Current affairs. Protests around Europe

Listening: Schools closed in France as students clash with police

Why are people protesting across Europe?

Amid a wave of diverse local grievances, protests have erupted across Southern and Western Europe this week, sweeping through France, Albania, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.

Demonstrations against living costs and school conditions have rocked France since late September, with many turning violent. Meanwhile, Albania has entered its fifth day of anti-government riots and protests over general economic conditions have taken place in Milan and in several cities in Portugal.

Spanish protests targeted housing affordability and the right to housing, while motor oil refinery workers in Greece gathered over demands for better workplace safety.

• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/europe-protests-france-spain-portugal-2026-explainer

• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw240zl08dm5o

• https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/19/wages-vs-prices-the-economic-pressures-behind-europes-protests

Vocabulary. Word building

 The Logical Song by Supertramp

Complete the song using the correct form of the words given. 

When I was young, it seemed that life was so ______ WONDER, 

a miracle, oh, it was ______ BEAUTY, ______ MAGIC. 

And all the birds in the trees,                                                 

they'd be singing so ______ HAPPY, 

oh, ______ JOY, oh, ______ PLAY, watching me. 

But then they sent me away to teach me how to be _____ SENSE, ______ LOGIC, oh, ______ RESPONSE, ______ PRACTICE. 

And then they showed me a world  where I could be so ______ DEPEND, 

oh, ______ CLINIC, oh, ______ INTELLECT, ______ CYNIC. 

There are times when all the world's ______ SLEEP, the questions run too deep for such a simple man. 

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned I know it sounds absurd, please tell me who I am. 

I said watch what you say, they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh, ______ FANATIC, ______ CRIME. 

Oh, won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're ______ ACCEPT, ______ RESPECT, oh, _______ PRESENT, a vegetable! 

Oh, take, take, take it, yeah! But at night, when all the world's ______SLEEP, the questions run so deep for such a simple man. 

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned I know it sounds absurd please tell me who I am, who I am… who I am… who I am. 

Focousing on the past

Past Simple, Past Progressive Games

• Irregular Past Simple - Jeopardy Grammar Game
• Present Vs. Past Tenses - Football Game
• Present Vs. Past Tenses - Walk the Plank Game
• Past Simple Snakes and Ladders - Regular/Irregular Verbs - Snakes and Ladders
• Past Progressive vs. past simple tenses - Snakes and Ladders Game
• Past Simple - Spelling Game
• Present perfect progressive - matching game
• Irregular Past Tense - Spelling Game
• Present Tenses Vs. Past Tenses - Classification Game
• Past Simple Betting - Betting Jeopardy TV Style Game
• Past Progressive vs. Past Simple Tense - Betting Jeopardy TV Game
• Past Simple Tense - Sequencing Reading Game/Exercise

https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-video-lessons/grammar-practice/general-grammar-practice/coca-cola-commercial-used-to/668073

Past simple

We use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order, i.e. for a story’s main events.

• When she opened the door, she pretended we weren’t there and went to her room. 
• He called me and told me to go, but he wasn’t there when I arrived. 

We also use the past simple to talk about past habits or past states.

• We often went to the bar for a drink before dinner.
• He really liked sport and was very fit.

Past continuous

We use the past continuous to set the scene in a story.

• Last night, I was walking home listening to my iPod when…
• The sun was shining, and lots of tourists were lying on the beach. Suddenly…

We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past or longer actions interrupted by shorter actions in the past simple.

• After dinner, I went into the living room and saw that she was crying. 
• When she opened the door, we were talking about her. 

Past perfect simple

We use the past perfect simple to talk about an earlier past: events which happened before the main event.

Earlier single events

We use the past perfect simple to talk about earlier events and experiences or single actions completed earlier in the past.

• When she opened the door, he had already left.  
• I realised that I had been there before. 
• When I met her, I had never been in a serious relationship. 
• He noticed I had cleaned the car. It was smooth and shiny. 

We use the past perfect simple (and not continuous) to say how much or how many we had done of something earlier in the past.

• We had driven 500 miles, and we needed some rest. 
• How many hours had he slept when you woke him up?

Duration from earlier in the past (stative verbs)

We use the past perfect simple with stative verbs to talk about states or situations that had started earlier in the past. We often use how long, for or since, always, etc.

• The day Anne died, they had been married for 48 years. 
• The day I left, I had been in England for exactly four years. 
• She told me she had always hated her sister. 

Past perfect continuous

Duration from earlier in the past (dynamic verbs)

We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about longer continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.

• I was furious. I had been waiting for him in the cold, and he didn’t call to say he’d be late. 
• We had been driving for less than an hour when the car broke down. 

Repeated actions from earlier in the past (dynamic verbs)

We use the past perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about repeated actions from earlier in the past.

• I couldn’t believe it. She had been writing a letter every day for over a year. 

Housing crisis.

Coversation questions. Warm-up:

• It is said an average person lives in 11 homes in their lifetime. What is your number?
• If money was not a problem, where would you live and what kind of house would you have?
• Making housing more accessible would help reduce…
• What share of a household budget do you think is spent on average on housing?
• Why has the price of housing risen so dramatically in the last decade?
• What share of a household budget is spent on housing in low-income households?
• In many countries, a large share of young people is still living with their parents. Is Spain one of these countries? Justify your answer 
• Is giving homeless people homes more effective and sensible than making them stay in shelters or on the street?
• How much is Airbnb affecting the housing market in cities where rent is on the rise?
• What can be done about rising homelessness in big cities?
• Does it make sense to encourage homeownership through tax policies?
• Should housing policy be more balanced, supporting rental housing and homeownership on a more equal footing?

Time to listen:

Vocabulary:

• affordable home
• low-income housing
• budget
• low -income households
• mortgage
• tenants
• landlords
• overburdened with housing costs
• homeowners
• social housing
• to make a down payment
• disposable income
• average price
• to evict /eviction
• homelessness
• rising home prices
• overcrowding and under occupations
• real state bubble
• subsidized
• housing issues
• cohousing
• utility bills
• to downsize
• squatting/squatters
• to rehabilitate /rehab, rehabilitation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2kej47095no

Tens of thousands of people have protested across Spain calling for greater protections for tenants after the government failed to pass emergency housing legislation.

About 50 marches took place on Saturday in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. "There is a lot of anger in the streets," a spokesperson for the Valencia Tenants' Union said. Clashes have taken place between some protesters and police in the city. It is calling for a general strike over the housing crisis.

Getty Images

An encampment has been set up for days by protesters at Puerta del Sol in Madrid

https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/global-rents-increase-dramatically/audioplayer/global-rents-increase-bemp3

Spanish Prime Minister has called an early election for 29 November after recent defeats on legislation aimed at addressing the country's housing crisis. Speculation about a snap election had been building over the weekend after parliament rejected two decree laws put forward by the minority government to protect tenants in the rental market.

Linkers, connectors. (Discourse markers)

 LINKERS/CONNECTORS PRACTICE: 

Linking words, an interactive worksheet by Teacher_FRM
liveworksheets.com

https://www.liveworksheets.com/worksheet/en/english-second-language-esl/445415

EXPRESSING CONTRAST (LINKERS OF CONTRAST)

ALTHOUGH 

Although I was feeling depressed, I went to the party.

DESPITE

Despite the rain, I went to the party.

Despite feeling depressed, I went to the party.

IN SPITE OF 

In spite of the rain, I went to the party.

In spite of feeling depressed, I went to the party.

EVEN IF 

I will go to the party, even if I feel depressed.

WHEREAS 

Adults can make their own decisions, whereas teenagers have to do what other people tell them.

HOWEVER 

Mike is a very good singer. However, he can’t play any instruments.

IN CONTRAST

BUT 

Their music is very good. But, their lyrics are not very interesting.

ON THE ONE HAND….. ON THE OTHER HAND 

On the one hand, they are extremely rich. But on the other hand, they have lots of debts.

EXPRESSING PURPOSE (LINKERS OF PURPOSE)

We use linkers of purpose to introduce reasons:

SO (THAT) 

I have brought a microphone so that the audience will be able to hear us.

IN ORDER TO

We need to register with the council in order to vote.

TO 

I am phoning to ask information about the event.

SO AS TO

We all need to vote so as to express our opinions.

 

U2 50 anniversary- Listening

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm9w4042yklko

Exactly 50 years after they formed, U2 returned to Dublin to play a gig at the school where they met.

"We've escaped from the lab," declared Bono, as the quartet took to a stage in the playground. "How's the experiment working for you?"

The pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive may not have been born when U2 were the world’s biggest band, but they gave them a hero's welcome, waving signs that said, "I love U2", "It's a beautiful day - no school", and, "Bono, my mum says hi!"

The group treated them to a career-spanning set that included hits like I Will Follow, Vertigo and With Or Without You, as well as their latest single, Silencio.

As they played, teachers pulled down pupils who’d climbed on their classmates' shoulders, before getting swept up in the moment and dancing along themselves.

As he looked out from the same stage where U2 made their debut in 1976, Bono became emotional.

"Thanks for, er… Yeah... I didn't… Wow," said the frontman, temporarily lost for words.

U2 were all pupils at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the mid-1970s

https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-powerpoints/reading-comprehension/general-reading-comprehension/celebrities-famous-people/u2-ppt/37405

Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the _________?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to___________

You say, one love, one life
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you ___________ for it

Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in __________?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to ____________

Well it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One!

Have you come here for ____________?
Have you come to raise the _____________?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your _______________

Did I ask too much? More than a lot
You gave me nothin' now it's all I got
We're one but we're not the same
Well we hurt each other then we do it again

You say love is a __________, love a higher __________
Love is a _________, love the higher ____________
You ask me to __________ but then you make me ____________
And I can't be holdin' on to what you got
When all you got is ______________

One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life, with each other
Sisters, brothers

One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One

Mediation.

 Mediation. 

How to do the Written Mediation?

 Tips
- READ the instructions well: What's my role? To whom do I need to write? What about? Why? To what effect? How? What is the context?...
- Identify and select the relevant information.
- Use your own words, paraphrase (do not just copy from the text you are given), expand the information (explain, comment, clarify), connect ideas (compare and contrast, exemplify, relate to what you know), talk about the intentions, nuances and connotations of the text.
- Take into account the audience you are writing to and the context and adapt the discourse appropriately: formal / informal.