Theme: Gambling and the national lottery
Lexical area: Language of gambling (to bet, to win, take risks, play it safe, the odds etc.)
Instructions for language assistants in Italics
Classroom materials
Introduction
This lesson looks at the theme of gambling and ties in with the 10th birthday of the National Lottery in the UK. Depending on where you are working, talk to some friends or other teachers about the general attitudes towards gambling before bringing the topic into the classroom. Adapt the activities as much as you feel necessary to your local cultural context.
Task 1 gets students thinking about gambling by giving some odd examples of things that you can bet on in the UK.
Task 2 is a version of bingo and is a staple TEFL activity. It can be used with many different topics.
Task 3 is a magazine style quiz for students to find out if they are risk takers.
Task 4 is a reading text with comments from the general public who have been asked how their lives have changed since the National Lottery began. It can be used as a spring - board to discussions and role - plays.
Task 5 is a game called Jackpot. Pairs compete against each other to test their knowledge of vocabulary or grammar. It can be adapted to any level of learner.
Task 6 requires students to use their imaginations and decide what they would do if they won a lottery jackpot.
1. How likely is it?
Task one is for intermediate levels and above but you could easily simplify it for lower levels. The meaning of the words ‘bet’ and ‘gamble’ should be clear from the context but be prepared to explain them. Students think about the questions and then you can ask them, ‘are you confident / sure about that?’ Encourage them to think about the risk involved with betting.
Task 1 How likely is it?
Guess the answers to these questions!
- Which country will win the next football World Cup?
- Will it snow in London on Christmas Day?
- Who will win the Oscar for best actor next year?
- Will man walk on Mars by the end of the decade (Jan 1st 2010)?
- Which country will host the Olympic Games in 2012?
- Who will win the next general election in the UK?
Which ones do you feel confident about?
Look at this probability line. The word ‘likely’ means the same as ‘probabl
|
Very likely
|
Quite likely |
Not very likely |
| __(90%)____________________________(60%)__________________________________(10%)___ | ||
Talk about your predictions and compare them with your partner’s.
- “I don’t think it’s very likely to snow on Christmas day in London, but it’s very likely that Brazil will win the next World Cup.”
In the UK you can bet on all of these questions, as well as on football matches, horse races and dog races. Now think about where you live and discuss the following questions.
- What can you bet money on?
- Is there an age limit for betting?
- Have you ever bet on anything?
- Is there a National Lottery or anything similar in your country?
2. Vocabulary bingo!
Before the class cut up 30 small pieces of paper. For very low levels write the numbers 1 to 30 on them and use them to play number bingo. Get the students to write 8 numbers in the bingo board and then pull the numbers from a bag or an envelope. Have fun calling them in true bingo fashion. “2 little ducks, twenty – two!” etc. If students are new to bingo do a demonstration on the board and teach them to say “line” and “bingo.” When they get the idea, ask the winner to be the bingo caller.
An alternative to the traditional numerical bingo is vocabulary bingo and is good for revising any group of words. Ask your students to look in their course books or vocabulary books and to tell you 30 words they have learnt in English this term. Give the board pen to a student to write the words up on the board as class-mates call them out and you write the words on the bits of paper and put them in a hat (or an envelope or a plastic bag!) Ask students to write eight of the words on the bingo board. Call out the words one by one. (You could say a sentence with the word contained in, or you could say the words in their mother tongue so they have to translate) When the first student gets a Bingo, they take over as bingo caller.
Task 2 Vocabulary bingo!
Bingo is very popular in the UK. Have you ever played bingo? Listen to your teacher, keep your eyes down and good luck!
Bingo Board!
3. Are you a risk taker?
This is a short magazine style quiz for pre-intermediate students and above. Students answer the questions to discover whether or not they like risk. As an extension, you could get students to write an extra question or two to ask the rest of the group.
Task 3 Are you a risk taker?
Do you like taking risks or do you prefer to play it safe? Answer these five questions to find out how risky you are.
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Are you a risk taker? |
Now count the number of As, Bs and Cs you put and read the results:
- Mostly As – You like to play it safe and hate taking risks.
- Mostly Bs – You take risks from time to time but are quite sensible.
- Mostly Cs – You like to live life on the edge! Take care!
4. Happy 10th birthday to the national lottery
The National Lottery started in 1994 and the first tickets were sold in 1995 so it’s the 10th birthday. This reading text is for intermediate levels and above. Depending on the level, you may need to pre-teach some of the vocabulary. There are 2 discussion questions which follow the reading and an optional role play activity for higher levels.
Task 4 Happy 10th birthday to the national lottery
To commemorate the 10th birthday of the National Lottery in the UK a radio programme asked a select group of people “Has the National Lottery Changed your life?” Here are some of their replies:
| Jackie: “It hasn’t changed my life at all. I did buy a few tickets at
the beginning but I never won anything so I gave up. I felt like I was
throwing my money away. I mean, what are the odds that you’ll win? It’s
nearly impossible. A friend of mine always says, “You’ve got to be in
it, to win it” but I think it’s better to save the money.” |
| Paul: “I was the first jackpot winner! I couldn’t believe it when my
numbers came up on the TV screen on the first night. I think most of
Britain was glued to their telly that night. Anyway, since then my life
has never been the same. My wife and I decided to build a mansion in
the country and we both gave up our jobs. We went crazy, bought five
cars each and went on hundreds of holidays. We decided to only buy the
best of everything; marble floors, pure gold taps, Persian carpets. In
the end we couldn’t finish the house and we had to sell it. We lost
everything. Our relationship changed and we split up. In fact, I
haven’t got any of the money now. I’m back at work and I live in a
small flat on my own. I wish I’d never bought that first lottery
ticket. I’ve had a taste of the rich life but to be honest, I was much
happier before.” |
| Clare: “I work for a charity that runs an after – school club for
children. We were given some money from the Lottery fund six years ago
and it has made a big difference to us. We have moved the club to a
bigger building and we built a special room for the children to do
crafts and cookery. We also built a sports centre so now there’re lots
of things for the children to do after school when they are waiting for
their parents to finish work.” |
| Ben: “I’ve bought a lottery ticket every Saturday for the past ten
years. I always play with the same numbers. So far I’ve only won a
small prize but I’m sure that one day I’ll win the jackpot! I can’t
stop playing now. Just imagine if one week I don’t buy a ticket and my
numbers come up. I’ll regret it forever. When I go on holiday I have to
get my neighbour to buy the ticket for me and I phone her to check she
has bought it. I guess I’m addicted, but as some of the money goes to
charity I don’t feel guilty about it” |
| Simon: “Since the lottery started in 1994 they’ve made it easier and
easier to play. Now you can use a mobile phone to play by text message
or you can play on-line. I reckon this tempts people who haven’t got
the money to spare to spend it on lottery tickets. It’s always the
poorer people who gamble more anyway. They live in the hope that one
day they’ll win and their lives will improve. It’s all rubbish. Money
can’t make you happy.” |
- Do you agree with Jackie’s friend that “You’ve got to be in it to win it!”?
- Do you agree with Simon that ‘Money can’t make you happy?’
- In the UK’s National Lottery, 28% of all money made goes to charity organisations. Do you think that playing the lottery is a good way of giving money to charity?
- Work in pairs and choose two of the people from the radio programme. Don’t tell each other who you are. Imagine you meet at the radio station and start the conversation. Try to guess who each other is.
5. The jackpot
This is a multi-level activity to revise any vocabulary or grammar items. All you need is lots of cut up blank bits of paper. Students play in pairs against a partner. Give each pair a bunch of blank papers and demonstrate the game clearly before you start. Decide what you need to revise. This is an example to revise the use of the prepositions in /on / at. Read out a sentence with a missing word. As you miss out the word say ‘beep’.
- Example
- I was born ___(beep) 1974.
- My birthday is ___ (beep) November 22nd
- I got up today ___ (beep) 8 o’clock etc. etc.
As you read the sentence, students write what they think the missing word (the ‘beep’) is on a bit of paper. They mustn’t show their partner. When everyone has written something, say “1, 2, 3, turn over” and students should turn over their answer on the table and put it next to their partner’s. If both of them are correct the papers stay in a pile in the middle. If both are wrong, they stay in a pile in the middle. The bits of paper accumulate in the middle until one of the pair gets an answer right and the other gets it wrong they win all the accumulated bits of paper in the middle. This is the jackpot! After ten or so sentences, the winner in each pair is the one with the most bits of paper.
Task 5 The jackpot
You are going to play a game against your partner. Listen carefully to your teacher. Good luck!
6. Lottery winner!
How much is ₤10, 000,000 in the currency where you are working?
Calculate it more or less. Students are going to imagine they have won this amount in a lottery.
(If you could get your hands on a copy of the song ‘If I had a million dollars’ by the Bare Naked Ladies or ‘Money Money Money’ by Abba it would make a lovely introduction to this activity) Students imagine that they have won the equivalent of ₤10, 000,000 in a lottery. For lower levels you could mime the scene of winning the money and show pictures of luxury items to activate their mind set.
Task 6 Lottery winner!
You have won ₤10, 000,000 in a lottery! How much is this in your currency?
Work in pairs or small groups and think about what you would do if you won this much money.
Think about the following questions and be prepared to share your ideas with the class.
- How would you feel?
- What would you buy?
- Would you give any of the money to charity?
- Would you share the money with family and friends?
- Would you stay in the same town or in the same country?
- Would you save any of the money?
- Do you think you would be happier?
Internet links
This site has advice for gambling addicts.
http://www.ncpgambling.org/
This part of the National Lottery site explains where and how the money raised is spent.
http://www.national-lottery.co.uk/whereTheMoneyGoes.jsp
This site has opinions on gambling laws being changed in UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/have_your_say/gambling.shtml
This site has an outline of the new laws proposed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3754960.stm
By Jo Budden
| Attachment | Size |
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| gambling.pdf | 83.73 KB |
