Danny Bhoy on Breakfast

A bit of Scottish stand-up comedy...

Council Housing

BEFORE WATCHING:

1. Are there any housing problems in your area? Which?
2. Which social groups are the most affected?
3. Can you give any specific examples? (homeless/squatters etc and their whereabouts).
4. Can you describe the conditions in which these people live?

WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO ABOUT HOUSING PROBLEMS IN THE UK AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Describe Frances and Mandy’s home:

___________________________________________

2. Their health problems: The child’s _______________________

His parents’_________________________

3. Frances puts the problem down to __________________, and thinks they are also responsible for _________________________

4. From the information they give us on the screen we learn that:

Priority over houses is given to immigrants who _________________

The regulation for immigrants also applies for    _________________

5. The numbers last year:

________________ new dwellings were built for social needs

________________ people are still on the social housing waiting lists

6. The government hasn’t come up with either __________________ or with ________________ to build more social houses.

  

DEBATE:

A decent house is a basic need and a right for everyone.

Find ways of fighting the problem of homelessness. Choose the best.

Childcare fees higher than housing costs in UK

Read about this report and watch a video on BBC News and answer the following questions:

1. RAISING CHILDREN: How can parents make savings? Complete this table:

	Savings	Easy or difficult (and why)
Education
Food
Toys
Going out
Childcare
Entertainment

2. EXPENSES:Rank these. Put the things kids can most do without at the top.

• sports equipment   • mobile phone   • brand clothes   • candy and soda

• video games   • music   • club activities   • parties

3. LANGUAGE CLOZE

Families in the U.K. now pay more on childcare than on their mortgage. The (1) ____ costs of raising children are now (2) ____ yearly housing loan repayments. This is according to a survey conducted by Britain's Family and Childcare Trust. The organization says that in some (3) ____ of the country, nursery fees have risen by 13 per cent in the past year. The cost for babysitters and child-minders has risen by an average of four per cent. The report's author Jill Rutter told the Nursery World website that her (4) ____ showed that childcare in the U.K. is becoming (5) ____ and less affordable for families. She also said an insufficient (6) ____ of places in nurseries shows the U.K.'s system isn't working.

The report could well make would-be parents think (7) ____ about starting a family, or about the number of children they have. A family of four with one child (8) ____ a nursery and another in an after-school club spends an average of $12,571 a year. This compares to the average yearly housing loan payments of $12,000. Families are now spending (9) ____ quarter of their income on childcare. This does not include the costs of (10) ____, clothing and entertaining children. There are also the costs of toys, books and electronic gadgets on (11) ____ of that. The chief executive of the Trust warned that when many parents have to spend more than a quarter of their income on childcare, it's clear that the system "isn't fit for (12) ____ ".

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

1.	(a)	annulled	(b)	analysis	(c)	annual	(d)	annul
2.	(a)	outstripping	(b)	outstanding	(c)	outsourcing	(d)	outstaying
3.	(a)	parties	(b)	parts	(c)	partners	(d)	departs
4.	(a)	proof	(b)	doodles	(c)	scribbles	(d)	findings
5.	(a)	fewer	(b)	smaller	(c)	less	(d)	lower
6.	(a)	palette	(b)	number	(c)	criteria	(d)	flow
7.	(a)	twice	(b)	too	(c)	few	(d)	second
8.	(a)	attendant	(b)	attends	(c)	attendance	(d)	attending
9.	(a)	the	(b)	two	(c)	a	(d)	full
10.	(a)	foodstuffs	(b)	foodies	(c)	fodder	(d)	feeding
11.	(a)	place	(b)	top	(c)	list	(d)	demand
12.	(a)	purpose	(b)	reason	(c)	excuse	(d)	rationale

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1403/140306-childcare.html#ixzz2xZChacIu

Cultural Awareness

Here you have some fun adverts from a bank to see the importance of cultural awareness.


Never underestimate the importance of local knowledge!

Useful vocab: get some some shut eye --- be frowned upon


The one with the eels in China:

The one with the commuter:

The one with the chrysanthemum in Italy:

Housing Vocab and Listening

Some LISTENING EXERCISES for you to practice:

1. Housing (you can find extra listening in the Follow-up section)

2. Homes and mortgages (More exercises can be found at the bottom of the page)

How clean is your house?

Watch again (if you're strong enough) the first part of the show HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE?

To find out how he learn to clean watch PART 2

Finally, watch the results in PART 3

A history of British homes

From the first Georgian townhouses to back-to-back Victorian terraces - and from 1960s towerblocks to sprawling modern estates - British homes have changed their shapes and sizes, and changed with the times, through the past 250 years.

Read more and watch the video of this exhibition here.

After that, surf the net for more related videos and articles.