Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
In June 2016, there was a vote in Britain. The big question was: Should Britain stay in the European Union? The outcome of this vote surprised many people. The majority of British voters wanted to get out of the EU. Now, Britain must go through a process to leave the EU. This process is being called Brexit. The word Brexit combines the word Britain with exit.
Many people look back on this vote and want to know what happened. In fact, there was a large divergence of opinions inside Britain during the vote. England and Wales strongly wanted Brexit, but Ireland and Scotland wanted to stay in the EU. The majority of younger voters wanted to stay in the EU, too. With so many dynamic opinions, it will be interesting to watch Brexit happen.
Andy and Gary were both surprised by Brexit. Hear their thoughts in today’s English lesson.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Gary: Do you remember where you were when the news came through, Andy?
Andy_H: Oh, I remember.
Gary: Brexit 2016!
Andy_H: Brexit, Brexit, Brexit! What a strange and unimaginable outcome.
Gary: Well, what’s really interesting to look back on is, when England went through the process of joining the European Union, it was a process to get people to vote and to support becoming a part of it because England didn’t want to be.
Andy_H: Exactly!
Gary: But the recent vote that took place had a really dynamic divergence of voting for and voting against.
Andy_H: …and voting against. And what’s really interesting is that an overwhelming majority of Millennials voted against Brexit. They wanted to be a part of the EU.
Gary: Now, they have two years, once they declare Article 50, to get out of the EU. So, it’s this huge, long process even though it’s quote, unquote done.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Gary asks Andy about Brexit. Although Andy and Gary live in the US, they still have many opinions about the outcome of this vote in Britain. Like most people, they were very surprised when Britain decided to get out of the EU. They didn’t think that the majority of people were going to vote this way. In fact, Andy calls the result quote, unquote “unimaginable.”
Gary tells Andy that, now that Brexit is a reality, Britain will have two years to leave the European Union after they declare Article 50. Both Andy and Gary are interested to watch the process that will happen during these two years. Since there are so many divergent opinions, it will probably not be an easy process.
Did your country ever separate from another country? How do you feel about Brexit?