The Reading / Listening - Drones - Level 3

The British Army has successfully tested a new weapon to destroy drones. It has created a radio-wave weapon system that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky. Many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy soldiers, tanks, and cities. Drones are a very effective way of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot of damage. The British Army's new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer chips that control drones. This causes the drones to crash or fly off-course. An Army spokesperson said the system could take out more than 100 drones almost instantly. He said it could give the Army a big advantage on the battlefield.

The U.K. government spent more than $53 million developing the anti-drone weapons system. The system is very cheap to operate. It costs just 18 cents to fire one shot at a swarm of drones. This is one-tenth of the price of a standard bullet used by the British Army. A spokesperson said it was important to find cheap and effective ways to defend British soldiers. He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year war against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence estimates that last year, Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Drones - Level 0,  Drones - Level 1   or  Drones - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/04/17/in-first-british-army-uses-radio-wave-weapon-to-knock-out-drone-swarm/
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-new-radio-wave-weapon-rapiddestroyer-takes-down-drone-swarms/
  • https://www.ft.com/content/41703199-201e-4702-b34a-a0a633cdfcf5


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. DRONES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about drones. 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?
       army / weapon / drone / sky / soldier / tank / damage / system /  computer chips /
       government / cheap / bullet / war / Ukraine / combat / intelligence / defend / attack
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. BAN: Students A strongly believe drones should be banned on battlefields; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. ARMY ROLES: How dangerous are these army roles? Could you do this? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Danger

Could You Do This?

Frontline soldier

 

 

Tank driver

 

 

Army doctor

 

 

Engineer

 

 

Intelligence officer

 

 

Vehicle mechanic

 

 
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. SOLDIER: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "soldier". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. DRONE USES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best drone uses at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Package deliveries
  • Aerial photography
  • Search and rescue
  • Pollution monitoring
  • Gaming
  • Police surveillance
  • Mapping
  • Sport broadcasts

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. successfully a. To break something so it cannot be used.
      2. destroy b. A person or country that wants to fight you.
      3. attack  (verb) c. Something that helps you do better than others.
      4. enemy d. To try to hurt someone or something.
      5. soldiers e. Very quickly; right away.
      6. instantly f. In a good way; doing something right.
      7. advantage g. People in the army who fight in wars.

    Paragraph 2

            8. developing h. A group of parts that work together.
            9. system i. To use or make something work.
            10. operate j. Guess about number or size, not exact.
            11. bullet k. Working well; doing what it should do.
            12. effective l. A small piece of metal shot from a gun.
            13. war m. Making something new or better.
            14. estimate  (verb) n. Fighting between countries or groups.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. British Army tests on an anti-drone weapon were successful.     T / F
  2. Very few armies worldwide use drones.     T / F
  3. The new anti-drone weapon uses low-frequency radio waves.     T / F
  4. The new anti-drone weapon can bring down 100 drones on an instant.     T / F
  5. The new anti-drone weapon cost over $50 million to develop.     T / F
  6. An army bullet cost 10 times more than a shot from the new weapon.    T / F
  7. The British Army is looking for cheaper ways to protect its soldiers.     T / F
  8. More than 80,000 drones have hit Ukraine in the past three years.     T / F

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

  1. tested
  2. destroy
  3. effective
  4. instantly
  5. advantage
  6. cheap
  7. standard
  8. defend
  9. combat
  10. estimates
  1. protect
  2. straight away
  3. benefit
  4. guesses
  5. knock down
  6. fighting
  7. inexpensive
  8. trialled
  9. usual
  10. successful

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

  1. armies around the world use drones
  2. Drones are a very effective way
  3. This causes the drones to crash or
  4. take out more than 100 drones
  5. a big advantage on
  6. The system is very
  7. one-tenth of the price of a standard
  8. effective ways to defend
  9. increasingly seen in use in frontline
  10. defend against attacks from
  1. fly off-course
  2. combat
  3. cheap to operate
  4. the battlefield
  5. more than 18,000 drones
  6. of attacking enemies
  7. to attack enemy soldiers
  8. bullet
  9. almost instantly
  10. British soldiers

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
way
course
destroy
advantage
enemy
take
system
chips

The British Army has successfully tested a new weapon to (1) ______________________________________________ drones. It has created a radio-wave weapon (2) ______________________________________________ that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky. Many armies around the world use drones to attack (3) ______________________________________________ soldiers, tanks, and cities. Drones are a very effective (4) ______________________________________________ of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot of damage. The British Army's new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer (5) ______________________________________________ that control drones. This causes the drones to crash or fly off-(6) ______________________________________________. An Army spokesperson said the system could (7) ______________________________________________ out more than 100 drones almost instantly. He said it could give the Army a big (8) ______________________________________________ on the battlefield.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
against
important
cheap
estimates
developing
increasingly
defend
shot

The U.K. government spent more than $53 million (9) ______________________________________________ the anti-drone weapons system. The system is very (10) ______________________________________________ to operate. It costs just 18 cents to fire one (11) ______________________________________________ at a swarm of drones. This is one-tenth of the price of a standard bullet used by the British Army. A spokesperson said it was (12) ______________________________________________ to find cheap and effective ways to (13) ______________________________________________ British soldiers. He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year war against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are (14) ______________________________________________ seen in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence (15) ______________________________________________ that last year, Ukraine had to defend (16) ______________________________________________ attacks from more than 18,000 drones."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) The British Army has successfully tested a new weapon ______
     a.  to destroy drone
     b.  to destroys drones
     c.  to destroy drones
     d.  too destroy drones
2)  a radio-wave weapon system that can knock swarms of drones ______
     a.  out of the sky
     b.  out of the sly
     c.  out of the shy
     d.  out of the spy
3)  Many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy soldiers, ______
     a.  tanks, and city
     b.  tanks, end cities
     c.  tank, and cities
     d.  tanks, and cities
4)  new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy ______
     a.  the computer clips
     b.  the computer fries
     c.  the computer chaps
     d.  the computer chips
5)  He said it could give the Army a big advantage ______
     a.  on the battles field
     b.  on the battled field
     c.  on the bottle field
     d.  on the battlefield

6)  The system is very ______
     a.  cheap for operate
     b.  cheap to operate
     c.  cheap too operate
     d.  cheap on operate
7)  This is one-tenth of the price of ______
     a.  a standard bullet
     b.  a standard pallet
     c.  a standard millet
     d.  a standard mullet
8)  it was important to find cheap and effective ways to ______
     a.  defence British soldiers
     b.  defense British soldiers
     c.  defend British soldiers
     d.  defends British soldiers
9)  He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year ______
     a.  war again Ukraine
     b.  war gains Ukraine
     c.  war against Ukraine
     d.  war gain Ukraine
10)  Drone swarms are increasingly seen in use ______
     a.  in hotline combat
     b.  in inline combat
     c.  in skyline combat
     d.  in frontline combat

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The British Army has successfully tested a new (1) __________________________________________________ drones. It has created a radio-wave weapon system (2) __________________________________________________ swarms of drones out of the sky. Many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy soldiers, (3) __________________________________________________. Drones are a very effective way of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot of damage. The British Army's new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer (4) __________________________________________________ drones. This causes the drones to crash or fly off-course. An Army spokesperson said the system could (5) __________________________________________________ than 100 drones almost instantly. He said it could give the Army a (6) __________________________________________________ the battlefield.

The U.K. government spent more than $53 (7) ________________________________________________ anti-drone weapons system. The system is very cheap to operate. It costs just 18 cents to (8) __________________________________________________ at a swarm of drones. This is one-tenth of the price of a standard (9) _________________________________________________ the British Army. A spokesperson said it was important to find cheap and effective (10) __________________________________________________ British soldiers. He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year war against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are increasingly (11) __________________________________________________ in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence estimates that last year, Ukraine had to (12) __________________________________________________ from more than 18,000 drones."

Comprehension questions

  1. Who does the article say uses drones?
  2. What does the article say drones attack besides soldiers and cities?
  3. What kind of radio waves does the anti-drone weapon use?
  4. How many drones could the anti-drone weapon take out instantly?
  5. Where might the anti-drone weapon be a big advantage?
  6. How much did the anti-drone system cost to develop?
  7. How much more expensive is a bullet than a shot from the new weapon?
  8. What does the British Army hope to defend?
  9. Where are drones increasingly being seen?
  10. How many drones were used against Ukraine in the past three years?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  Who does the article say uses drones?
a) hobbyists
b) many armies
c) the police
d) football clubs
2) What does the article say drones attack besides soldiers and cities?
a) airports
b) nuclear power plants
c) airplanes
d) tanks
3) What kind of radio waves does the anti-drone weapon use?
a) low-frequency radio waves
b) shortwave
c) high-frequency radio waves
d) VHF
4) How many drones could the anti-drone weapon take out instantly?
a) more than 100
b) fewer than 100
c) roughly 100
d) exactly 100
5) Where might the anti-drone weapon be a big advantage?
a) in space
b) on the battlefield
c) in the air
d) the USA

6) How much did the anti-drone system cost to develop?
a) more than $53 million
b) exactly $53 million
c) less than $53 million
d) roughly $53 million
7) How much more expensive is a bullet than a shot from the new weapon?
a) 19 times
b) twice as expensive
c) ten times
d) a few times
8) What does the British Army hope to defend?
a) British soldiers
b) Britain
c) all soldiers
d) Ukrainian soldiers
9) Where are drones increasingly being seen?
a) at trade shows
b) on the Internet
c) in cities
d) in frontline combat
10) How many drones were used against Ukraine in the past three years?
a) fewer than 18,000
b) exactly 18,000
c) more than 18,000
d) about 18,000

Role play

Role  A – Package Delivery
You think package delivery is the best use of drones. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their uses. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): aerial photography, police surveillance or sport broadcasts.

Role  B – Aerial Photography
You think aerial photography is the best use of drones. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their uses. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): package delivery, police surveillance or sport broadcasts.

Role  C – Police Surveillance
You think police surveillance is the best use of drones. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their uses. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): aerial photography, package delivery or sport broadcasts.

Role  D – Sport Broadcasts
You think sport broadcasts is the best use of drones. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their uses. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): aerial photography, police surveillance or package delivery.

After reading / listening

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

'weapon'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'drone'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • 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:

    • successfully
    • knock
    • cause
    • chips
    • 100
    • big
    • 53
    • 18
    • price
    • pointed
    • seen
    • 18,000

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic 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.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Drones

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'weapon'?
    3. What do you know about drones?
    4. What are the best uses of drones?
    5. How useful are drones on battlefields?
    6. How good is the army of your country?
    7. Should drones be banned in warfare?
    8. What do you think of the radio-wave anti-drone weapon?
    9. How can we end today's wars?
    10. What's the best way to stop wars in the future?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'drone'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How might drones help your life?
    5. Would you like to be a soldier?
    6. Would you like to use a drone?
    7. Why do countries go to war?
    8. What wars has your country fought?
    9. What will wars look like in 100 years from now?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the British Army?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The British Army has successfully (1) ____ a new weapon to destroy drones. It has created a radio-wave weapon system that can (2) ____ swarms of drones out of the sky. Many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy soldiers, tanks, and (3) ____. Drones are a very effective way of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot (4) ____ damage. The British Army's new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer chips that control drones. This causes the drones (5) ____ crash or fly off-course. An Army spokesperson said the system could take out more than 100 drones almost instantly. He said it could (6) ____ the Army a big advantage on the battlefield.

    The U.K. government (7) ____ more than $53 million developing the anti-drone weapons system. The system is very cheap to operate. It costs just 18 cents to (8) ____ one shot at a swarm of drones. This is one-tenth of the price of a standard (9) ____ used by the British Army. A spokesperson said it was important to find cheap and effective ways to defend British soldiers. He (10) ____ to Russia's use of drones in its three-year war against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are increasingly (11) ____ in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence estimates that last year, Ukraine had to defend (12) ____ attacks from more than 18,000 drones."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     tested     (b)     tests     (c)     test     (d)     testing    
    2. (a)     rock     (b)     lock     (c)     knock     (d)     block    
    3. (a)     city     (b)     cityscape     (c)     citywide     (d)     cities    
    4. (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     to     (d)     of    
    5. (a)     for     (b)     by     (c)     to     (d)     at    
    6. (a)     win     (b)     give     (c)     beat     (d)     back    
    7. (a)     spender     (b)     spent     (c)     spending     (d)     spendthrift    
    8. (a)     heat     (b)     fire     (c)     burn     (d)     flame    
    9. (a)     bullet point     (b)     bulleted     (c)     bullet     (d)     bullets    
    10. (a)     drew     (b)     focused     (c)     angled     (d)     pointed    
    11. (a)     seeing     (b)     sees     (c)     see     (d)     seen    
    12. (a)     gained     (b)     gains     (c)     again     (d)     against

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. attack nymee soldiers
    2. Drones are a very teefecfiv way
    3. high-eecnyuqrf radio waves
    4. setdroy the computer chips
    5. take out more than 100 drones almost tnatnisly
    6. give the Army a big aavtneadg

    Paragraph 2

    1. the anti-drone weapons mstsye
    2. a standard lbulte used by the British Army
    3. a rmwsa of drones
    4. endefd British soldiers
    5. in use in frontline bctmao
    6. U.K. intelligence ttsaemies

    Put the text back together

    (    )         chips that control drones. This causes the drones to crash or fly off-course. An Army
    (    )         of damage. The British Army's new system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer
    (    )         of drones. This is one-tenth of the price of a standard bullet used by the British Army. A spokesperson said it was important
    (    )         seen in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence estimates that last
    (    )         soldiers, tanks, and cities. Drones are a very effective way of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot
    (    )         spokesperson said the system could take out more than 100 drones almost instantly. He said it could give
    (    )         system. The system is very cheap to operate. It costs just 18 cents to fire one shot at a swarm
    (    )         the Army a big advantage on the battlefield.
    (  1  )   The British Army has successfully tested a new weapon to destroy drones. It has created a radio-
    (    )         The U.K. government spent more than $53 million developing the anti-drone weapons
    (    )         to find cheap and effective ways to defend British soldiers. He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year
    (    )         war against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are increasingly
    (    )         wave weapon system that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky. Many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy
    (    )         year, Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones."

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   tested   weapon   has   new   army   a   successfully   .
    2. It   weapon   system   a   radio-wave   has   created   .
    3. Knock   the   sky   drones   swarms   out   of   of   .
    4. Radio   drones   that   chips   control   waves   destroy   computer   .
    5. It   Army   the   give   big   could   a   advantage   .
    6. The   to   operate   is   system   cheap   very   .
    7. It   18   fire   cents   just   shot   to   one   costs   .
    8. A   bullet   Army   standard   used   British   the   by   .
    9. Cheap   ways   its   defend   soldiers   and   effective   to   .
    10. Drone   increasingly   are   in   swarms   seen   use   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The British Army has successfully tested / testing a new weapon to destroy drones. It has created a radio-wave weapon system that can knock swarms of drones out / up of the sky. Many armies around the world using / use drones to attack enemy soldiers, tanks, and city / cities. Drones are a very effective ways / way of attacking enemies. They can cause a lot / lots of damage. The British Army's new / newly system uses high-frequency radio waves to destroy the computer fries / chips that control drones. This causes / causing the drones to crash or fly off-course. An Army spokesperson said the system could take out more than 100 drones almost instantly / instant. He said it could give the Army a big advantage on the battlefield.

    The U.K. government spending / spent more than $53 million developing the anti-drone weapons system. The system is very cheap to / for operate. It costs just 18 cents to fire one shoot / shot at a swarm of drones. This is one-tenth of the price to / of a standard bullet used by the British Army. A spokesperson said it was importance / important to find cheap and effective ways to / for defend British soldiers. He pointed to Russia's use of drones in its three-year war again / against Ukraine. The U.K. government said: "Drone swarms are increasingly seen / seeing in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. U.K. intelligence estimates that / what last year, Ukraine had to defense / defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones."

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

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_  Br_t_sh  _rmy  h_s  s_cc_ssf_lly  t_st_d  _  n_w  w__p_n  t_  d_str_y  dr_n_s.  _t  h_s  cr__t_d  _  r_d__-w_v_  w__p_n  syst_m  th_t  c_n  kn_ck  sw_rms  _f  dr_n_s  __t  _f  th_  sky.  M_ny  _rm__s  _r__nd  th_  w_rld  _s_  dr_n_s  t_  _tt_ck  _n_my  s_ld__rs,  t_nks,  _nd  c_t__s.  Dr_n_s  _r_  _  v_ry  _ff_ct_v_  w_y  _f  _tt_ck_ng  _n_m__s.  Th_y  c_n  c__s_  _  l_t  _f  d_m_g_.  Th_  Br_t_sh  _rmy's  n_w  syst_m  _s_s  h_gh-fr_q__ncy  r_d__  w_v_s  t_  d_str_y  th_  c_mp_t_r  ch_ps  th_t  c_ntr_l  dr_n_s.  Th_s  c__s_s  th_  dr_n_s  t_  cr_sh  _r  fly  _ff-c__rs_.  _n  _rmy  sp_k_sp_rs_n  s__d  th_  syst_m  c__ld  t_k_  __t  m_r_  th_n  100  dr_n_s  _lm_st  _nst_ntly.  H_  s__d  _t  c__ld  g_v_  th_  _rmy  _  b_g  _dv_nt_g_  _n  th_  b_ttl_f__ld. 

    Th_  _.K.  g_v_rnm_nt  sp_nt  m_r_  th_n  $53  m_ll__n  d_v_l_p_ng  th_  _nt_-dr_n_  w__p_ns  syst_m.  Th_  syst_m  _s  v_ry  ch__p  t_  _p_r_t_.  _t  c_sts  j_st  18  c_nts  t_  f_r_  _n_  sh_t  _t  _  sw_rm  _f  dr_n_s.  Th_s  _s  _n_-t_nth  _f  th_  pr_c_  _f  _  st_nd_rd  b_ll_t  _s_d  by  th_  Br_t_sh  _rmy.  _  sp_k_sp_rs_n  s__d  _t  w_s  _mp_rt_nt  t_  f_nd  ch__p  _nd  _ff_ct_v_  w_ys  t_  d_f_nd  Br_t_sh  s_ld__rs.  H_  p__nt_d  t_  R_ss__'s  _s_  _f  dr_n_s  _n  _ts  thr__-y__r  w_r  _g__nst  _kr__n_.  Th_  _.K.  g_v_rnm_nt  s__d:  "Dr_n_  sw_rms  _r_  _ncr__s_ngly  s__n  _n  _s_  _n  fr_ntl_n_  c_mb_t  _n  _kr__n_.  _.K.  _nt_ll_g_nc_  _st_m_t_s  th_t  l_st  y__r,  _kr__n_  h_d  t_  d_f_nd  _g__nst  _tt_cks  fr_m  m_r_  th_n  18,000  dr_n_s."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the british army has successfully tested a new weapon to destroy drones it has created a radio wave weapon system that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky many armies around the world use drones to attack enemy soldiers tanks and cities drones are a very effective way of attacking enemies they can cause a lot of damage the british armys new system uses high frequency radio waves to destroy the computer chips that control drones this causes the drones to crash or fly off course an army spokesperson said the system could take out more than 100 drones almost instantly he said it could give the army a big advantage on the battlefield

    the uk government spent more than 53 million developing the anti drone weapons system the system is very cheap to operate it costs just 18 cents to fire one shot at a swarm of drones this is one tenth of the price of a standard bullet used by the british army a spokesperson said it was important to find cheap and effective ways to defend british soldiers he pointed to russias use of drones in its three year war against ukraine the uk government said drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in frontline combat in ukraine uk intelligence estimates that last year ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18000 drones

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheBritishArmyhassuccessfullytestedanewweapontodestroydrones
    .Ithascreatedaradio-waveweaponsystemthatcanknockswarmsofdr
    onesoutofthesky.Manyarmiesaroundtheworldusedronestoattacken
    emysoldiers,tanks,andcities.Dronesareaveryeffectivewayofattacki
    ngenemies.Theycancausealotofdamage.TheBritishArmy'snewsyste
    museshigh-frequencyradiowavestodestroythecomputerchipsthatc
    ontroldrones.Thiscausesthedronestocrashorflyoff-course.AnArmys
    pokespersonsaidthesystemcouldtakeoutmorethan100dronesalmos
    tinstantly.HesaiditcouldgivetheArmyabigadvantageonthebattlefield
    .TheU.K.governmentspentmorethan$53milliondevelopingtheanti-
    droneweaponssystem.Thesystemisverycheaptooperate.Itcostsjust
    18centstofireoneshotataswarmofdrones.Thisisone-tenthofthepric
    eofastandardbulletusedbytheBritishArmy.Aspokespersonsaiditwasi
    mportanttofindcheapandeffectivewaystodefendBritishsoldiers.Hep
    ointedtoRussia'suseofdronesinitsthree-yearwaragainstUkraine.Th
    eU.K.governmentsaid:"Droneswarmsareincreasinglyseeninuseinfr
    ontlinecombatinUkraine.U.K.intelligenceestimatesthatlastyear,Ukr
    ainehadtodefendagainstattacksfrommorethan18,000drones."

    Free writing

    Write about radio-wave weapon for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Drones should never be used by armies in wars. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. DRONES: Make a poster about drones. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. BANNED: Write a magazine article about banning the use of drones for warfare. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    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 drones. Ask him/her three questions about drones. Give him/her three of your ideas. 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

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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