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GENERAL ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

CHINA
GAMES
CRACKDOWN
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1 Warm up

Answer these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you play games on the computer or on your phone?

2. What types of games do you play?
3. How often do you play and for how long?
4. Do you have any rules with your family or for yourself about gaming?

2 Vocabulary

You are going to hear a news report describing a recent rule about playing computer games in China.
Before you listen to the report, match the words with their meanings. How do you think these words
will be used in the report?

1. addiction a. a government or company’s plan about what to do in a certain situation

2. ban b. an answer or reaction to something that happened

3. concerns c. an official rule that means people cannot do something

4. identities d. control something so that it is not more than a certain amount or number

5. limit e. not being able to stop doing something that will hurt you, for example, taking
drugs
6. policy f. seeing and understanding who or what something is

7. recognition g. things that people are worried about

8. response h. who people are: their names, dates of birth, and other information about
them

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3 Listening

Listen to the news report and answer the questions.

Who is this rule for?

1.

When can they play and how long for?

2.

Who made the rule and why?

3.

How is this rule different from an earlier rule?

4.

What technology did one gaming company use to make sure people followed the rule?

5.

What do game companies have to do in the future?

6.

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

• What do you think about this rule?

• Do you think the government is right to be concerned about gaming addiction?
• Think of three positive and three negative effects this rule might have. Consider young people,
families, gaming companies, and the government.

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4 Reading
Read the article and choose one word from the box to complete the sentences. These are the words
you studied in the Vocabulary exercise earlier.

addiction / ban / concerns / identities / limit / policy / recognition / response

The thinking behind China’s new gaming rules

What’s next for China’s young gamers?

1.
The new rules that China has introduced about online gaming reflect growing worries about the physical and
mental effects of technology on young people. People have long recognized that screen time is linked to poor
eyesight and lack of exercise, but it is the area of gaming (A) that gets the most attention. How
worried should we be?
2.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines addictive gaming as an attitude, rather than linking it to a certain
number of hours spent playing. Someone is addicted if they cannot (B) their gaming, if they
allow gaming to become more important than other activities, and if they continue to game even when there are
negative effects on relationships, school or work, and health. The American Psychological Association estimates
that less than 1% of the population is affected by gaming addictions, and a 2020 study shows no harmful effect
for 90% of young people’s gaming activities. However, experts have said that more long-term research is needed
and that it’s possible that levels of addiction are rising.
3.
To offer a sensible (C) to this situation, we should also recognize the positives of gaming. One
study showed that people who gamed regularly as children are better at memory tasks as adults, even when they
haven’t played in years. And for those who believe that violent video games encourage violent behavior - this just
doesn’t seem to be true. One study suggests that violent games may even help young people cope with anxiety
or depression.
4.
The main benefit of online gaming, and the reason that many young people enjoy playing, is the sense of community
it offers. For many teens, online gaming is a social activity, similar to going to the park or shopping mall with
friends. Some kids say that they mainly chat to friends on the platform, rather than actually playing the game. A
(D) on gaming will have a negative effect on young people’s social lives.
5.
There will be some interesting results following on from the new rules. First of all, gaming company shares have
fallen in value. There are also (E) that computer servers will not be able to cope with high
levels of demand during the official gaming hours, with a resulting loss of service. Games may have to be adapted
for shorter completion times to make play more enjoyable under the new rules. Finally, there may be long-term
changes to how online games are delivered - games could move onto foreign platforms or virtual private networks
(VPNs).
6.
In the short term, there could be lots of ways to get around the new rules. Young people may share or rent
accounts or (F) from adults. Parents who disagree with the rules may even help their children
get access to games at other times. One unusual suggestion is that young players could wear masks to trick face
(G) software into thinking they’re adults.
7.
The Chinese government’s new rules about gaming relate to wider worries about young people’s use of technology
and the Internet - they have also expressed concerns about celebrity fan culture and private tutoring websites.
While no one can disagree with a government (H) that is trying to protect young people, it’s
not clear whether this is the best way to do it.
Sources: reutersconnect.com; iflscience.com; bbc.co.uk; theconversation.com

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Read the article again and find words with these meanings. The paragraph numbers are given.

1. show or express something (paragraph 1):

2. connected with something (paragraph 1):
3. experienced a result from another event (paragraph 2):
4. causing injury or other negative effect (paragraph 2):
5. describing a situation where people are hurt or killed (paragraph 3):
6. act successfully in a difficult situation (paragraph 3):
7. a feeling of being very worried about something for a long time (paragraph 3):
8. a group of people who have the same interests or experiences (paragraph 4):
9. parts of a company that people can buy or sell (paragraph 5):
10. changed so that something works in a different situation (paragraph 5):

5 Comprehension
Find the answers to these questions in the article. Be ready to explain in your own words.

1. What are two physical problems associated with too much screen time?
2. How confident are experts about how gaming addiction will develop in the next few years?
3. What surprising fact have researchers discovered about violent computer games?
4. How do some young people enjoy using online games?
5. Why will some games need to be changed or new games developed?
6. How and why might some young gamers change their appearance while playing online?

6 Final activity
Complete one or more of these activities.

Discussion questions

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. What do you think about the time limit that the Chinese government has allowed for
young people to game? Is it enough?
2. How bad a problem is gaming addiction, in your experience?
3. In your opinion, are there more advantages or more disadvantages to young people
gaming?
4. Do you think governments should make rules about how people spend their time?
Why/not?
5. Do you think this rule will work?

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Role play

Work in pairs. Read the advice for parents and then roleplay a conversation between a parent and a
young person about online gaming.

Gaming: advice for parents

• Ask your kids why they like gaming and listen to their answer.
• Work together to make rules about when your kids can play games, for how long, and
what kind of games they can play.
• Look games up on YouTube to check the content. Play games together with your child
and talk about them.
• Create space for kids to do other activities at home, like cooking or art projects.
• Be a good role model. If you’re always looking at your screen, you can’t really ask your
kids not to look at theirs.

Who said it?

Read these sentences and decide if the speaker is for or against the new rule. Identify who is speaking:
a young person, their parents, someone who works for a gaming company, or the government.

A healthy mind in a healthy body - that’s what we want all our young people to have.

Now we don’t have to argue so much about homework.

Are you also going to tell me when to take a shower and what to eat for breakfast?

This is going to cost us a lot of money.

Can you think of other things these people or groups might say?

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7 Optional extension

Work in pairs or small groups to review vocabulary from the lesson. Take turns thinking of several
examples for one of the items below and tell your partner/group. They will guess which item you are
thinking of.

Example:
• A: I would say, "Really? Are you serious?" or "Great, I need extra practice."
• B: You’re talking about the responses you’d make if your teacher asked you to do more homework.
• A: That’s right! Your turn!

1. A time in people’s lives when they have to adapt.

2. Addictions that many people have.
3. Things that affect your success in life.
4. Things that often cause anxiety in pets.
5. Some things that there is a ban on in your school, company, or country.
6. Communities that you belong to.
7. Concerns many people have about the future.
8. Harmful things.
9. Questions that the bank asks when they want to check your identity.
10. Things that you need to limit in order to be healthy.
11. Pairs of things that are linked.
12. Some policies your school, company, or government has.
13. Ways that we can use face recognition software.
14. The responses you’d make if your teacher asked you to do more homework.
15. Violent movies or TV shows.

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Transcripts

3. Listening

Newsreader: China has introduced new rules to limit the time that under-eighteen-year-olds spend
playing online games. Under the new rules, young people will only be allowed to play
online games for one hour a day, up to a maximum of three hours per week.

Newsreader: In addition, they can only play from eight to nine pm on Fridays, weekends, and
holidays. The new rules are a response to concerns about gaming and Internet
addiction among young people.

Newsreader: These rules replace an earlier policy, introduced in 2019, when young gamers were
allowed to play ninety minutes per day and up to three hours on holidays.

Newsreader: There was also a total ban on under-eighteens playing between ten pm and eight am.
In July, Chinese gaming company Tencent started to use face recognition software to
prevent children from using adult IDs to play all night.

Newsreader: The new rules also say that gaming companies must make sure that players sign in
using their real names rather than online identities.

Newsreader: Companies will be checked to make sure they are following the new rules; if they break
the rules, they will be punished. In the future, companies will also have to connect all
their games to an anti-addiction system that is under development.

Newsreader: China is the largest video games market in the world, and its six and a half million
gamers spend around forty-three billion dollars on gaming every year. Chinese state
media says that around sixty-two percent of Chinese young people regularly play
games.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
Go over the questions and give students a few minutes to discuss these. Ask a few students to report back to the
group about any similarities or differences they found.

2. Vocabulary

10 mins.
Explain that students will need to know some vocabulary to understand the report. Give them a couple of minutes
to complete the matching exercise and check answers with the class, including pronunciation – stressed syllables
are underlined. Pose the follow-up question for students to discuss in pairs for a couple of minutes. This will help
to prepare them for the listening. You could elicit some brief responses around the class to conclude this stage.
Note: these items will be reviewed in the reading stage later in the lesson, as well as in the optional extension.

1. e 2. c 3. g 4. h 5. d 6. a 7. f 8. b

3. Listening

15 mins.
Go over the questions before you play the audio. Students then listen - the report is short, so it’s best if they
concentrate on listening rather than trying to make notes while the audio is playing. It’s fine if they want to
listen twice, and they may want to check answers in pairs between the two listenings. Finally, check answers,
encouraging students to give as much information as possible and correcting errors that impede understanding.
Variation: If any students need extra support for this exercise, you could make the transcript available to them
while they listen or after they listen. Students often enjoy listening and reading anyway - if you haven’t repeated
the listening more than twice so far, they may want to do this now.
Then pose the follow-up questions so that students can react to the information in the report. Conduct a brief
roundup of ideas and then say that they are going to find out more about this topic in the next stage, when they
read an article.

1. Under 18-year-olds in China.

2. From eight to nine pm on Fridays, weekends, and holidays; a maximum of 3 hours per week.
3. The Chinese government, because they are concerned about gaming addiction.
4. The new rule is much stronger; in 2019, the rule was that young people could play 90 mins per day and up to
3 hours on holidays.
5. They introduced face recognition software to check that young people weren’t playing at night.
6. Connect all their games to an anti-addiction system that is under development.

4. Reading

10 mins.
In the first reading task, students review vocabulary from the news report. It’s good advice for students to skim
the whole text quickly first, before attempting the fill in the blanks. Check answers and then set the second task,

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where students locate further useful vocabulary items in the article. They could work on this in pairs. Check
answers, including pronunciation. Point out the spelling changes in the word family effect (noun) and affect (verb).
Background information: China is the largest video games market in the world and its six hundred and sixty-five
million gamers spend around forty-three billion dollars on gaming every year. Chinese state media says that around
sixty-two percent of Chinese young people regularly play games.
Note: these items will be reviewed in the optional extension at the end of the lesson.

1. addiction 2. limit 3. response 4. ban

5. concerns 6. identities 7. recognition 8. policy
Words in the text

1. reflect 2. linked 3. affected 4. harmful 5. violent

6. cope 7. anxiety 8. community 9. shares 10. adapted

5. Comprehension

5 mins.
Go over the comprehension questions and ask students to find and underline relevant information in the text.
When you check answers, they should try to recall and explain in their own words.

1. Poor eyesight and lack of exercise.

2. Not very confident - more research is needed; levels might be rising.
3. Violent computer games may actually help some young people manage their mental health.
4. As social occasions, similar to meeting friends in the real world. Some young people just like to chat to friends
online, without playing the game.
5. Because games with a long play time will be too difficult for young people to play or complete if there is a
one-hour time limit.
6. They could wear masks to look like adults and trick the face recognition software.

6. Final activity

15 mins.
Students can choose activities for themselves, or you can direct them to complete specific activities.
Discussion questions: Students can work in pairs or small groups to discuss these questions. If your classroom set-
up allows, students could move around the room, forming small groups to discuss one question at a time, changing
groups for each new question. Conduct a quick round-up of answers either after each question or at the end,
encouraging students to give reasons and examples for their answers. Finish with some error correction, including
pronunciation. This activity supports students who are preparing for Cambridge or IELTS exams (speaking).
Roleplay: students read some advice and then develop a dialogue in the role of parent and child, following this.
This could also be done as a written activity and/or for homework. This activity supports students preparing for
Cambridge exams (listening).
Who said it: Introduce the activity and give students a minute to read the statements, match them with speakers,
and identify their positions. Then ask them to formulate additional statements from some or all of the speakers,
including different points of view. Statements could be read out loud for the group or class to guess the speaker
and the position. This activity also supports students preparing for Cambridge and IELTS exams, where students
have to identify points of view (reading).
Answers:
A healthy mind in a healthy body - that’s what we want all our young people to have. For - the government

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Now we don’t have to argue so much about homework. For - a parent

Are you also going to tell me when to take a shower and what to eat for breakfast? Against - a young person
This is going to cost us a lot of money. Against - someone who works for a computer gaming company

7. Optional extension

10 + mins.
In this guessing game, students generate examples to make each other guess which statement is being responded
to. Go over the instructions and the example and set up pairs or groups. Students should cross out each item when
it is used and they could even keep score, awarding one point to both the clue giver and guesser for each successful
guess. Monitor and support as necessary and conclude with some error correction, including pronunciation, and/or
by calling attention to some successful examples.

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