Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. reigning
    • ex. My friend is the reigning US tennis champion.
  2. in hopes of (something)
    • ex. I studied really hard in high school in hopes of getting into a good university.
  3. pursue
    • ex. I want to pursue a career in teaching.
  4. obtain
    • ex. I obtained my driver’s license last week.
  5. give up
    • ex. The prince gave up his title in order to marry the girl he loved.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Filipino grandmaster and reigning US chess champion Wesley So is now a US citizen. According to So, he moved to the US almost 10 years ago in hopes of a better future. He said that becoming an American citizen was a dream come true.

So was born in the Philippines in 1993 and moved to the US in 2012 to study at Webster University while pursuing a chess career. During his time in the US, So became a major international chess player. In 2016, the 27-year-old won the Grand Chess Tour as well as an Olympic gold medal, and he also took first place in the US Championship in 2017 and 2020.

So is not the first athlete who changed citizenship for a sports career. Brazilian soccer player Diego Costa obtained Spanish citizenship in 2013 to represent Spain in FIFA, and in 2019, tennis star Naomi Osaka announced that she was going to give up her US citizenship to play for Japan in the Olympics.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Citizenship

  • Do you think it was a good idea for Wesley So to change his citizenship? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think it should be easy to become a citizen of another country? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think countries should allow dual citizenship (citizenship of two countries at the same time)? Why or why not? Discuss.

Finding Opportunities Abroad

  • What are some common reasons that people look for opportunities abroad (ex. not enough opportunities in their own country, they want an adventure)? Why? Discuss.
  • Should all countries create more opportunities for foreigners? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what’s the hardest thing about starting a new career abroad (ex. language issues, culture problems)? Why? Discuss.