KDD 22nd DECEMBER: ORAL SESSION

KDD 22nd DECEMBER

HI EVERYBODY:

OUR LAST ORAL SESSION OF THE YEAR WILL BE IN THE 'RINCON DEL COFRADE' AT 8:00 ON WEDNESDAY 22nd DECEMBER SO WE CAN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS. YOU CAN EITHER GO DIRECTLY AND WE´LL MEET THERE, OR COME TO THE EOI AT 7:45 AND WE´LL GO TOGETHER.

FOR ANY OTHER QUESTION, SEND ME AN EMAIL.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

SESSION 11: A SONG

SESSION 11: A SONG

SARAH McLACHLAN:  I LOVE YOU

Lyrics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qgf8KCMr7c

HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

SESSION 11: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 11: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION

2.1 PROTESTS: What would you protest about? What would you do and why?

• Cuts in Education
• Going to War
• Loss of Religious Freedom
• Tax Increases
• Nuclear Power Plant in you Town
• Immigration Policy

2.2. FREE: Which of these should be free? Rank them by putting the most important at the top:

• Education
• Public Transport
• School Meals
• Museums
• Hospitals
• Dentists
• Water
• Internet

2.3 UNIVERSITY FEES DISCUSSION: Here are some questions you can try asking yourself before you come to our discussion on Wednesday:

a) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘university’? 

b) Have you been to University? If so, were the fees very expensive? Did the government help with grants? 

c) How important are universities to a nation?

d) What would society be like without universities?

e) Do you think universities should be free?

f) Are private universities better quality than those which are public?

g) Should a crisis like the one we have now affect students and universities?

h) Where are the world’s best universities?

i) Are the years students spend at college the best years of their lives?

j) What do you think of the cuts to education in the U.K.?

k) Is it OK for students to protest in the streets against education cuts?

l) Did you find this article interesting?

m) What do education cuts say about a government?

n)What image does your country have of British universities?

o) What are universities like in your country?

p) What do you think of politicians who break their promises? Do you think this happens much too frequently?

q) Should governments provide students from low-income families with free university education?

r) Most countries make students take out loans. Do you think the U.K. should also do this?

s) Will taking away living allowances kill education opportunities for the poor?

t) What do you think of the banner “R.I.P. My Degree”?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:

THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:

FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.

THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT.

FINAL TASK:

HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.

Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 11, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions. Choose one of these two options:

• 'The crisis of a country should never affect Education'. Express your opinion.
• 'Protesting or striking is totally useless'. Express your opinion.

SESSION 11: KEY TO EXERCISES

SESSION 11: ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

1.1 TRUE/FALSE:
a.F / b.T / c.T / d.F / e.T / f.F / g.T / h.F

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH:
1.f / 2.h / 3.a / 4.c / 5.j / 6.d / 7.i / 8.e / 9.g / 10.b

1.3 PHRASE MATCH:
1.g / 2.a / 3.i / 4.f / 5.d / 6.j / 7.e / 8.b / 9.h /10.c

1.4 GAP FILL:
TOOK - AGAINST - FOLD - HARM- LECTURERS - UGLY - FREE - ATTACKED

RULING - ALLOWING - REDUCE - PLEDGE - ABOLISH - TURN - WEEKLY - KILL 

SESSION 11: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 11: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES.

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are True (T) or False (F):

a. Hundreds of thousands of students protested across the U.K.

b. U.K. universities are allowed to triple their fees.
c. High school students and teachers also joined in the protests.
d. Several policemen suffered broken bones in the demonstrations.
e. The U.K. government has cut its funding to its universities.
f. The British public are most angry with the ruling Conservative Party.
g. U.K. students paid no tuition fees throughout most of last century.
h. The government has increased living allowances for poorer students.

1.2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
1. took part ................. a. getting rid of
2. protests .................. b. payments
3. scrapping ................ c. fights
4. clashes ................... d. governing
5. headquarters ............ e. anger
6. ruling ..................... f. participated
7. measures ................. g. promise
8. fury ....................... h. demonstrations
9. pledge .................... i. actions
10. allowances .............. j. HQ

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from this article (sometimes more than one option is possible):
1. students across the U.K. took ........ a. fold rise in the prices
2. the three- .............................. b. pledge
3. opposition to the scrapping .......... c. living allowances
4. there were arrests after .............. d. headquarters was attacked
5. the ruling Conservative Party ........ e. are necessary
6. Britain’s ruling .......................... f. ugly clashes
7. these measures ......................... g. part in protests
8. election .................................. h. a total U-turn
9. Their leader has done .................. i. of benefits
10. poorer students received weekly ... j. coalition government

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

HARM - UGLY - ATTACKED - AGAINST - LECTURERS - TOOK - FREE - FOLD

Tens of thousands of students across the U.K. ____________ part in protests on Wednesday ____________ their government’s increase in tuition fees. They were speaking out against the three-____________ rise in the prices universities can charge, and voicing their opposition to the scrapping of benefits that will ____________ poor students. The nationwide protest was organized by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). High school and university students, teachers and ____________ took to the streets to demonstrate. Around 10,000 protestors rallied in London, where there were arrests after ____________ clashes left a police officer with a broken arm. The protests were largely trouble-____________, unlike those two weeks earlier in which the ruling Conservative Party headquarters was ____________.

ABOLISH - REDUCE - RULING - KILL - PLEDGE - TURN - ALLOWING - WEEKLY

Britain’s ____________ coalition government have made many cuts to university education, while at the same time ____________ universities to increase tuition fees from $5,624 a year to $14,400. They say these measures are necessary to ____________ the country’s budget deficit. Most of the public fury is directed at the junior coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, whose election ____________ earlier this year was to ____________ tuition and maintain transport benefits for students from low-income families. Their leader has done a total U-____________ and broken these promises. Until the late 1990s, British students did not need to pay tuition, and many poorer students received ____________ living allowances from the government. Many protestors believe this will ____________ opportunities for the poor. They carried banners saying: “R.I.P. My Degree.”

SESSION 11: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 15TH DECEMBER

SESSION 11: TEXT FOR WEDNESDAY 15TH DECEMBER

U.K. STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY FEES PROTEST

Text taken and adapted from:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

The text:

Tens of thousands of students across the U.K. took part in protests on Wednesday against their government’s increase in tuition fees. They were speaking out against the three-fold rise in the prices universities can charge, and voicing their opposition to the scrapping of benefits that will harm poor students. The nationwide protest was organized by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). High school and university students, teachers and lecturers took to the streets to demonstrate. Around 10,000 protestors rallied in London, where there were arrests after ugly clashes left a police officer with a broken arm. The protests were largely trouble-free, unlike those two weeks earlier in which the ruling Conservative Party headquarters was attacked.

Britain’s ruling coalition government have made many cuts to university education, while at the same time allowing universities to increase tuition fees from $5,624 a year to $14,400. They say these measures are necessary to reduce the country’s budget deficit. Most of the public fury is directed at the junior coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, whose election pledge earlier this year was to abolish tuition and maintain transport benefits for students from low-income families. Their leader has done a total U-turn and broken these promises. Until the late 1990s, British students did not need to pay tuition, and many poorer students received weekly living allowances from the government. Many protestors believe this will kill opportunities for the poor. They carried banners saying: “R.I.P. My Degree.”

'U.K. Students in University Fees Protest' - 25th November, 2010

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/