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Interview a Person in the News

For intermediate and above levels.

Get into pairs or small groups. For a 30-50 minute exercise, plan on 4-5 interviews. Arrange groups accordingly.
Each group selects an individual that has been in the news recently. This person may be a politician, movie star, business tycoon, criminal... the list is endless.
Create an interview. As a group, write questions and answers for that person.
Select one group member to be the interviewer, and one to be the interviewee.
Present your interview to the class

After each interview, the audience (other students) can suggest questions that should have been asked.

News Conference

Get in groups of 3-5 students. Each group decides on a personality or personalities (such as a band, political team, or representatives from a company) to be questioned at a news conference. Also decide on the reason for the news conference. Is there an announcement to be made? Is there a scandal?
In your group, try to predict what you will be asked during your news conference. Prepare answers for questions you think you will be asked.
Each group tells the other groups who their personality is and why they are having a news conference.
Each group prepares questions to ask the personalities of each other group during their news conferences. The teacher will circulate and help you prepare grammatically correct questions. Do not tell the other groups what your questions are!
Take turns holding press conferences. After each conference, the teacher will review language issues related to the conference

More lessons

The following links present lesson plans related to the media:

http://www.eslflow.com/ Extensive notes on many movies, including lesson plans, historical perspectives, and discussion questions.

http://esl.about.com/ Outline for a conversation on the topic of violence in the media.