Gentrification
Upper-Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide fluency speaking practice in a Debate in the context of gentrification
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide practice in the context of city life
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To provide practice in the context of city life
Procedure (40-56 minutes)
- T shows class a picture of a city taken from space at night - T asks Ss if they know the city - T elicits, when is it taken? (at night), what are the dark spots? (parks), can we see a difference in the city? (yes, lights different colour west and east), why might there be a difference, could it be a river? (no), could it be a wall? (yes) Do you know a city that was divided by a wall? (Berlin) - T tells class story: "in 1989 the Berlin Wall came down and many people from the east moved to west Germany for jobs. It meant the city was very VACANT (writes on board. Elicits - is vacant empty or full? Drills, writes on board with stress Vacant - T elicits: "Because of this rents were very low in the INNER CITY (checks, drills, writes on board, stress) where there was more LIVING SPACE
- T tells the story "This was my home for 6 years, I moved here because rents were cheap and there was good transport, facilities for sports, culture etc, what do we call this? (INFRASTRUCTURE): the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities. CCQs - could hospitals and schools be part of the infrastructure? What about people? Drills, writes on board with stress INfrastructure - In the area I lived in there were lots of independent shops and restaurants and only one McDonald's was allowed. elicits, what do we call the same restaurant or shop that has many outlets? (chain) - Does anyone know why Berlin was easy for me to live in compared to Paris, or Madrid? (because I spoke German). What do we call it when something makes our live easier? (CONVENIENT)
- T tells a story: This is a photo my friend sent me, what do you think is happening here? (photo of police at demonstration against rents rising in Berlin) - CCQS: As more people move to the city, what rises? (rent), who raises the rent? (LANDLORD). Do Landlords pay rent, or receive it? Do they own the property? Drilling, writing on board, stress
- T tells the story: Here, the landlord has threatened to throw out the people living there if they can't pay the increase in rent so they are protesting. What is it called when a tenant is thrown out by the landlord (EVICTION). Is eviction positive or negative? Does it happen to the landlord or does the landlord do it? Drilling, writing on board, stress. - T asks Ss: The people that live here, what do they feel towards the landlord? Are they angry because they have to pay more? Is it unfair that the Landlord does nothing but gets more money? (RESENTMENT). If you have to pay more rent one month but your salary stays the same, will you be upset? Drills, writes on board with stress
- T asks if the class knows what gentrification is -T shows video about gentrification, Ss must fill in advantages and disadvantages in table - After video T asks Ss if they can define gentrification - T goes through answers with Ss filling in table - T asks Ss, are there more advantages or disadvantages do you think?
- T will play audio of 6 people to the class about a mall being built in their area - Ss have to note who is for, who is against, and who has mixed views - Ss have to write the reason for point of view of each speaker - T goes through answers with class - T asks who agrees with which person
Set up debate: - T sets challenge: a development company wants to redevelop a street, they will build new houses and shopping centre. The local residents set up a meeting with the developers so they can discuss this. - Split class into two, one side is for gentrification (landlord) and the other against (local residents) give each group 5 minutes to come up with as many arguments for their side - Shows Ss list of phrases for debate - Sets up breakout rooms for 5 minutes, then brings them back and sets up debate for 5 minutes
- T takes notes from debate and writes some common mistakes on the board and checks with elicitation, checking, drilling and stress