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Tourist deported for Buddha tattoo (25th April, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

Sri Lanka will deport a British tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha seated on a lotus flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was arrested at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currently at a centre in the airport waiting for a flight back to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful to Sri Lankan culture. A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting others' religious feelings". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and have deep respect for images and statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is culturally insensitive. Coleman said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo would upset anyone.

This is not the first time that tourists have got in trouble for misunderstanding Sri Lankan culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he spoke disrespectfully when passport officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According to the BBC, three French tourists got prison sentences for kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper reports that in 2010, R&B star Akon was told he could not get a visa to visit Sri Lanka because of a video for his song Sexy Chick. The video showed a pool party in front of a statue of Buddha. A British government website warns people who visit Sri Lanka not to pose for photos in front of statues of the Buddha.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/british-national-arrested-for-sporting-buddha-tattoo/article5938200.ece
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/naomi-michelle-coleman-british-woman-3442053#ixzz2zg9XKUnT
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-tourist-deported-from-sri-lanka-for-having-a-buddha-tattoo-9274681.html

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

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. SRI LANKA: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about Sri Lanka. Change partners often and share your findings.

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

deport / lotus / airport / flight / disrespectful / religious feelings / statues / insensitive / not the first time / passport / prison sentences / newspaper reports / visa / pose

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

3. CULTURAL AWARENESS: Complete this table with your partner(s). Think of things to tell tourists in your country. Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Dos	Don'ts
Restaurants
Clothes
Beaches
Religious places
Alcohol
Greeting people

4. TATTOO: Students A strongly believe tattoos are great; Students B strongly believe they aren't. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

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. CULTURAL NO-NO's: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest cultural no-no's at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• spitting

• touching people's head

• kissing in public

• shouting

• chewing gum

• asking someone's age

• being drunk

• being late

6. PASSPORT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "passport". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	The tattoo was of Buddha sitting on top of a lotus flower.	T / F
b.	The woman is waiting for a flight back to her last destination – India.	T / F
c.	Officials said the tattoo showed no respect for Sri Lankan culture.	T / F
d.	The woman practises Buddhism and thought the tattoo was OK.	T / F
e.	This is the first time Sri Lanka has deported someone over a tattoo.	T / F
f.	French tourists got prison sentences for kissing a statue of Buddha.	T / F
g.	The R&B star got a visa for Sri Lanka to shoot a video for a song.	T / F
h.	A British website said it's OK to pose for photos with a Buddha statue.	T / F

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

1.	seated	a.	great
2.	currently	b.	spend time in
3.	disrespectful	c.	anger
4.	deep	d.	presently
5.	upset	e.	questioned
6.	trouble	f.	cautions
7.	asked	g.	sitting
8.	prison	h.	rude
9.	visit	i.	jail
10.	warns	j.	difficulty

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

1.	seated on a	a.	to visit Sri Lanka
2.	waiting for a flight	b.	statues of Buddha
3.	hurting others'	c.	got in trouble
4.	images and	d.	lotus flower
5.	culturally	e.	back to the U.K.
6.	the first time that tourists have	f.	sentences
7.	he spoke	g.	for photos
8.	prison	h.	insensitive
9.	he could not get a visa	i.	disrespectfully
10.	pose	j.	religious feelings

GAP FILL

Sri Lanka will (1) ____________ a British tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha seated on a lotus flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was (2) ____________ at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currently at a centre in the airport waiting for a (3) ____________ back to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful to Sri Lankan (4) ____________. A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting others' (5) ____________ feelings". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and have deep respect for (6) ____________ and statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is (7) ____________ insensitive. Coleman said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo would (8) ____________ anyone.

culture
culturally
arrested
upset
deport
flight
religious
images

This is not the first time that tourists have got in (9) ____________ for misunderstanding Sri Lankan culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he spoke disrespectfully when (10) ____________ officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According to the BBC, three French tourists got (11) ____________ sentences for kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper (12) ____________ that in 2010, R&B star Akon was told he could not get a (13) ____________ to visit Sri Lanka because of a video for his song Sexy Chick. The video showed a pool party in front of a (14) ____________ of Buddha. A British government website (15) ____________ people who visit Sri Lanka not to (16) ____________ for photos in front of statues of the Buddha.

visa
reports
passport
trouble
warns
pose
statue
prison

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha seated on ______
	a. a lotus flour b. a lotus flower c. a lotus flyer d. a lotus flow are
2)	She is currently at a centre in the airport waiting for ______ to the U.K.
	a. a fight back b. a flight backs c. a flight back d. a fightback
3)	officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful to ______
	a. Sri Lankan cultured b. Sri Lankan cultures c. Sri Lankan cultural d. Sri Lankan culture
4)	A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting ______"
	a. the others religious feelings b. others' religion feelings c. others' religious feeling d. others' religious feelings
5)	she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo ______
	a. would upset anyone b. would upsets anyone c. would upset everyone d. would upset anyone's
6)	This is not the first time that tourists have ______
	a. getting trouble b. gotten trouble c. got in trouble d. get in trouble
7)	Another Briton was deported last year because ______
	a. he spoke disrespect fully b. he spoke this respectfully c. he spoke this respectful d. he spoke disrespectfully
8)	According to the BBC, three French tourists ______
	a. got prison sentences b. got prison paragraphs c. got prison phrases d. got prison clauses
9)	R&B star Akon was told he could not get ______
	a. a visit to visa b. a visa to visit it c. a visa to visit d. a visa too visit
10)	A British government website warns people who visit Sri Lanka not ______
	a. to pose for photos b. to prose for photos c. to propose for photos d. to purpose for photos

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Sri Lanka will deport a British tourist (1) ___________________ on her arm of the Buddha seated on a lotus flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was arrested at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currently at a centre in the airport waiting (2) ___________________ to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo (3) ___________________ Sri Lankan culture. A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting others' religious feelings". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and (4) ___________________ for images and statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is (5) ___________________. Coleman said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo (6) ___________________.

This is (7) ___________________ that tourists have got in trouble for misunderstanding Sri Lankan culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he (8) ___________________ when passport officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According to the BBC, three French tourists got (9) ___________________ for kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper reports that in 2010, R&B star Akon was told he could not (10) ___________________ Sri Lanka because of a video for his song Sexy Chick. The video showed a pool party (11) ___________________ of Buddha. A British government website warns people who visit Sri Lanka not (12) ___________________ in front of statues of the Buddha.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Where on the woman's body was the tattoo?
2.	Where are Sri Lankan authorities sending the woman to?
3.	What did a police spokesman say she hurt?
4.	What do most Sri Lankans have a deep respect for?
5.	What did the woman practise?
6.	What is the nationality of a man who was deported last year?
7.	What did tourists from France get prison sentences for?
8.	When was the pop star Akon denied a tourist visa to Sri Lanka?
9.	What did Akon's video show in front of a statue of Buddha?
10.	What did a website advise tourists not to do in front of Buddha statues?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Where on the woman's body was the tattoo?	6.	What is the nationality of a man who was deported last year?
	a) her lower back b) her arm c) her upper back d) her ankle		a) British b) Indian c) Hungarian d) Uruguayan
2.	Where are Sri Lankan authorities sending the woman to?	7.	What did tourists from France get prison sentences for?
	a) India b) prison c) the U.K. d) a temple		a) their tattoos b) shouting at passport officers c) doing graffiti d) kissing a Buddha statue
3.	What did a police spokesman say she hurt?	8.	When was the pop star Akon denied a tourist visa to Sri Lanka?
	a) a prison guard b) her finger c) a passport official d) religious feelings		a) 2008 b) 2009 c) 2010 d) 2011
4.	What do most Sri Lankans have a deep respect for?	9.	What did Akon's video show in front of a statue of Buddha?
	a) tourists b) images and statues of Buddha c) the police d) trees		a) an Apple computer b) a naked body c) chickens d) a party
5.	What did the woman practise?	10.	What did a website advise tourists not to do in front of Buddha statues?
	a) Buddhism b) Sinhalese c) meditation d) yoga		a) eat or drink b) pose for photos c) wear shorts d) dance

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Spitting

You think spitting is the biggest cultural no-no. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least worrying of these (and why): kissing in public, being drunk or being late.

Role B – Kissing in public

You think kissing in public is the biggest cultural no-no. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least worrying of these (and why): spitting, being drunk or being late.

Role C – Being drunk

You think being drunk is the biggest cultural no-no. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least worrying of these (and why): kissing in public, spitting or being late.

Role D – Being late

You think being late is the biggest cultural no-no. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that aren't so bad about their things. Also, tell the others which is the least worrying of these (and why): kissing in public, being drunk or spitting.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

lotus

flower

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:

arm
Monday
flight
hurting
deep
anyone

time
last
three
2010
pool
pose

TATTOOS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about tattoos 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.

TATTOOS DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'tattoo'?
c)	What do you think of tattoos?
d)	Why do people have tattoos?
e)	Is it wrong to have a tattoo of religious icons?
f)	Was Sri Lanka right to deport the woman with the Buddha tattoo?
g)	Have you seen a tattoo you really didn't like?
h)	Do you think you are culturally sensitive?
i)	Have you had a misunderstanding with another culture?
j)	How do you think the woman feels now?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	What do tourists in your country do that makes you angry?
c)	How can countries make sure tourists know how to behave?
d)	What are big no-no's in your culture?
e)	Should airplanes show culture videos for passengers?
f)	Should countries be more understanding with tourists?
g)	Which countries do you think it is difficult to visit because of the culture?
h)	What would someone do to your religion to upset you?
i)	Are you surprised Akon could not get a visa?
j)	What questions would you like to ask the woman?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

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

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

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

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

Sri Lanka will (1) ____ a British tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha (2) ____ on a lotus flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was arrested at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currently at a centre in the airport waiting for a flight (3) ____ to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful to Sri Lankan culture. A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting others' religious (4) ____ ". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and have (5) ____ respect for images and statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is culturally insensitive. Coleman said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo would (6) ____ anyone.

This is not the first time that tourists have got (7) ____ trouble for misunderstanding Sri Lankan culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he spoke (8) ____ when passport officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According to the BBC, three French tourists got prison (9) ____ for kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper reports that in 2010, R&B (10) ____ Akon was told he could not get a visa to visit Sri Lanka because of a video for his song Sexy Chick. The video (11) ____ a pool party in front of a statue of Buddha. A British government website warns people who visit Sri Lanka not to (12) ____ for photos in front of statues of the Buddha.

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

1.	(a)	deport	(b)	depart	(c)	depot	(d)	report
2.	(a)	chaired	(b)	cushioned	(c)	seated	(d)	stooled
3.	(a)	front	(b)	forward	(c)	back	(d)	advance
4.	(a)	felts	(b)	feelers	(c)	feels	(d)	feelings
5.	(a)	deep	(b)	long	(c)	wide	(d)	tall
6.	(a)	reset	(b)	upset	(c)	onset	(d)	outset
7.	(a)	to	(b)	of	(c)	up	(d)	in
8.	(a)	disrespectful	(b)	disrespectfully	(c)	disrespected	(d)	disrespect
9.	(a)	paragraphs	(b)	clauses	(c)	sentences	(d)	phrases
10.	(a)	comet	(b)	galaxy	(c)	moon	(d)	star
11.	(a)	uploaded	(b)	watched	(c)	looked	(d)	showed
12.	(a)	hose	(b)	pose	(c)	nose	(d)	rose

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	seaedt on a lotus flower
2.	waiting for a hfilgt back to the U.K.
3.	esulrfdctespi to Sri Lankan culture
4.	she was tadrrsee
5.	images and essatut
6.	traylllucu insensitive
Paragraph 2
7.	got in trouble for rsneidanigtdumsn
8.	passport iaoisclff
9.	cigacdnor to the BBC
10.	French tourists got prison nsntescee
11.	A British revegmtnon website
12.	espo for photos

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	at a centre in the airport waiting for a flight back to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her
( )	statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is culturally insensitive. Coleman
( )	tattoo was disrespectful to Sri Lankan culture. A police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting
( )	flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was arrested at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currently
( )	2010, R&B star Akon was told he could not get a visa to visit Sri Lanka because of a video for
( )	This is not the first time that tourists have got in trouble for misunderstanding Sri Lankan
( )	his song Sexy Chick. The video showed a pool party in front of a statue of Buddha. A British
( )	said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo would upset anyone.
( )	prison sentences for kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper reports that in
( )	culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he spoke disrespectfully when passport
( )	others' religious feelings". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and have deep respect for images and
( 1 )	Sri Lanka will deport a British tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha seated on a lotus
( )	officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According to the BBC, three French tourists got
( )	government website warns people who visit Sri Lanka not to pose for photos in front of statues of the Buddha.

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

From http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1404/140425-cultural-awareness.html

1.	for Deport having a a British tattoo tourist.
2.	for the a UK flight back Waiting to.
3.	for others' feelings Arrested hurting religious.
4.	respect and Buddha deep images of Have for statues.
5.	Anyone is with culturally a insensitive Buddha tattoo.
6.	the first time that tourists have got in trouble Not.
7.	asked tattoo him about Passport a officials Buddha.
8.	a prison kissing statue got for Buddha Tourists sentences.
9.	not get a visa to visit Sri Lanka He could.
10.	of statues of the Buddha Pose for photos in front.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Sri Lanka will deport / depart a British tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the Buddha seated / sits on a lotus flower. Naomi Coleman, 37, was arrested at Sri Lanka's international airport on Monday. She is currency / currently at a centre in the airport waiting to / for a flight back to the U.K. Airport officials told Ms Coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful / disrespected to Sri Lankan culture. A police spokesman said she was arrested / attested for "hurting others' religious feels / feelings". Most Sri Lankans are Buddhist and have deep / wide respect for images and statues of Buddha. They would think anyone with a Buddha tattoo is culturally / cultural insensitive. Coleman said she practised Buddhism and did not think her tattoo would upset / upend anyone.

This is not the first time / timely that tourists have got in / on trouble for misunderstanding Sri Lankan culture. Another Briton was deported last year because he talked / spoke disrespectfully when passport officials asked him about a Buddha tattoo on his arm. According of / to the BBC, three French tourists got prison sentences for / as kissing a Buddha statue. Britain's Independent newspaper reporters / reports that in 2010, R&B star Akon was told he could not get / issue a visa to visit Sri Lanka because of a video for his song Sexy Chick. The video showed / showered a pool party in front of a statue of Buddha. A British government website warns / warning people who visit Sri Lanka not to pose / prose for photos in front of statues of the Buddha.

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

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

Sr_ L_nk_ w_ll d_p_rt _ Br_t_sh t__r_st f_r h_v_ng _ t_tt__ _n h_r _rm _f th_ B_ddh_ s__t_d _n _ l_t_s fl_w_r. N__m_ C_l_m_n, 37, w_s _rr_st_d _t Sr_ L_nk_'s _nt_rn_t__n_l __rp_rt _n M_nd_y. Sh_ _s c_rr_ntly _t _ c_ntr_ _n th_ __rp_rt w__t_ng f_r _ fl_ght b_ck t_ th_ _.K. __rp_rt _ff_c__ls t_ld Ms C_l_m_n th_t h_r t_tt__ w_s d_sr_sp_ctf_l t_ Sr_ L_nk_n c_lt_r_. _ p_l_c_ sp_k_sm_n s__d sh_ w_s _rr_st_d f_r "h_rt_ng _th_rs' r_l_g___s f__l_ngs". M_st Sr_ L_nk_ns _r_ B_ddh_st _nd h_v_ d__p r_sp_ct f_r _m_g_s _nd st_t__s _f B_ddh_. Th_y w__ld th_nk _ny_n_ w_th _ B_ddh_ t_tt__ _s c_lt_r_lly _ns_ns_t_v_. C_l_m_n s__d sh_ pr_ct_s_d B_ddh_sm _nd d_d n_t th_nk h_r t_tt__ w__ld _ps_t _ny_n_.

Th_s _s n_t th_ f_rst t_m_ th_t t__r_sts h_v_ g_t _n tr__bl_ f_r m_s_nd_rst_nd_ng Sr_ L_nk_n c_lt_r_. _n_th_r Br_t_n w_s d_p_rt_d l_st y__r b_c__s_ h_ sp_k_ d_sr_sp_ctf_lly wh_n p_ssp_rt _ff_c__ls _sk_d h_m _b__t _ B_ddh_ t_tt__ _n h_s _rm. _cc_rd_ng t_ th_ BBC, thr__ Fr_nch t__r_sts g_t pr_s_n s_nt_nc_s f_r k_ss_ng _ B_ddh_ st_t__. Br_t__n's _nd_p_nd_nt n_wsp_p_r r_p_rts th_t _n 2010, R&B st_r _k_n w_s t_ld h_ c__ld n_t g_t _ v_s_ t_ v_s_t Sr_ L_nk_ b_c__s_ _f _ v_d__ f_r h_s s_ng S_xy Ch_ck. Th_ v_d__ sh_w_d _ p__l p_rty _n fr_nt _f _ st_t__ _f B_ddh_. _ Br_t_sh g_v_rnm_nt w_bs_t_ w_rns p__pl_ wh_ v_s_t Sr_ L_nk_ n_t t_ p_s_ f_r ph_t_s _n fr_nt _f st_t__s _f th_ B_ddh_.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

sri lanka will deport a british tourist for having a tattoo on her arm of the buddha seated on a lotus flower naomi coleman 37 was arrested at sri lanka's international airport on monday she is currently at a centre in the airport waiting for a flight back to the uk airport officials told ms coleman that her tattoo was disrespectful to sri lankan culture a police spokesman said she was arrested for "hurting others' religious feelings" most sri lankans are buddhist and have deep respect for images and statues of buddha they would think anyone with a buddha tattoo is culturally insensitive coleman said she practised buddhism and did not think her tattoo would upset anyone

this is not the first time that tourists have got in trouble for misunderstanding sri lankan culture another briton was deported last year because he spoke disrespectfully when passport officials asked him about a buddha tattoo on his arm according to the bbc three french tourists got prison sentences for kissing a buddha statue britain's independent newspaper reports that in 2010 r&b star akon was told he could not get a visa to visit sri lanka because of a video for his song sexy chick the video showed a pool party in front of a statue of buddha a british government website warns people who visit sri lanka not to pose for photos in front of statues of the buddha

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

SriLankawilldeportaBritishtouristforhavingatattooonherarmoftheB
uddhaseatedonalotusflower.NaomiColeman,37,wasarrestedatSriLa
nka'sinternationalairportonMonday.Sheiscurrentlyatacentreintheai
rportwaitingforaflightbacktotheU.K.AirportofficialstoldMsColemant
hathertattoowasdisrespectfultoSriLankanculture.Apolicespokesma
nsaidshewasarrestedfor"hurtingothers'religiousfeelings".MostSriLa
nkansareBuddhistandhavedeeprespectforimagesandstatuesofBudd
ha.TheywouldthinkanyonewithaBuddhatattooisculturallyinsensitiv
e.ColemansaidshepractisedBuddhismanddidnotthinkhertattoowoul
dupsetanyone.Thisisnotthefirsttimethattouristshavegotintroublefor
misunderstandingSriLankanculture.AnotherBritonwasdeportedlast
yearbecausehespokedisrespectfullywhenpassportofficialsaskedhim
aboutaBuddhatattooonhisarm.AccordingtotheBBC,threeFrenchtour
istsgotprisonsentencesforkissingaBuddhastatue.Britain'sIndepend
entnewspaperreportsthatin2010,R&BstarAkonwastoldhecouldnotg
etavisatovisitSriLankabecauseofavideoforhissongSexyChick.Thevi
deoshowedapoolpartyinfrontofastatueofBuddha.ABritishgovernme
ntwebsitewarnspeoplewhovisitSriLankanottoposeforphotosinfronto
fstatuesoftheBuddha.

FREE WRITING

Write about tattoos for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

Having tattoos is just like wearing jewellery, accessories or clothes. 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 story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. CULTURAL AWARENESS: Write a magazine article about cultural awareness and tourists. Include imaginary interviews with people who think airlines should show cultural awareness videos on their airplanes, and people who think this is a silly idea.

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 cultural awareness. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make more people culturally aware. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

F

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

T

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	seated	a.	sitting
2.	currently	b.	presently
3.	disrespectful	c.	rude
4.	deep	d.	great
5.	upset	e.	anger
6.	trouble	f.	difficulty
7.	asked	g.	questioned
8.	prison	h.	jail
9.	visit	i.	spend time in
10.	warns	j.	cautions

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Her arm
2.	The U.K.
3.	People's (others') religious feelings
4.	Images and statues of Buddha
5.	Buddhism
6.	British
7.	Kissing a Buddha statue
8.	2010
9.	A pool party
10.	Pose for photos

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

c

3.

d

4.

b

5.

a

6.

a

7.

d

8.

c

9.

d

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

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

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Tourist deported for Buddha tattoo (25th April, 2014)

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