EASY WRITING ENGLLISH - UNIT 4 - Young people across cultures

UNIT 4

Objectives:

	Appreciate life in other countries and cultures.
	Expressing one's opinions on a subject in a written text.
	Organizing one's ideas and arguments in a written text.
	Revise the use of the simple past and present perfect.
	Revising vocabulary related to jobs and rights.
	Write a letter of presentation for a job.

Procedures:

	Read and talk about young people's lives in other countries and meeting other cultures.
	Use vocabulary related to jobs and rights to express one's opinions.
	Use the past simple to narrate a story and use the present perfect to talk about one's experience.
	Read a text about suggestions using the modal should.
	Organize ideas with the purpose of expressing one's opinion.
	Use pictures to generate a written story.

Thanks to the advances in communications and transport, young people go abroad more frequently. They travel to other countries to find a job, to continue their studies and they can also learn a foreign language and have contact with other cultures.

Pablo´s experience in Belfast

"My name is Pablo, I am from Spain. At present I am working in Belfast. I have been here for six months now. I am working in the Spanish Department at Queens College in Belfast. I have already made many friends here and I have also learned a lot of English. At the beginning it was difficult to understand the language but I have improved my English now. At the weekends, I love going to the pubs and drinking a Guinness with a friend. I am learning a lot about Irish culture and the sense of belonging to a place. People are very nice here and the weather is not so bad!"

Pre-writing:

Meeting other cultures: Would you like to travel abroad and learn about other cultures? Discuss with your partness about this:

	How do you imagine young people's lives in other countries?
	Do you think they have the same problems?
	What about young people's independence and job oportunities?

Read these words related to jobs and occupations:

accountant actor air steward architect shop assistant butcher

clerk computer operator / programmer cook dentist doctor painter

bus / taxi / train driver economist electrician engineer farmer pilot

fisherman hairdresser journalist judge lawyer musician nurse

photographer politician secretary teacher waiter

Take this easy quiz on jobs

Grammar review: Let's review the use of the present perfect. Firstly, find the examples of present perfect in the text above.

Young people's lives in other cultures:

Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions

ASFAR is a very interesting association of young people in the USA. In Their "Declaration of Principles" they fight against many restrictions upon young people in the USA. Some of these restrictions are: In the United States young people under 21 are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages. Some other restrictions are similar to those existing in Spain: young people have to go to school until they are 16, young people under 16 are not allowed to buy tobbacco, voting is allowed for people over 18, etc.

ASFAR tries to fight against legal restrictions upon young people. You may agree or not with their statements. Here are some:

People of all ages should be allowed to vote in elections.
Young people should be able to access any music, movies, etc... legal for adults.
The age separating legal adults from "minors" should be eliminated.
Public school students shouldn't be forced to wear uniforms.
Students in public schools should decide and choose their educational destiny.
All laws requiring compulsory education should be rejected.
Businesses should not refuse to employ or serve people simply because of their age.
Legal gambling ages should be abolished.
The legal Minimum Drinking Age of 21 should be abolished.
The right to have arms should not be restricted on the basis of age.

Check the vocabulary of the text. Do you know the meaning of the words in bold (negrita)? Look them up in the dictionary

What do you think about these "principles" ?

Do you agree with them? Discuss it with your partner.

Vocabulary pratice: Legal words Ex 1 ; Ex 2

Now look at an example of an "Opinion essay"

Writing:

Plan an opinion response to the text above: What arguments are you in favour of? What arguments are you against? Think again about ASFAR's principles and organize your ideas following this outline.

You agree on/think it is good....

You disagree/don´t think it is good ....

   -
   -

   -
   -
   -

   -

Think about these questions to generate ideas:

Do you think it is good or bad to prohibit young people under 21 drinking?

Do you think a person who is 16 can decide about his/her future, politics,etc?

Do you think people under 18 should be allowed to access adult web pages, carry arms

Now open worksheet "opinion" and write your first draft."

Send it to your teacher to get some feedback.

Writing skills:

Using conjunctions

Narrating a story from pictures.

Revision of the past simple.

In this exercise you will write a story based upon pictures and extra help (vocabulary and connectors). Worksheet "rats"

Rewriting:

Remember to revise and rewrite your texts