Election Time! If you Vote for me,...

Wednesday15^th April

Hi everybody! How are you doing?

It was nice to see all of you again. There are only girls now!!!

So, we started the class ending the sentences starting with the first conditional:

If you are single (not married) and you meet somebody you really like…

…you’ll become friends / you’ll fall in love with him /he’ll be married

(as you can see, we have a bit of everything! Optimistic, pessimistic and realistic opinions!)

If you arrive early to catch a plane, it’ll be delay / the flight will be cancelled / you’ll get bored at the airport…

If you get to work late, your boss will be at work / you’ll have an unexpected meeting / you’ll be fired (lose your job) …

And so on…(etc.)

We continued practising the first conditional. This time with Murphy’s law.

Murphy’s Law says, ‘if something bad can happen, it will happen’. Murphy was a captain and an American engineer from the 1940s. He was investigating why planes crashed and he got a reputation for always thinking of the worst thing that could happen in every situation.

And we found out (discovered) why the Italian man that met an American on the train didn’t want to lend him his newspaper. It’s quite simple, ‘If I lend you my newspaper, I’ll kill you!’

Then, we started talking about…Politics!

It’s election time!

Words you might see or hear during an election

block vote	A way of voting in which your vote represents other members of your organization, especially at trade union meetings.
by-election	A special election, held between regular elections, when an area votes. A by-election can be 'called' if an existing M.P. dies or retires.
campaign (n)	In an election a campaign is a political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to win the vote of the electorate. Often called a 'political campaign' or an 'election campaign'.
campaign (v)	The things a candidate does to be elected. (KIssing babies, shaking hands, giving speeches to the WI etc.)
candidate (n)	The person who is running in an election.
coalition (n)	If there's no outright winner in an election a government can be formed in which several parties cooperate.
constituent (n)	A citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes.
constituency (n)	Each of the electoral areas or divisions in the UK which elect one or more members to parliament.
debate (n)	A formal discussion of the merits of something.
debate (v)	To argue for and against something.
deposit (n)	The sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand in British parliamentary elections.
dissolution (n)	The termination of the current parliament, which has to take place before a general election.
dissolved (v)	Once the dissolution of parliament has been announced, we say it has been dissolved.
elect (v)	The act of voting to select the winner of a political office.
election (n)	The formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office.
electorate (n)	The people who are eligible to vote in an election.
general election	An election held for a nation's primary legislative body.
gerrymander	To redraw electoral district boundaries for political advantage.
government	The political body with the power to make and/or enforce laws for a country,
House of Commons	The lower house of the British parliament.
House of Lords	The upper house of the British parliament.
independent	A candidate who is not controlled by a political party.
leader	The person who runs a political party. (Margaret Thatcher was the leader of the Conservatives).
local election	County, unitary authority, borough, district, city, town or parish elections.
MP	Abbreviation of Member of Parliament.
Member of Parliament	The person who represents their constituency in the House of Commons.
opposition	The major political party opposed to the party in office and prepared to replace it if elected.
party	An organization formed to gain political power.
policy	A deliberate act of government that in some way alters or influences the society or economy outside the government.
political	Related to politics.
politician	A person active in politics.
politics	The process by which governments make decisions.
PM	Abbreviation of Prime Minister.
prime minister	The person who holds the position of head of the government.
proxy vote	The delegation of someone to vote on someone else's behalf.
rhetoric	The art of using language as a means to persuade someone to your way of thinking.
run	To campaign to stand for a political position.
spin	To present the facts in such a way as to sway public opinion.
spin doctor
veto	A vote that blocks a decision.

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/elections.html#sthash.mlyNyxtb.dpuf

British Politics and Election Vocabulary

Things you might see around election time
ballot paper(s)
leaflet(s) / pamphlet(s)
party political broadcast
politician(s)
poll card(s)
poster(s)
postal vote(s)
vote(s)
voting booth(s)

Main Political Parties in the UK - from left to right. Their Colours and Logos

Labour - Red - Rose	Liberal Democrats - Gold - Bird	Conservatives - Blue - Tree

We also mentioned: make a speech and make promises.

Politicians make a lot of promises during their campaigns. But they not always keep their promises.

Next week we are going to create a political party. You need a name for your party, a slogan for your campaign and of course, a lot of promises when you make your speech! Don’t forget to talk about: education, housing, work, healthcare, taxes and Research and Development (R+D).

We’ll vote for a candidate in our next class!!!!

Homework: write the definition of seven words related to politics. Your classmates will have to guess what the word is.

As you worked hard in class and also did your homework, we are going to start our ‘Final Games’ with a ‘six’ for everybody.

GAME 1

Player 1	6
Player 2	6
Player 3	6
Player 4	6
Player 5	6
Player 6	6
Player 7	6

C.U. next Wednesday!

Enjoy your weekend!