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Jennifer Lopez won't sing World Cup song (12th June, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

American singer Jennifer Lopez was supposed to perform the official song at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has pulled out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez will not be attending this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." Neither the star nor her agent gave a specific reason why, but said it was due to "production issues". Lopez was going to join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage ahead of the opening game between hosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA announced on its website that the song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," would now be sung just by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

The World Cup song has been a tradition since the 1966 World Cup in England. In recent World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not represented the country hosting the competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the official song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin sang the song for the France World Cup. Many Brazilians do not like the 2014 song. They say it has a weak Brazilian rhythm, is mainly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung largely in Spanish and English, with a few seconds of Portuguese at the end. Brazilian composer and music critic Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "stripped of local colour".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/09/sport/football/jennifer-lopez-world-cup-performance/
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/fifa-world-cup-2014-song-jennifer-lopez-wont-perform-pitbull-claudia-leitte-opening-ceremony-601908
http://www.theweek.co.uk/football/world-cup-2014/58709/world-cup-anthems-shakira-vs-pitbull-and-j-lo-in-brazil-row

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. THE WORLD CUP: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the World Cup. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

perform / official song / pulled out / opening ceremony / specific reason / hosts / tradition / unhappy / competition / rhythm / musicians / composer / music critic

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

3. OPENING CEREMONY: What could these people do or say at the opening ceremony of the Brazil World Cup? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Do	Say
FIFA boss
Brazil's leader
Samba group
Brazil soccer captain
UN Secretary-General
Top Brazilian singer

4. OFFICIAL SONG: Students A strongly believe the World Cup needs an official song; Students B strongly believe it doesn'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. WORLD CUP STUFF: Rank these with your partner. Put the things the World Cup needs most at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• official song

• sponsors

• mascots

• a colourful logo

• dancers

• half-time entertainment

• instant video replays

• a message for people to exercise

6. FOOTBALL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "football". 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.	Jennifer Lopez was to sing Brazil's national anthem at the World Cup.	T / F
b.	Ms Lopez told organisers why she would not be able to sing.	T / F
c.	Lopez was going to sing onstage with two other people.	T / F
d.	The official song will now be sung just by a Brazilian singer.	T / F
e.	The tradition of a World Cup song started in England in 1966.	T / F
f.	People say a singer from the host nation should sing the official song.	T / F
g.	Brazilians are unhappy the 2014 song has so little Portuguese in it.	T / F
h.	A Brazilian singer said the song is full of Brazilian colour.	T / F

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

1.	supposed to	a.	made it known
2.	agent	b.	holding
3.	pulled out	c.	exact
4.	specific	d.	withdrew
5.	announced	e.	poor
6.	tradition	f.	meant to
7.	hosting	g.	mostly
8.	weak	h.	custom
9.	mainly	i.	removed
10.	stripped	j.	representative

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

1.	Lopez was supposed to	a.	attending
2.	the organisers	b.	since the 1966 World Cup
3.	Lopez will not be	c.	critic
4.	Neither the star nor her agent gave	d.	hosting the competition
5.	the opening game between	e.	non-Brazilian musicians
6.	a tradition	f.	perform the official song
7.	represented the country	g.	hosts Brazil and Croatia
8.	mainly performed by	h.	a specific reason why
9.	music	i.	"stripped of local colour"
10.	the song has been	j.	of the tournament

GAP FILL

American singer Jennifer Lopez was supposed to (1) ____________ the official song at the opening (2) ____________ of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has (3) ____________ out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez will not be (4) ____________ this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." Neither the star nor her agent gave a (5) ____________ reason why, but said it was (6) ____________ to "production issues". Lopez was going to join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage (7) ____________ of the opening game between hosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA (8) ____________ on its website that the song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," would now be sung just by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

specific
ahead
attending
perform
announced
ceremony
due
pulled

The World Cup song has been a (9) ____________ since the 1966 World Cup in England. In (10) ____________ World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not (11) ____________ the country hosting the competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the (12) ____________ song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin sang the song for the France World Cup. Many Brazilians do not like the 2014 song. They say it has a weak Brazilian (13) ____________, is mainly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung (14) ____________ in Spanish and English, with a few seconds of Portuguese at the end. Brazilian composer and music (15) ____________ Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "(16) ____________ of local colour".

official
critic
largely
tradition
represented
stripped
recent
rhythm

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Lopez was supposed to perform the official song at the ______
	a. open in ceremony b. opening ceremony c. opened in ceremony d. openings ceremony
2)	her agent told FIFA (the organisers of ______ )…
	a. the tournament b. the torment c. the tour ornament d. the tournaments
3)	Neither the star nor her agent gave a ______
	a. specifics reason why b. specifically reason why c. specify reason why d. specific reason why
4)	it was due to "______"
	a. productions issues b. production tissues c. production issues d. productions tissues
5)	onstage ahead of the opening game between ______ Croatia
	a. hosts Brazil and b. host Brazil and c. ghosts Brazil and d. hoists Brazil and
6)	The World Cup song has been a tradition ______
	a. since 1986 b. since 1976 c. since 1966 d. since 1996
7)	They say it has a weak ______
	a. Brazilian rhythm b. Brazilian rhythms c. Brazilian rhythmic d. Brazil and rhythm
8)	mainly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung ______ and English
	a. large lying Spanish b. large laying Spanish c. largely in Spanish d. largely on Spanish
9)	Brazilian composer and ______
	a. music critics b. music creature c. music critique d. music critic
10)	Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "stripped _______ "
	a. of local colours b. of locally colour c. of local colour d. of locals colour

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

American singer Jennifer Lopez (1) ___________________ perform the official song at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has pulled out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez (2) ___________________ this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." (3) ___________________ her agent gave a (4) ___________________, but said it was due to "production issues". Lopez was going to join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage (5) ___________________ opening game between hosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA (6) ___________________ website that the song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," would now be sung just by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

The World Cup song has been (7) ___________________ the 1966 World Cup in England. In recent World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not represented (8) ___________________ the competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the official song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin (9) ___________________ the France World Cup. Many Brazilians do not like the 2014 song. They say it has a (10) ___________________, is mainly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and (11) ___________________ Spanish and English, with a few seconds of Portuguese at the end. Brazilian composer and music critic Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "(12) ___________________ colour".

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	At which part of the World Cup was Jennifer Lopez due to sing?
2.	Who told the organisers that Jennifer Lopez would not be singing?
3.	What reason did Ms Lopez give for pulling out?
4.	How many people were going to sing the official song?
5.	What is the nationality of the woman who will sing the song?
6.	When did World Cups first have an official song?
7.	At which World Cup did a Colombian sing the official song?
8.	Who sang the official song at France 1998?
9.	How much Portuguese is in the 2014 official song?
10.	What did a music critic say the 2014 song is missing?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	At which part of the World Cup was Jennifer Lopez due to sing?	6.	When did World Cups first have an official song?
	a) at a press conference b) the opening ceremony c) the end of the opening game d) the half-time entertainment		a) 1966 b) 1976 c) 1986 d) 1996
2.	Who told the organisers that Jennifer Lopez would not be singing?	7.	At which World Cup did a Colombian sing the official song?
	a) the press b) the FIFA boss c) she told them herself d) her agent		a) 1998 b) 2006 c) 2010 d) 2002
3.	What reason did Ms Lopez give for pulling out?	8.	Who sang the official song at France 1998?
	a) no reason b) stage fright c) sore throat d) she had an argument with rapper Pitbull		a) Ricky Martin b) Pele c) Michael Jackson d) Daft Punk
4.	How many people were going to sing the official song?	9.	How much Portuguese is in the 2014 official song?
	a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4		a) a few seconds b) half c) three versus and a chorus d) none
5.	What is the nationality of the woman who will sing the song?	10.	What did a music critic say the 2014 song is missing?
	a) South African b) Brazilian c) Spanish d) American		a) soul b) trumpets c) the chord C d) local colour

ROLE PLAY

Role A – An official song

You think an official song is the most important thing in a World Cup. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a mascot, half-time entertainment or instant video replays.

Role B – A mascot

You think a mascot is the most important thing in a World Cup. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): an official song, half-time entertainment or instant video replays.

Role C – Half-time entertainment

You think half-time entertainment is the most important thing in a World Cup. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a mascot, an official song or instant video replays.

Role D – Instant video replays

You think instant video replays are the most important thing in a World Cup. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): a mascot, half-time entertainment or an official song.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

official

song

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:

supposed
pulled
nor
join
hosts
website

since
recent
2010
2014
few
local

THE WORLD CUP SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the World Cup 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.

THE WORLD CUP DISCUSSION

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

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What comes into your mind when you hear the word 'football'?
c)	Which is the better word, 'football' or 'soccer'?
d)	What do you think of Jennifer Lopez pulling out?
e)	How important is it to have stars at the opening ceremony?
f)	Why does the World Cup need an official song?
g)	Why do you think J-Lo pulled out?
h)	What do you think of the FIFA World Cup?
i)	Is the FIFA World Cup the world's greatest sporting event?

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

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

a)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
b)	Should the official World Cup song be sung by someone from the host nation?
c)	Should there be an official football song sung at all World Cups?
d)	Why do you think a Colombian sang the South Africa World Cup song?
e)	Should the Brazil World Cup song be in Portuguese?
f)	Is it better for these events to have no songs and mascots?
g)	What does Leonardo Martinelli mean by "stripped of local colour"?
h)	How much of the World Cup will you watch?
i)	What questions would you like to ask the head of FIFA?

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

American singer Jennifer Lopez was (1) ____ to perform the official song at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has (2) ____ out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez will not be (3) ____ this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." Neither the star nor her agent gave a specific reason (4) ____, but said it was due to "production issues". Lopez was going to join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage (5) ____ of the opening game between hosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA announced on its website that the song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," would now be sung (6) ____ by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

The World Cup song has been a (7) ____ since the 1966 World Cup in England. In recent World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not represented the country (8) ____ the competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the official song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin sang the song for the France World Cup. Many Brazilians do not like the 2014 song. They say it has a weak Brazilian (9) ____, is mainly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung (10) ____ in Spanish and English, with a (11) ____ seconds of Portuguese at the end. Brazilian composer and music critic Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "(12) ____ of local colour".

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

1.	(a)	supposedly	(b)	supposes	(c)	supposed	(d)	supposing
2.	(a)	pulled	(b)	pushed	(c)	piled	(d)	pooled
3.	(a)	attending	(b)	attended	(c)	attendance	(d)	attends
4.	(a)	why	(b)	when	(c)	what	(d)	where
5.	(a)	prior	(b)	pre	(c)	forward	(d)	ahead
6.	(a)	sole	(b)	fair	(c)	alone	(d)	just
7.	(a)	tradition	(b)	heritage	(c)	routine	(d)	belief
8.	(a)	hosts	(b)	hosted	(c)	hostage	(d)	hosting
9.	(a)	rhythm	(b)	rhyming	(c)	rhythmic	(d)	rhythmical
10.	(a)	hugely	(b)	largely	(c)	enormously	(d)	highly
11.	(a)	two	(b)	few	(c)	through	(d)	big
12.	(a)	vvvvv	(b)	striped	(c)	strapped	(d)	stripped

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	Lopez was pesdsuop to perform
2.	the opening cnmreeoy
3.	her agent gave a efccpisi reason
4.	it was due to production eissus
5.	adhea of the opening game
6.	FIFA naeoncndu on its website
Paragraph 2
7.	… has been a irotaitnd since…
8.	In eenctr World Cups…
9.	the folfcaii song
10.	a weak Brazilian htyrmh
11.	… and is sung llryeag in Spanish
12.	music tcirci

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez will not be attending this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." Neither the star
( )	World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not represented the country hosting the
( )	competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the official
( )	like the 2014 song. They say it has a weak Brazilian rhythm, is mainly performed
( )	song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin sang the song for the France World Cup. Many Brazilians do not
( )	between hosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA announced on its website that the song, "We Are One
( )	nor her agent gave a specific reason why, but said it was due to "production issues". Lopez was going to
( )	join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage ahead of the opening game
( 1 )	end. Brazilian composer and music critic Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "stripped of local colour".
( )	ceremony of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has pulled
( )	The World Cup song has been a tradition since the 1966 World Cup in England. In recent
( )	by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung largely in Spanish and English, with a few seconds of Portuguese at the
( 1 )	American singer Jennifer Lopez was supposed to perform the official song at the opening
( )	(Ole Ola)," would now be sung just by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	the the opening official ceremony song at Perform.
2.	pulled Her FIFA has told she out agent that.
3.	agent specific the her a Neither nor gave reason star.
4.	the was rapper going Pitbull to join Lopez.
5.	hosts The Brazil opening and game Croatia between.
6.	Cup song has been a tradition since 1966 The World.
7.	World people unhappy recent , been In Cups have.
8.	Many the Brazilians 2014 do song not like.
9.	at few Portuguese end a of the With seconds.
10.	colour" local The been of . has "stripped song

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

American singer Jennifer Lopez was supposed to performing / perform the official song at the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Brazil. However, her agent told FIFA (the organisers of the tournament) that she has pushed / pulled out. The agent said: "Regretfully, Jennifer Lopez will not be attending / attended this year's World Cup opening ceremonies." Neither the star or / nor her agent gave a specific reasoning / reason why, but said it was due of / to "production issues". Lopez was going to joint / join the rapper Pitbull and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte onstage heading / ahead of the opening game between hosts / ghosts Brazil and Croatia. FIFA announced in / on its website that the song, "We Are One (Ole Ola)," would now be sung just by Pitbull and Ms Leitte.

The World Cup song has sung / been a tradition since the 1966 World Cup in England. In recent / recently World Cups, people have been unhappy that the song has not represented / representative the country hosting / hosted the competition. At the South Africa World Cup in 2010, the Colombian singer Shakira sang the official / officially song. In 1998, Puerto Rican star Ricky Martin sang the song for the France World Cup. Many / Much Brazilians do not like the 2014 song. They say it has a week / weak Brazilian rhythm, is mainly / manly performed by non-Brazilian musicians and is sung largely in Spanish and English, with a few / two seconds of Portuguese at the end. Brazilian composer and music critic Leonardo Martinelli said the song has been "stripped / striped of local colour".

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)

_m_r_c_n s_ng_r J_nn_f_r L_p_z w_s s_pp_s_d t_ p_rf_rm th_ _ff_c__l s_ng _t th_ _p_n_ng c_r_m_ny _f th_ W_rld C_p _n Br_z_l. H_w_v_r, h_r _g_nt t_ld F_F_ (th_ _rg_n_s_rs _f th_ t__rn_m_nt) th_t sh_ h_s p_ll_d __t. Th_ _g_nt s__d: "R_gr_tf_lly, J_nn_f_r L_p_z w_ll n_t b_ _tt_nd_ng th_s y__r's W_rld C_p _p_n_ng c_r_m_n__s." N__th_r th_ st_r n_r h_r _g_nt g_v_ _ sp_c_f_c r__s_n why, b_t s__d _t w_s d__ t_ "pr_d_ct__n _ss__s". L_p_z w_s g__ng t_ j__n th_ r_pp_r P_tb_ll _nd Br_z_l__n st_r Cl__d__ L__tt_ _nst_g_ _h__d _f th_ _p_n_ng g_m_ b_tw__n h_sts Br_z_l _nd Cr__t__. F_F_ _nn__nc_d _n _ts w_bs_t_ th_t th_ s_ng, "W_ _r_ _n_ (_l_ _l_)," w__ld n_w b_ s_ng j_st by P_tb_ll _nd Ms L__tt_.

Th_ W_rld C_p s_ng h_s b__n _ tr_d_t__n s_nc_ th_ 1966 W_rld C_p _n _ngl_nd. _n r_c_nt W_rld C_ps, p__pl_ h_v_ b__n _nh_ppy th_t th_ s_ng h_s n_t r_pr_s_nt_d th_ c__ntry h_st_ng th_ c_mp_t_t__n. _t th_ S__th _fr_c_ W_rld C_p _n 2010, th_ C_l_mb__n s_ng_r Sh_k_r_ s_ng th_ _ff_c__l s_ng. _n 1998, P__rt_ R_c_n st_r R_cky M_rt_n s_ng th_ s_ng f_r th_ Fr_nc_ W_rld C_p. M_ny Br_z_l__ns d_ n_t l_k_ th_ 2014 s_ng. Th_y s_y _t h_s _ w__k Br_z_l__n rhythm, _s m__nly p_rf_rm_d by n_n-Br_z_l__n m_s_c__ns _nd _s s_ng l_rg_ly _n Sp_n_sh _nd _ngl_sh, w_th _ f_w s_c_nds _f P_rt_g__s_ _t th_ _nd. Br_z_l__n c_mp_s_r _nd m_s_c cr_t_c L__n_rd_ M_rt_n_ll_ s__d th_ s_ng h_s b__n "str_pp_d _f l_c_l c_l__r".

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

american singer jennifer lopez was supposed to perform the official song at the opening ceremony of the world cup in brazil however her agent told fifa (the organisers of the tournament) that she has pulled out the agent said "regretfully jennifer lopez will not be attending this year's world cup opening ceremonies" neither the star nor her agent gave a specific reason why but said it was due to "production issues" lopez was going to join the rapper pitbull and brazilian star claudia leitte onstage ahead of the opening game between hosts brazil and croatia fifa announced on its website that the song "we are one (ole ola)" would now be sung just by pitbull and ms leitte

the world cup song has been a tradition since the 1966 world cup in england in recent world cups people have been unhappy that the song has not represented the country hosting the competition at the south africa world cup in 2010 the colombian singer shakira sang the official song in 1998 puerto rican star ricky martin sang the song for the france world cup many brazilians do not like the 2014 song they say it has a weak brazilian rhythm is mainly performed by non-brazilian musicians and is sung largely in spanish and english with a few seconds of portuguese at the end brazilian composer and music critic leonardo martinelli said the song has been "stripped of local colour"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

AmericansingerJenniferLopezwassupposedtoperformtheofficialsongatthe
openingceremonyoftheWorldCupinBrazil.However,heragenttoldFIFA(the
organisersofthetournament)thatshehaspulledout.Theagentsaid:"Regretful
ly,JenniferLopezwillnotbeattendingthisyear'sWorldCupopeningceremonie
s."Neitherthestarnorheragentgaveaspecificreasonwhy,butsaiditwasdueto"
productionissues".LopezwasgoingtojointherapperPitbullandBrazilianstarC
laudiaLeitteonstageaheadoftheopeninggamebetweenhostsBrazilandCroa
tia.FIFAannouncedonitswebsitethatthesong,"WeAreOne(OleOla),"wouldn
owbesungjustbyPitbullandMsLeitte.TheWorldCupsonghasbeenatradition
sincethe1966WorldCupinEngland.InrecentWorldCups,peoplehavebeenu
nhappythatthesonghasnotrepresentedthecountryhostingthecompetition.A
ttheSouthAfricaWorldCupin2010,theColombiansingerShakirasangtheoffic
ialsong.In1998,PuertoRicanstarRickyMartinsangthesongfortheFranceWo
rldCup.ManyBraziliansdonotlikethe2014song.TheysayithasaweakBrazilia
nrhythm,ismainlyperformedbynon-BrazilianmusiciansandissunglargelyinS
panishandEnglish,withafewsecondsofPortugueseattheend.Braziliancomp
oserandmusiccriticLeonardoMartinellisaidthesonghasbeen"strippedofloca
lcolour".

FREE WRITING

Write about the World Cup for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

There should be no official songs and mascots for the World Cup. 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 the World Cup opening ceremony. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. THE WORLD CUP: Make a poster about the World Cup. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. WORLD CUP SONG: Write a magazine article about the World Cup song. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

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 the World Cup. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make it better. 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

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

F

c

T

d

F

e

T

f

T

g

T

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	supposed to	a.	meant to
2.	agent	b.	representative
3.	pulled out	c.	withdrew
4.	specific	d.	exact
5.	announced	e.	made it known
6.	tradition	f.	custom
7.	hosting	g.	holding
8.	weak	h.	poor
9.	mainly	i.	mostly
10.	stripped	j.	removed

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The opening ceremony
2.	Ms Lopez's agent
3.	No reason
4.	Three
5.	Brazilian
6.	1966
7.	2010
8.	Ricky Martin
9.	A few seconds
10.	Local colour

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

a

7.

c

8.

a

9.

a

10.

d

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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Jennifer Lopez won't sing World Cup song (12th June, 2014)

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