Breaking News English Lesson: World Leader

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Pope Francis most popular world leader (28th March, 2016)

The Reading / Listening - Level 3

Pope Francis is more popular than any political world leader. This is what an opinion poll has suggested. The poll was carried out by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers asked over 1,000 people in 64 countries about who they thought was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took part in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of him. Most of the people who did not believe in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The president of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his own religion."

It was fairly predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The largely Catholic countries of Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic about him, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's lowest ratings came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries in the poll to give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope beat other world leaders like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's religious affairs correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the hearts and minds not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 0, Level 1 or Level 2

Sources

http://www.newsweek.com/popular-pope-francis-gets-better-ratings-obama-and-merkel-says-poll-440262
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35888289
http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/03/24/pope-francis-most-popular-among-global-rich-says-study/

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 Activitieson the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. WORLD LEADERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about world leaders. 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?

popular / opinion poll / favourable / researchers / best leader / believe in god / religion / predictable / enthusiastic / ratings / negative / religious affairs / correspondent

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

3. LEADERS: Who are the world's best leaders in these areas? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Who?	Why?
Politics
Business
Sports
IT
Religion
Other ____

4. RELIGIOUS LEADER: Students A strongly believe religious leaders are more important than political leaders; Students B strongly believe the opposite. 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

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5. LEADERS: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• Barack Obama

• Tim Cook

• Dilma Rousseff

• Pope Francis

• Narendra Modi

• Angela Merkel

• Vladimir Putin

• Ali Khamenei

6. OPINION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "opinion". 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 article says Pope Francis is more popular than political leaders.	T / F
b.	Over 60% of people have a favourable opinion of Pope Francis.	T / F
c.	Over 80% of Roman Catholics have a favourable opinion of Francis.	T / F
d.	People who do not believe in God have a favourable opinion of Francis.	T / F
e.	The Philippines was the country most enthusiastic about Pope Francis.	T / F
f.	Pope Francis got a positive rating from Turkey.	T / F
g.	The article says Barack Obama is more popular than Angela Merkel.	T / F
h.	The BBC said Pope Francis won hearts and minds.	T / F

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

1.	popular	a.	positive
2.	suggested	b.	reporter
3.	favourable	c.	indicated
4.	took part	d.	foreseeable
5.	transcends	e.	well liked
6.	predictable	f.	eager
7.	largely	g.	participated
8.	enthusiastic	h.	huge
9.	correspondent	i.	rises above
10.	enormous	j.	mainly

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

1.	more popular than any	a.	in any god
2.	an opinion	b.	of the Pope
3.	have a favourable opinion	c.	correspondent
4.	Researchers asked	d.	poll
5.	people who did not believe	e.	other religions
6.	It was fairly	f.	political world leader
7.	a negative	g.	minds
8.	The BBC's religious affairs	h.	predictable
9.	hearts and	i.	over 1,000 people
10.	people from	j.	rating

GAP FILL

Pope Francis is more popular than any political world leader. This is what an (1) ____________ poll has suggested. The (2) ____________ was carried out by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers asked (3) ____________ 1,000 people in 64 countries about who they (4) ____________ was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took (5) ____________ in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of him. Most of the people who did not (6) ____________ in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The (7) ____________ of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his own (8) ____________."

part
poll
president
opinion
thought
religion
over
believe

It was (9) ____________ predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The (10) ____________ Catholic countries of Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic about him, with (11) ____________ of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's (12) ____________ ratings came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries in the poll to give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope (13) ____________ other world leaders like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's religious (14) ____________ correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed (15) ____________ goodwill and won the hearts and minds not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other (16) ____________."

lowest
largely
enormous
fairly
beat
religions
ratings
affairs

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	Pope Francis is more popular than any ______
	a. political world leaders b. political worldly leader c. political world leader d. political worldly leaders
2)	It found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable ______
	a. opinion for the Pope b. opinion of the Pope c. opinion from the Pope d. opinion off the Pope
3)	Researchers asked over 1,000 people ______
	a. in 164 countries b. in 16.4 countries c. in 640 countries d. in 64 countries
4)	Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took part in the poll said they had a favourable ______
	a. opinion of him b. opinions of him c. opinion of his d. opinions of his
5)	Pope Francis is a leader who transcends ______
	a. his own religions b. his own religion c. his own religious d. his own religiously
6)	It was fairly predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was ______
	a. most popularity b. most populate c. most popular d. most popularise
7)	Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic ______
	a. above him b. abet him c. a bout him d. about him
8)	These were the only countries in the poll to give Francis a ______
	a. negative ratings b. negative rating c. negatively rating d. negatively ratings
9)	Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know ______
	a. much about him b. many about him c. more about him d. most about him
10)	Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the ______
	a. heart and minds b. hearts and minds c. hearts and mind d. heart and mind

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Pope Francis is more popular than any political world leader. This is what an opinion (1) ___________________. The poll was carried out by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found that 54 per cent (2) ________________ the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers asked over 1,000 people in 64 (3) ___________________ who they thought was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics (4) ___________________ poll said they had a favourable opinion of him. Most of the people who did not (5) ___________________ had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The president of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends (6) ___________________."

It was (7) ___________________ where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The largely Catholic countries of Portugal and the Philippines were the most (8) ___________________ him, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's lowest ratings came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries (9) ___________________ give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope beat (10) ___________________ like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's (11) ___________________ correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the (12) ___________________ not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	What kind of leader is Pope Francis more popular than?
2.	What kind of Poll was carried out?
3.	In how many countries did the poll take place?
4.	What percentage of Catholics had a favourable opinion of Francis?
5.	What did a president say Pope Francis transcended?
6.	In which two countries was Francis most popular?
7.	How many countries gave Pope Francis a negative rating?
8.	Where did many people not know much about Pope Francis?
9.	What BBC correspondent was mentioned?
10.	What did a BBC correspondent say Francis had won?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	What kind of leader is Pope Francis more popular than?	6.	In which two countries was Francis most popular?
	a) political leaders b) business leaders c) fashion leaders d) religious leaders		a) Brazil and Colombia b) Italy and Spain c) Algeria and Turkey d) Portugal and the Philippines
2.	What kind of Poll was carried out?	7.	How many countries gave Pope Francis a negative rating?
	a) an online poll b) an imaginary c) an opinion poll d) a straw poll		a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5
3.	In how many countries did the poll take place?	8.	Where did many people not know much about Pope Francis?
	a) 63 b) 64 c) 65 d) 66		a) Papua New Guinea b) Lesotho c) New Zealand d) Azerbaijan
4.	What percentage of Catholics had a favourable opinion of Francis?	9.	What BBC correspondent was mentioned?
	a) 82 b) 83 c) 84 d) 85		a) political b) travel c) religious affairs d) sports
5.	What did a president say Pope Francis transcended?	10.	What did a BBC correspondent say Francis had won?
	a) his own religion b) business c) money d) the world		a) trophies b) hearts and minds c) competitions d) money

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Barack Obama

You think Barack Obama is the world's best leader. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their leader isn't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin or Angela Merkel.

Role B – Pope Francis

You think Pope Francis is the world's best leader. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their leader isn't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin or Angela Merkel.

Role C – Vladimir Putin

You think Vladimir Putin is the world's best leader. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their leader isn't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Pope Francis, Barack Obama or Angela Merkel.

Role D – Angela Merkel

You think Angela Merkel is the world's best leader. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their leader isn't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin or Barack Obama.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

world

leader

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:

suggested
54
64
85
god
own

fairly
94
only
Azerbaijan
affairs
hearts

WORLD LEADERS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about world leaders 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.

WORLD LEADERS 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 'leader'?
3)	Who is the world's best leader?
4)	Why do you think Pope Francis is the most popular leader?
5)	Who is the greatest leader in history?
6)	Would you be a good leader? Why?
7)	Does there need to be a leader of the world?
8)	Are religious leaders better than political leaders?
9)	What do you think of Barack Obama as a leader?
10)	What advice do you have for Pope Francis?

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

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

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	Who is the worst leader in the world and why?
13)	What do you know about Pope Francis?
14)	What do you think of Pope Francis?
15)	What do you need to do to be a good leader?
16)	What would you do if you were the leader of your country?
17)	Why do you think some countries gave Francis a negative rating?
18)	What is the leader of your country like?
19)	Is a poll of 1,000 people a good way of finding the best leader?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Pope Francis?

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

Pope Francis is more popular than any (1) ____ world leader. This is what an opinion poll has suggested. The poll was carried (2) ____ by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion (3) ____ the Pope. Researchers asked over 1,000 people in 64 countries about who they (4) ____ was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took part in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of him. Most of the people who did not (5) ____ in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The president of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his (6) ____ religion."

It was (7) ____ predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The largely Catholic countries of Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic (8) ____ him, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's lowest ratings came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the (9) ____ countries in the poll to give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope (10) ____ other world leaders like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's religious (11) ____ correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the hearts and minds not (12) ____ of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions."

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

1.	(a)	political	(b)	politics	(c)	politician	(d)	politically
2.	(a)	in	(b)	up	(c)	out	(d)	over
3.	(a)	by	(b)	on	(c)	at	(d)	of
4.	(a)	thinking	(b)	thought	(c)	thoughts	(d)	thinks
5.	(a)	believing	(b)	believer	(c)	belief	(d)	believe
6.	(a)	frown	(b)	down	(c)	own	(d)	grown
7.	(a)	fair	(b)	fairly	(c)	fairy	(d)	fairs
8.	(a)	about	(b)	of	(c)	on	(d)	at
9.	(a)	only	(b)	alone	(c)	just	(d)	simply
10.	(a)	win	(b)	victory	(c)	beat	(d)	winner
11.	(a)	fairs	(b)	afar	(c)	affair	(d)	affairs
12.	(a)	once	(b)	just	(c)	then	(d)	such

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	ioilptcla world leader
2.	an ipoionn poll
3.	ecrirad out by WIN/Gallup International
4.	errsesahrec asked over 1,000 people
5.	people who did not eeievlb in any god
6.	a leader who transcends his own eirgoiln
Paragraph 2
7.	It was fairly ptlericaebd
8.	the most tiuchietsans
9.	a geeianvt rating
10.	enirtsedp Barack Obama
11.	The BBC's religious raffsia correspondent
12.	Francis has enjoyed mounoers goodwill

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	suggested. The poll was carried out by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found that 54 per cent of people
( )	It was fairly predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The largely Catholic countries of Portugal
( 1 )	Pope Francis is more popular than any political world leader. This is what an opinion poll has
( )	negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much about him. The Pope beat other world
( )	with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took part in the poll said they had a favourable
( )	and minds not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions."
( )	ratings came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries in the poll to give Francis a
( )	around the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers asked over 1,000 people in 64
( )	countries about who they thought was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular
( )	leaders like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's religious
( )	of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his own religion."
( )	and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic about him, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's lowest
( )	affairs correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the hearts
( )	opinion of him. Most of the people who did not believe in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The president

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	political more any leader is than world Francis popular .
2.	has what suggested an opinion This poll is .
3.	favourable the opinion world have People a around .
4.	god any in believe not did who people the of Most .
5.	transcends religion is who own Francis leader his a .
6.	It predictable was fairly Francis popular was where most .
7.	lowest Francis's Pope Algeria in came ratings .
8.	the only rating Francis poll countries a to in The negative give .
9.	did not know much Most people in Azerbaijan said they .
10.	has Francis goodwill enormous enjoyed .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

Pope Francis is more popular / popularity than any political world leader. This is what an opinion polled / poll has suggested. The poll was carried out / in by WIN/Gallup International on Thursday. It found / finding that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion of the Pope. Researchers / Researches asked over 1,000 people in 64 countries about who they thinking / thought was the world's best leader. Pope Francis was most popular with Roman Catholics. Around 85 per cent of Catholics who took party / part in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of / by him. Most of the people who did not believe / belief in any god had a favourable opinion of the Pope. The president of WIN/Gallup International said: "Pope Francis is a leader who transcends his owner / own religion."

It was fairly / fairy predictable where Pope Francis, 79, was most popular. The largely / lager Catholic countries of Portugal and the Philippines were the most enthusiastic / enthusiastically about him, with ratings of 94% and 93%. Pope Francis's lowest ratings / ranting came in Algeria, Tunisia and Turkey. These were the only countries in the poll to take / give Francis a negative rating. Most people in Azerbaijan said they did not know much / many about him. The Pope beat / win other world leaders same / like U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The BBC's religious affairs correspondence / correspondent said: "Francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the hearts and minds not just of Roman Catholics but also of people from other religions / religious."

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)

P_p_ Fr_nc_s _s m_r_ p_p_l_r th_n _ny p_l_t_c_l w_rld l__d_r. Th_s _s wh_t _n _p_n__n p_ll h_s s_gg_st_d. Th_ p_ll w_s c_rr__d __t by W_N/G_ll_p _nt_rn_t__n_l _n Th_rsd_y. _t f__nd th_t 54 p_r c_nt _f p__pl_ _r__nd th_ w_rld h_v_ _ f_v__r_bl_ _p_n__n _f th_ P_p_. R_s__rch_rs _sk_d _v_r 1,000 p__pl_ _n 64 c__ntr__s _b__t wh_ th_y th__ght w_s th_ w_rld's b_st l__d_r. P_p_ Fr_nc_s w_s m_st p_p_l_r w_th R_m_n C_th_l_cs. _r__nd 85 p_r c_nt _f C_th_l_cs wh_ t__k p_rt _n th_ p_ll s__d th_y h_d _ f_v__r_bl_ _p_n__n _f h_m. M_st _f th_ p__pl_ wh_ d_d n_t b_l__v_ _n _ny g_d h_d _ f_v__r_bl_ _p_n__n _f th_ P_p_. Th_ pr_s_d_nt _f W_N/G_ll_p _nt_rn_t__n_l s__d: "P_p_ Fr_nc_s _s _ l__d_r wh_ tr_nsc_nds h_s _wn r_l_g__n."

_t w_s f__rly pr_d_ct_bl_ wh_r_ P_p_ Fr_nc_s, 79, w_s m_st p_p_l_r. Th_ l_rg_ly C_th_l_c c__ntr__s _f P_rt_g_l _nd th_ Ph_l_pp_n_s w_r_ th_ m_st _nth_s__st_c _b__t h_m, w_th r_t_ngs _f 94% _nd 93%. P_p_ Fr_nc_s's l_w_st r_t_ngs c_m_ _n _lg_r__, T_n_s__ _nd T_rk_y. Th_s_ w_r_ th_ _nly c__ntr__s _n th_ p_ll t_ g_v_ Fr_nc_s _ n_g_t_v_ r_t_ng. M_st p__pl_ _n _z_rb__j_n s__d th_y d_d n_t kn_w m_ch _b__t h_m. Th_ P_p_ b__t _th_r w_rld l__d_rs l_k_ _.S. pr_s_d_nt B_r_ck _b_m_ _nd G_rm_n ch_nc_ll_r _ng_l_ M_rk_l. Th_ BBC's r_l_g___s _ff__rs c_rr_sp_nd_nt s__d: "Fr_nc_s h_s _nj_y_d _n_rm__s g__dw_ll _nd w_n th_ h__rts _nd m_nds n_t j_st _f R_m_n C_th_l_cs b_t _ls_ _f p__pl_ fr_m _th_r r_l_g__ns."

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

pope francis is more popular than any political world leader this is what an opinion poll has suggested the poll was carried out by win/gallup international on thursday it found that 54 per cent of people around the world have a favourable opinion of the pope researchers asked over 1000 people in 64 countries about who they thought was the world's best leader pope francis was most popular with roman catholics around 85 per cent of catholics who took part in the poll said they had a favourable opinion of him most of the people who did not believe in any god had a favourable opinion of the pope the president of win/gallup international said "pope francis is a leader who transcends his own religion"

it was fairly predictable where pope francis 79 was most popular the largely catholic countries of portugal and the philippines were the most enthusiastic about him with ratings of 94% and 93% pope francis's lowest ratings came in algeria tunisia and turkey these were the only countries in the poll to give francis a negative rating most people in azerbaijan said they did not know much about him the pope beat other world leaders like us president barack obama and german chancellor angela merkel the bbc's religious affairs correspondent said "francis has enjoyed enormous goodwill and won the hearts and minds not just of roman catholics but also of people from other religions"

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

PopeFrancisismorepopularthananypoliticalworldleader.Thisiswhata
nopinionpollhassuggested.ThepollwascarriedoutbyWIN/GallupInte
rnationalonThursday.Itfoundthat54percentofpeoplearoundtheworl
dhaveafavourableopinionofthePope.Researchersaskedover1,000pe
oplein64countriesaboutwhotheythoughtwastheworld'sbestleader.P
opeFranciswasmostpopularwithRomanCatholics.Around85percento
fCatholicswhotookpartinthepollsaidtheyhadafavourableopinionofhi
m.Mostofthepeoplewhodidnotbelieveinanygodhadafavourableopini
onofthePope.ThepresidentofWIN/GallupInternationalsaid:"PopeFra
ncisisaleaderwhotranscendshisownreligion."Itwasfairlypredictable
wherePopeFrancis,79,wasmostpopular.ThelargelyCatholiccountrie
sofPortugalandthePhilippineswerethemostenthusiasticabouthim,wi
thratingsof94%and93%.PopeFrancis'slowestratingscameinAlgeria,
TunisiaandTurkey.TheseweretheonlycountriesinthepolltogiveFranci
sanegativerating.MostpeopleinAzerbaijansaidtheydidnotknowmuc
habouthim.ThePopebeatotherworldleaderslikeU.S.presidentBarack
ObamaandGermanchancellorAngelaMerkel.TheBBC'sreligiousaffair
scorrespondentsaid:"Francishasenjoyedenormousgoodwillandwont
heheartsandmindsnotjustofRomanCatholicsbutalsoofpeoplefromot
herreligions."

FREE WRITING

Write about world leaders for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

There need to be a leader of the world. 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 Pope Francis. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. WORLD LEADERS: Make a poster about the best and worst world leaders. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. WORLD LEADER: Write a magazine article about having a leader of the world. What would they do? 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 world leaders. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on what makes a great leader. 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

F

g

F

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	popular	a.	well liked
2.	suggested	b.	indicated
3.	favourable	c.	positive
4.	took part	d.	participated
5.	transcends	e.	rises above
6.	predictable	f.	foreseeable
7.	largely	g.	mainly
8.	enthusiastic	h.	eager
9.	correspondent	i.	reporter
10.	enormous	j.	huge

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	Political leaders
2.	An opinion poll
3.	64
4.	85%
5.	His own religion
6.	Portugal and the Philippines
7.	Three
8.	Azerbaijan
9.	Religious affairs
10.	Hearts and minds

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

a

2.

c

3.

b

4.

d

5.

a

6.

d

7.

b

8.

d

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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Breaking News English Lesson: World Leader

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Pope Francis most popular world leader (28th March, 2016)

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