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Xiaomi becomes third-largest smartphone maker (31st December, 2014)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

A four-year-old Chinese tech company has become the world's third-largest smartphone maker, behind Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's most valuable tech start-up and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-based company just raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now worth $45 billion. That makes it worth more than tech giants LG, Motorola and Sony put together. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing smartphone maker. Its sales increased by 211 per cent in 2014. Its market share has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase further.

Xiaomi has a unique business model. It sells its phones for around what they cost to make. Profits come from apps and software. It also makes its customers follow the company. Many Xiaomi users in China are very loyal fans of the company. The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the chance to win prizes. This makes the company very popular. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will strive to continue bringing innovation to everyone, with a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance devices with great user experience." However, not everyone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi stole the design of its phone and many ideas from Apple.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/29/technology/mobile/xiaomi-smartphone/index.html?sr=fb122914xiaomi1230pVODtopLInk
http://www.cnet.com/news/chinese-smartphone-start-up-xiaomi-raises-1-1b-for-45b-value/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/xiaomi-becomes-worlds-most-valuable-tech-startup-1419843430

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. SMARTPHONES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about smartphones. 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?

a four-year-old / valuable / start-up / funding / tech giants / sales / market share / business model / profits / loyal / fans / popular / innovation / chief designer / design

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

3. MARKET SHARE: How can these companies increase their market share? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How to increase market share	Problems doing this
Apple
McDonald's
Nike
Facebook
Chanel
Ferrari

4. XIAOMI: Students A strongly believe Xiaomi will become the top smartphone maker with the best phone; Students B strongly believe not. 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. TECH: Rank these with your partner. Put your favourite tech company at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Facebook

• Yahoo

• Apple

• Microsoft

• Google

• WhatsApp

• Spotify

• Samsung

6. VALUABLE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "valuable". 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 company Xiaomi was founded in 2002.	T / F
b.	Xiaomi is more valuable than both Dropbox and Pinterest.	T / F
c.	Xiaomi is worth more than LG and Sony put together.	T / F
d.	Xiaomi's market share more than doubled last year.	T / F
e.	Xiaomi makes a lot of profit from selling its phones.	T / F
f.	The company attracts fans by using competitions and prizes.	T / F
g.	The president of the company is called Mr Xiaomi.	T / F
h.	Apple's chief designer is a big fan of Xiaomi's phones.	T / F

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

1.	maker	a.	rose
2.	raised	b.	combined
3.	put together	c.	try hard
4.	increased	d.	more
5.	further	e.	special
6.	unique	f.	manufacturer
7.	loyal	g.	well-liked
8.	popular	h.	collected
9.	strive	i.	head
10.	chief	j.	faithful

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

1.	A four-year-old Chinese	a.	funding
2.	the world's most valuable tech	b.	fans
3.	raised $1.1 billion in	c.	increase further
4.	Its market	d.	designer
5.	it looks like that will	e.	model
6.	Xiaomi has a unique business	f.	start-up
7.	Profits come from	g.	devices
8.	loyal	h.	share has also increased
9.	high-performance	i.	apps and software
10.	Apple's chief	j.	tech company

GAP FILL

A four-year-old Chinese (1) ____________ company has become the world's third-largest smartphone maker, (2) ____________ Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's most valuable tech (3) ____________ and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-(4) ____________ company just raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now worth $45 billion. That makes it (5) ____________ more than tech giants LG, Motorola and Sony put (6) ____________. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing smartphone maker. Its sales increased by 211 per cent in 2014. Its market (7) ____________ has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase (8) ____________.

behind
worth
tech
share
based
further
start-up
together

Xiaomi has a (9) ____________ business model. It sells its phones for around what they cost to make. Profits come from apps and software. It also makes its customers (10) ____________ the company. Many Xiaomi users in China are very loyal (11) ____________ of the company. The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the (12) ____________ to win prizes. This makes the company very popular. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will (13) ____________ to continue bringing innovation to everyone, with a (14) ____________ of producing high-quality, high-performance devices with great (15) ____________ experience." However, not everyone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's chief (16) ____________ Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi stole the design of its phone and many ideas from Apple.

follow
strive
unique
user
chance
designer
fans
goal

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	It has also become the world's most valuable ______
	a. tech start-top b. tech start-tap c. tech start-up d. tech start-app
2)	The Beijing-based company just raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now ______
	a. worthless $45 billion b. worthwhile $45 billion c. worthy $45 billion d. worth $45 billion
3)	That makes it worth more than tech giants LG, Motorola and Sony ______
	a. put together b. but together c. back together d. pool together
4)	Its sales increased by ______ in 2014
	a. 210 per cent b. 211 per cent c. 212 per cent d. 213 per cent
5)	… over the past year and it looks like that ______
	a. will increase further b. will increase farther c. will increase future d. will increase fitter
6)	It sells its phones for around what they ______
	a. costs to make b. costly to make c. costed to make d. cost to make
7)	It also makes its customers ______
	a. following the company b. follows the company c. follow the company d. follower the company
8)	The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the chance ______
	a. to win prize is b. to win praise c. to win praises d. to win prizes
9)	a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance devices with ______
	a. great user experience b. great useful experience c. great used experience d. great uses experience
10)	However, not everyone is a ______
	a. fun of Xiaomi b. fin of Xiaomi c. fan of Xiaomi d. fen of Xiaomi

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A four-year-old Chinese tech company has (1) ___________________ third-largest smartphone maker, behind Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's (2) ___________________ start-up and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-based company just raised $1.1 (3) ___________________ and is now worth $45 billion. That makes it worth (4) ___________________ LG, Motorola and Sony put together. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing smartphone maker. Its (5) ___________________ 211 per cent in 2014. Its market share has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and (6) ___________________ increase further.

Xiaomi has a unique business model. It sells its phones for around what they cost to make. Profits (7) ___________________ software. It also makes its customers follow the company. Many Xiaomi users in China are very loyal fans of the company. The company uses (8) ___________________ that give fans the (9) ___________________. This makes the company very popular. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will strive to continue (10) ___________________ everyone, with a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance devices with (11) ___________________." However, not everyone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi (12) ___________________ its phone and many ideas from Apple.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	How old is Xiaomi?
2.	How much funding did Xiaomi recently raise?
3.	Which tech giants is Xiaomi worth more than (name one)?
4.	By how much did sales increase in 2014?
5.	What was Xiaomi's most recent market share?
6.	What does Xiaomi have that is unique?
7.	Where do most of Xiaomi's profits come from?
8.	What do Xiaomi's fans have the chance to win?
9.	What did Bin Lin say he would strive to bring to everyone?
10.	Who is not a fan of Xiaomi?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	How old is Xiaomi?	6.	What does Xiaomi have that is unique?
	a) 7 b) 6 c) 5 d) 4		a) loyal fans b) a business model c) a logo d) an app
2.	How much funding did Xiaomi recently raise?	7.	Where do most of Xiaomi's profits come from?
	a) $211 billion b) $1.1 billion c) $45 billion d) $4 billion		a) US dollars b) the middle classes c) Beijing d) apps and software
3.	Which tech giants is Xiaomi worth more than (name one)?	8.	What do Xiaomi's fans have the chance to win?
	a) Yahoo, Google and Microsoft b) Samsung, Nokia and Apple c) LG, Motorola or Sony d) Facebook, Twitter and Flickr		a) prizes b) free Internet access c) praise d) holidays
4.	By how much did sales increase in 2014?	9.	What did Bin Lin say he would strive to bring to everyone?
	a) 211% b) 210% c) 212% d) 221%		a) health b) happiness c) innovation d) a smart watch
5.	What was Xiaomi's most recent market share?	10.	Who is not a fan of Xiaomi?
	a) 2% b) 4% c) 5% d) 3%		a) the Smartphone Designer of the Year b) Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive c) the boss of Samsung d) a woman from Shanghai

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Facebook

You think Facebook is the best tech company. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their companies aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Google, Apple or Sony.

Role B – Google

You think Google is the best tech company. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their companies aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Facebook, Apple or Sony.

Role C – Apple

You think Apple is the best tech company. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their companies aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Google, Facebook or Sony.

Role D – Sony

You think Sony is the best tech company. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their companies aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Google, Apple or Facebook.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

smart

phone

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:

behind
most
raised
45
fastest
5

sells
follow
chance
goal
everyone
ideas

SMARTPHONES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about smartphones 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.

SMARTPHONES DISCUSSION

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

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'tech'?
3)	What do you think of the different smartphone companies?
4)	How important is a smartphone to you?
5)	How have smartphones changed people's lives?
6)	What do you think of Xiaomi Inc. becoming so big so quickly?
7)	Would you buy a Xiaomi phone?
8)	What are the best and worst things about smartphones?
9)	How big do you think Xiaomi will become?
10)	What do you think Apple and Samsung think about Xiaomi?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What's your favourite tech giant, and why?
13)	What is unique about Xiaomi's business model?
14)	What companies are you loyal to, and why?
15)	Do you like campaigns where you can win prizes?
16)	Which company is the most innovative in the world?
17)	How important is innovation?
18)	What's your favourite device, and why?
19)	Do you think Apple will sue Xiaomi?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the boss of Xiaomi?

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

A four-year-old Chinese tech company has (1) ____ the world's third-largest smartphone maker, behind Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's most (2) ____ tech start-up and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-(3) ____ company just raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now worth $45 billion. That makes it worth more than tech giants LG, Motorola and Sony (4) ____ together. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-(5) ____ smartphone maker. Its sales increased by 211 per cent in 2014. Its market share has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase (6) ____.

Xiaomi has a unique business (7) ____. It sells its phones for around what they cost to make. Profits come from apps and software. It also makes its customers (8) ____ the company. Many Xiaomi users in China are very loyal fans of the company. The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the (9) ____ to win prizes. This (10) ____ the company very popular. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will strive to continue bringing innovation to everyone, with a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance devices with great (11) ____ experience." However, not everyone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's (12) ____ designer Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi stole the design of its phone and many ideas from Apple.

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

1.	(a)	became	(b)	become	(c)	becomes	(d)	becoming
2.	(a)	value	(b)	valuation	(c)	values	(d)	valuable
3.	(a)	base	(b)	basing	(c)	based	(d)	bases
4.	(a)	put	(b)	as	(c)	so	(d)	are
5.	(a)	growth	(b)	growing	(c)	grown	(d)	grows
6.	(a)	further	(b)	future	(c)	farther	(d)	fatter
7.	(a)	frame	(b)	scaffold	(c)	model	(d)	replica
8.	(a)	follow	(b)	chase	(c)	pursue	(d)	tail
9.	(a)	where	(b)	opportune	(c)	once	(d)	chance
10.	(a)	takes	(b)	gives	(c)	makes	(d)	does
11.	(a)	uses	(b)	used	(c)	abuser	(d)	user
12.	(a)	chief	(b)	chef	(c)	craft	(d)	chafe

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	the world's most lbaevalu tech start-up
2.	The Beijing-desab company
3.	sdeair $1.1 billion
4.	tech gastin
5.	Its market hreas
6.	it looks like that will increase huerfrt
Paragraph 2
7.	Xiaomi has a euunqi business model
8.	apps and awrftoes
9.	its sstmoucre follow the company
10.	marketing pgnacsima
11.	bringing nnoaonivti to everyone
12.	high-performance edievcs

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	increased by 211 per cent in 2014. Its market share has also increased from 2 per cent
( )	valuable tech start-up and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-
( )	make. Profits come from apps and software. It also makes its customers follow the company. Many Xiaomi users
( )	designer Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi stole the design of its phone and many ideas from Apple.
( 1 )	A four-year-old Chinese tech company has become the world's third-largest smartphone maker, behind
( )	devices with great user experience." However, not everyone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's chief
( )	Xiaomi has a unique business model. It sells its phones for around what they cost to
( )	to win prizes. This makes the company very popular. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will
( )	Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's most
( )	to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase further.
( )	giants LG, Motorola and Sony put together. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing smartphone maker. Its sales
( )	based company just raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now worth $45 billion. That makes it worth more than tech
( )	in China are very loyal fans of the company. The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the chance
( )	strive to continue bringing innovation to everyone, with a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	world's tech up the valuable - Become most start.
2.	raised based The $1.1 company Beijing billion just -.
3.	- growing smartphone maker Xiaomi is also the world's fastest.
4.	increased from 2 per cent . Its market share has also
5.	increase will that like looks It further.
6.	to make It sells its phones for what they cost.
7.	company its customers It follow also the makes.
8.	fans Give prizes win to chance the.
9.	continue to strive will We innovation bringing.
10.	everyone fan not a Xiaomi , is of However.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A four-year-old Chinese tech company has became / become the world's third-largest smartphone maker, behind / back Samsung and Apple. The company is called Xiaomi Inc. It has also become the world's most value / valuable tech start-up and is more valuable than Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Snapchat. The Beijing-based company just arose / raised $1.1 billion in funding and is now worth / worthy $45 billion. That makes it worth more than tech giant / giants LG, Motorola and Sony put together / apart. Xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing / fastest-growth smartphone maker. Its sales increased by 211 per cent in 2014. Its market sharing / share has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase further / farther.

Xiaomi has a unique / uniquely business model. It sells its phones for around what they cost to do / make. Profits come from apps and software. It also makes / does its customers follow the company. Many Xiaomi uses / users in China are very loyal fans of the company. The company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the chance for / to win prizes. This makes the company very popular / popularity. Bin Lin, Xiaomi co-founder and president, said: "We will strive to continue bring / bringing innovation to everyone, with a goal of producing high-quality, high-performance devices / devils with great user experience." However, not everyone / someone is a fan of Xiaomi. Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive said Xiaomi stole the resign / design of its phone and many ideas from Apple.

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)

_ f__r-y__r-_ld Ch_n_s_ t_ch c_mp_ny h_s b_c_m_ th_ w_rld's th_rd-l_rg_st sm_rtph_n_ m_k_r, b_h_nd S_ms_ng _nd _ppl_. Th_ c_mp_ny _s c_ll_d X___m_ _nc. _t h_s _ls_ b_c_m_ th_ w_rld's m_st v_l__bl_ t_ch st_rt-_p _nd _s m_r_ v_l__bl_ th_n _b_r, Dr_pb_x, P_nt_r_st _nd Sn_pch_t. Th_ B__j_ng-b_s_d c_mp_ny j_st r__s_d $1.1 b_ll__n _n f_nd_ng _nd _s n_w w_rth $45 b_ll__n. Th_t m_k_s _t w_rth m_r_ th_n t_ch g__nts LG, M_t_r_l_ _nd S_ny p_t t_g_th_r. X___m_ _s _ls_ th_ w_rld's f_st_st-gr_w_ng sm_rtph_n_ m_k_r. _ts s_l_s _ncr__s_d by 211 p_r c_nt _n 2014. _ts m_rk_t sh_r_ h_s _ls_ _ncr__s_d fr_m 2 p_r c_nt t_ 5 p_r c_nt _v_r th_ p_st y__r _nd _t l__ks l_k_ th_t w_ll _ncr__s_ f_rth_r.

X___m_ h_s _ _n_q__ b_s_n_ss m_d_l. _t s_lls _ts ph_n_s f_r _r__nd wh_t th_y c_st t_ m_k_. Pr_f_ts c_m_ fr_m _pps _nd s_ftw_r_. _t _ls_ m_k_s _ts c_st_m_rs f_ll_w th_ c_mp_ny. M_ny X___m_ _s_rs _n Ch_n_ _r_ v_ry l_y_l f_ns _f th_ c_mp_ny. Th_ c_mp_ny _s_s m_rk_t_ng c_mp__gns th_t g_v_ f_ns th_ ch_nc_ t_ w_n pr_z_s. Th_s m_k_s th_ c_mp_ny v_ry p_p_l_r. B_n L_n, X___m_ c_-f__nd_r _nd pr_s_d_nt, s__d: "W_ w_ll str_v_ t_ c_nt_n__ br_ng_ng _nn_v_t__n t_ _v_ry_n_, w_th _ g__l _f pr_d_c_ng h_gh-q__l_ty, h_gh-p_rf_rm_nc_ d_v_c_s w_th gr__t _s_r _xp_r__nc_." H_w_v_r, n_t _v_ry_n_ _s _ f_n _f X___m_. _ppl_'s ch__f d_s_gn_r J_n_th_n _v_ s__d X___m_ st_l_ th_ d_s_gn _f _ts ph_n_ _nd m_ny _d__s fr_m _ppl_.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a four-year-old chinese tech company has become the world's third-largest smartphone maker behind samsung and apple the company is called xiaomi inc it has also become the world's most valuable tech start-up and is more valuable than uber dropbox pinterest and snapchat the beijing-based company just raised $11 billion in funding and is now worth $45 billion that makes it worth more than tech giants lg motorola and sony put together xiaomi is also the world's fastest-growing smartphone maker its sales increased by 211 per cent in 2014 its market share has also increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent over the past year and it looks like that will increase further

xiaomi has a unique business model it sells its phones for around what they cost to make profits come from apps and software it also makes its customers follow the company many xiaomi users in china are very loyal fans of the company the company uses marketing campaigns that give fans the chance to win prizes this makes the company very popular bin lin xiaomi co-founder and president said "we will strive to continue bringing innovation to everyone with a goal of producing high-quality high-performance devices with great user experience" however not everyone is a fan of xiaomi apple's chief designer jonathan ive said xiaomi stole the design of its phone and many ideas from apple

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

Afour-year-oldChinesetechcompanyhasbecometheworld'sthird-la
rgestsmartphonemaker,behindSamsungandApple.Thecompanyisc
alledXiaomiInc.Ithasalsobecometheworld'smostvaluabletechstart-
upandismorevaluablethanUber,Dropbox,PinterestandSnapchat.Th
eBeijing-basedcompanyjustraised$1.1billioninfundingandisnowwo
rth$45billion.ThatmakesitworthmorethantechgiantsLG,Motorolaan
dSonyputtogether.Xiaomiisalsotheworld'sfastest-growingsm
artphonemaker.Itssalesincreasedby211percentin2014.Itsmarkets
harehasalsoincreasedfrom2percentto5percentoverthepastyearandi
tlookslikethatwillincreasefurther.Xiaomihasauniquebusinessmodel.
Itsellsitsphonesforaroundwhattheycosttomake.Profitscomefromap
psandsoftware.Italsomakesitscustomersfollowthecompany.ManyXi
aomiusersinChinaareveryloyalfansofthecompany.Thecompanyuses
marketingcampaignsthatgivefansthechancetowinprizes.Thismakes
thecompanyverypopular.BinLin,Xiaomico-founderandpreside
nt,said:"Wewillstrivetocontinuebringinginnovationtoeveryone,with
agoalofproducinghigh-quality,high-performancedeviceswi
thgreatuserexperience."However,noteveryoneisafanofXiaomi.Appl
e'schiefdesignerJonathanIvesaidXiaomistolethedesignofitsphonean
dmanyideasfromApple.

FREE WRITING

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

No company can copy Apple iPhone. 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 Xiaomi and its smartphones. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

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

4. XIAOMI: Write a magazine article about Xiaomi Inc. Include imaginary interviews with the CEOs of Xiaomi and Apple.

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 smartphones. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make them 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

Buy my book

$US 9.99

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

T

e

F

f

T

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	maker	a.	manufacturer
2.	raised	b.	collected
3.	put together	c.	combined
4.	increased	d.	rose
5.	further	e.	more
6.	unique	f.	special
7.	loyal	g.	faithful
8.	popular	h.	well-liked
9.	strive	i.	try hard
10.	chief	j.	head

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Four years old
2.	$1.1 billion
3.	LG, Motorola and Sony
4.	211%
5.	5%
6.	A business model
7.	Apps and software
8.	Prizes
9.	Innovation
10.	Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

d

2.

b

3.

c

4.

a

5.

c

6.

b

7.

d

8.

a

9.

c

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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Xiaomi becomes third-largest smartphone maker (31st December, 2014)

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