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Learning English through Social Issues. What are social issues?. matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society often considered to be problems arouses public interests and concerns controversial involves (moral) values. Examples of social issues. Poverty
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What are social issues? • matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society • often considered to be problems • arouses public interests and concerns • controversial • involves (moral) values
Examples of social issues • Poverty • Pollution • Drug abuse • Abortion • Violence
Why take this course? • develop skills in researching • more positive personal values and attitudes • better organization and coherence in writing • more critical in analyzing gathered information • more confidence in presenting views in public
Why take this course? • better skills in interpreting ideas, information, fact, opinions and arguments • improved rhetoric skills in argumentative writing • better use of different genres to present ideas
Content • Part 1: Identifying, examining and presenting social issues • Part 2: Researching and gathering information on social issues • Part 3: Final presentation
Part 1: Identifying, examing and presenting social issues • Presents the idea of social issues • Definition of the social issue • Causes and effects of a social problem • Solutions for a social problem • Gives learners the opportunity to consider various ways social issues may affect them personally, their society and the world around them
Part 1: Identifying, examining and presenting social issues • Learners practise reading, identifying and writing definitions, causes and effects, and solutions to social problems
Part 2: Researching and gathering information on social issues 1) Learners learn how to follow an argument and research a social issue (e.g. conducting observations, interviews and surveys) 2) Learners develop strategies for evaluating information from different sources, and techniques for citing and acknowledging sources
Part 3: Final presentation • Learners identify a social problem they are interested in, and carry out research on it. • Learners present their work (written and spoken)
Learning activities • READING essays, journals, pamphlets, editorials, newspaper reports • WRITING paragraphs to define different social issues, the causes and effects, and solutions • DISCUSSIONS, ORAL PRESENTATIONS, ROLE-PLAYS • PROJECT
Assessment • Assessment will focus on learners’ demonstration of their ability to: • understand and interpret ideas and information in texts on social issues • follow and evaluate argument • write about a social issue • analyse and evaluate information from various sources • carry out simple research using methods such as surveys and interviews • summarise a passage • present a written or spoken text that incorporates a definition of a social problem, its causes and effects, and offers solutions to it
Assessment • Oral and written activities in the course will be used for assessing learner performance: • Quizzes • Paragraphs written on definitions, causes, effects and solutions • Evaluation of information • Questionnaires and interviews • Written or spoken presentations