China’s population has been going down for the second year in a row, and this is making people worried about how it will affect the country’s economy in the future. The most recent data shows that at the end of 2023, there were 1.409 billion people in China, which is 2.08 million less than the previous year. This decline is twice as big as the one from the year before, which was the first time in 60 years that the population went down. Experts think this is happening because more people are moving to cities and because not as many babies are being born.

The government in Beijing has said that the birth rate in China is now 6.39 per 1,000 people, which is similar to other countries in East Asia like Japan and South Korea. The birth rate in China has been going down for a long time, starting in the 1980s when the government made a rule that families could only have one child. They got rid of this rule in 2015 and tried to encourage people to have more kids by giving them money and other benefits. But these things didn’t really work, especially for young people in big cities who think it’s too expensive to have a family and want to focus on their careers instead.

Experts think that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the decline in births even worse, but there are other economic problems that are also causing it. China is having a hard time with things like a housing crisis, people not spending as much money, and lots of young people not being able to find jobs. The country’s workforce is getting older, and there are more and more retired people who need healthcare and money from the government. But experts think that China has enough time and resources to deal with these problems because the population is getting more educated, skilled, and healthy.

China used to be the country with the most people in the world, but now India has more according to the United Nations. India’s population is currently 1.425 billion. Even though China’s population is going down, experts think that the country has a plan for how to deal with it. They think that China will keep moving towards having an economy based on services and will have a workforce that is more educated and skilled.

Original news source: China records population decline for second straight year (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs or small groups. Give each group a copy of the article or project it on the board. Have them read the article and then summarize the main points in their own words. They can take turns presenting their summaries to the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the students into small groups. Give each group a list of questions related to the article, such as “Do you think China’s declining population will have a negative impact on its economy?” or “Do you agree with the government’s previous one-child policy?” Have each group discuss and share their opinions on the questions. Then, have them present their opinions to the class and encourage a class discussion.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Prepare a list of key vocabulary words from the article. Divide the students into pairs or small groups. Give each group a vocabulary word and have them draw a picture to represent the word. They can then take turns showing their drawings to the class and having the class guess the vocabulary word.

– Keyword Hangman
Instructions: Choose key keywords from the article and write dashes on the board to represent the letters in each word. Divide the class into two teams. Have one student from each team take turns guessing letters to try and fill in the blanks and reveal the keyword. The team that correctly guesses the most keywords wins.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have a class discussion about the future of China’s population and economy based on the article. Divide the students into pairs or small groups and have them discuss and make predictions about what they think will happen in the coming years. They can present their predictions to the class and explain their reasoning.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Why are people worried about China’s declining population?
2. How much did China’s population decrease by at the end of 2023?
3. Why do experts think China’s population is declining?
4. What was the birth rate in China in 2023 compared to other East Asian countries?
5. When did China’s birth rate start to decline?
6. What did the government do in 2015 to encourage people to have more children?
7. What are some economic problems in China that are contributing to the decline in births?
8. Despite the decline in population, what do experts think China’s plan is for the future?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

China’s (1)______ has been going down for the second year in a row, and this is (2)______ (3)______ worried about how it will affect the country’s economy in the future. The most recent data shows that at the end of 2023, there were 1.409 billion people in China, which is 2.08 million less than the previous year. This decline is twice as big as the one from the year before, which was the first time in 60 years that the population went down. Experts think this is (4)______ because more people are moving to cities and because not as many babies are being born.

The (5)______ in Beijing has said that the birth rate in China is now 6.39 per 1,000 people, which is similar to other (6)______ in East Asia like Japan and South (7)______. The birth rate in China has been going down for a long time, starting in the 1980s when the government made a rule that families could only have one child. They got rid of this rule in 2015 and tried to encourage people to have more kids by (8)______ them money and other benefits. But these things didn’t really work, especially for young people in big cities who think it’s too expensive to have a family and want to focus on their careers instead.

Experts (9)______ that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the (10)______ in births even worse, but there are other economic problems that are also causing it. China is having a hard time with things like a (11)______ crisis, people not spending as much (12)______, and lots of young people not being able to find jobs. The country’s workforce is getting older, and there are more and more retired people who need healthcare and money from the government. But experts think that China has enough time and (13)______ to deal with these problems because the population is getting more educated, skilled, and healthy.

(14)______ used to be the (15)______ with the most people in the world, but now India has more according to the United Nations. India’s population is currently 1.425 billion. Even though China’s population is going down, experts think that the country has a plan for how to deal with it. They think that China will keep moving towards having an economy based on (16)______ and will have a workforce that is more educated and skilled.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What does it mean when we say a country’s population is going down?
2. How do you think a declining population can affect a country’s economy?
3. How would you feel if you were living in a country with a declining population?
4. Do you like living in a big city? Why or why not?
5. Do you think it’s important for a country to have a high birth rate? Why or why not?
6. What do you think are some reasons why people are choosing not to have children in China?
7. How do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has affected birth rates in China?
8. What are some economic problems that China is currently facing?
9. How do you think a housing crisis can impact a country’s population?
10. Do you think it’s important for a country to have a young workforce? Why or why not?
11. Why do you think experts believe that China has enough time and resources to deal with its population decline?
12. What is the significance of India having a larger population than China?
13. How do you think a declining population can impact a country’s plans for economic development?
14. Do you think it’s important for a country to have an educated and skilled workforce? Why or why not?
15. How do you think China can encourage more people to have children in the future?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. decline
2. economy
3. data
4. previous
5. experts
6. urbanization
7. fertility
8. incentives
9. workforce
10. pandemic
11. crisis
12. expenditure
13. retirees
14. healthcare
15. skilled

Meanings:
(A) The process of people moving from the countryside to cities
(B) Services and activities related to maintaining and improving people’s health
(C) Having a lot of knowledge, training, or experience in a particular job or activity
(D) When something becomes less in amount, size, or importance
(E) Information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered
(F) A time of intense difficulty or danger
(G) People who have stopped working because of old age
(H) Coming before something in time or order
(I) People who have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject
(J) The group of people who are available to work
(K) Things offered to encourage people to do something, like money or rewards
(L) A worldwide outbreak of a disease
(M) The action of spending money
(N) The ability to produce babies or new plants
(O) The system that involves the production and exchange of goods and services in a country
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why are people worried about China’s declining population?
(a) They are worried about overcrowding in cities.
(b) They fear a shortage of resources.
(c) They are concerned about its impact on the country’s economy.
(d) They are concerned about the environment.

2. What is the current population of China?
(a) 2.08 million
(b) 1.425 billion
(c) 6.39 per 1,000 people
(d) 1.409 billion

3. How does the recent decline in China’s population compare to the previous year?
(a) It is half as big.
(b) It is the same.
(c) It is slightly smaller.
(d) It is twice as big.

4. What is the main reason for the decline in China’s population?
(a) More people are moving to cities.
(b) China has implemented a one-child policy.
(c) The birth rate has significantly decreased.
(d) China is experiencing a housing crisis.

5. What was the government’s response to the declining birth rate in China?
(a) They encouraged families to have more children by offering incentives.
(b) They implemented a one-child policy.
(c) They provided free healthcare for families with children.
(d) They increased taxes for families with more than one child.

6. What factors have contributed to the decline in births in China?
(a) Overcrowding in cities and pollution.
(b) The COVID-19 pandemic and economic problems.
(c) Lack of access to healthcare and education.
(d) Cultural preferences for smaller families.

7. Which country currently has the largest population according to the United Nations?
(a) China
(b) India
(c) Japan
(d) South Korea

8. What do experts believe China’s plan is to address its declining population?
(a) To implement stricter birth control measures.
(b) To encourage immigration to increase the population.
(c) To focus on developing a service-based economy and a more educated workforce.
(d) To invest in infrastructure to attract young people to rural areas.

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The birth rate in China has been declining since the 1980s when the government implemented the one-child policy.
2. Despite the population increase, experts believe that China has no plan to address these challenges by focusing on an economy based on services and a more educated and skilled workforce.
3. The most recent data shows that China’s population at the end of 2023 was 1.409 billion, which is 2.08 million less than the previous year.
4. Experts attribute this decline to fewer people moving to cities and an increase in the number of babies being born.
5. Efforts to encourage more births, such as providing financial incentives, have not been effective, especially among young people in big cities.
6. China’s population has been increasing for two consecutive years, causing concerns about its future economy.
7. This decline is half as large as the previous year, marking the first population increase in 60 years.
8. China’s birth rate is now 6.39 per 1,000 people, similar to other East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why are people worried about China’s declining population?
2. How does the recent data show that China’s population is decreasing?
3. What caused the decline in China’s birth rate?
4. How did the government try to encourage people to have more children?
5. What are some economic problems in China that are contributing to the decline in births?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Why are people worried about China’s declining population?
People are worried because they think it could have a negative impact on China’s economy in the future.

2. How much did China’s population decrease by at the end of 2023?
China’s population decreased by 2.08 million at the end of 2023.

3. Why do experts think China’s population is declining?
Experts think China’s population is declining because more people are moving to cities and not as many babies are being born.

4. What was the birth rate in China in 2023 compared to other East Asian countries?
The birth rate in China in 2023 was similar to other East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.

5. When did China’s birth rate start to decline?
China’s birth rate started to decline in the 1980s.

6. What did the government do in 2015 to encourage people to have more children?
In 2015, the government got rid of the rule that families could only have one child and tried to encourage people to have more kids by giving them money and other benefits.

7. What are some economic problems in China that are contributing to the decline in births?
Some economic problems in China that are contributing to the decline in births are a housing crisis, people not spending as much money, and young people struggling to find jobs.

8. Despite the decline in population, what do experts think China’s plan is for the future?
Despite the decline in population, experts think China’s plan for the future is to continue moving towards an economy based on services and have a more educated and skilled workforce.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) population
(2) making
(3) people
(4) happening
(5) government
(6) countries
(7) Korea
(8) giving
(9) think
(10) decline
(11) housing
(12) money
(13) resources
(14) China
(15) country
(16) services
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. decline
Answer: (D) When something becomes less in amount, size, or importance

2. economy
Answer: (O) The system that involves the production and exchange of goods and services in a country

3. data
Answer: (E) Information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered

4. previous
Answer: (H) Coming before something in time or order

5. experts
Answer: (I) People who have a lot of knowledge about a particular subject

6. urbanization
Answer: (A) The process of people moving from the countryside to cities

7. fertility
Answer: (N) The ability to produce babies or new plants

8. incentives
Answer: (K) Things offered to encourage people to do something, like money or rewards

9. workforce
Answer: (J) The group of people who are available to work

10. pandemic
Answer: (L) A worldwide outbreak of a disease

11. crisis
Answer: (F) A time of intense difficulty or danger

12. expenditure
Answer: (M) The action of spending money

13. retirees
Answer: (G) People who have stopped working because of old age

14. healthcare
Answer: (B) Services and activities related to maintaining and improving people’s health

15. skilled
Answer: (C) Having a lot of knowledge, training, or experience in a particular job or activity
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why are people worried about China’s declining population?
Answer: (c) They are concerned about its impact on the country’s economy.

2. What is the current population of China?
Answer: (d) 1.409 billion

3. How does the recent decline in China’s population compare to the previous year?
Answer: (d) It is twice as big.

4. What is the main reason for the decline in China’s population?
Answer: (a) More people are moving to cities.

5. What was the government’s response to the declining birth rate in China?
Answer: (a) They encouraged families to have more children by offering incentives.

6. What factors have contributed to the decline in births in China?
Answer: (b) The COVID-19 pandemic and economic problems.

7. Which country currently has the largest population according to the United Nations?
Answer: (b) India

8. What do experts believe China’s plan is to address its declining population?
Answer: (c) To focus on developing a service-based economy and a more educated workforce.
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The birth rate in China has been declining since the 1980s when the government implemented the one-child policy. (Answer: True)
2. Despite the population increase, experts believe that China has no plan to address these challenges by focusing on an economy based on services and a more educated and skilled workforce. (Answer: False)
3. The most recent data shows that China’s population at the end of 2023 was 1.409 billion, which is 2.08 million less than the previous year. (Answer: True)
4. Experts attribute this decline to fewer people moving to cities and an increase in the number of babies being born. (Answer: False)
5. Efforts to encourage more births, such as providing financial incentives, have not been effective, especially among young people in big cities. (Answer: True)
6. China’s population has been increasing for two consecutive years, causing concerns about its future economy. (Answer: False)
7. This decline is half as large as the previous year, marking the first population increase in 60 years. (Answer: False)
8. China’s birth rate is now 6.39 per 1,000 people, similar to other East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧