ESL etc.

Global Issues and Activism in English Language Teaching

ESL etc. random header image

Entries Tagged as 'poverty & wealth'

New Internationalist: Global Issues for Learners of English

May 22nd, 2009 · No Comments

The New Internationalist has a collection of global issues articles written specifically for learners of English. They have articles on globalization, the environment, human rights and war. They haven’t updated the articles for several years, but the topics are still very relevant.
One example that I like is a series of 5 stories told […]

[Read more →]

Tags: poverty & wealth · cultural issues · child labor · fair trade · war · consumerism · ESL activity · reading · the environment · global issues activities · blog

Lesson Plans from the International School Studies Association

May 1st, 2009 · No Comments

The International School Studies Association at the University of Denver has a large collection of links to lesson plans that deal with global issues. They break them down thematically (Cultural Studies, Environmental Studies, Economics, etc.) and by grade level. There are tons of lessons available here, so there are bound to be some […]

[Read more →]

Tags: poverty & wealth · natural disasters · food and hunger · water · politics · war · global issues resources · ESL activity · the environment · global issues activities · blog

Environmental Racism Activities from Teaching Tolerance

April 9th, 2009 · No Comments

As Earth Day approaches, one topic that is often left out of the discussion is environmental racism. Teaching Tolerance has three lesson plans designed for different grade levels.

Fair is Fair (K-5) is a good introduction to the concept for children.
Progressive City Planners (6-8) puts students in the role of urban designers, and includes some […]

[Read more →]

Tags: poverty & wealth · health · environmental racism · environmental justice · consumerism · video · reading · the environment · global issues activities · blog

The Best “Cause-Related” Online Learning Games

March 26th, 2009 · No Comments

Larry Ferlazzo recently posted a brief summary of a variety of cause-related online games. I’ve posted about free rice and free poverty before, but a bunch of the other ones are new to me. I’m not sure how reliable the claims of charitable donations from the various sites are, but they are worth […]

[Read more →]

Tags: food and hunger · water · poverty & wealth · video games · the environment · global issues activities · blog

Peace Corps Challenge Online Game

March 12th, 2009 · No Comments

I just came across a Flash-based game that simulates what it’s like to be a Peace Corps volunteer. I haven’t played it a great deal, but it seems like a decent game for language learners. You start out in a village, trying to solve a problem with their water supply. The bulk […]

[Read more →]

Tags: health · food and hunger · visual prompts · water · poverty & wealth · vocabulary · reading · global issues activities · video games · blog

A Global Issues-Themed Poetry Activity

January 30th, 2009 · No Comments

We’ve got a group of 50 or so Korean elementary school teachers here at the ELI for a month-long program. Today, I gave them a brief workshop introducing a poetry activity that I have used in the past. Basically, I have students read, write, then discuss poems built around particular structures. I […]

[Read more →]

Tags: politics · poverty & wealth · food and hunger · consumerism · global issues activities · ESL activity · writing · blog

World Sim

January 20th, 2009 · No Comments

I just read a great article on a very interesting activity that a college anthropology professor does with a few hundred students in a lecture class.
He breaks them into groups of about 20, and assigns each group a culture. They spend a few weeks preparing, and the class culminates in the World Sim activity […]

[Read more →]

Tags: environmental racism · environmental justice · teaching with games · food and hunger · cultural issues · politics · poverty & wealth · global issues activities

Some Eco-Themed Videogames

January 7th, 2009 · No Comments

Low Impact Living just profiled several environmentally-themed video games, some of which look like they would be good to use with language learners.
In Climate Challenge, the player is president of the European Union, and the goal is to balance green policy with keeping the populace happy.
Ayiti: The Cost of Life gives students the chance to […]

[Read more →]

Tags: poverty & wealth · food and hunger · climate change · politics · global issues activities · video games · the environment

Global Issues — Week 4 — Financial Crisis

October 20th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Materials used:

Reading Circle Peer Evaluation Sheet
Financial Crisis Timeline Activity
Financial Crisis Lesson Handout
Financial Crisis Readings

On Tuesday, we did the first reading circle. I was pleased to see that it went well. I had done this with a global issues class I taught in Hawaii, but at that school reading circles were a common part […]

[Read more →]

Tags: Global Issues class · financial crisis (2008) · poverty & wealth · global issues activities · ESL activity · blog

Global Issues — Week 2

September 27th, 2008 · No Comments

Materials Used

Reading Circle Assignment Sheet
Reading Circle Demo
Miniature Earth / World Wealth Handout
Economics Reading

First, let me give a little background on this class. It is an elective for level 4 and 5 students, our top two levels. We meet twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, for an hour and fifteen minutes each time. […]

[Read more →]

Tags: CALL · poverty & wealth · Global Issues class · video · global issues activities · speaking · reading · writing · ESL activity