Friday, February 4, 2011

Invictus & Goodbye Bafana: Mandela

Nelson Mandela is one of the most inspiring personalities of all times. Teachers usually teach lessons about him. These segments from the outstanding movie Invictus and Goodbye Bafana are nice to warm-up the topic and activate schemata.

A. Work in groups. Choose the correct answer for the questions about Nelson Mandela. The group that scores most correct answers is the winner!

1. Mandela was born in:

a. 1918

b. 1923

c. 1925

d. 1939

2. He was born in:

a. Soweto

b. Pretoria

c. Durban

d. Qunu in the Transkei

3. As a young college boy, he studied:

a. Law

b. Business Administration

c. Literature

d. Foreign Affairs

4. Mandela has been married:

a. once

b. twice

c. three times

d. six times

5. He announced that he would be retiring from public life at age:

a. 75

b. 78

c. 80

d. 85

6. He was not born with the name Nelson, but with his African name Rolihlahla , which literally means in colloquial sense:

a. peace maker

b. trouble maker

c. trigger-happy

d. happy-go-lucky

7. His English name, Nelson, was given by:

a. his father

b. his mother

c. his school teacher

d. Winnie Mandela

8. Nelson Mandela was released from prison in:

a. 1990

b. 1991

c. 1992

d. 1993

9. He was elected president of South Africa in:

a. 1993

b. 1994

c. 1995

d. 1996

10. What does Bafana - the way many people call Nelson Mandela - mean?

a. best friend boy

b. boys with a view

c. boys are heroes

d. best boy in the world

B. Watch the movie segment from the wonderful movie Invictus and discuss the questions that follow:

1. Which historical moment of Mandela's life is the segment about?

2. How do you describe the people's behavior?

3. Who was cheering? Black or Caucasian citizens?

4. What did his release cause to South Africa at that moment?

5. What was South Africa on the verge of then?

6. Summarize in your words Mandela's speech.

C. Watch the segment from the movie Goodbye Bafana and discuss the questions that follow:


2. How does he describe his feelings in that moment?

3. How do you compare both scenes?

4. What are your feelings towards Nelson Mandela? In your opinion, what was his greatest achievement?

Answer key:





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