Listening 3: How Relevant is the Commonwealth?

LISTENING 3

How Relevant is the Commonwealth? (00:24–08:49)

Vocabulary
1. to take on valence — to acquire attractiveness, significance
2. to inculcate — to instill (an idea, attitude, or habit) by persistent instruction

Notes
1. Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal (born 19 August 1955), is a British-Dominican diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
and took office on 1 April 2016. She is the 2nd Secretary-General from the Caribbean and the 1 st woman to hold the post.
2. Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British surreal comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something
larger in scope and influence, including touring stage shows, films, albums, books and musicals. The Pythons’ influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music.

PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. What kind of political entity, to your knowledge, is the Commonwealth? When was it set up?
2. What do you know about the role of this association?

VIEWING TASK
a) Watch the first part of the video (0:24–3:10) and tick the points you hear about the British Empire’s contribution to its colonies.

b) Watch the second part of the video (3:11–8:49) and answer the questions:
1. Why has the Commonwealth grabbed the attention of the public and media recently?
2. What was achieved by the Commonwealth before 2016?
3. What ties the Commonwealth countries together?

Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The Commonwealth is often criticised for being outmoded and ineffective, but what do you think
compels the member states to stay within the association?
2. What, to your knowledge, is the reason for the current revival of the UK’s interest in the Commonwealth?

OUT-OF-CLASS VIEWING
Watch the third part of the video (8:50–22:40) out of class and get ready to discuss the critical thinking questions.

Critical Thinking
1. Did the speakers, in your opinion, manage to make a convincing case in assessing the present relevance of the Commonwealth?
2. What do you think Kamalesh Sharma, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, implied by saying, ‘Before you consider what it does, Commonwealth is of great value to the world for what it is’?
3. Give an answer to the question posed in the video: ‘If the majority of the Commonwealth countries were developed countries, would the nature of the organisation be the same?’