Going for Gold

Activity 1: Ready, set, go!

Our first activity is a competition. Anyone can play, but for those of you who are using the supplement in class, I suggest you make it a group competition. Your teachers will divide you into groups and you will then compete against the other groups to see which group can answer the questions the fastest.

Use your Going for Gold to answer the questions below. To succeed, you will obviously have to scan quickly through the whole publication to find the specific information you need. You won't have time to read it thoroughly. (To make this easier, you might want to print out this page.)

1. Where were the seventh Asian Games held and how many countries participated?

2. How many gold medals did Malaysia win in the last Asian Games. Was the total more or less than Thailand's total?

3. How many people can the new Rajamangal Stadium in Hua Mark hold?

4. What sport does Khassaraporn Suta participate in?

5. If you live in Si Sa Ket, what sport can you see played in your home town?

6. Who was the first Thai to win an Asian Games gold medal? In what year was the medal won and what sport was it for?

7. Which Thai golfer seems to have the best chance of winning a gold medal?

8. What is Thai swimmer Torlarp Sethasothorn's fastest time in the 1,500m freestyle?

9. This year, two of the sports included in the Asian Games are demonstration sports. What are they and where can you see them?

10. What country is expected to win both the men's and women's diving competitions?

11. In the 1966 Asiad in Bangkok, which country won the gold medal in basketball? Which country won the silver?

12. For students who go to the Chamber of Commerce University, what is the nearest Asian Games sports stadium? What sport(s) can they see there?

13. Not including any mixed competitions (men and women competing together), how many gold medals will be at stake for the men? How about for the women?

14. Where is the closest place where you can buy Asian Games tickets if you live in the Hat Yai area?

15. Who was considered to be the overall star of the last Asian Games? Was it the first time he won a gold medal at an Asiad?

For this activity you will focus on the section of Going for Gold which deals lists the Bangkok Post's top ten Asian Games gold medal hopefuls. Your job is to go one step farther and narrow the list down to the top three. In other words, in your opinion, which three Thai athletes have the best chance of winning gold medals.

You may not agree with the Bangkok Post's choices and that is where a second section might be useful. It lists other athletes from which you may choose as well.

Both sections are quite easy to read and understand, but there are some words you might not know. Below is a little help.

Activity 3: Golden Greats

This section of Going for Gold tells the stories of three former Thai gold medalists, Rachaneewan Bulakul, Ussanee (Laopinkran) Wongsarlanka and Preeda Chullamonthon. Taken together, you will find some interesting similarities and differences among the three athletes. Below are some questions to help you make the comparisons.

1. In 1978 both Ussanee and Rachaneewan won gold medals over 200 metres. Did they both set Asian Games records as well?

2. Between the two of them, who seemed to have the most confidence of winning before their races began?

3. Among the three gold medalists which one was the best known prior to the Asian Games?

4. Each of the three is credited as being the first Thai to accomplish something. What were these first-time accomplishments?

5. All three golden greats expressed similar views about the importance of having the right attitude, especially for those athletes who are representing their country. According to Rachaneewan, "if they produce less than their best then that reflects badly on the country". Ussanee used a different expression to refer to "producing less than their best". What expression did she use? Preeda gave an example of bicyclists giving less than their best. What was this example?

Activity 4: Reading practice

Thus far, you could answer most of the questions without really reading very thoroughly. Skimming and scanning was probably enough. That's fine because it is probably exactly what most Bangkok Post readers are doing today. But there is one section - the opening section that is clearly meant for reading.

Reading in your second language is usually considerably more difficult than reading in your first language - even for a topic as interesting as the Asian Games. Therefore, when I teach newspaper reading to Thai people who are learning English, I always suggest that they look to see how an article is organised. It is often quite amazing how much easier this makes the article to read and understand.

Let's use this technique for the opening reading of Going for Gold. Below I have a list of topics found in this article. Look at the story and first determine the actual order in which these topics appear (which comes first, second, third, etc.). Then look more closely at the article and put a line at the end of each section - except, of course, for the last section. Some of the topics are only one paragraph long, others are developed over several paragraphs.

• The main sporting and housing facilities
  
• The true meaning and spirit of the Asian Games
  
• Possible gold medal winners for Thailand
  
• Special significance of this year's games
  
• Preparing for the games: serious problems emerge
  
• This year's Games are bigger and more complicated than previous Games held in Thailand
  
• Preparing for the games: the problems are solved
  
• Medal winners: big and powerful, small and surprising

•This lesson was prepared by Acharn Terry Fredrickson, BA Stanford, MA (TESL) University of Minnesota, Manager of the Educational Services Department at the Bangkok Post and general editor of this programme.