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This is a lesson plan for adult higher-level students (high B2+) in which students learn some political idioms and put them into practice in a discussion. Download the hand out and key below:

Politics student handout

Note: I found most of the political idioms on the site below, but designed the matching task, sentence matching activity and discussion myself:

http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/electionidioms.html

Politics – Idioms and Discussion

Match the idioms to their definitions:

the hand-out has pretty pictures but they didn’t come out here 🙁

1.       A two/three/four-horse race	2.       A political football	3.       Hot air
4.       Toe the party line	5.       A political hot potato	6.       A hung parliament
7.       Press the flesh	8.       Get on/off your soapbox	9.       Throw in the towel
10.   Bent/crooked	11.   Live/be in an ivory tower	12.   Have the common touch

 

a.       Be corrupt b.      When there’s no clear winner in an election c.       Empty words d.      To speak passionately about something you believe in e.      A problem that doesn’t get solved because of political reasons

f.        To give up g.       A competition/election only a few people can win h.      To shake hands with the public i.         To be able to relate to the public

j.        To be detached from reality k.       A potentially controversial  topic l.         Conform to and express the same views as the leaders of your party.

 

Put the expressions in the sentences:

1. After the speeches the politicians went into the crowd to __________________ with members of the public.
2. What the chancellor said about trickle-down economics is a load of ________________, I don’t believe it for a second.
3. The problem with most politicians is that they __________________________ and have no idea how their policies affect people.
4. I reckon half the politicians in this country are _____________________, you just have to follow the money.
5. The opposition have decided to __________________________ and accept that they lost the election.
6. Normally, if a cabinet minister doesn’t ________________________ they’ll soon be out of a job.
7. Early polls suggest the result will be a _____________________ with no clear winner.
8. It looks like the election will be a ___________________ between Labour and the Conservatives.
9. Prison reform has been a ______________________ for years because prisoners don’t vote!
10. The subject of MPs’ expenses is a ______________________, nobody wants to touch it but I’m sure it’s going to blow up soon.
11. The new leader of the Liberals _______________________, you can see it in the way he talks to his constituents.
12. ______________________ Tony, you’re always banging on about conspiracy theories but we’ve heard it all before.

Discussion

1. How much of a politician’s time should they spend on local issues relevant to their constituency?
2. How much of a politician’s time should they spend on national issues?
3. Should all politicians have to toe the party line? When should they be allowed to speak out against their leader/policy in their party?
4. If a politician doesn’t toe the party line, what should the leader do?
5. Which politicians are always spouting hot air? Can you trust anything a politician says? Are there any politicians in your country that you believe in?
6. Who should get the first opportunity to form a government in a hung parliament, the party that got the most votes? Or the party most likely to be able to form a stable coalition?
7. What have been the biggest political hot potatoes in your country in the last few years?
8. Are there any issues that are treated like political footballs in your country?
9. What do you think when you see a politician pressing the flesh? Why do you think they do it? Have you ever pressed the flesh with a politician?
10. What do you get on your soap box about?
11. Which politicians in your country have the common touch? And which don’t?
12. Are elections in your country normally a two-horse race?
13. If you could change one thing about the political system in your country, what would it be?
14. How much do politicians earn in your country? Is it enough? Why do people get into politics?

Key

Definition match

1. G
2. E
3. C
4. L (l)
5. K
6. B
7. H
8. D
9. F
10. A
11. J
12. I (i)

Sentence match

1. Press the flesh
2. Hot air
3. Live/are in an ivory tower
4. Crooked/bent
5. Throw in the towel
6. Toe the party line
7. Hung parliament
8. Two-horse race
9. Political football
10. Political hot potato
11. Has the common touch
12. Get off your soap box – used to tell someone to stop talking about something

Follow up

Students could write a CAE/CPE style report on the state of politics in their country, the report could then suggest ways in which politicians could get young people to take and interest in politics.