Suffragettes Interview

2018 marks the centenary of the 1918 law which gave some British women the right to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time. Dr Helen Pankhurst has particular insight into this subject, not just as an academic but as the great-granddaughter and granddaughter of Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst, two of the leaders of the suffrage movement. An audio interview with Dr Pankhurst is the basis of this resource, which allows differentiated teaching with B1 and B2 groups.

This interview, though fairly long, is easily understandable and is very helpful for understanding the women’s suffrage movement in Britain in the early 20th century. Helen’s Pankhurst’s viewpoint on women’s rights offers both a historical and modern insight into this topical issue because of her family legacy and her current actions. We’ve provided the whole interview, and separate files corresponding to different topics, to allow group work.

Vocabulary and structures

• women’s rights, activist, suffragettes, suffrage movement, right to vote …
• to protest, demonstrate, fight for your rights, struggle for, social unrest, riots
• discontent/ disagreement / disapproval
• linkwords : cause and consequence (in order to…) + contrast (whereas, yet…)
• want to
• fear that they might
• be reluctant to

Pronunciation

• gap fillers