ESL/TEFL teachers

[crimsonandclover]

I have an English class this quarter that is very interested in politics and current events. Cool. Last night one of the women requested an overview of the US government (how the branches interact and such). Also cool. Except that the class is supposed to be half conversation, half grammar, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn "the three branches of government in the American system" into a conversation. A lecture - sure. But a conversation?

Any ideas or resources you can share?

[elenetxu]

This might give you some ideas.
iteslj.org/questions/politics.html

I would probably explain the structure but pause frequently to ask "Is it like this in your country? How do you choose representatives in your region? Do you think the system is fair?" etc.

I think that would be a fun lesson! I had to do a lot of explaining about the shutdown...

[katfco]

It would depend on what country I was in. When I taught in China, we avoided political discussions like the plague, because that was a sure way to get sent home. So when we did teach about the government, it was very basic and not discussion-oriented. The closest I came to discussions about it was to have students in groups compare and contrast the US style of government with the Chinese. No evaluations, just straight up comparisons.

[klingklang77]

Oct 25, 2013 14:39:48 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

This might give you some ideas.
iteslj.org/questions/politics.html

I would probably explain the structure but pause frequently to ask "Is it like this in your country? How do you choose representatives in your region? Do you think the system is fair?" etc.

I think that would be a fun lesson! I had to do a lot of explaining about the shutdown...

This. 

How long is the class? 

I'd probably start with some lead in questions such as how the government works in Germany and what they know about the political system in the US. I'd then maybe have two different articles (short if you can find them) and give half the class one article and the other half the other article. I'd then have pairs of the same article together to discuss the article they read and then write down 10 words so they can summarize to the new partner. Put them in new partners (each person has a different reading) and summarize the article without looking at the article. For me, summarizing is a difficult skill for students, so this can take time. It's also a great skill for conversation. 

I'd then have a few questions written up about both articles for them to discuss in groups. Then you could have a feedback session as a class. 

All of this would probably take 45-60 mins for me. You might also want to include some vocab words (different words such as senator, representative, etc, but I'm not sure of the level-- I assume B2?). I'm not sure what grammar you could include. Maybe modals? 

That's just a quick 5 min plan in my head I just thought of; sorry it's a bit jumbled. I'm sure you could improve on it with more time. I always find Germans love to talk politics, so it could easily be expanded, KWIM? 

I hope that helps. 

ETA: I also might do a political party manifesto. They can create a new party. This might also touch on conditionals-- If we get elected, we ..... blah blah blah. I have an activity in my head that can be found in cutting edge, but it's B1. I can scan it and send it to you if you want. 

[crimsonandclover]

The class is 2h15m, so about an hour of conversation. I was also thinking of giving one group an article on one aspect (maybe legislative) and another group an article on the other branches, then mixing the groups and having them explain them to each other. There are only 6 in the class.

I have some questions to get them talking, but the woman was specifically asking for a description of the US system, so that has to be worked in somehow. Also, they're a B2 level and pretty well-informed, so I have to make sure it's more challenging than "the legislative branch makes the laws." Last week when we talked about the shutdown I mentioned how all financial bills have to originate in the House, and that's what spurred the request. She said she thought that was interesting and would like to know more information like that. So it's less of an overview and more details, which I find more difficult since there are so many details that I'll just have to pick and choose which to talk about. I think what she's looking for is stuff like a filibuster or an executive order or interesting Supreme Court cases where the Court rejected legislation. I'm thinking of using the ACA as an example of how the Court rejected some aspects but overall said the bill was constitutional.

[klingklang77]

That sounds good. That's a tough topic.