V3 C05 L&S Language - Inter-Cultural Communicative Competence at EMU

English Language Lesson

Role Play: Students in the class can role play the following scenarios. There need not be a lot of speaking and the performances can be very spontaneous and impromptu—that is, not much practice is necessary. Rather, react to the situation as you naturally react or imagine that you are one type of character and react as that character would react.

Then, as a class or in small groups, answer the questions that follow each scenario.

A list of vocabulary words that may be helpful in this exercise follow the two scenarios. Please use the list to answer the questions and add words that are missing. You may wish to share these words with the class.

Scenario 1

Develop a scene in which a woman holding a baby begs for food and money in the street. Ask students to observe passers-by (individuals or couples) and describe what they saw from the scene.

Answer the following questions:

What were the attitudes of the passers-by toward this poor woman?
What emotions do the passers-by feel?
What emotions does the woman who is begging feel?
Would attitudes of passers-by be different if the beggar was a veteran?
Someone with a handicap like blindness? A street urchin?
How do you react in such a situation?
What do you think should be done about begging?
Who is responsible?

Scenario 2

Develop a scene in which a mother of five children ages 4, 6, 14, 16, 17 lives in a shabby hut. Her husband was killed in the War. For this reason she was offered a charity house. Create a scene in which the feelings of the family are described while moving into the new house. Describe how the neighborhood reacts to watching the family move in.

Answer the following questions:

What does the family feel about their new home?
What is the attitude of the neighborhood?
How are people selected for such charity? Does one need to qualify for services?
What do you think of homeless people?
What services are currently available for the homeless in Vietnam? How effective are they?
What does” home” mean to you? What comes to your mind when you hear the word “home”?
In your opinion, which of the following are the causes of poverty in Vietnam?

—laziness

—low level of education

—crop failure

—geographical conditions

—inadequate infrastructure

—unemployment

—gender/ethnic inequality

—outdated agricultural methods and technology

—high birth rates

—lack of access to information and markets

—population density and lack of land

—severe natural calamities (i.e. typhoons, floods, etc)

Who is responsible to reduce homelessness? Government? Charity organizations? Individual citizens?
What should be done to reduce poverty? Building charity houses? Creating jobs? Increasing social welfare? Changing methods of farming? Encouraging family planning?

Vocabulary:

The following is a list of vocabulary that you might need to know when discussing issues related to poverty reduction. what are some other words of the same categories that you come across? add them here to make your own vocabulary profile.

Related Organizations and Methods of Giving Aid

— Government organization MOLISA

— Non-government Organization (NGO

— homeless shelter

— food bank

— soup kitchen

— orphanage

— International Government Organization (INGO)

World Bank, United Nations, UNICEF, UNDP

— social welfare

— social worker

— self-help

— small business loans

— debt relief

The Poor

— the homeless

— the jobless; the unemployed

— impoverished families

— war victim; victim of war

— street children

— single mother

—s ingle mother household

— beggar

— the childless elderly

— parentless; orphans

— uneducated

— ethnic poor

Related Factors and Conditions

— poverty line

— war effects

—l ow level of education

— outdated agricultural methods

— difficult geographical condition

— natural disaster (calamity)

— population density

—overpopulation

—mental illness

— hunger eradication

— open-door policy

—access to medical care

Idioms and Expressions

Idiomatic Expressions or Idioms are accepted as part of normal, everyday speech. When students are able to use and understand idioms listening comprehension improves and speech and writing become more precise to that of native speakers and writers. Students may learn grammar and acquire a large vocabulary, but without a working knowledge of idioms, students speech will not be smooth and some listening will not be comprehended.

Here are some idioms and expressions in this chapter’s listening materials.

1.	to spend the night (to sleep for the night) He will spend the night at a homeless shelter.
2.	get the pennies together (to collect enough money) She hopes to get enough pennies together to buy a meal.
3.	sleeping rough (British expression for sleeping on the street) Too many children are sleeping rough because of poverty
4.	army of young people (large number of young people) He is one of the army of young people for whom these streets are now their home.
5.	come to terms with (to accept the conditions) She must come to terms with the death of her father.
6.	in care (British term for being in a social program. In the U.S. it is called “foster care” which means the child is taken in by a couple or family or shelter temporarily or for a long period of time. These families are financially compensated for taking in children) Before his life on the streets he was in care.
7.	my pitch (a British term for describing the area unofficially designated where people can ask or beg for money) I go straight down to my pitch and start begging.
8.	the tip of the iceberg (a small part of something very, very big—an iceberg is a mountain of ice that floats in the ocean. From the surface we see only the tip or peak of that mountain and an enormous amount of ice is below the surface and we do not see it) The teenagers you see sleeping in the streets or begging are just the tip of the iceberg. (In other words: The teenagers you see in the streets are only a small number of all the teenagers who beg and sleep in the streets.)
9.	respect confidentiality (to respect those things a person wants to keep private or a secret—to not reveal or show to others those things a person wants to keep private) We always try to respect confidentiality and keep information files locked away.
10.	gloomy picture (a hopeless situation) Despite the gloomy picture, she believes there are effective ways to improve things.
11.	calls for back-up (asks for support) She calls for back-up, such as homeless shelters, which helps support young people and gets them off the street.
12.	nowhere to turn (nowhere to ask for help or be supported) Because his mother is dead and his father is in prison, he has nowhere to turn.

Pronunciation: Say the following words putting emphasis on the syllables with capital letters.

(transcript)

HOME	HOMEless	HOMElessness	the HOMEless	homeless SHELter
Poverty	imPOverished		THE imPOverished
SHAME	aSHAMED	SHAMEful	SHAMEless
egrade	degraDAtion	deGRAded

(end of transcript)

Study Skill A:

Part 1: Time Expression (Past, Present, Present Perfect, Future, and Time that is unspecified)

The listening presentation in this chapter is a narrative that includes events in the past, situations in the present, questions what is to happen in the future and describes circumstances in times unspecified. Here are examples of common time expressions that will help identify the time being expressed in the listening passage.

	Examples	Notes
Past	yesterday, last week, an hour ago in 2001	Past time expressions refer to the time before and not including the present. Note that with the word “last” we do not include the word “the.” (We do not say “the last week,” rather we say “last week.” ) Also remember forms for constructing sentences in the past. long time ago / last year / last week / yesterday / an hour ago / present
Present	at present, (right) now, this week, nowadays, these days, at this moment	Present time expressions refer to the present moment—now—and/or the temporary time around it. Remember forms for creating sentences in the present tense. time slightly before now / NOW / time slightly after now
Future	tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week, in a few days, a year from now, from now on, later today, tonight	Future time expressions refer to time after the present. Note that when using future time expressions that include the word “next” we do not include the word “the.” (We do not say “the next year,” rather we say “next year.”) “In” is used here to mean “from now.” Remember forms for creating sentences in the future. Present /from now on / tomorrow / day after tomorrow /next week / next yr
Past to Present (Present Perfect)	up until now, so far, in the last week, since Friday, since I got up	Past to present or present perfect expressions of time refer to time before and including the present. Note that the word “since” can begin a phrase or clause. up until now /so far /since last year /since yesterday / in the last week/ now
Un-specified Time	every day, once a week, now and then, often, sometimes, never, for a long time, then, next, after that	This unspecified time section can appear with different tense forms and refers to frequency, duration, sequencing, and so on.

Numbers for Understanding: Stress on teens and tens

Often when the topic of poverty and homelessness is discussed, numbers, statistics, percentages and amounts of money are used. When listening for numbers or when pronouncing numbers in English, it is useful to understand the ways in which numbers ending in “-teen” are stressed versus the ways in which the numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. are stressed.

Numbers that end in “-teen” should have stressed placed on “-teen.” Sometimes the first syllable is also stressed.

THIR-TEEN

FOUR-TEEN

FIF-TEEN

SIX-TEEN

SEVEN-TEEN

EIGHT-TEEN

NIN-TEEN

The numbers that end in “-ty” place stress on the first syllable.

TWEN-ty

THIR-ty

FOUR-ty

FIF-ty

SIX-ty

SEVEN-ty

EIGH-ty

NIN-ty

Exercises and Activities for Speaking Skill A:

Exercise 1: Identify the tense of the following sentences. Mark the sentence with (P) for Past, (Pr) for Present, (F) for Future, (PP) for Present Perfect, and (U) for Unspecified Expressions of Time.

1.	_____	The social-economic system has experienced profound changes since Doi moi.
2.	_____	Up until now, the streets are an escape from broken families or domestic violence.
3.	_____	Tonight he’ll try to gather some pennies for a meal.
4.	_____	Before 1986 and Doi moi there was not much hope for these street children.
5.	_____	A solution for homelessness has not been found so far.
6.	_____	The situation is improving, nowadays, as incomes for families are becoming higher.
7.	_____	We cannot predict what the situation will be in a few years from now.
8.	_____	He wakes up every morning and searches for breakfast.
9.	_____	The phenomenon of children living and working on the street started in the 1980s.
10.	_____	His persistence is rewarded from time to time.

In a narrative that resembles speech patterns in normal conversation, we flow in and out of different tenses as we talk about what has happened, what is happening, what has always or frequently happened, and what will happen in the future.

Exercise 2: Identify the Tenses in the following sentences from the text of the listening presentation that you will be listening to. Mark the sentence with (P) for Past, (Pr) for Present, (F) for Future, (PP) for Present Perfect, and (U) for Unspecified Expressions of Time. Some sentences have more than one tense.

It will not be as easy as merely looking at the chart in Skill A to identify these tenses. Use your past knowledge, the chart, and common sense to identify the tense in these sentences.

1.	_____	What he worries about is where he's going to spend the night or whether he can get the pennies together for an evening meal.
2.	_____	Despite his young age, Peter has been sleeping rough on the streets near the city library since he was 16.
3.	_____	He is one of the army of young people for whom Sheffield's streets are now their home.
4.	_____	It is something he still can't come to terms with.
5.	_____	The worst thing about being homeless is having to beg for food.
6.	_____	The only member of his family he was close to is now in prison.
7.	_____	I've been staying with this kid I met about a week ago.
8.	_____	I've stayed with him for the last few nights, but he disappeared last night.
9.	_____	I don't know where he's gone.
10.	_____	It looks like I'll be out sleeping rough again tonight.
11.	_____	"I get up in the morning. I normally sleep either by the library, behind the Cathedral, or in the car park underneath Poxy's nightclub. I get up and go for my breakfast at the Cathedral, because it's free. Then, I go straight down to my pitch and start begging. I beg until 5pm and then I walk about for the rest of the evening."

Exercise 3: Numbers and Main Ideas

Listen to the following passage on poverty in Vietnam. Fill in the missing numbers in the space provided. Then identify the main idea of the passage by writing the appropriate letter in the blank.

Part A

(transcript)

Vietnam remains one of world’s poorest nations. According to World Bank figures, half the population lives below the poverty line. The government estimates that 90% of those living in poverty live in rural areas. Many of these rural households belong to ethnic minority groups. In a recent report prepared by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs or MOLISA, the gap between the rich and the poor increases daily. In 1996 the richest 20% had an income

7 times the amount of the income of the poorest 20%. Presently, the richest Vietnamese earn 13 times the income of the poor.

(end of transcript)

1.

The government estimates that _____ percent of those living in poverty live in rural areas.

2.

In 19______ the richest _______ percent had an income 7 times the amount of the income of the

poorest _____percent.

3.

Presently, the richest Vietnamese earn _____ times the income of the poor.

4.

The main idea of this paragraph is ______.

a)

b)

c)

d)

Vietnam is one of the poorest countries in the world with a huge gap in income between the richest and the poorest.

More than half of the population in Vietnam is below the poverty line.

Vietnam is a poor nation in the world.

Most of the poor people in Vietnam live in rural areas.

Part B

(transcript)

There are several reasons for the poverty in Vietnam. In the mountainous regions of the country that are populated by ethnic minorities, the main reasons for poverty include difficult geographical conditions, inadequate infrastructure, a low level of education, high birth rates, outdated farming methods, and little access to information and markets. In the Red River region poverty is mainly the result of a large population on too little land. And the central region is often hit by severe acts of nature such as floods and typhoons.

(end of transcript)

1. The main idea of this paragraph is ______.

a)

Because of the geographical and topographical factors, people in the mountainous regions in the country are poor.

b)

c)

d)

Vietnam still is in poverty for several reasons.

Ethnic minorities are the poorest population in Vietnam.

The continuous severe natural disasters in the central region is one cause of poverty here.

Part C

(transcript)

The Peace Garden Textile and Garment Company has built 15 houses for 15 poor teachers in remote areas of the country. The company has donated 17,000 yards of fabric to 550 poverty-stricken teachers nationwide. According to the director of the company, the donation of 150,000 million dong is not much, but it comes from contributions made by employees of the company.

(end of transcript)

1.	The Peace Garden Textile and Garment Company has built _____ houses for _____ poor teachers in remote areas of the country.
2.	The company has donated _____ thousand yards of fabric to five hundred ______ poverty-stricken teachers nationwide.
3.	According to the director of the company, the donation of One hundred _____ million dong.

Part D

(transcript)

One hundred seventy poor children from Kien Giang province underwent corrective eye surgery at Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital last week. This is part of “For the Eyes of Children” Campaign, now implemented in fourteen cities from 2002 to 2005 by the Vietnam Welfare Fund. The program estimates to benefit 7,250 vision-impaired children and cost up to 1.5 billion dong. This campaign is supported by Unilever and has the support of 13 international companies and NGOs.

(end of transcript)

1.	One hundred________ poor children from Kien Giang province underwent corrective eye surgery.
2.	This is part of “For the Eyes of Children” Campaign, now implemented in ________ cities from 200____ to 200_____ by the Vietnam Welfare Fund.
3.	The program estimates to benefit seven thousand two hundred _______ vision-impaired children and cost up to one point ______ billion dong.
4.	This campaign is supported by Unilever and has the support of ______ international companies and NGOs.

Exercise 4: Getting Ready to Listen: Prepare yourself for the following words that you will hear in the listening passage. You will see dictionary definition. Write the appropriate word from the list of vocabulary in the space provided. (Excerpts are taken from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

acne

degrade

odor

stale

overpowering

1. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'O-d&r Function: noun Etymology: Greek ozein to smell, osmE smell, 1 a: a quality of something that stimulates the olfactory organ : scent b: a sensation resulting from adequate stimulation of the olfactory organ : smell
2. __________________________	Pronunciation: "O-v&r-'pau(-&)rFunction: transitive verb: to affect with overwhelming intensity <the stench overpowered us
3. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'stA(&)lFunction: adjective Etymology: Middle English, aged (of ale), not fresh 1: tasteless or unpalatable from age
4. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'ak-nE Function: noun Etymology: Greek aknE eruption of the face, manuscript variant of akmE, literally, point : a disorder of the skin caused by inflammation of the skin glands and hair follicles; specifically: a form found chiefly in adolescents and marked by pimples especially on the face
5. __________________________	Pronunciation: di-'grAd, dE-Function: verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old French degrader, from Late Latin degradare, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade transitive senses1 a: to lower in grade, rank, or status : demote b: to strip of rank or honors c: to lower to an inferior or less effective level d: to scale down in desirability or salability 2 a: to bring to low esteem or into disrepute b: to drag down in moral or intellectual character : corrupt

Social Worker

shameful

free

beg

homeless

6. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'shAm-f&l Function: adjective a: bringing disgrace b: arousing the feeling of shame
7. __________________________	Pronunciation: -l&s Function: adjective: having no home or permanent place of residence
8. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'beg Function: verb Etymology: Middle English beggentransitive senses: to ask for as a charity
9. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'frE Function: adjective : not costing or charging anything
10. __________________________	Function: noun: any of various professional activities or methods concretely concerned with providing social services and especially with the investigation, treatment, and material aid of the economically underprivileged and socially maladjusted

shelter and safe houses

transition

vulnerable

counselor

addicted

11. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'v&l-n(&-)r&-b&l, 'v&l-n&r-b&l Function: adjective1: capable of being physically wounded 2: open to attack or damage : assailable
12. __________________________	Pronunciation: 'shel-t&r Function: noun Etymology: origin unknown 1 a: something that covers or affords protection <a bomb shelter> b: an establishment providing food and shelter (as to the homeless)
13. __________________________	Pronunciation: &-'dikt Function: transitive verb Etymology: Latin addictus, past participle of addicere to favor, from ad- + dicere to say 1: to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively <addicted to gambling> <addicted to heroin>
14. __________________________	Pronunciation: tran(t)-'si-sh&n, tran-'zi-, chiefly British tran(t)-'si-zh&n Function: noun Etymology: Latin transition-, transitio, from transpire a: passage from one state, stage, subject, or place to another : change b: a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another
15. __________________________	/ 'kaun(t)-s(&-)l&r/ Function: noun: a person who gives advice or counseling <marriage counselor>

Lecture/Presentation:

The narrative that you will hear excerpts from was created by British teenagers and was published in the Sheffield Star (http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/), a newspaper in the U.K. This article, “Peter Has More to Worry About Than His Appearance . . .” was produced by editor Sara Hawkins, 14, and reporters Davina McDowell, 13, and Shefina Coke, Katie Duckenfield and Tara Aston, all 12. It was published in February 25 1999.

The narrative is about a teenager who lives on the street. His name is Peter. There are three voices that you will hear in this listening passage: the narrator, Peter, and Claire who is a social worker who works with teenagers that are on the street.

Listen to the narrative the first time without taking notes.

Read the following questions.

Many teenagers worry about appearance—how they look. Why is it said that Peter has more to worry about than his appearance? What does he worry about?
What is Peter’s daily routine?
What feelings does Peter have about being homeless?
Why is Peter homeless?
Is homelessness among teenagers a problem?
According to Claire Turner, what is done to help these teenagers?
Are there similar problems in Vietnam?

Listen to the narrative a second time and take notes by writing down words that help you remember what is being said. Then answer the questions above. You can answer the questions individually, in small groups, or as a class.

(Transcript)
Narrator:	Peter has more to worry about than his appearance... ... like where he’s going to spend the night or get the cash for a meal. The first thing you notice about 18 year-old Peter is the smell. He carries with him an overpowering odor of sweat, stale food and urine. His face is dirty, covered in acne and he looks much older than his years. But then Peter has more important things to worry about than his appearance and his odor. What he worries about is where he's going to spend the night or whether he can get the pennies together for an evening meal. Because, despite his young age, Peter has been sleeping rough on the streets near the city library since he was 16. He is one of the army of young people for whom Sheffield's streets are now their home. It is something he still can't come to terms with. "I feel degraded, shameful," he said. "The worst thing about being homeless is having to beg for food. I want a place to live but I just can't get it." Peter has never really had a family life. Before his life on the streets he was in care and the only member of his family he was close to is now in prison. He quite literally has nowhere to turn.
Peter:	"I've been staying with this kid I met about a week ago who's got a hat. I've stayed with him for the last few nights, but he disappeared last night and I don't know where he's gone. It looks like I'll be out sleeping rough again tonight."
Narrator:	Even the day offers no respite.
Peter:	"I get up in the morning. I normally sleep either by the library, behind the Cathedral, or in the parking lot underneath Poxy's nightclub. I get up and go for my breakfast at the Cathedral, because it's free. Then, I go straight down to my pitch and start begging. I beg until 5pm and then I walk about for the rest of the evening."
Narrator:	The only people who help are those people perhaps least able to.
Peter:	"Homeless people help each other out. If you need something to eat, they’ll give it you straight away. If they've got an extra jacket, you can have it."
Narrator:	And Peter is not alone. In October 1998, local agencies estimated that more than 1,500 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 were homeless in Sheffield. A massive 35 per cent were under 18. Claire Turner is a social worker near the Peace Gardens in Sheffield.
Claire:	"It's pretty bad. People only think of homelessness as sleeping rough, but the teenagers you see sleeping in the streets or begging are just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of them are sleeping on friends' floors or moving from place to place."
Narrator:	Vulnerability and a lack of experience make the situation worse for teenagers and procedures designed to protect them can create further obstacles.
Claire:	"A person will come in and they don't want anyone else to know what's happening to them – their dad's beating them or they're addicted to heroin. We always try to respect confidentiality, but, when a young person, or their brothers and sisters are in danger, we have to act on it. We have to say 'Look, we don't want to tell, but we have to keep it on file'."
Narrator:	Despite the gloomy picture, Claire believes there are effective ways to improve things. She advocates more preventative measures, such as safe houses and shelters.
Claire:	"There's a counselor to help you start learning about how to live independently."
Narrator:	And she calls for back-up, such as tenancy support projects, which helps support young people and gets them off the street.
Claire:	"There needs to be more support so they can make the transition to living independently. And there needs to be education so that people can cope with independent living."
Narrator:	But there is a long way to go. The youngest kid who Peter knows is sleeping rough is only 12 and according to Claire they get younger every day.
Claire:	"There have been reports of homeless children as young as eight or nine. It's terrible. There is a real need for help."
(End of Transcript)

Exercises and Activities for Listening Skill A:

Exercise 5: After Carefully Listening— Form small groups of 5 or 6 people. These groups will be called “City Task Forces.” In your groups discuss the following:

The problem of children and teenagers living on the street is of high importance in your city. Your City Task Force must decide what is to be done about these children and who or what organization, agency, department of the government is responsible to see the problem come to an end. In order to fulfill your obligations, answer these questions.

Why are so many children on the street? What are the reasons that no one is responsible for them?
What problems in the city are caused by large groups of homeless children? What sort of complaints do citizens make?
What needs do these children have immediately? Shelter? Food? Education? Love? And who can provide for these needs?
What experts should your group seek advice from? Government officials? Social Workers? Ordinary citizens? Non-governmental and international organizations?
What is already being done? What examples have you heard about that helps street children or helps solve the problems of children living on the street?
What needs to be done to reduce the number of children in the street? What laws or preventative measures need to come into play?
Who should make these things happen? Who should be responsible?
What money should be used to help these children?

Your City Task Force will prepare a proposal for getting children off your city’s street. Select one of the members of the group to present your proposal to your class. Your class may want to choose the Task Force with the best proposal.

Study Skill B:

Interrupting and Asking a Question

Students in American classrooms are expected to take an active role in the classroom. When a student does not understand what the teacher is saying or needs clarification for understanding, the teacher expects the student to ask a question. This is one way that teachers see that students understand. Students from other-than-American cultures may not feel comfortable with interrupting a class to ask a question. Students who don’t ask questions in class can also see the teacher during office hours to ask their questions. It is often the student’s responsibility to inform the teacher that the materials in the classroom are not understood by the student.

In a classroom situation, as the teacher is talking, a student may raise their hand. When the teacher acknowledges the student with a “Yes?” or the student’s name (“Yes, Nga?) then the student can use the interrupting openers and question openers listed below.

In conversation, it is customary to interrupt or break into the conversation with questions or a statement. However, there are polite and acceptable ways to interrupt and there are rude and abrupt ways to interrupt.

Here are some of the tools that are needed for interrupting, taking turns, and asking simple questions:

Interrupting Openers

Question Openers

Excuse me, but I didn’t quite understand . . .Excuse me,

I’m sorry. I have a question . . .

May I interrupt for a minute?

Pardon me,

Do you mind if I ask?

May I cut in for a moment?

When did . . .?

What does . . . mean?

Where is . . . ?

Why is it that . . . ?

How does . . . ?

What I don’t understand is . . .

Would you please repeat . . .?

Interrupting is done for a reason, so any combination of the interrupting openers with the question openers should be appropriate to what a person wants to ask.

Exercises and Activities for Listening Study Skill B:

Exercise 6: Interrupting and Asking Questions

Form small groups of three and read the following dialogue:

Teacher:	There are several reasons for the poverty in Vietnam. In the mountainous regions of the country that are populated by ethnic minorities, the main reasons for poverty include difficult geographical conditions, inadequate infrastructure, a low level of education, high birth rates, outdated farming methods, and little access to information and markets. In the Red River region poverty is mainly the result of a large population on too little land. And the central region is often hit by severe acts of nature such as floods and typhoons.
Student A:	May I interrupt? Would you repeat the reasons for poverty in the mountainous regions?
Teacher:	Sure, first, difficult geographical conditions, second, inadequate infrastructure, third, a low level of education, fourth, high birth rates, fifth, outdated farming methods, and, lastly, little access to information and markets.
Student A:	Excuse me, but could you explain what you mean by “inadequate infrastructure”?
Teacher:	The infrastructure refers to things such as roads, buildings, bridges, methods of communication such as telephone wires, public transportation and the like.

Take turns reading this dialogue and switching parts. Then have one student be the teacher, and create more interrupting questions of your own to clarify the information.

Here is another paragraph for a “teacher” to read and for students to interrupt and ask questions from. You may write down a dialogue and practice reading it. You may also try to be more spontaneous and ask and answer questions without writing and reading. You may want to look up some vocabulary in the dictionary. (This excerpt is from “Children of the Dust” by Ngo Kim Cuc and Mikel Flamm http://www.vwam.com/vets/children/introduction.htm)

Teacher:

The street children phenomenon is a product of urbanization, poverty and a lack of alternative. For some, the streets are a permanent escape from broken families or domestic violence, while for others, the street life is a means of supplementing family income, of passing time and having fun, or of temporarily escaping from overcrowded conditions at home. In addition, unequal distribution of resources, limited economic opportunities and the breakdown of traditional family values and community structures deny millions of children the care and support they need for wholesome growth and development. Driven to the streets for survival, these children are exposed to exploitation and risk. These children are a vulnerable group of children who are the victims of economic, physical, and sexual exploitation and abuse, often in special need of three things: protection from dangers, access to services, and opportunities for personal growth and development. They need to grow up as human beings with love, care and support that will ensure their physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual development. They need a support system that will help them acquire values and skills for their integration into the mainstream of society.

Level III

Chapter 5
Listening Speaking

IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer
English | Vietnamese | Persian | Spanish
Assessment

Topic: Poverty Reduction / Xoá đói giảm nghèo

Level III

Chapter 5 Listening Speaking

IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer English | Vietnamese | Persian | Spanish Assessment

Topic: Poverty Reduction / Xoá đói giảm nghèo

Chapter 5
Listening Speaking

IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer
English | Vietnamese | Persian | Spanish
Assessment