domingo, 20 de agosto de 2023

The Spanish Girls Win the Football World Cup

Spain has beaten England 1- 0 to win their first Women's World Cup in Sydney. In a very tough match, where the Spanish players have shown their football and strategic skills to play as a compact team together, the female footballers have finally defeated the powerful English Lionesses, who won the European Cup Final last year (see this blog's entry on August 2nd, 2022).

Here you can read about Spain's well "deserved" victory on BBC News, or Australia's ABC coverage of "La Roja's" triumph, which are suitable for B2 learners and above. Some of the interesting words you can find are: deservedly, heartbreak, to be outplayed, flair, the whistle, a corner kick, nerve-racking, stoppage time, to slot, the winner, goalkeeper, midfield, stunning [saves], the penalty spot, to award [a penalty], lengthy, deflated, a curling [effort], the crossbar, to be draped in [green], to be thrust [into the limelight].

Next, you can find a lesson plan by my colleague Pablo A, which includes an interview to English football journalist Semra Hunter for the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour, where the controversy about Mr. Rubiales's kiss to Jenni Hermoso is discussed. The lesson includes listening, speaking and vocabulary tasks, with two versions for C1 and C2 students respectively. Some of the most interesting words you can find in the tasks are: to step down, to speak out, a hunger strike, bizarre, to flip the script, to stand  down, worship, former, in terms of, to stand by [somebody], to turn up, to work their socks off, to be entitled to, to vow [to change], to grab, consensual, ludicrous, a wimp, a flimsy [excuse], a snog, a witch hunt, defiant.