Leaders of six Arab states wrapped up their 26th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They made a series of landmark decisions on a broad range of key areas, such as defence, the forming of a nuclear free region, greater economic integration, terrorism and peace in the Middle East. Concerns were repeatedly voiced over the proliferation of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction in the region. Members called on Israel to declare itself a nuclear-free state but stopped short of specifically mentioning Iran in the weapons-free equation. A spokesman said: “We have confidence in Iran, but we don't want to see the Iranian nuclear reactor, which is closer to our coast than to Tehran, as a cause of peril and damage to us.”

Iraq was high on the agenda of issues discussed. All member states expressed their hopes that a new, peaceful and prosperous Iraq would emerge from the embers of dictatorship, invasions and occupation. The Council condemned all acts of terrorism on people and infrastructure in Iraq. It denounced “the deliberate mass killing of Iraqis…and detainees…committed by the former Iraqi regime”. The Council also said “unearthed mass graves are in flagrant violation of…Islamic and Arab principles, ethics and values”. The summit adopted the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration’, which stresses the need to enhance education to confront global challenges and make the region excel worldwide. The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

WARM-UPS

1. SENTENCE STARTERS: Complete the following six sentence starters about the Gulf Arab states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates). Talk about your completed sentences with your partner(s).

Gulf Arab states are _____________________________________________________.

Gulf Arab states aren’t ___________________________________________________.

Gulf Arab states will _____________________________________________________.

Gulf Arab states can _____________________________________________________.

Gulf Arab states should ___________________________________________________.

Gulf Arab states play _____________________________________________________.

2. GCC: What do you know of the Gulf Cooperation Council? In pairs / groups, share your knowledge of the member states. Change partners and repeat.

Saudi Arabia Kuwait Oman

Qatar Bahrain United Arab Emirates

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

Arab states / summits / Abu Dhabi / landmarks / decisions / peace / equations / perils / prosperity / embers / mass graves / principles / values / to excel / UAE

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

4. ARAB LANDS: In pairs / groups, talk about these aspects of life in the Arab Gulf. Would any of these things make you want to visit or live there?

Duty-free shopping Deserts Futuristic cities Ancient archaeological sites

Camel racing The world’s only 7-star hotel Sun Major international sporting events

5. MIDDLE EAST OPINIONS: Discuss these opinions with your partner(s).

1. The Middle East has a very bright and rosy future.
2. Terrorism will never disappear from the Middle East.
3. There are too many damaging political rivalries between Arab countries.
4. Democracy will one day prevail throughout the Middle East.
5. Iran will never make nuclear weapons.
6. A new generation of leaders will make the region very prosperous.
7. The Middle East is a region of superlatives.
8. The Middle East is an important center for many things in the world.

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

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

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

a.	Leaders of six Arab nations wrapped up presents in Abu Dhabi.	T / F
b.	They made a series of decisions to build record-breaking landmarks.	T / F
c.	They voiced concerns over the spread of nuclear arms in the region.	T / F
d.	The leaders expressed confidence in Iran.	T / F
e.	Iraq was low on the agenda of issues discussed.	T / F
f.	The leaders said they hoped embers would help rebuild Iraq.	T / F
g.	The summit prioritized the need for education to advance the region.	T / F
h.	The six Arab Gulf countries at the summit included Iraq and Iran.	T / F

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

a.	wrapped up	pivotal
b.	key	ashes
c.	proliferation	blatant
d.	stopped short	shine
e.	peril	condemned
f.	prosperous	failed
g.	embers	affluent
h.	denounced	concluded
i.	flagrant	mushrooming
j.	excel	danger

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

a.	wrapped	mentioning Iran
b.	a series of landmark decisions	confront global challenges
c.	Concerns were repeatedly voiced over	of dictatorship
d.	stopped short of specifically	the proliferation of nuclear arms
e.	the weapons-free	up their 26th GCC summit
f.	high	on a broad range of key areas
g.	emerge from the embers	excel worldwide
h.	in flagrant violation	equation
i.	enhance education to	of Islamic and Arab principles
j.	make the region	on the agenda

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Arab Gulf nations call for nuclear-free region

Leaders of six Arab states _________ up their 26th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They made a series of _________ decisions on a broad range of key areas, such as defence, the forming of a nuclear free region, _________ economic integration, terrorism and peace in the Middle East. Concerns were repeatedly _________ over the proliferation of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction in the region. Members called on Israel to _________ itself a nuclear-free state but stopped _________ of specifically mentioning Iran in the weapons-free equation. A spokesman said: “We have confidence in Iran, but we don't want to see the Iranian nuclear _________, which is closer to our coast than to Tehran, as a cause of _________ and damage to us.”		declare greater peril voiced wrapped short landmark reactor
Iraq was _________ on the agenda of issues discussed. All member states expressed their hopes that a new, peaceful and _________ Iraq would emerge from the _________ of dictatorship, invasions and occupation. The Council condemned all acts of terrorism on people and infrastructure in Iraq. It denounced “the deliberate _________ killing of Iraqis…and detainees…committed by the former Iraqi regime”. The Council also said “unearthed mass _________ are in flagrant _________ of…Islamic and Arab principles, ethics and values”. The summit adopted the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration’, which stresses the need to _________ education to confront global challenges and make the region _________ worldwide. The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.		enhance embers violation mass high excel prosperous graves

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Arab Gulf nations call for nuclear-free region

Leaders of six Arab states ________ up their 26th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They made a series of ________ decisions on a ______ range of key areas, such as defence, the forming of a nuclear free region, greater economic integration, terrorism and peace in the Middle East. Concerns were repeatedly ______ over the proliferation of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction in the region. Members called on Israel to declare itself a nuclear-free state but ________ _______ of specifically mentioning Iran in the weapons-free __________. A spokesman said: “We have confidence in Iran, but we don't want to see the Iranian nuclear reactor, which is closer to our coast than to Tehran, as a cause of _______ and damage to us.”

Iraq was high on the _______ of issues discussed. All member states expressed their hopes that a new, peaceful and prosperous Iraq would emerge from the _______ of dictatorship, invasions and occupation. The Council condemned all acts of terrorism on people and infrastructure in Iraq. It _______ “the deliberate mass killing of Iraqis…and _______…committed by the former Iraqi regime”. The Council also said “unearthed mass graves are in _______ violation of…Islamic and Arab principles, ethics and values”. The summit adopted the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration’, which stresses the need to _______ education to confront global challenges and make the region _______ worldwide. The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

• 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. STUDENT “ARAB STATES” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Arab nations and the influence they will have in the world in the future.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

wrapped landmark voiced short confidence peril

agenda embers infrastructure graves adopted excel

DISCUSSION

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

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. Do you think a nuclear-free Middle East can be achieved?
3. Do you think it is realistic to expect Israel to rid itself of nuclear weapons?
4. Why do you think the Council wasn’t stronger in calling on Iran to stop any nuclear weapons designs it might have?
5. How would you feel if your neighboring country started building nuclear power stations right on your border?
6. Do you think the GCC can influence Iran?
7. What more do you think members of the GCC can do to combat international terrorism?
8. Do you think GCC member states should be more involved in the reconstruction of Iraq?
9. What do you see happening in the Middle East over the next ten years?
10. Do you have confidence in Iran?

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

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. Do you think the Gulf Cooperation Council has a lot of power?
4. Why do you think other Arab nations are not members of the Gulf Cooperation Council?
5. Do you think an Arab economic bloc with a single currency would change the region and the world?
6. Do you think Arab nations will emerge into more powerful economic countries similar to the Asian “tiger” economies?
7. What do you think are the global challenges ahead for the Arab Gulf region?
8. What do you know about Dubai, Riyadh, Muscat and Kuwait City?
9. Would you like to visit Abu Dhabi?
10. 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

MIDDLE EAST: You are a top advisor to the political leaders in the Middle East. Agree on a joint statement with your fellow advisors on the following issues. Outline the problems connected to these issues and your solutions:

	PROBLEMS	SOLUTIONS
An Arab economic union with a single currency.
Ethnic and political rivalries among Arab countries.
Iraq
Making the Middle East nuclear free.
The creation of a Palestinian state.
Enhanced education for Arab nations to meet the global challenges ahead

• Change partners. Share and compare your ideas. Give each other advice on how to improve your solutions.
• Change partners. Role play a discussion. You outline and defend your ideas and solutions, your partner picks holes in them.
• Discuss what you really think about these issues.

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 on the Gulf Cooperation Council. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

3. MIDDLE EAST: Make a poster outlining the four biggest problems currently facing the Middle East. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all include / write about similar things?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Tell him what you think member countries should do to forge ahead in the world. Show what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Did everyone write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. T

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	wrapped up	concluded
b.	key	pivotal
c.	proliferation	mushrooming
d.	stopped short	failed
e.	peril	danger
f.	prosperous	affluent
g.	embers	ashes
h.	denounced	condemned
i.	flagrant	blatant
j.	excel	shine

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	wrapped	up their 26th GCC summit
b.	a series of landmark decisions	on a broad range of key areas
c.	Concerns were repeatedly voiced over	the proliferation of nuclear arms
d.	stopped short of specifically	mentioning Iran
e.	the weapons-free	equation
f.	high	on the agenda
g.	emerge from the embers	of dictatorship
h.	in flagrant violation	of Islamic and Arab principles
i.	enhance education to	confront global challenges
j.	make the region	excel worldwide

GAP FILL:

Arab Gulf nations call for nuclear-free region

Leaders of six Arab states wrapped up their 26th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday. They made a series of landmark decisions on a broad range of key areas, such as defence, the forming of a nuclear free region, greater economic integration, terrorism and peace in the Middle East. Concerns were repeatedly voiced over the proliferation of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction in the region. Members called on Israel to declare itself a nuclear-free state but stopped short of specifically mentioning Iran in the weapons-free equation. A spokesman said: “We have confidence in Iran, but we don't want to see the Iranian nuclear reactor, which is closer to our coast than to Tehran, as a cause of peril and damage to us.”

Iraq was high on the agenda of issues discussed. All member states expressed their hopes that a new, peaceful and prosperous Iraq would emerge from the embers of dictatorship, invasions and occupation. The Council condemned all acts of terrorism on people and infrastructure in Iraq. It denounced “the deliberate mass killing of Iraqis…and detainees…committed by the former Iraqi regime”. The Council also said “unearthed mass graves are in flagrant violation of…Islamic and Arab principles, ethics and values”. The summit adopted the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration’, which stresses the need to enhance education to confront global challenges and make the region excel worldwide. The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

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