The Internet TESL Journal

A Way to Teach Culture: Guns or No Guns

Yoshiyuki Nakata
yoshiyuk [at] gol.com
Hinomoto Gakuen Junior College (Himeji, Japan)

LEVELS:

Intermediate

AIMS:

Promote discussion and debate skills within the context of familiarizing students with a controversial issue in the target culture.

CLASS TIME:

1 hour

PREPARATION TIME:

5 minutes

RESOURCES:

This activity offers a way of dealing with a controversial aspect of American culture, the gun-control issue, by supplying information of gun control and two different views about gun-control.

PROCEDURE:

  1. Explain the background history of guns in America.
  2. Use material outlining arguments related to gun control (Time, Newsweek, World Report, and the National Review have had many examples over the years. For those with access to the World Wide Web, see the address above.)
  3. Form students into small groups (4-6) and have them debate the gun control issue from opposing viewpoints.
  4. Act as moderator in a discussion to follow the debate.

VARIATIONS:


The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 6, June 1996
http://iteslj.org/