The English Lesson 20 theme is ROBBEN ISLAND

Part One: Learn English Skills

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:

Lying twelve kilometres off the coast of Cape Town, Robben Island attracts hundreds of tourists every month.

Yet, not so long ago, a South African writer called it "The Island of Exiles". This is because, for more than 400 years, it was a place where the unwanted people of society were sent. For example, about a hundred years ago, insane people and those with leprosy had to stay in a hospital on the island so that they would be isolated from the rest of Cape Town's people.

Others to be isolated on Robben Island were criminals, and for many years it was used as a prison. Between the 1960s and 1980s the island's prison became known around the world as the place where the South African government sent anti-apartheid activists.

The most famous of these political prisoners was Nelson Mandela who spent more than twenty years in the Robben Island jail for opposing the government's racist policies.

Despite the hardships he and the other political prisoners suffered, they continued to oppose apartheid. As a result of this, Robben Island became well known during the fight against the unfairness of the government.

After South Africa became a democratic country, the prison was closed and Robben Island was declared a National Monument. It was also converted into a very popular museum that is responsible for attracting those hundreds of tourists every month.

So, although Robben Island has a dark history and was once the home of outcasts, it now forms an important part of the democratic South Africa.

Your Turn

How far is Robben Island from Cape Town?
Why did an author call it "The Island of Exiles"?
Name three types of people who were sent to Robben Island.
Who is the most famous person to be jailed on Robben Island?
What is Robben Island today?
Genius question: Find a word in the text that means the same as the noun "outcasts".

Part Two: Learn English Structure

SEE, LOOK and WATCH

SEE, LOOK and WATCH are three words that are often difficult to tell apart.

SEE

SEE is the ordinary word to say that something 'comes to our eyes'.

Did you SEE the jail cells while you were on Robben Island?
Can Fred SEE the penguins on the island?

When we want to say that we see something at the moment of speaking we often use CAN SEE.

Sally CAN SEE the dolphins in the water. (NOT Sally IS SEEING the dolphins in the water.)

LOOK

We use LOOK (AT) to talk about concentrating, paying attention or trying to see as well as possible.

To help you understand the difference from see, have a look at these sentences

I LOOKED AT the photo of the OWLS students but didn't SEE anybody I knew.
James: Do you SEE the man in the suit?
Joanne: Yes.
James: LOOK again.
Joanne: Goodness! It's Fred!

We use LOOK when there is no object, and LOOK AT before an object. Compare these sentences:

Look! (NOT: Look at!)
Look at me! (NOT: Look me!)

WATCH

WATCH is like LOOK (AT) but suggests that something is happening, or going to happen. We WATCH things that change, move or develop.

WATCH that tour guide. I want to know everything he does.
I like to WATCH the whales during the winter months.
We WATCH television (or TV) but we SEE plays and films.
Did you WATCH Baywatch last night?
Did you SEE any of the Mandela documentary films they were showing at the cinema?

Your Turn

Complete these sentences using SEE, CAN SEE, WATCH and LOOK (AT).

Jennifer ________ Robben Island from the beach at Bloubergstrand.
Did you ________ that Robben Island documentary on TV last week?
LOOK/LOOK AT the seals on the rocks.
Simon likes to ________ the seagulls flying through the sky.
Can Perry _______ the prison in the distance?

Part Three: Funnies

Three men were stranded on a deserted island and wanted to get back to civilisation.

When a genie's bottle washed up on the shore, they rushed over to it and rubbed it until the genie appeared. He granted them each a wish. The first man wished that he was back home with his wife and family, and suddenly he was sitting in his lounge at home.

The second man had the same wish and in an instant he was sitting at the breakfast table, surrounded by his wife and children. The third man was now alone on the island. "Oh I'm lonely now. I wish my friends were back here," he said. And in a flash they were all back on the island!

On another island there were three other men, also of varying intelligence.

The first decided to jump into the water and began swimming to the mainland. He soon became tired and swam back to the island.

The second man was slightly fitter and more intelligent. He did some stretching exercises before jumping into the water and swimming towards the land. The water was very cold though, and his legs started to cramp so he had to swim back to the island.

The third man was the most intelligent of the three - he walked across the bridge to the mainland!

Part Four: Quotations

The tragedy of Africa, in racial and political terms [has been] concentrated in the southern tip of the continent - in South Africa, Namibia, and, in a special sense, Robben Island. - Oliver Tambo (ex-Robben Island prisoner and former ANC leader)

While we will not forget the brutality of apartheid, we will not want Robben Island to be a monument to our hardship and suffering. We would want Robben Island to be a monument... reflecting the triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil. A triumph of non-racialism over bigotry and intolerance. A triumph of a new South Africa over the old. - Ahmed Kathrada 1993 (former Robben Island prisoner)

Part Five: Links

Robben Island Museum

The official web site of the Robben Island Museum is filled with information about the island's history, it's plant and animal life as well as the new museum. There are also many photographs of the island and some links to other related sites.

http://www.robben-island.org.za

Answers

Answers to Part One

Twelve kilometres
For more than 400 years, it was a place where the unwanted people of society were sent.
People with leprosy, insane people and criminals were banished to the island.
Nelson Mandela
Robben Island has been turned into a museum. It is also a National Monument.
"Exiles"