Breaking News English ESL Lesson on Nepal Republic

Nepal ready to give up its royal family

Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon be abolished. The end of the world’s last Hindu royal family will come in Spring 2008 after the government signed a deal with Maoist rebels. The Maoists pulled out of a government coalition in September. They had fought for a decade to turn Nepal into a republic in a struggle that saw 13,000 people die. They laid down their arms last year and it is now hoped the former rebels will rejoin the government, although there is no concrete date set for that. Many Nepalis hope that long-term peace and stability will come to their country once the Maoists are part of the government and the monarchy has gone. The Maoist chairman Prachanda was delighted with the news. "It's a major step. Now Nepal is a republic. Only technical…formalities remain to be completed," he told reporters.

The soon-to-be-removed King Gyanendra played a large part in his own undoing. His downfall started two years ago when he ended all government powers to be ruler of his country. His actions brought his enemies together in a struggle to end his rule. He was quickly stripped of his power and his control over the army. This wasn’t enough for the Maoists, who wanted his rule ended. Sunday's decision to eliminate the monarchy was welcomed by many in Katmandu. "Before, kings were a part of people's hearts, now people have turned against him. The king has lost his position and popularity. It will be best for him to leave the palace," said Mata Pasad Risal, a retired government official." Navaraj Karki, a Katmandu banker commented: "It would be better for…the country if he just disappeared from the scene for good."

WARM-UPS

1. NEPAL: Walk around the class and talk to other students about Nepal. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out.

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

monarchy / Hindu / rebels / struggles / concrete plans / stability / major steps / downfalls / enemies / power / popularity / palaces / disappearing

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

3. MONARCHY OR REPUBLIC: With your partner(s), decide on whether a monarchy or republic is better. Talk about the following. Change partners and share your findings.

Having a king and queen Vs. Having a president and a first lady/husband
Having a palace Vs. Having a government residence
Electing the country’s leader Vs. Having a continuous line of state leaders
Gorgeous royal ceremonies Vs. Boring elected leader ceremonies
People leading the country on merit Vs People leading via privileged born
Having a state family to love and respect Vs. A temporary figure

4. HI, I’M KING / QUEEN: Imagine you are a king or queen. Walk around the class and talk to the other members of royalty in the classroom.

5. ROYAL FAMILY: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the term ‘royal family’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. QUICK ROLE PLAY: Student A strongly believes that royal families are great and every country should have one; Student B believes royal families are a waste of time and money. Change partners often. Change partners again and talk about your roles and conversations.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	The police in Nepal want to arrest Nepal’s royal family.	T / F
b.	Nepal will change from a monarchy to a republic in early 2008.	T / F
c.	Rebels fought a century-long war against Nepal’s government.	T / F
d.	There is a concrete date for rebels to rejoin the government.	T / F
e.	Nepal’s king did very little to contribute to his own downfall.	T / F
f.	The king has lost his control over the Nepalese army.	T / F
g.	Many in Nepal welcomed the news of the end of their monarchy.	T / F
h.	A banker said he wanted the king to stay in Nepal.	T / F

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

1.	abolished	a.	ruin
2	coalition	b.	procedures
3.	arms	c.	became hostile toward
4.	concrete	d.	alliance
5.	formalities	e.	fight
6.	downfall	f.	definite
7.	struggle	g.	get rid of
8.	eliminate	h.	scrapped
9.	turned against	i.	forever
10.	for good	j.	weapons

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

1.	Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon	a.	down their arms last year
2	The Maoists pulled out	b.	was welcomed by many
3.	They laid	c.	formalities remain
4.	there is no concrete	d.	enemies together
5.	Only technical	e.	date set for that
6.	King Gyanendra played a large part	f.	be abolished
7.	His actions brought his	g.	of his power
8.	He was quickly stripped	h.	for good
9.	… decision to eliminate the monarchy	i.	of a government coalition
10.	disappeared from the scene	j.	in his own undoing

WHILE READING / LISTENING

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

Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon be ________. The end of the world’s last Hindu royal family will come in Spring 2008 after the government signed a ________ with Maoist rebels. The Maoists ________ out of a government coalition in September. They had fought for a decade to turn Nepal into a republic in a struggle that saw 13,000 people die. They ________ down their arms last year and it is now hoped the former rebels will rejoin the government, although there is no ________ date set for that. Many Nepalis hope that long-term peace and ________ will come to their country once the Maoists are part of the government and the monarchy has gone. The Maoist chairman Prachanda was delighted with the news. "It's a major ________. Now Nepal is a republic. Only technical…formalities ________ to be completed," he told reporters.

stability
deal
laid
step
abolished
pulled
remain
concrete

The soon-to-be-removed King Gyanendra played a large ________ in his own ________. His downfall started two years ago when he ended all government powers to be ruler of his country. His actions brought his enemies together in a ________ to end his rule. He was quickly ________ of his power and his control over the army. This wasn’t enough for the Maoists, who wanted his rule ended. Sunday's decision to ________ the monarchy was welcomed by many in Katmandu. "Before, kings were a part of people's hearts, now people have ________ against him. The king has lost his position and popularity. It will be best for him to leave the palace," said Mata Pasad Risal, a ________ government official." Navaraj Karki, a Katmandu banker commented: "It would be better for…the country if he just disappeared from the ________ for good."

retired

scene
struggle
eliminate
turned
undoing
stripped
part

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy ____________________. The end of the world’s last Hindu royal family will come in Spring 2008 after the government ____________________ Maoist rebels. The Maoists pulled out of a government coalition in September. They had ____________________ turn Nepal into a republic in a struggle that saw 13,000 people die. They laid down their arms last year and ____________________ former rebels will rejoin the government, although there ____________________ for that. Many Nepalis hope that long-term peace and stability will come to their country once the Maoists are part of the government and the monarchy has gone. The Maoist chairman Prachanda was ____________________. "It's a major step. Now Nepal is a republic. Only ____________________ to be completed," he told reporters.

The soon-to-be-removed King Gyanendra ____________________ his own undoing. His downfall started two years ago when he ended all government powers to be ruler of his country. His actions ____________________ together in a struggle to end his rule. He was quickly stripped of his power and his ____________________. This wasn’t enough for the Maoists, who wanted his rule ended. Sunday's ____________________ the monarchy was welcomed by many in Katmandu. "Before, kings were a part of people's hearts, now people ____________________. The king has lost his position and popularity. It will be best for him to leave the palace," said Mata Pasad Risal, a retired government official." Navaraj Karki, a Katmandu banker commented: "It would be better for…the country if he just disappeared from ____________________."

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

royal

family

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 exactly how these were used in the text:

soon
deal
decade
concrete
stability
formalities

removed
downfall
struggle
eliminate
popularity
scene

STUDENT MONARCHY SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about monarchy 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.

DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	Do you agree with having a monarchy?
c)	Would you prefer your country to be a monarchy or republic?
d)	What are the good and bad things about monarchy?
e)	Are all monarchies around the world the same?
f)	What do you know about Nepal?
g)	What other royal families do you know about?
h)	Do you think Nepalese people should be sad that 238 years of history will soon come to an end?
i)	How will Nepal be different because it will be a republic?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	How do you think King Gyanendra now feels?
c)	Why do you think he decided to take over power in Nepal?
d)	Has there been big political change in your country in recent years?
e)	Why do you think kings and queens are a part of people’s hearts?
f)	Do you think King Gyanendra should disappear from the scene for good?
g)	What should happen to the palaces in Nepal and the rest of the royal family?
h)	What questions would you like to ask King Gyanendra?
i)	Did you like this discussion?

LANGUAGE

CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.

Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon (1) ____ abolished. The end of the world’s last Hindu royal family will come in Spring 2008 after the government signed a deal with Maoist (2) ____. The Maoists pulled out of a government coalition in September. They had fought for a decade to turn Nepal into a republic in a struggle that (3) ____ 13,000 people die. They laid down their arms last year and it is now hoped the (4) ____ rebels will rejoin the government, although there is no (5) ____ date set for that. Many Nepalis hope that long-term peace and stability will come to their country once the Maoists are part of the government and the monarchy has gone. The Maoist chairman Prachanda was delighted (6) ____ the news. "It's a major step. Now Nepal is a republic. Only technical…formalities remain to be completed," he told reporters.

The soon-to-be-(7) ____ King Gyanendra played a large part in his own undoing. His (8) ____ started two years ago when he ended all government powers to be ruler of his country. His actions brought his enemies together in a struggle to end his rule. He was quickly (9) ____ of his power and his control over the army. This wasn’t enough for the Maoists, who wanted his rule ended. Sunday's decision to eliminate the monarchy was welcomed by (10) ____ in Katmandu. "Before, kings were a part of people's hearts, now people have turned against him. The king has lost his position and popularity. It will be best for him to leave the palace," said Mata Pasad Risal, a retired government official." Navaraj Karki, a Katmandu banker commented: "It would be better for…the country if he just disappeared from the (11) ____ for (12) ____."

1.	(a)	become	(b)	been	(c)	be	(d)	became
2.	(a)	revelers	(b)	revels	(c)	rebellions	(d)	rebels
3.	(a)	watched	(b)	saw	(c)	looked	(d)	viewed
4.	(a)	former	(b)	firmer	(c)	farmer	(d)	foremost
5.	(a)	plaster	(b)	cement	(c)	concrete	(d)	brick
6.	(a)	from	(b)	to	(c)	for	(d)	with
7.	(a)	removed	(b)	removal	(c)	removing	(d)	removes
8.	(a)	fell	(b)	downfall	(c)	falling	(d)	down
9.	(a)	stripped	(b)	strapped	(c)	striped	(d)	stripy
10.	(a)	enough	(b)	any	(c)	much	(d)	many
11.	(a)	scenes	(b)	scenic	(c)	scene	(d)	scenery
12.	(a)	better	(b)	good	(c)	best	(d)	goodness

WRITING:

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

_______________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

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

3. MONARCHY OR REPUBLIC: Create your own survey about people’s opinions on having a monarchy or republic. Make a poster explaining your findings. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. BEING KING: Write a magazine article about being king (or queen). Include imaginary interviews with a king or queen and his/her people.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down new words and expressions.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to King Gyanendra. Give him three suggestions on what he should do in life from now. Give him three reasons why he should take your advice. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. F

f. T

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	abolished	a.	scrapped
2	coalition	b.	alliance
3.	arms	c.	weapons
4.	concrete	d.	definite
5.	formalities	e.	procedures
6.	downfall	f.	ruin
7.	struggle	g.	fight
8.	eliminate	h.	get rid of
9.	turned against	i.	became hostile toward
10.	for good	j.	forever

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon	a.	be abolished
2	The Maoists pulled out	b.	of a government coalition
3.	They laid	c.	down their arms last year
4.	there is no concrete	d.	date set for that
5.	Only technical	e.	formalities remain
6.	King Gyanendra played a large part	f.	in his own undoing
7.	His actions brought his	g.	enemies together
8.	He was quickly stripped	h.	of his power
9.	… decision to eliminate the monarchy	i.	was welcomed by many
10.	disappeared from the scene	j.	for good

GAP FILL:

Nepal ready to give up its royal family

Nepal's 238-year-old monarchy will soon be abolished. The end of the world’s last Hindu royal family will come in Spring 2008 after the government signed a deal with Maoist rebels. The Maoists pulled out of a government coalition in September. They had fought for a decade to turn Nepal into a republic in a struggle that saw 13,000 people die. They laid down their arms last year and it is now hoped the former rebels will rejoin the government, although there is no concrete date set for that. Many Nepalis hope that long-term peace and stability will come to their country once the Maoists are part of the government and the monarchy has gone. The Maoist chairman Prachanda was delighted with the news. "It's a major step. Now Nepal is a republic. Only technical…formalities remain to be completed," he told reporters.

The soon-to-be-removed King Gyanendra played a large part in his own undoing. His downfall started two years ago when he ended all government powers to be ruler of his country. His actions brought his enemies together in a struggle to end his rule. He was quickly stripped of his power and his control over the army. This wasn’t enough for the Maoists, who wanted his rule ended. Sunday's decision to eliminate the monarchy was welcomed by many in Katmandu. "Before, kings were a part of people's hearts, now people have turned against him. The king has lost his position and popularity. It will be best for him to leave the palace," said Mata Pasad Risal, a retired government official." Navaraj Karki, a Katmandu banker commented: "It would be better for…the country if he just disappeared from the scene for good."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - c

2 -d

3 - b

4 - a

5 - c

6 - d

7 - a

8 - b

9 - a

10 - d

11 - c

12 - b

Breaking News English

THE ARTICLE

Nepal ready to give up its royal family

WARM-UPS

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

WHILE READING / LISTENING

LISTENING: Listen and fill in the spaces.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

STUDENT MONARCHY SURVEY

DISCUSSION

LANGUAGE

WRITING:

HOMEWORK

ANSWERS

Nepal ready to give up its royal family

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