13 - 17
Adults
B2
In this lesson, learners will reflect on what comes to mind when they hear the word ‘refugee’. They will then focus on question forms and watch a short video where refugees in the USA answer serious and funny questions about their experiences. Learners are encouraged to reflect with empathy on the experiences shared and then think of how they could help refugees feel welcome in their own context. Learners work together to share useful information about their local area and write questions that they could ask refugees to learn more about them.
Lesson outcomes
All learners will:
- reflect on what a refugee is and what words they associate with refugees
- practise question forms
- listen to refugees talking about their experience and reflect on any similarities
- discuss ways they could help refugees feel more welcome.
Materials
Lesson plan
Student worksheet
Presentation
Video transcript
Procedure
Stage
15
Lead-in
- Write on the board 'A refugee is someone who ... ' (or show Slide 2) and ask learners to complete the sentence to write a definition of what a refugee is. Ask them to compare their answers in pairs.
- Show learners Slide 3 with the gapped definition or write it on the board. Learners work in pairs to complete the definition with the missing words. Ask for ideas and then give them the answer. Answer: A refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their home, because of war or violence or persecution, to find safety in a different country. Note: If necessary, explain that persecution means to treat someone unfairly or with cruelty because of their race, religion, or beliefs.
- Tell learners to write down five words (nouns, verbs or adjectives) that they think of when they think of refugees. Ask them to compare with a partner, then get some feedback. Ask learners why they chose their words.
5
Task 2 – Speaking
- Show learners Slide 6/Task 2 on the worksheet. Give them five minutes to discuss the questions and write down their ideas. Get some brief feedback.
10
Task 3 – Question forms
- Show learners Slide 7/Task 3 on the worksheet. Tell them to put the questions in the correct order. Check answers (on slide X). Check the meaning of any unknown collocations – e.g. cultural shocks, common misconceptions, end up. Answers (on Slide 8): a. What do you do for fun? b. What is a refugee? c. What were some cultural shocks you experienced? d. What food did you discover? e. What are some common misconceptions about refugees? f. How did you end up in America? g. What does a refugee look like?
- Explain that they are going to watch a short video in which refugees are asked these seven questions.
10
Task 4 – Video 1
- Show the video once: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo3GhvWP3e0 Tell learners to put the questions (a–g) in the order that they hear them (1–7). Answers: 1. f, 2. b, 3. c, 4. e, 5. d, 6. a, 7. g.
- Show the video again, but this time stop at 1:11. As they watch, ask learners to make a note of why these refugees left their countries (Slide 9). Get some feedback. Are the answers similar to the ideas your learners had in Task 2? Answers: Lourena – a civil war (in Liberia), Edafe – his life was in danger as he is an openly gay man and an activist, Ahmed – his home was attacked in Iraq.
3
Video 2
- Show the rest of the video and ask learners to answer questions 1–4 on the worksheet/Slide 10
- Ask learners to compare their answers and then check. Answers (on Slide 11): 2.b, 3. c, 4. c, 5. b.
10
Task 5 – Discussion
- Show the discussion questions on Slide 12/Task 5 on the worksheet. Learners discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Monitor and then ask some learners to share their ideas.
12
Task 6 – Make a refugee feel welcome
- Show Slide 13/Task 6 on the worksheet. Tell learners they are going to meet some new refugees to their area – depending on your group, this could be at their school, work or local town. Learners work in pairs and make notes using the prompts. They could create a poster or slide with the information. Encourage them to think about what someone from a different culture would need or want to know and to consider what questions they might ask them, thinking about what the person might have experienced.
- Learners share and compare their information with the class or with another group. Write up some of the questions on the board. Ask learners to reflect on which questions would be best to get to know more about the new refugees.
0
Extension
- Ask learners to reflect on what they have learned in the class today. Is there anything they would add to their definition of a refugee from the beginning of the class? Why?
- Ask them to plan a welcome party for a newcomer to their school/town/work. They can think about where they would have the party, activities they might do and food they might share.
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