Unit 2
Unit 2
In this unit you will experience how to build up your vocabulary related to a certain topic, working on written and spoken texts.
We have chosen for you a very much discussed topic dealing with the influence of the media on people’s lives.
In order to talk about a certain topic in the form of a speech, presentation supported by a power-point, or just giving an informal personal opinion you need appropriate vocabulary.
The richer your vocabulary related to a certain topic the better you can express your opinion and form your arguments.
The outcomes of this unit
You will be able to:
- analyse new language material,
- identify key vocabulary related to a certain topic.
I Work on the written text The Influence of the Media (pdf)
1. Skim the text and insert the missing sentences. (task 1 in the pdf-material)
By doing that you will check your global text understanding. Rely on the words and phrases you can understand without the help of a dictionary.
2. Read the text again and identify the four approaches to the influence of the media; find the main arguments for each of them.
3. You can check your further text understanding by thinking about some criticisms of the four approaches (task 2 in the pdf-material).
4. In order to check the meaning of selcted words form the text you can do the vocabulary exercise (in the pdf-material).
5. Speaking exercise:
- chose one of the approaches from the text
- imagine you have to present it to somebody
- sum up the main ideas related to the chosen approach
- think about the structures used for expressing agreement /
disagreement
- give your own opinion about that particular approach.
II Work on the spoken text / audio material (mp3)
1. You will listen to five speakers who talk about advantages and disadvantages of the Internet.
To prepare for the listening activity do the following vocabulary exercise:
Match the words to their meanings:
1 to contain a) secretly listen to sb
2 to tap sb b) get information about sb
3 sinister c) be a part of sth
4 censorship d) threatening
5 to have access to e) be weak or not effective
6 be appaling f) imagination
7 be anaemic g) shocking
8 to call sb's/ fancy h) to hurry sth
9 to speed up i) to make available to a number of
people
10 to disseminate j) the process of removing sth that
is not suitable
2. Listen to the five speakers and decide which of the opinions A-F each speaker expresses (task 1, pdf-material)
3. Listen to the recording once again and check your answers.
4. Now read the tape-scripts of the five speakers (pdf-material).
5. Chose the opinion you agree / disagree with most of all.
6. Imagine you would meet the speaker of the opinion you have chosen.Think about your own arguments for the discussion with the chosen speaker.
The following expressions can help you:
I believe…
In my opinion…
Firstly, this is….
Secondly, the fact….
I partly agree with…
I completely disagree with…. , because…
Your argument…
The problem you’ve mentioned
To sum up I think…
7. Think about your imagined preparation for the discussion.
Was it easy to find the words you needed?
Were your arguments clear enough?
Do you think you provided enough arguments to persuade your partner?
Summing up
In this unit you have:
- practiced your reading skill and global text understanding,
- learned new words and expressions related to the topic of the media,
- improved your listening skills and understanding,
- learned how to prepare for speaking,
- to pay attention to pronunciation.
We hope you have enjoyed the topic and you will be encouraged to do some further research about
- elements of good speech and discussion
- the theories, approaches and ideas related to the new media.
In the Unit 3 you have a chance to work further on your listening skills, on the improvement of your vocabulary and speaking practice.
Introduction Learning outcomes Study materials
Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 . Unit 4 Unit 5 Project tasks Test