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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

US
ELECTIONS
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1 Warm-up
How much do you know about politics and elections in the United States? Answer the questions.

1. There are two main political parties and they are called ...

a. Democrats and b. Democrats and c. Liberals and Republicans.

Conservatives. Republicans.

2. The people who work in the US Congress to make new laws are called

a. Ministers and Senators. b. Representatives and c. Senators and

Secretaries. Representatives.

3. The US Constitution is

a. the supreme law of the b. the highest court of the c. what politicians say they
country. country. are going to do if they
win the election.

4. Presidential candidates run for office every

a. three years b. four years c. five years

5. When a new president is inaugurated and takes office, they have to

a. move into the White b. throw a party for c. promise to support the
House international leaders Constitution

6. A president is allowed to hold office for a total of

a. two terms b. three terms c. there is no limit

What do you know about how American presidents are elected?

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2 Vocabulary

Read these sentences about the US election process and think about what the six words/phrases in
bold mean. Then match the words to the meanings, 1-5. One word does not have a matching meaning
– can you define it?

• Presidential candidates campaign around the country and compete to try to win their party’s
nomination.
• Both political parties hold a national convention to select a Presidential nominee.
• On election day, people in every state cast their vote.
• People vote for the candidate they want to represent them in the general election.

1. : speak publicly to explain your ideas

2. : take part in a democratic election process

3. : a meeting which many people attend

4. : the official suggestion that someone should be considered to do a job

5. : officially speak or act for a person or group of people

Which two of these words are often used in business contexts?

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3 Watch for the main idea

You are going to watch a short video titled "How to become president of the USA." Before you watch,
look at this infographic and try to predict the missing information.

Then watch the video and complete the missing information.

Is there anything you heard that is new or surprising to you?

Have you ever heard of the Electoral College?

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4 Reading
Read this short text to find out more about the Electoral College and then answer questions 1-3
below.

The Electoral College

How it works

A. On Election Day in early November, people in every state cast their votes for their preferred candidates. But
American voters are not voting directly for their president. They are actually voting for a group of people called
electors. In the US, only presidential elections use the electoral college system.

B. The electoral college works like this: each state gets a certain number of electors, chosen by their political parties
and based on the state’s Congressional representation. States with larger populations have more electors than
those with smaller populations. The popular vote is counted state by state, rather than nationally. In mid-
December, the electors from each state meet to officially select the candidate who won the most votes in that
state. The candidate who has more than 270 electoral votes (out of 538) wins the national election.

C. In most states, it’s winner-takes-all: whichever candidate has the largest share of the vote captures all the electoral
votes for that state. However, in Maine and Nebraska, a proportional system is used, so in these two states,
electors are able to represent the popular vote more accurately.

D. It is possible that a candidate can receive the most votes in the whole country, but still lose the electoral vote.
This happened in 2016. The electoral college system was written into the Constitution more than 200 years ago,
intended as a compromise between a popular vote and a vote in Congress. To change this system, a Constitutional
amendment would be required.

source: usa.gov

1. Put these three states in order from most to least number of electors: Alaska, California and Texas.

2. Why does this system sometimes produce confusing results?

3. Is this system likely to change?

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5 Talking point

Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you think the American system of choosing a leader is fair?

2. Given that the electoral college is unlikely to disappear, can you think of any ways that it could be
modified?
3. How is this system of choosing a leader similar to what happens in other countries? How is it
different?
4. The voting age in the United States is 18. Do you think this is the right age or should it be changed?
Why/not?
5. Why do you think the president is limited to two terms of office?
6. Do you agree that many people in the world are interested in American elections? Why/not?

6 Optional extension / homework

Extend the infographic to include more information about the electoral college system, using key
words and pictures.

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Transcripts

3. Watch for the main idea

Speaker: Lots of people dream of becoming President of the United States. But to officially run
for office, a person needs to meet three basic requirements established by the U.S.
Constitution (Article 2, Section 1).

Speaker: A Presidential candidate must be: - A natural-born citizen (U.S. citizen from birth), - At least
35 years old and, - A U.S. resident (permanently lives in the U.S.) for at least 14 years

Speaker: People with similar ideas usually belong to the same political party. The two main parties in
the U.S. are Republican and Democrat. Many people want to be President. They campaign
around the country and compete to try to win their party’s nomination.

Speaker: In caucuses, party members meet, discuss, and vote for who they think would be the best
party candidate. In primaries, party members vote in a state election for the candidate they
want to represent them in the general election.

Speaker: After the primaries and caucuses, each major party, Democrat and Republican, holds a
national convention to select a Presidential nominee. The party’s Presidential nominee
announces his or her choice for Vice President.

Speaker: The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the
general population. On election day, people in every state cast their vote .

Speaker: When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors.
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College.

Speaker: Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets 270
votes or more wins. The newly elected President and Vice President are then inaugurated
on January 20th.

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Key

1. Warm-up

10 mins.
In this stage, the topic of the lesson is introduced, along with some key vocabulary. Students can work alone or in
pairs to complete the multiple-choice questions and then you can go over the answers with the whole class. You
may need to elicit or explain the meaning of term of office in question 6 – this means the standard time a president
is in power.

1. b. 2. c. 3. a. 4. b. 5. c. 6. a.
Set the follow-up question and elicit a couple of brief answers but don’t confirm or deny any ideas at this stage.
Tell students they are going to find out more in the lesson about how the country elects a president.

2. Vocabulary

10 mins.
In this stage, students define some higher-level vocabulary which they will need to understand the main input of
the lesson. Set the context and give students a couple of minutes to read the sentences. They can work in pairs to
try to define the words in bold and then match them with the correct meanings. Check answers and at the same
time check/drill pronunciation – stressed syllables are underlined.

1. campaign 2. cast their vote

3. convention 4. nomination
5. represent
Note: cast their vote is a formal expression.
Identify the extra word and elicit a definition - you could ask if students know any other words with this ending
and what the ending means.
The extra word is nominee, a person who receives a nomination. Other words with this ending are employee,
trainee, interviewee ("verb + ee" makes a person who is the object of the verb).
Finally, pose the follow-up question.
The words often used in business contexts are campaign (an advertising or marketing campaign) and convention
(a large gathering or meeting for people who work in the same industry or have the same job).

3. Watch for the main idea

15 mins.
In this stage, students work with an infographic to predict and make notes about the basic process of the US
presidential elections. Go over the instructions and give students a couple of minutes, working in pairs, to look at
the chart and discuss what might be missing. Then play the video and students can make notes.
Students can check answers in pairs. If necessary, play the information a second time and then check answers.
Finally, pose the follow-up questions and elicit a couple of brief answers from students. It is very likely that they
were not aware of the role of the electoral college – tell students that this will be explained in the next stage.
Answers to the infographic:

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1. a natural-born citizen of the US; 2. at least 35 years old; 3. a US resident; 4. a caucus; 5. a primary; 6. the best
candidate; 7. the vice-president; 8. total numbers of Senators and Representatives in Congress; 9. 538; 10. 270
or more; 11. January 20

4. Reading

10 mins.
In this stage, students read a text and demonstrate a more detailed understanding of how the electoral college
system works. Give students a few minutes to read the text – they should not have any problems with vocabulary,
but allow them to ask questions or use an English-English dictionary if they need to. Then they should work in pairs
to answer the questions, using information from the text, general knowledge and imagination. Check answers with
the class and encourage students to speak in full sentences and give reasons and examples for their answers.

1. Based on population, California has 54 electors, Texas 40 and Alaska 3.

2. Because a candidate may win a populous state’s electoral vote by a tiny margin, all the other votes in this state
will effectively be discounted. It is also possible for states with smaller populations to have a disproportionately
strong influence on the result. In these situations, the electoral college vote does not give a true picture of the
popular vote.
3. It would be difficult to make such a fundamental change to the Constitution, so this is unlikely.

5. Talking point

15 mins.
In this stage, students can offer personal responses to some of the issues raised in the lesson. Encourage them to
answer fully by giving reasons and examples, and to explore alternative points of view, while listening respectfully
to others. Monitor and support as necessary and offer correction and feedback in the last few minutes. If the
discussion is not taking off, you could move on to the Optional extension / Homework task.

6. Optional extension / homework

3 mins to explain.
In this stage, students can demonstrate their understanding of the electoral college system by creating an additional
section for the infographic they used when they watched the video. They can work in pairs or alone, and they
should use only key words and drawings to convey information. Students could then work in (new) pairs or small
groups and compare infographics and/or take turns to explain the information to each other, using their own
words. The main aim here is for students to master the content, so respond mainly to any factual mistakes
or misunderstandings. Using key words and mind maps is a key academic skill. Variation: students create an
infographic describing the election process in their own country, using vocabulary from the lesson.

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