Around the World in English: Malala Yousafzai

Friday, November 15, 2013

How Malala Yousafzai made Jon Stewart's jaw drop (VIDEO)

SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/09/malala-jon-stewart_n_4073426.html

Jon Stewart isn’t easily impressed. But on Tuesday October 8, 2013, a 16-year-old left this sardonic late-show host speechless.

Exclusive - Malala Yousafzai Extended Interview Pt. 1

The Daily Show
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Click the CC button on the video to view the closed captions (written words/sentences in English)

Class discussion questions:

When did Malala realize the importance of education?
According to Malala, why are terrorists afraid of education?
When did the Taliban come to Swat Valley?
How did their behaviour change a few years later?
What gave Malala the courage to speak out publicly against the Taliban?
When did she realize that the Taliban had made her a target?
What does she say is the best way to fight violence?

Vocabulary

If your jaw drops, you open your mouth in a way that shows you are very surprised or shocked. e.g. His jaw dropped when he heard who had won.
When you snatch something from somebody you take it away from them, esp. by force. e.g. She snatched the toy from his hands.
to blast something means to destroy something with a bomb or gun e.g. A powerful car bomb blasted the building.
to slaughter means to kill a lot of people in a violent way e.g. Thousands of people were slaughtered in the civil war.
to flog someone means to hit someone very hard with a stick or whip as a punishment e.g. He was publicly flogged for breaking the country's alcohol laws.
When a person becomes a target, it means that someone is planning to attack them.

Now you can try the following quiz:

Malala leaves Jon Stewart speechless

Watch the next parts of Malala's interview on The Daily Show:

Exclusive - Malala Yousafzai Extended Interview Pt. 2

Exclusive - Malala Yousafzai Extended Interview Pt. 3

Related Articles
Documenting a Pakistani Girl’s Transformation
Malala did not deserve Nobel Peace Prize, say residents of her Swat Valley home

Related Post
Malala Yousafzai: Pakistan activist, 14, shot in Swat (BBC News video)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Malala Yousafzai: Pakistan activist, 14, shot in Swat (BBC News video)

Oct. 9 - Gunmen have wounded a 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls' education in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan.

Watch the video and answer the questions. Click on the heading below to view the questions alongside the video. If you click on "flip", you can see the answer to each question.

Alternatively, you can click on the image below to watch the video. Then answer the following questions.

What happened to the teenage girl? Why?
Is her life still in danger?
What did the Taliban announce in 2009?
How old was Malala then?
What did she do in reaction to this announcement?
Did she use her real name?
How did she feel while getting ready for school?
What did the head teacher advise the girls to do?
How many girls attended school that day?
According to the family friend, what will Malala do if she gets well?
Where is her family tonight?
How common are Taliban attacks in the area?
What will happen to the people who speak out against the militants?

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Rushed away for treatment, the teenage girl who dared to defy the Taliban. Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head. Doctors say the next few days will be critical. This was Malala in her beloved classroom. When the Taliban tried to take it from her, she spread the news around the world. It was 2009 and the militants controlling the Swat Valley decreed that girls' schools must close. Malala, then just 11, started a blog for the BBC Urdu Service written under a pen name. This was one of her entries.
MALALA: I was very scared getting ready for school today because the Taliban announced that the girls should stop going. Our head teacher told us at assembly we shouldn't wear a school uniform and just come in normal clothes. Out of 27 girls only 11 attended class today.
REPORTER: After the militants were driven out, Malala was an outspoken campaigner for education for girls winning recognition at home and abroad. A family friend told us she will fight on if she makes a good recovery.
FAMILY FRIEND: She will continue to educate herself, she will continue to inspire others also... I don't think they are going to chicken out, I don't think they are going to surrender.
REPORTER: But the Taliban have threatened to target her again. They said she is western-minded and will not be spared. Tonight Malala remains in intensive care with her family at her bedside. Brutal Taliban attacks are nothing new here but the shooting of a child has caused shock and revulsion. The militants have said anyone else who speaks out against them, as Malala did, will be silenced. Orla Guerin, BBC News, Islamabad

VOCABULARY

A militant is a person who is ready and willing to fight for a cause.
If a leader or government decrees something, they officially decide or order it. e.g. The City Council has decreed that all dogs must be kept on a leash.
A pen name is a name used by a writer instead of their real name.
If you chicken out, you decide not to do something because you are afraid. (informal) e.g. He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.
When you surrender, you stop fighting because you know that you will not win.
A brutal attack is a violent and cruel attack.
Revulsion is a very strong feeling of dislike or disgust.