	Calculation
b.	Transformed	Reduced
c.	Network	Work
d.	Suppliers	Changed
e.	Projected	Period of growth
f.	Boom	Maximum
g.	Remote	Worldwide
h.	Global	Infrastructure
i.	Fallen	Wholesalers
j.	Capacity	Distant

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	While many western European countries	of Zilina Ivan Harman
b.	Zilina,	is meeting the labour demands
c.	…a strategically crucial piece	fret about car factories closing
d.	This is thanks	a remote mountain town
e.	The new mayor	150,000 cars will be produced
f.	Future changes include	has created a lot of jobs
g.	Kia’s investment	similar developments are happening
h.	The next challenge	of an ever expanding global industrial car…
i.	By the end of the year	to the Slovak government’s…
j.	Elsewhere in Slovakia	the rebuilding of the railway station

GAP FILL: READING

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Kia investment transforms Zilina While many western European countries ____ about car factories closing Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive hubs in Central and Eastern Europe. Zilina, a ______ mountain town in Slovakia has been quietly transformed into an industrial giant the BBC News recently reported. It now forms part of a strategically _______ piece of an ever expanding global industrial car manufactures ______. This is thanks to the Slovak government’s successful efforts in attracting __________ from automotive groups by offering comprehensive incentive packages and tailored infrastructure programmes. The new mayor of Zilina Ivan Harman is in charge of the _______ management of the prosperity. “Future changes include the rebuilding of the railway station. The railway network will be ________”, he declared adding, “Kia’s investment has created a lot of jobs. Unemployment has dramatically fallen. The next challenge is meeting the labour demands from both Kia and the other global manufacturers queuing up to ______ here.”

remote crucial jigsaw restored investment invest orderly fret

The Korean car maker Kia has built a ____ 166 hectare industrial _______ that includes its factory, a training centre, a 3km test track and two parts plants operated by Kia’s suppliers. Kia has invested €1bn into the project. “By the end of the year 150,000 cars will be produced rising to 225,000 next year,” explained Kia’s President and _____ executive In-Kyu Bae. Kia plans to boost its current _________ from 1,800 to 3,000 in 2009 - with production capacity reaching 300,000 cars. Another 600,000 engines will also be built, half of which will be ________ to sister company Hyundai across the border in The Czech Republic. Elsewhere in Slovakia similar developments are happening. Peugeot’s new factory in Trnava and the _________ of Volkswagen just outside Bratislava will produce a _________ 800,000 units by 2008 - 90% of them for export. The economic ____ should allow the gross domestic product to grow by more than 6% in 2007.

projected boom complex workforce chief exported expansion vast

GAP FILL: LISTENING:

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Kia investment transforms Zilina

While many western __________________ fret about car factories closing Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive hubs in Central Eastern Europe. Zilina, a remote ________________ Slovakia has been quietly transformed into an industrial giant the BBC News recently reported. It now forms part of a strategically crucial piece of an ever expanding global industrial car manufactures jigsaw. This is thanks to the Slovak government’s _____________________ attracting investment from automotive groups by offering comprehensive incentive packages and tailored infrastructure programmes. The new ________________ Ivan Harman is in charge of the orderly management of the prosperity. “Future changes include the rebuilding of the railway station. The railway network will be restored”, he declared adding, “Kia’s investment has created _____________. Unemployment has dramatically fallen. The next challenge is meeting the labour demands _________________ the other global manufacturers queuing up to invest here.”

The Korean _____________ has built a vast 166 hectare industrial complex that includes its factory, a training centre, a 3km test track and two parts plants operated by Kia’s suppliers. Kia has invested €1bn ________________. “By the end of the year 150,000 cars will be produced rising to 225,000 next year,” explained Kia’s President and _______________ In-Kyu Bae. Kia plans to boost its current workforce from 1,800 to 3,000 in 2009 - with production capacity reaching 300,000 cars. Another 600,000 engines will also be built, half ________________ exported to sister company Hyundai across the border in The Czech Republic. Elsewhere in Slovakia similar developments are happening. Peugeot’s new factory in Trnava and the ____________ Volkswagen just outside Bratislava will produce a projected 800,000 units by 2008 - 90% of them for export. The economic boom should allow the ______________________ to grow by more than 6% in 2007.

DISCUSSION

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

a) Did the headline make you want to read the article?

b) Did anything in the article surprise you?

c) Have you got a Kia car?

d) Have you ever visited a car factory?

e) Is Zilina a boomtown?

f) Do you think more manufacturers should set up factories in East Slovakia?

g) Do you know someone who is unemployed?

h) Have you ever considered working for a car manufacturer?

i) Would you work shift work in a car factory?

$---------------------------------------------------------------------

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

a) Did you like reading this article?

b) What do you think about what you read?

c) Do you have a car?

d) What other changes would you suggest to the mayor of Zilina?

e) If you ran the country would you offer financial packages to encourage other manufacturers to come to Slovakia?

f) Would you offer a bribe to a company to get them to relocate here?

g) Do you think the car manufacturer’s staff turnover is high?

h) If you were a car factory boss what would you expect from your workforce?

i) Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

DESIGNING A NEW CAR:

You work for a large car manufacturer and have been asked to design, produce and promote a new car. With your colleague / partner or in a small team prepare some ideas for it. Think of a how you can launch and promote your new car. Use the table below to help you.

	Your ideas	Reasons why your ideas are / will be winners
Car launch idea
Promotion idea
Name of Car Manufacturer
Car slogan
Design shape Engine size
How long will it take to design
How much will it cost
Your idea
Where will it be built

Present your ideas to the class / other teams. Decide on which teams were best. Tell other teams why their ideas might not be winners.

Discuss the things you heard. What ideas are the most exciting?

LANGUAGE: CORRECT WORD: Choose the correct words from a–d below and write them in the article.

While many western European countries (1) ____fret about car factories (2) ____ Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive (3) ____ in Central and Eastern Europe. Zilina, a remote (4) ____ town in Slovakia has been quietly transformed into an industrial giant the BBC News recently reported. It now forms part of a strategically crucial piece of an ever expanding (5) ____ industrial car manufactures jigsaw. This is thanks to the Slovak government’s successful efforts in attracting investment from automotive groups by offering comprehensive incentive packages and tailored infrastructure programmes. The new mayor of Zilina Ivan Harman is in charge of the orderly management of the prosperity. “Future changes include the rebuilding of the railway (6) ____. The railway network will be restored”, he declared adding, “Kia’s investment has created a lot of jobs. Unemployment has dramatically fallen. The next challenge is meeting the labour demands from both Kia and the other global manufacturers queuing up to invest here.”

The Korean car maker Kia has (7) ____ a vast 166 hectare industrial complex that includes its factory, a training centre, a 3km test track and two parts plants operated by Kia’s suppliers. Kia has invested €1bn into the project. “By the (8)____ of the year 150,000 cars will be (9) ____ rising to 225,000 next year,” explained Kia’s President and chief executive In-Kyu Bae. Kia plans to boost its current workforce from 1,800 to 3,000 in 2009 - with production capacity reaching 300,000 cars. Another 600,000 engines will also be built, half of which will be exported to (10) ____ company Hyundai across the border in The Czech Republic. Elsewhere in Slovakia similar developments are happening. Peugeot’s new factory in Trnava and the expansion of Volkswagen just outside Bratislava will produce a projected 800,000 units by 2008 - 90% of them for export. The economic boom should allow the gross domestic product to grow by more than 6% in 2007.

1.	(a)	bet	(b)	fret	(c)	wet	(d)	met
2.	(a)	opening	(b)	close	(c)	closing	(d)	open
3.	(a)	hobs	(b)	clubs	(c)	hub	(d)	hubs
4.	(a)	mountain	(b)	lakeside	(c)	seaside	(d)	farming
5.	(a)	globe	(b)	worldwide	(c)	global	(d)	globetrotting
6.	(a)	station	(b)	yard	(c)	carriage	(d)	car park
7.	(a)	build	(b)	building	(c)	built-up	(d)	built
8.	(a)	finish	(b)	end	(c)	start	(d)	midway
9.	(a)	produce	(b)	producing	(c)	producer	(d)	produced
10.	(a)	sister	(b)	daughter	(c)	mother	(d)	brother

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: KIA: Search the Internet and find more information about Kia. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. INTERNET: ZILINA: Search the Internet and find more information about Zilina. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

4. POSTER: Design a new poster for the new Kia Ceed hatchback. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Vote on who made the best poster.

5. NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: Write a 300 word article for the BBC about the car industry in Slovakia. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

8. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write an article for The Slovak Spectator about ‘Slovakia becoming a Central European Economic Tiger.’ (300 words) Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. F

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	Jobs	Work
b.	Transformed	Changed
c.	Network	Infrastructure
d.	Suppliers	Wholesalers
e.	Projected	Calculation
f.	Boom	Period of growth
g.	Remote	Distant
h.	Global	Worldwide
i.	Fallen	Reduced
j.	Capacity	Maximum

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	While many western European countries	fret about car factories closing
b.	Zilina,	a remote mountain town
c.	…a strategically crucial piece	of an ever expanding global industrial car…
d.	This is thanks	to the Slovak government’s…
e.	The new mayor	of Zilina Ivan Harman
f.	Future changes include	the rebuilding of the railway station
g.	Kia’s investment	has created a lot of jobs
h.	The next challenge	is meeting the labour demands
i.	By the end of the year	150,000 cars will be produced
j.	Elsewhere in Slovakia	similar developments are happening

GAP FILL: Kia investment transforms Zilina

While many western European countries fret about car factories closing Slovakia is becoming one of the major automotive hubs in Central and Eastern Europe. Zilina, a remote mountain town in Slovakia has been quietly transformed into an industrial giant the BBC News recently reported. It now forms part of a strategically crucial piece of an ever expanding global industrial car manufactures jigsaw. This is thanks to the Slovak government’s successful efforts in attracting investment from automotive groups by offering comprehensive incentive packages and tailored infrastructure programmes. The new mayor of Zilina Ivan Harman is in charge of the orderly management of the prosperity. “Future changes include the rebuilding of the railway station. The railway network will be restored”, he declared adding, “Kia’s investment has created a lot of jobs. Unemployment has dramatically fallen. The next challenge is meeting the labour de