ana garcía-arroyo - uniovi.es
TRANSCRIPT
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Working with Gender Issues in the English Class.
Towards a More Fair Society
Ana García-Arroyo
-------------------------- Teaching material
for pre & intermediate level of English
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This multi/interdisciplinary teaching material is the result of an innovative project carried
out by Dr. Ana García-Arroyo with her group of students, who are part of the Master’s
Degree in Secondary Education teaching (Fall, 2018-19), within the module “Teaching
Innovation and Introduction to Investigation” at the Universidad de Valencia (Spain). This
work is also included within a larger interuniversity project identified as Literaturas en
lengua inglesa y su didáctica: del aula a la sociedad PINN-18-A-013 (2018), supervised by
Universidad de Oviedo.
Owing to the insufficiency of materials dealing with gender issues in the field of Education,
and given the fact that students in the different disciplines need to be educated in terms of
gender equality if we want to construct democratic societies, I consider that the creation and
use of this teaching material is of great help for any educator in different fields or disciplines.
For these reasons my contribution had / has the following aims: 1) to prepare student teachers
to adopt a gender-based methodology that relies on literature to teach English as a foreign
language and 2) to create an alternative textbook (teaching materials), through a good
selection of literary texts that bring gender issues into analyses so that it can be used in real
English clases at a pre & intermediate level.
Ana García-Arroyo (San Sebastián-1963) is a Spanish scholar and
writer who has been working at the Language & Literature Teaching
Department, University of Valencia, since September- 2017. She
received her PhD from the UAB, and also holds a Postgraduate Diploma
in Postcolonial Literatures and Cultures (UB). She has a multifaceted
profile: as a teacher of English Language and Literature she has a large
experience, of over thirty years, working at the different levels of
Education (EGB/Primary, Secondary and Higher Education). As a
researcher and academic in Postcolonial cultures, she is also a specialist
in Indian Studies in the fields of Literature and Gender, with 6 books
published. As a creative writer her latest works are Madre India (2012), Cuentos para educar
el género (2014) and Devi la intocable (2017). She has also been invited by national and
international universities, for example, in India, Ecuador, England and Australia.
Students: Ana Crespo Calabuig; I.M.; Gemma Alfonso Guarch; Cristina Díaz Ramírez;
María Huerta Castillo; África Iglesias Collado; Marta Rocher López; Avelina Blay Cotolí;
María Soro Plà; J.T.V.; Laura Vidal Martí; V.S.C.; Beatriz Collado Aliena; Ana Belén Conde
Mena; Carla Ramírez Monterde; José Juan Soler Pascual; Mar Fernández Soler; C.C.M.;
E.M.P.; Mercedes Juncos Martínez; P.A.; M.U.; A.L.; V.P.; María Seguí González; Daniel
Giménez Cursa; Eliyos Ruille; Lara Domingo Aliaga; Belén Andrioti Navarro; G.E.; Aina
Llopis; Ignacio Roca Martínez; M.R.; L.B.; N.L.F.; N.S.; F.O.; M.S.; Begoña Cercós Pérez;
A.E.; Raúl González Domínguez; A.L.; Anna Tasa Candela.
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Contents
Introduction
1. Phenomenal Woman
2. (Un)Happily Ever After
3. What Is Love?
4. Families
5. The Girl Who Can
6. Smoke and Ashes
7. I Come from a Beautiful Place
8. Selling Your Body, Selling Your Soul
9. This Is Not Making Love…It’s Rape
10. Breaking Chains
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Introduction
This multi/interdisciplinary teaching material is the result of an innovative project that I
carried out with my group of 43 Pre-service teachers, who were part of the Master’s Degree
in Secondary Education teaching (Fall, 2018-19), within the module “Teaching Innovation
and Introduction to Investigation” at the Universidad de Valencia (Spain). This work is also
included within a larger interuniversity project identified as Literaturas en lengua inglesa y
su didáctica: del aula a la sociedad PINN-18-A-013 (2018), supervised by Universidad de
Oviedo.
The idea of this project originated from many different reasons. Firstly the obsolete
methodology that is still used to teach English as a foreign language, especially in Spanish
Secondary education schools. I am referring to the grammar translation method, as well as the
conventional grammar-based textbook, which have caused very low standards in learners and
their entire demotivation (Cumming, 2009; Richards & Rodgers, 2014). Secondly I wanted to
highlight that the teacher of English is also (or has to be, above all) an educator, which
implies committing onself to a democratic education. In a country like Spain where the
reminiscences and rancid values of a patriarchal society still linger in all paths of life,
producing gender imbalances such as harassment, bullying, name-calling, sexist images and
other kinds of violence, the teacher’s responsibility –as a democratic educator-, whether s/he
teaches English or any other subject- also involves the development of a pedagogy that
contributes to the construction of a more gender-fair society. For these reasons based on Judit
Butler’s theory of performativity (1990), of acting differently, that is to say, of Educating
differently, and adopting bell hook’s engaged interactive transgressive pedagogy (1994;
2010) this project had the following objectives
1) to prepare pre-service teachers to adopt a gender-based methodology that relies on
literary texts to teach English;
2) to create an alternative textbook (teaching materials) through a good selection of
literary texts that bring issues into analyses so that it can be used in real English classes at a
pre & intermediate level.
The final aim was to demonstrate that if we educate our future teachers with a gender-based
pedagogy through the use of literature, then they will be prepare to use this knowledge with
their learners of English, which will consequently produce on one hand better qualitative
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results and one the other hand it will challenge the patriarchal mentality and gender
stereotypes that many adolescents and adults still have.
The project consisted of two stages:
1) The preparation of pre-service teachers within the theoretical foundations,
regarding the literary-based feminist methodology. They were briefly introduced to
the basic theoretical concepts concerning ‘gender construction’, ‘performativity’
(Butler, 1990), ‘feminist pedagogy’ (hooks, 1994; 2010) and the richness of using
literary texts to teach English (Rosenblatt, 1995; Lazar, 1993; Sumara, 2002; Richard
& Rodgers, 2014).
2) The creation of this alternative textbook.
2.1 The Literaty Text Selected: offer a wide multicultural representation of writers
round the world:
a) Fragments from novels:
Disgace by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa);
Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai (India);
Hard Times by Charles Dickens (England);
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Canada);
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs (USA).
b) Short stories and fables: “
“The Moon Shone On” and “Troglodyte” by Suniti Namjoshi (India);
“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood (Canada);
“The Girl Who Can” by Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana).
c) Poems:
“We Refugees” by Benjamin Zephanaiah (England; The Caribbean);
“Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou (USA).
2.2 Aims:
-To introduce concepts related to the patriarchal social system
-To interrogate what ‘love’ means.
-To help learners express feelings and emotions
-To make learners aware of the diversity of family units, sexual expressions and
identities.
-To analyze and deconstruct stereotypes in relationships
-To analyze and deconstruct beauty standards and image
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-To learn to integrate people from different cultural backgrounds
-To reflect on the connection between the destruction of Nature and patriarchal
thinking.
-To deconstruct the misconceptions related to prostitution
-To raise awareness about rape
-To interrogate modern slavery.
2.3 The themes discussed
(Romantic) love and relationships;
Homosexuality and homophobia;
Diversity of families;
Traditional masculine and feminine roles;
Beauty standards;
The destruction of Nature (eco-feminism);
Feminine and masculine prostitution;
Rape;
Old and new forms of slavery;
Immigration.
2.4 The activities
They are accompanied by photographs, cartoons, links to videos and interviews,
charts and maps. They involving the five skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking
and critical thinking.
2.5 The time:
The work of creating this alternative textbook lasted 6 weeks, a total of 24 hours,
All the work was done in class, during the 4-hour session we had on Fridays.
Then, there was no homework; no assignments; no study for exams.
2.6 The teacher’s job:
My job was to supervise students’ work and edit it when it was finished. During the
process I took notes, helped students with suggestions, oriented them; we also had
some discussions regarding the themes or the kind of activities and the order they
should take.
From the realization of this project we can draw some conclusions:
-Pre-service teachers are introduced to a gender-sensitive education environment.
-Pre-service teachers become aware of the implications of teaching-learning English
when gender fairness is at stake.
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-They learn that the English language reproduces stereotypes so they have to re-think
teaching practices that are more democratic and estabish a connection with the world
of feelings and emotions through the use of the literary text.
-Pre-service teachers are transformed: from being all their learning life passive
recipients of the Spanish education system, who could have become mere conveyors
of knowledge, of repetitive facts of gramar rules, fill-in-the blanks, compositions of
pros and cons and samples of repetitive exercises, they turn into creators of teaching
materials; of makers of their own teaching curriculum.
-Pre-service teacher are committed to social justice.
All in all I would like to highlight that if we educate future teachers within a feminist
pedagogy that uses literary texts to teach English then they will transfer this knowledge to
their learners: on one hand learners’ results will improve in a more qualitative way; and on
the other, gender stereotypes and sexism will be challenged.
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PHENOMENAL WOMAN
Aim: To make students reflect on gender stereotypes concerning beauty standards
1. A) Pre-Activity: define what is a “phenomenal woman”.
- Which concept do you have for an ideal woman?
- What does it mean to you to be a phenomenal man?
- Do you know anyone who can be described as a phenomenal
woman/man?
- Why do you think that person is a phenomenal woman/man?
B) Look at the pictures. Would you describe them as phenomenal
women/men? What does it make you think so?
Mario Casas
Alessandra Ambrossio
Albert Einstein
Emma Watson
Laia Palau
Angela Davis
César Bona
TEACHER’S GUIDE
It is convenient that we guide the students to discover that all people are special and can
be a "phenomenal" woman and man. Some will be for their sporting achievements, others
for their academic achievements, or for any other reason. They should not look only at the
physical appearance to say that someone is "phenomenal".
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2. Listen to you teacher reading the poem. Read the poem again all
together and try to guess what it means.
Phenomenal Woman
by MAYA ANGELOU
Pretty women wonder where my secret
lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion
model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
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3. You can then discuss the following questions:
- Which ideas do you think the protagonist of this poem wants to develop
with it?
- How is she defining herself?
- How does she perceive men are defining her?
- Do you think that she is the only one who feels like that?
- Why do you think she is referring to women’s physical features?
- Which do you think is the meaning of “to suit a fashion model’s size”?
4. A) Find the correct meaning for these metaphors that appear in the
poem. Choose the correct answer.
• “It’s in the reach of my arms”:
a) She can touch something with her own hands.
b) She feels that as a woman she is willing to open her arms for
others, to give love and support to the rest.
• “The span of my hips”:
a) She means that she has already been a mother and because of that
her hips are wide.
b) She has a fat ass.
·
• “The stride of my step”:
a) She is walking ahead.
b) She feels brave and sure of herself and that is why her step is
confident and firm.
• “It’s the fire in my eyes”:
a) She wants to refer to the passion she feels.
b) She is watching something burning
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• “The flash of my teeth”:
a) She is eating a flash.
b) Refers to his smile, that is, to the white flash of his teeth.
• “The swing in my waist”:
a) She has not a standard body, she is fatter.
b) She is dancing.
B) Now try to find the metaphorical meaning of the following lines in
the poem and write them down:
- “The curl of my lips”.
- “The arch of my back”.
- “The sun of my smile”.
- “The ride of my breasts”
- “The click of my heels”.
- “The bend of my hair”.
5. Complete the table with the characteristics that Maya Angelou
attributes to a phenomenal woman. When you finish, try to find out
what she really means with the following characteristics:
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
She has fire in her eyes.
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6. Listen to the poem recited by the author herself and talk with your
partner about the feelings that this poem transmits.
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeFfhH83_RE
7. A) Look at the following pictures and answer the questions. Describe them in
groups.
a) What do you think they are about?
b) What consequences or implications do you think that this kind of advertisements and
news might have in our society?
Picture 1 Picture 2
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B) Taking into account your ideas and reflections, write an essay of at least 120
words. You should use the following guide:
- TITLE: Media influences on gender roles
- POINTS TO COVER:
- Do you know any adverts that show gender stereotypes?
- Do you think these type of advertisements are still seen on TV?
- Do you think gender roles are still present nowadays? (example: all Spain’s
Prime Minister’s have been men)
- Can we change this situation? How?
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5 Picture 6
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8. Music researchers.
a) Gather in groups and look for a song which talks about stereotypes (they can be
gender-related or other stereotypes you consider interesting).
b) Once each group has selected their song and downloaded the lyrics, present it to the
rest of the class explaining the feelings it portrayed to you.
9. In the following video you will see Demi Lovato opening up on her problems with
bullying, bulimia and anorexia. Watch the video and take notes of what you
consider interesting.
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XomfJO0vgI
a) Gather in groups and discuss your ideas and feelings on Demi Lovato’s story. Write
them down on a piece of paper.
b) Within the same groups, prepare and perform a short play in which you portray a
situation described by Demi Lovato. You can also introduce another stereotype or
personal issue you are aware of.
Suggestion
For this activity it would be interesting if you work in small groups in order to foment the participation and the motivation among them. We recommend groups of 3-4 people. Additionally, if the students don’t understand very well the aim or the objective of the activity we recommend the use of the following song as a possible guide:
-Example of song: A girl called Johnny by The waterboys. This song is a tribute from Patti Smith who brought feminism to the “punk” movement.
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10. Write an individual composition in which you reflect on the previous video and
the ideas that came up in the classroom. You can use the following items as a
guide to structure your writing:
Attention: you can use these questions but you shouldn’t just answer them. You should add
your own ideas as well.
● INTRO: What was the video about?
● BODY OF WRITING: What ideas came to my mind while watching the video? And
after? What other ideas were discussed in my group? How did I feel about Demi
Lovato’s story? Have I ever felt in a similar way? Can I identify myself with any
situation seen in the video? …
● CONCLUSION: What important ideas do I extract from the video? Is there anything I
should change? What could be changed to avoid these type of situations?
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(UN)HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Aim 1: To analyze and deconstruct clichés in relationships.
Aim 2: To foster respect and tolerance between students
1. Look at the pictures above. They have been extracted from
famous films. Do you know the name of these films? Did you
watch them? Describe the plot briefly. Who are the main
characters? What kind of relationship is there between them?
2.
a) In groups choose one of these films and use the following
grid to describe the main characters. Select the qualities you
consider that the characters you have chosen have.
Teacher’s instructions
1. The purpose of this task
is to prepare the students for
the topic that they are going
to study in this unit.
The teacher has to try to
engage students in a
conversation. Suggested
questions:
- Name the main
characters.
·Picture 1: Danny Zuko
and Sandy Olsson
·Picture 2: Beauty and
Beast ·Picture 3:
Edward Cullen and
Bella Swan
·Picture 4: Anastasia
Steel and Christian Grey
-Which one do you like
the most and why.
-What kind of relationship
do you think there is
between the main
characters? Are they in a
relationship?
-Do you think that they
have a healthy
relationship? Why? Why
not?
The teacher can make a
mind map on the blackboard
and ask the students to write
what they consider a healthy
relationship, i.e.:
communication., respect,
etc.
Grammar:
Review of verb tenses:
Present and Past Simple.
We should elicit full
answers from students,
checking they know how to
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MAN WOMAN
Good- looking Bad- looking Good- looking Bad-
looking
Rich Poor Rich Poor
Rational Emotional Rational Emotional
Respectful Possessive Respectful Possessive
Mature Childish Mature Childish
Weak Strong Weak Strong
b) Can you recall the end of the films? Discuss in groups the end
of those films that you have watched.
c) Do the films have something in common? Are there traditional
stereotypes of man and woman? Do they show them publicly?
Write down the main ideas and share them with class. Can you
find examples of this kinds of relationships in a real life?
d) Now choose the male or female character of one film, for
example, Sandy Olsson from Grease. What would happen if her
qualities were the opposite from the ones you have chosen? What
if instead of good-looking she were bad-looking or strong instead
of weak? Would they have fallen in love or not? Would the films
have finished in the same way?
3. Read the following extract of “Happy Endings” written by
Margaret Atwood and answer the questions.
A. John and Mary fall in love and get married. They both have
worthwhile and remunerative jobs, which they find stimulating
and challenging. They buy a charming house. Real estate values
go up. Eventually, when they can afford live-in help, they have
two children, to whom they are devoted. The children turn out
well. John and Mary have a stimulating and challenging sex life
and worthwhile friends. They go on fun vacations together. They
form these tenses correctly.
2. a) Let the students
work in groups of 4 or 5,
discuss what film do they
want to talk about and
choose the adjectives to
describe the main
characters. Check if they
understand the meaning
of the adjectives in the
box. Students discuss the
questions in groups.
Nominate them to share
their ideas with the class
and give feedback.
Grammar: in this
exercise student will work
with the adjectives
vocabulary and their
opposites. They will also
revise the correct word
order: adjective +noun.
b) Grammar: Students
use Narrative Present
Simple to talk about the
film plots.
c) Ask them and write on
the board some of the
main ideas they have
written.
d) Let them discuss this
activity and then share it
with the class.
Grammar: In this task,
students focus on Second
Conditional Structures.
3. Reading
comprehension. The
teacher reads it aloud
first. Then the students
read it again aloud taking
turns. The teacher makes
questions like the ones
below to provoke
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retire. They both have hobbies, which they find stimulating and
challenging. Eventually they die. This is the end of the story.
a) Mark the adjectives which describe Mary and John’s life.
b) Describe what do you understand by a charming house.
c) Do you think they are happy with their lives?
d) Summarize John and Mary’s life in one sentence.
e) Do you think this is a happy ending? Why? Why not?
f) Write down five traits that define happy endings.
4. Now read excerpt B of “Happy Endings”. How did you feel
while reading both texts? Share your impressions with the
rest of the class.
B.
Mary falls in love with John but John doesn't fall in love with
Mary. He merely uses her body for selfish pleasure and ego
gratification of a tepid kind. He comes to her apartment twice a
week and she cooks him dinner, you'll notice that he doesn't
even consider her worth the price of a dinner out, and after he's
eaten dinner he fucks her and after that he falls asleep, while
she does the dishes so he won't think she's untidy, having all
those dirty dishes lying around, and puts on fresh lipstick so
she'll look good when he wakes up, but when he wakes up he
doesn't even notice, he puts on his socks and his shorts and his
pants and his shirt and his tie and his shoes, the reverse order
from the one in which he took them off. He doesn't take off
Mary's clothes, she takes them off herself, she acts as if she's
dying for it every time, not because she likes sex exactly, she
doesn't, but she wants John to think she does because if they do
it often enough surely he'll get used to her, he'll come to depend
on her and they will get married, but John goes out the door with
thinking.
Vocabulary: Check if
they understand the
meaning of: charming,
worthwhile, remunerative,
challenging, stimulating,
etc. If not, explain it in
English. You can use
synonyms.
4. Reading
Comprehension. This task
should be done in pairs.
After they have read the
text, discuss their
impressions with all the
class.
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hardly so much as a good-night and three days later he turns up
at six o'clock and they do the whole thing over again.
Mary gets run-down. Crying is bad for your face, everyone
knows that and so does Mary but she can't stop. People at work
notice. Her friends tell her John is a rat, a pig, a dog, he isn't
good enough for her, but she can't believe it. Inside John, she
thinks, is another John, who is much nicer. This other John will
emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon, a Jack from a box, a pit
from a prune, if the first John is only squeezed enough.
One evening John complains about the food. He has never
complained about her food before.
Mary is hurt. Her friends tell her they've seen him in a
restaurant with another woman, whose name is Madge. It's not
even Madge that finally gets to Mary: it's the restaurant. John
has never taken Mary to a restaurant. Mary collects all the
sleeping pills and aspirins she can find, and takes them and a
half a bottle of sherry. You can see what kind of a woman she is
by the fact that it's not even whiskey. She leaves a note for John.
She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time
and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to
happen and she dies.
John marries Madge and everything continues as in A.
a) Did John love Mary? Why? Why not?
b) Why do you think that Mary cried so much?
c) Why does she think that John will change the way he is?
d) Do you think they have a healthy relationship? Why?
Why not? Give some examples.
e) If Mary had not died and John had saved her, would they
be together now? Would they have kept the same kind of
relationship they had before?
f) Do you think that there is violence in this relationship? If
so, justify your answers with examples from the text.
g) Have you seen a similar relationship in a film, book or
After answering the
questions from text B ask
them about relationships
regarding real life
experiences. Here are
some examples:
- Is respect one of
the foundations in
a relationship?
- What do you
understand by
domestic
violence?
- What would you
do if you were
the neighbour of
the couple from
the story and
knew they had
serious problems
as for domestic
violence?
- Why do you think
victims of
domestic
violence, as
Mary, stay in the
relationship for
so long?
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series, to the Mary and John's one?
h) Watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhOAk5T3qA
Can abuse feel good? Kristin Carmichael at
TEDxABQWomen
5. Work in groups of three or four people and answer these
questions.
a) Do you have the same opinion about Happy Endings as
you did at the beginning of this unit? What had changed?
b) How would you describe the word Happy? Write and
discuss your own definition of this word on a piece of
paper.
c) Take a look at the different definitions of Happy that
these dictionaries provide. Are they similar to the one you
wrote? If not, what were the differences? Did something
in these definitions surprise you? If so, give some
examples.
● Cambridge Dictionary
● Merriam-Webster Dictionary
● Oxford Dictionary
d) Think about the different types of relationships that the
main characters in texts A and B have. Are they happy or
unhappy? Who is the happiest and who is the unhappiest?
And why? What is failing in their relationships? Write
If time, watch the video in
class and discuss it or
send it as homework and
ask for an individual
written summary with
reflections.
Grammar: Introduce
Third Conditional
Structures referring to the
text, i.e.; If Mary hadn’t
died, she wouldn’t have
broken up with John.
5. The students work in
groups of three or four people to compare their
previous answers and
discuss why they changed
their opinions. As this is an
exercise that requires more
time, the teacher can select
a “Guardian”, an assigned
student who will try to
control that their
classmates are speaking in
English.
b) The students can read
aloud the different
definitions they have
created.
c) The teacher can provide
the definition from the
dictionaries in a piece of
paper or can give them the
website where they can
find it.
- Cambridge
Dictionary: 1.
Happy, pleased.
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your answers to these questions. You can quotate some
sentences from the text to justify them.
e) Now that you know the definition of the word Happy and
you understand that there are different types of
relationship, can you find examples of the definitions in
the dictionaries in texts A and B? If yes, write a small list
with them.
f) Give a title to the texts A and B.
g) Don’t you think that the title of the story “Happy
Endings” is ironic? What does it imply? Why do you
think the author chose it? Would you change it?
6. Do you know Pantallas
Amigas? It is a website
designed to promote the
responsible use of the social
media and new technologies
among children and teenagers.
It was created by the Spanish
Government and its
communities and it contains
educational videos about most common ways of harassment:
bullying, grooming, ciberbullying, sextorsion, cybercrimes,
gender based cyberviolence, etc.
WATCH some short videos about domestic violence and
discuss them:
a) On Digital Domestic Abuse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub9rWnmiq_g
Feeling, showing
or causing
pleasure or
satisfaction. 2.
Happy, lucky. (Of
a condition or
situation.)
- Merriam
Webster: 1.
Favored by luck or
fortune. 2. Notably
fitting, effective or
well adapted. 3.
Enjoying or
characterized by
well-being and
contentment. 4.
Characterized by
a dazed
irresponsible
state.
- Oxford
Dictionary: 1.
Feeling or
showing pleasure
or contentment. 2.
Fortunate and
convenient. 3.
Inclined to use a
specified thing
excessively or at
random.
Grammar: Revision of
Comparisons.
6. Teacher presents in
class Pantallas Amigas.
This website created by
Spanish Government and
communities contains
educational videos about
most common ways of
harassment: bullying,
grooming, ciberbullying,
sextorsion, cybercrimes,
gender based
cyberviolence, etc.
https://www.pantallasamiga
s.net/en/canal-youtube-
pantallasamigas/#googtran
s(es|en)
In the following link you can
find videos representing
these situations.
https://www.youtube.com/u
ser/pantallasamigas
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b) On Sextorsion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_v0v70WFaA
7. In small groups record and present in class a video (3 minutes
long max.). The video should have two versions: one in which
domestic violence, sexual harassment, intolerance, etc. is
implied and one that fosters equality and tolerance in any type of
relationships.
Digital domestic abuse: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ub9rWnmiq_g Sextorsion:
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=H_v0v70WFaA
7. The students are given
different roles for this task:
- Married couple
with a 5 year old
child
- A boss and his
employee
- A teenage couple
- A woman walking
in the street
- An elderly woman
who is not married
They have to create a
similar video as the ones
seen in Pantallas Amigas
based on real life situations
creating dialogues, which
will be monitored and
corrected by the teacher.
Their videos will be
reproduced and
commented in the following
class.
Grammar: students will
practice the use of
Conditionals in this unit,
i.e.: What would you do if
you were bullied?
1
3
What is love?
What is love?
These are the most commonly used words
from 6 of the “best love poems“ in English
according to the British newspaper The
Telegraph. Are there any words you don’t
know?
2
2. What is love? Look at these photos and decide which represent love.
3
4
Are you a good partner?
You are with your partner and they look at another
person flirtatiously…
a) You get really angry and tell your partner off.
b) You say nothing, but later make sure you flirt with someone when
your partner can’t see.
c) You flirt with the same person as your partner does at the same time.
d) You just chill out and keep having fun.
Your partner has left their mobile phone unlocked...
a) You ignore it because you respect your partner’s space.
b) You pick it up and look through their whatsapp messages.
c) You change the status in your partner’s whatsapp to
“A giraffe stole my lunch!”
d) You block the messages of your partner’s ex-partner.
Your partner is annoyed that you spend too much time with your friends…
a) You talk to your partner and tell them that your friends
are important too.
b) You stop seeing your friends.
c) You invite your partner to spend time with your friends too.
d) You break up with them.
Your partner tells you that they are attracted to someone of the same sex…
a) You tell the school chaplain.
b) You thank them for being honest and promise to support them.
c) You get angry and decide to break up with them.
d) You tell everyone and make jokes about them.
5
Your partner tells you that they would like to change their sex, but
they still want to be with you…
a) You say that you love them, and you still want to be with them.
b) You tell them you will always be their friend, but you
couldn’t continue the relationship.
c) You leave and tell them not to speak to you again.
d) You tell them you need time to reflect on the issue.
1Check your results!
• 7-10 points: You are a top lover!
• 4-6 You are sometimes understanding, but maybe you should
reflect on something you do.
• -6, -4 Maybe you need to try to love yourself more before
getting into relationships.
1 Question 1 → a) 0 points; b) -1 points; c) 1 point; d) 2 points
Question 2 → a) 2points; b) 0points; c) -1 points; d) 1 point
Question 3 → a) 2 points; b) -1 points; c) 1 point; d) 0 points
Question 4 → a) -1 points; b) 2 points; c) 0 points; -1 points
Question 5 → a) 2 points; b) 2 points; c) -1 points; 2 points
6
The Moon Shone On
by Suniti Namjoshi
1. You are going to read a short story called The Moon Shone On by Suniti
Namjoshi.
When she fell in love, she wanted to dream, but the dreams went wrong.
She wanted to sing, but there were no songs, at least none she might sing to another
woman. She wanted a voice. She wanted gestures. She wanted a manner. And there
were none to be had. “I love you”, she said in despair to her friend. “And I do”, said her
friend, “What is the matter? Why do you look so desperately sad?” “Because I don’t
know how to tell you I love you”, she said. “But you just have”, answered her friend
and smiled, slowly at first, and then altogether. Soon they were entwined in one
another’s arms. And then? And then the moon shone on, the grass was green, flowers
sprouted, it was probably spring, they were lovers after all.
2. Read again and highlight any words you haven’t seen before. What do they
mean?
3. Creative Writing. What do you think that happens next? In groups, write the
second part of the story.
7
The Paintings above are by the artists Julieta xlf and Queenie
McKenzie. Find out more about each artist and their lives and share
your research in groups.
8
Troglodyte by Suniti Namjoshi
1. Listen to your teacher’s reading of the short story, Troglodyte, by Suniti
Namjoshi. Why did the woman draw pictures?
2. Read the text and highlight the words that are new to you.
The brutish woman lived in a cave: her hair was unkempt, her legs were
hairy, and her teeth were large and strong and yellowish. She hunted
for herself, and spent her spare time drawing and painting. She had
ability and her fellow cave-dwellers admired her drawings. These were
chiefly of mammoth and tiger, bison and bird, and the occasional fish.
Then one day she fell in love. It may have not been love, perhaps it was
lust, or perhaps friendship. Whatever the exact nature of the
relationship, she worked furiously. In the course of her life she drew
hundreds of sketches of the other cave-woman. In time, both of them
died; and in time also, the cave fell in, the tribe disappeared. By now, it
is firmly established that this woman never was, that she never painted
and never lived.
3. Think about the two cave women. What may have happened to them during
there lives? What do you think they talked about? Discuss the answers with the
rest of the class. Then write down what you think happened
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4. Make a comic strip about the two women’s story.
10
4
Families Aim: to learn about the great variety of families
1. Look at these pictures. What do these pictures suggest to you?
Think individually.
Talk to your partners.
a) What types of families do you know?
2. The title of the following reading is:
Fasting, Feasting.
● When might you use these words?
● When might you have a feast?
● What does a feast include? Make a list of items.
2. B. After reading the title of the text. What do you think the text is
about? Choose one option that might explain the title.
❏ Food at weddings
❏ Families in different cultures.
Teacher’s suggestion: Make your students pay attention to the pictures and discuss what is happening and the types of families they see.
Pre-reading task: Students try to guess the meaning of fasting and feasting and five examples.
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❏ Differences between husband and wife. Reading: Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai
1. Remember the meaning of the words “fasting” and “feasting”.
Discuss what the story below might be abou.
2. Read the story
Fasting, Feasting
by Anita Desai
MAMANDPAPA. MamaPapa. PapaMama. It was hard to believe they had ever had separate existences, that they had been separate entities and not MamaPapa in one breath. Yet Mama had been born to a merchant family in the city of Kanpur and lived in the bosom of her enormous family till at sixteen she married Papa. Papa, in Patna, the son of a tax inspector with one burning ambition, to give his son the best available education, had won prizes at school meanwhile, played tennis as a young man, trained for the bar and eventually built up a solid practice. This much the children learnt chiefly from old photographs, framed certificates, tarnished medals and the conversation of visiting relatives. MamaPapa themselves rarely spoke of a time when they were not one. The few anecdotes they related separately acquired great significance because of their rarity, their singularity. Mama said, ‘In my day, girls in the family were not given sweets, nuts, good things to eat. If something special had been bought in the market, like sweets or nuts, it was given to the boys in the family. But ours was not such an orthodox home that our mother and aunts did not slip us something on the sly.’ She laughed, remembering that - sweets, sly. Papa said, ‘We did not have electricity when we were children. If we wanted to study, we were sent out to sit under the streetlight with our books. During the examinations, there would be a circle of students sitting and reciting their lessons aloud. It would be difficult to concentrate on law because others were reciting theorems or dates from British history. But we did it - we passed our exams.’
Reading: Fasting, Feasting 1. Tell the students to remember the previous ideas. Students talk in small groups and then tell their comments to the whole class. While-reading
2. Teacher reads the text aloud and questions Ss after important sentences to a) know that students are paying attention to the reading, and to 2) make students think about the meaning of the text.
● 1st the reading is done by the teacher to put
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3. Answer the questions:
- Why do you think MamaPapa is written together? Why is it
written in capital letters? Do you think they are important to the
story?
- What do we know about the mother? What do we know about the
father?
- When you go to your grandparents’ home, do you look at pictures?
Do you ask who these people were? Do they tell you stories?
- Were you given sweets to eat when you were younger? Was there
any difference between your siblings and you?
- Did you have electricity when you were younger? Did your
parents? Did your grandparents?
- Can you concentrate on your studies or work, if someone is talking
next to you?
4. Look at exercise 2B again. Do you think you have chosen the
correct option? Discuss in groups.
Post-reading activity:
a) Find the differences between MamaPapa. Draw a table if
needed. b) How old do you think is the husband? Why? c) What kind of family do you think it is? d) Do you think MamaPapa have received the same
education? Justify your answer. e) What do you find more interesting from the text?
emphasis on words and phrases.
● 2nd the students read it aloud to practice pronunciation, stress, fluency. The teacher interrupts them to ask them to give specific examples to make questions related to the story. - Explain the students the term bar exam or any words that are relevant for the general understanding of the story. It has to be in English. No translations, please.
4. Group discussion of the
text at the end. 5. Post-reading Pair or group activity meant to highlight MamaPapa differences to the students. Correction done in groups and always asking the students to give a reason to their answer.
13
Patriarchy
“Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power
and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority,
social privilege and control of property.”
What do you remember of the story of “MamaPapa”. Answer the
questions:
What country (if any) would you give the text? Justify the answer.
2.A Let’s play! Game: Identity activity. Match the pictures below
with the different professions that you think these people may have.
Professions
nurse teacher hotel receptionist
Patriarchy 1. Introduce the students to the topic through the definition of ‘patriarchy’. Then ask the questions of exercise 1 to make a short debate. Ask students to give you examples of patriarchal ideas, behaviours etc. 2. A. Gender bias realisation game. Students must watch the video below before correcting this exercise.
14
shop assistant doctor hotel manager
2.B Watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J69HkKz9g4A
● After watching the video. What answer would you
have given to their question?
● Let’s look at exercise 2A. Compare your answer with
the ones from other groups.
Do you think that you have gender stereotypes?
Why?
3. Watch this video: “Why are women paid less than men?” by
The Economist. Write the main ideas of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpE8ttCEd-w
4. After watching the video, answer the following questions:
● What do you think are senior/executive jobs? Who occupies
them?
● What do you think is the career ladder?
● Do you think this happens in your country? Why?
● What do you think is the connection of the text Fasting,
Feasting with the two videos? Justify your answer.
5. Debate with press extracts. Topic: How to fight the gender
gap.
a. Divide the class into two groups: families vs corporations.
b. In each group:
● Prepare a 1-2 minute statement on your groups’
opinion of the topic and defend the groups’ own
interests.
● Write down possible solutions.
c. You can use any topic or information seen in class before
today. Have a look at the following headlines for inspiration.
2. B. The activity could be answered first in small groups and then discussed with the whole class
3. Play the video once and then ask the students to comment it with their partner. Play the video a second time for better comprehension. 4. Post-video activity. Listening comprehension and reflection questions. Let students answer all the questions in their small groups, and then do a whole class correction / discussion activity.
5. Possible steps for the debate. Before the debate:
a. Teacher will be the moderator in this debate.
b. Even if the students
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d. Debate starts. When one group is giving their statement, the
other one should write counter arguments or questions about
what is being said.
e. After both statements, there is time for answers and
questions.
f. Students must reach an agreement at the end giving possible
solutions.
Class Discussion
1. Answer the following questions in groups:
● What is the job you would like to do in the future?
● What are the difficulties for a man and for a woman
in terms of work-life in a patriarchal society?
● Try to connect the ideas with the previous lessons.
in each group do not agree with their groups actions, they need to lie and take their position.
While debating:
d. Emphasise the need to write comments or counter arguments from what the opposite groups says. Establish a minimum of 3 ideas.
Clas Discussion 1. Redirect the students’ conversations to the Fasting, Feasting reading and the gender bias and The Economist videos. Encourage connections from other lessons and topics.
16
2. Read the following interview about patriarchy and matriarchy.
INTERVIEW
The anthropologist and photojournalist
Anna Boyé has focused during a decade
on searching and documenting the life
of the matriarchal societies around the
world; the project “Matriarchies”. This
research has brought her to some
isolated places of countries like
Guinea Bissau, China and Mexico, and
more recently to Indonesia.
- What do we understand exactly by
“matriarchy”?
- A matriarchy is not the opposite as a
patriarchy. Matriarchies have many common
characteristics, but the main one would be that
they are societies in which women have a no
coercive authority and taken by consensus.
- The power, to the women.
- The minangkabau, for example. You asked
them: ‘Are you powerful?’ and they answer:
‘Powerful?’, with a huge surprised expression
on their face. Then they explain you that for
them power is to reach agreements with men
in all of the questions of life in order to live
better.
- What else do they have in common?
- They are societies in which it is more
important ‘to be’ rather than ‘to have’. They
2. First reading done by the teacher to make emphasis on words and phrases. Second reading done by the students aloud and the teacher interrupts them to ask them to give specific examples.
17
have in common the respect for the land, and
the fact that women bodies, linked to love and
fecundity, is very important. They are loving
societies, where women have a dignity and a
profundity that are very rarely see here.
- How do they see the western world? How
do they see the patriarchal model?
- They know it, but they are very happy to be
the way they are. In China I said to them: ‘In
my society, men mistreat women’, and they
were shocked. As they are very peaceful
societies in which men don’t like to make
decisions, they get very surprised.
- Do you think we should learn from them?
- Yes, I think they are great focus of teaching
that can lead us to an important social change.
Sometimes we think in our western cultural,
which is intellectual, capitalist and
technologic, we can face anything, but these
matriarchal societies have a lot more
developed the meaning of life.
a. Note the word underlined. How does the interviewee
define matriarchy?
b. What do you think matriarchy is?
c. Explain the difference between the concepts ‘to be’
and ‘to have’.
4. Let’s think! Here there are the guidelines for the project that
you need to do to end this unit:
Project: Interview 2-3 family members from 3 different cultures,
not necessarily yours.
● You have to ask questions to the adult of the family
interviewed to gather the following information:
> Civil status (married, single, etc.) + Age + Sex +
Education background + Profession
a. Post-reading activity: Can you think different ways to start implementing a matriarchy in your society.
18
> From that information you need to make a report to
bring the next lesson. The report is a guide that you
will use to make conclusions with the rest of your
group partners.
● Project Guidelines
> Structure of the presentation:
➔ Introduction
➔ Data (people interviewed, age, sex,
civil status, educational background)
➔ Findings
- Similarities
- Differences
➔ Conclusions.
Radiography of families
1. Let’s think! Put yourself into groups and complete the following
template with the information of all the interviewees of the group:
Age
Sex
Profession
Civil status
Educational Background
2. Make a table and write the similarities and differences that you
can see from all the people interviewed. Start by looking at the
previous template for reference.
similarities differences
1. 2. (...)
1. 2. (...)
Radiography of families 1. This session is meant to give students time to prepare the project in class and, in case they have any doubts, ask the teacher.
2. Students will be working in groups all the time.
19
3. What conclusions can you draw from the information of the
interviews? Compare you findings with the MamaPapa text
(Fasting, Feasting).
conclusions
comparison
Project Presentation
1. Present your project.
- While presenting, the rest of the groups will complete a
peer-assessment chart. One chart per group.
- After each presentation, the group that has presented will
complete a self-assessment chart.
Peer-assessment and Self-assessment grid:
Project: ____________ Group: _____________ Date: _______________
❏ Peer-assessment
❏ Self-Assessment
Emerging
Developing
Secure
The group and the project are introduced.
The data has been presented properly.
Similarities have been explained.
Differences have been explained.
Conclusions have been drawn.
Findings have been compared with previous topics of the unit.
Grammar is correct.
A range of vocabulary has been used.
Pronunciation is generally accurate.
3. Encourage students to link the project with key words of the previous lessons (“patriarchy”, “matriarchy”) in the conclusions section.
Project Presentation Students will present their projects and will assess themselves and their peers. In the assessment, students need to make a cross: The cross depends on:
Emerging: the students have done what the guidelines specified and the project is presented in a coherent way. Developing: the students have done what the guidelines specified but they start to show signs of critical thinking and good speaking ability. Secure: students have done what the guidelines specified but they stand out for their presentation
20
Intonation is understandable.
The work is presented in an imaginative and creative way.
skills and critical thinking.
Ask students about the easiest and most difficult things in the unit, in order to make changes for the following year.
21
5
The Girl Who Can
AIMS: 1- To learn about what ‘being a woman’ means in Spain and Ghana.
2- To become aware of the difficulties of being educated in some rural
áreas of some countries like Ghana.
3- To express opinions, feelings, (dis)agreements.
Note for the teacher:
Most of the activities in this unit expect a debate in class and active participation from students. Some
questions are followed by a text that gives a brief explanation that should serve as the conclusion of the
debate. Please, ask the students to close the books during the exercises for the debates to work.
When it comes to the reading of the text, it is recommended to read it aloud but also engaging students in
the reading, maybe in a second reading or doing it by paragraphs, trying to focus on students’
understanding. Try to make emphasis on the relevant information for them to assimilate. You can explain
or define some terms and ideas that are going to be important later for the debates and exercises, always
within the context. And, above all, do not translate into Spanish.
❂ Before reading the text, let’s debate:
1. Speaking-Debate on the title of the story: The Girl Who Can.
- What do you think it means The Girl Who Can? What can a girl do? What do
you think the girl will do?
- Can you guess why the title mentions a ‘girl’ and not a ‘boy’?
- Do you think girls and boys are different apart from their biological traits?
- What do you think the story is going to be about?
- Will the girl be able to do what she wants?
22
2. Now, let’s contextualise the short story:
- Do you recognise this woman? Where do you think she comes from?
- Now read this text and make sure your previous ideas were right:
Her name is Ama Ata Aidoo. She was born in 1942 in a city called Saltpond, in
Ghana. Ghana is one of the 54 countries in Africa. She is an author, poet, and
playwright. She became Minister of Education in Ghana because she wanted to make
education freely accessible to all. In the year 2000, she established the Mbaasem
Foundation to promote and support the work of African women writers and to
establish and maintain a writing place for them.
- Do you know why she speaks and writes her works in English? Try to find the
answer in the following picture.
23
24
- Which facts about Ghana that you have discovered in this poster attract
your attention? Write them down.
- Now read the following text about Ghana:
In the 15th century, several European countries competed for achieving areas of
other countries and to get the trading rights. In the 19th century, the British Empire
established control of the Gulf of Guinea, where Ghana is placed. After a century of
resistance, Ghana’s borders were established as the British Gold Coast. That territory
was part of Great Britain. This is why the language and culture was imposed onto
the native people of this country. On 6th March 1957, Ghana became independent of
the United Kingdom. As you can see, Ghana is a relatively new country, because until
this moment it was a colony. Nowadays, these people are still struggling to keep their
culture and give value to their own identity.
25
3. Debate on the following video
Before reading The Girl Who Can, we are going to WATCH a short video:
Unstoppable. Always Like a Girl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhB3l1gCz2E
- Have you ever felt like those girls?
- Has anyone told you that you are unable to do something? Write down one of
the things that have been said to you and you have never forgotten.
- Have you ever told someone that s/he cannot do something?
- Have those things affected the way you are nowadays?
- Write down words, expressions, clichés, roles... that are usually related to boys
and girls in your context. Compare your answers with your classmates. Why do
you think these qualities are associated with gender?
26
❂ Time to read this beautiful story: The Girl Who Can by Ama Ata Aido.
27
28
29
30
Weeping /ˈwipɪŋ/
Splash around /splæʃ əraʊnd/
Shallow /ʃæloʊ/
Hut /hʌt/
All-around /ˈɔləˈraʊnd/
Spindly /spɪndli/
After Reading:
4. WATCH and debate on the following video
Now that you have read The Girl Who Can, you are going to watch a short video: Run
Like a Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
- Why do some girls and boys pretend to be weak while “running like a girl”?
- Do you see those prejudices in your daily life?
- Do you see some kind of relationship between this video and the short story?
- Why do you think ‘like a girl’ has a negative connotation?
- Do you think Adjoa was thinking about this when she first ran?
Note for the teacher:
Remember to encourage students to use structures to express their own emotions,
opinions, interests, agreements and disagreements (e.g. activities 6, 8) The vocabulary
related to feelings should be highlighted.
5. Vocabulary and pronunciation: In groups, read aloud these sentences and focus
on the words in bold. Can you guess their meaning by context? Explain them with
your own words.
1- “And always at that point, I knew from her voice
that my mother was weeping inside. Nana never
heard such inside weeping.” (13)
2- “But I never had the chance. It took a lot of
begging: just to get my mother and Nana to let me
go splash around proper baths, we used in the
31
shallow end of the river with my friends, who were other little girls like me. For proper
baths, we used the small bathhouse behind our hut.” (14)
3- “Yes, I have won every race I ran in for my school and I have won the cup for the
best all-around junior athlete.” (16)
4- “The biggest problem you got later was having a granddaughter with spindly legs
that are to long for a woman, and too thin to be of any use.” (13)
5- “You see how neither way of hearing me out can encourage me to express my
thoughts too often? Like all this business to do with my legs.” (12)
6. Answer the questions regarding the text.
- Why do you think Nana laughs at Adjoa most of the times she speaks?
- What do you understand by Adjoa’s thoughts expressed below? Is she aware of
Nana’s beliefs?
“THEY SAY that I was born in Hasodzi”
“And they say I am seven years old”
“I find something quite confusing in all this. That is, no one ever explains to
me”
“I don’t know what five kilometres mean”
32
“School is another thing Nana and my mother discussed (...) Nana thought it
would be a waste of time. I never understood what she meant.”
“Grown-ups are so strange”
Listening
7. Now you are going to listen to some African women talking about beauty
standards in Africa. Divided into four groups, each one has to focus on one country
(Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda), pay attention to what they say and write
down the main ideas these women expound. After that, put all your ideas in
common.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZb05bgOJ04
Are these statements true or false? Justify the false and make it/them true.
1. These women consider that beauty is an external feature.
2. Some women believe that no matter how beautiful some people may be, if they
are mean-spirited, they will become ugly.
3. Some of the women imply that what we consider beauty is imposed by society
or established standards.
❂ Writing. Let’s work on stereotypes
8. In the short story, we know Adjoa’s reality, a seven-year-old girl from a village
in Ghana who lives with her mother and grandmother. These three women are
depicted, directly and indirectly, in different ways. Can you describe these women?
Write short sentences to characterise and explain how these characters are. You
can use some of these words if you want:
insecure, young, old, severe, ignorant, clever, secure, disconcerted, serious,
33
nervous, supporting, brave, mean, inexpert, funny, caring, clever
Adjoa Kaya “Maami” Nana
- Which are the main differences between Adjoa and Nana?
- Why, according to the story, is Kaya “Maami” depicted this way?
- Why does Nana consider that female legs should not be skinny and thin?
- Do you think Nana is mean or cruel? (psychological violence)
- Does Adjoa develop her inner-self in some way? How?
- Do you think Adjoa feels the same way at the beginning and at the end of the
story?
34
9. PROJECT
Now it is your turn. Choose two women of your family of different generations
(mother, grandmother, aunt, great aunt, daughter...), interview them and fill the
following chart with information about them. Describe the three of you as you
have done with the characters. You can ask them about their childhood, education,
their jobs, their personality. Write short sentences to explain what they (and you)
are like.
❂
35
Writing II
Expressing opinions, feelings, agreement and disagreement
You have seen that Adjoa is educated according to her family’s
cultural background. Her grandmother considers that a woman’s
physical appearance is important to get married and have a
prosperous future. At the end, Adjoa feels comfortable with
herself and finds her talent, despite her grandmother’s opinions.
What do you think? With whom do you agree?
What would you do if you were in Adjoa’s situation?
10. Now, WRITE A REFLECTION on how beauty standards are present in your
daily life. Have you ever felt like Adjoa? Has anything similar happened to you?
Do you consider beauty is important? Feel free to use the writing form you want: a
letter to someone, a diary, an article...
FINAL PROJECT: time to be creative While reading the text you have realized that everyone is capable of doing what he or
she wants, despite other people’s opinion. We all have a talent that makes us unique.
Think about your talent and adapt / re-write this short story as you like. You are free to
use any material, any format to make the text yours and re-write it in a different way.
Use this text, create a new one, draw something about this topic, adapt it into a play,
make a video…, whatever you prefer.
At the end, you will present it to the rest of the class and explain the process of creation.
Exploit your talent and don’t be afraid of sharing it.
36
6
SMOKE AND ASHES
“What we are doing to the forests of
the world is but a mirror reflection of
what we are doing to ourselves and
one another”
- Gandhi
Aims: 1- To raise awareness of the effects of our surroundings on our physical, mental
and spiritual health
2- To encourage reflection on the connections between the destructive treatment
of nature and social structures of gender.
1. Look at the pictures and discuss the
following questions.
- What are the similarities and
differences between the pictures?
- Where do you think these pictures
were taken? And when?
- Do you find any similarities
between these pictures and the
place you live in?
37
38
2. You are going to read a fragment
from Hard Times, a novel by Charles Dickens.
What do you think the novel is about based on
the title and the pictures in Exercise 1?
3. The teacher reads
the text out aloud, then
students read it again.
3a. Read the text and answer the following questions on your
notebook.
39
- What animal metaphors can you find? What do they describe?
- What colours can you find in the text? Do you normally associate
these colours with cities? Why/Why not?
- What does the text suggest to you?
3b. Read the following fragment again and answer the following
questions in pairs. Discuss your answers with the class.
40
- Why do you think the word the
same appears so often?
- Does this remind you of modern
life?
- How do you imagine the daily
routine of these inhabitants?
- Is your life like this?
- Are your parents’ lives like this?
- Do they have any free time?
- Would you like your life to be like
this in the future? Why? Why not?
4. You are going to WATCH a video2 (from 00:03:39 to 00:04:20).
Rhapsody in Blue - Fantasia 2000-Disney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJ-kGuOA_Q
2 GOLDBERG, E. [APMedia] (2000). Rhapsody in Blue - Fantasía 2000. Recuperado
de http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJ-kGuOA_Q
41
4a. Imagine you are the narrator of this video. In groups, write
a text according to what you see. 120-150 words.
42
4b. Discuss the following questions
as a class.
- Do you identify with the
situation and protagonists in the
video?
- In what ways is your life
stressful? Is it monotonous?
4c. Create a comic strip depicting your daily routine. Compare
your comic strip with the rest of the class. Are they similar?
43
5. It has been proven that spending time in nature or even in
green spaces in the city can reduce your stress.
Brainstorm a list of activities that you can do in nature to
reduce stress, for instance, meditating, going for a walk, etc.
5a. PROJECT: My neighbourhood
Examine the problems in your neighbourhood and decide how to improve
it. Take photos, interview neighbours of different ages and collect other
material to support your ideas. Consider the following:
- How would you include green spaces?
- How could you limit pollution?
- How could you help inhabitants reduce stress?
You will use this to write a letter to the mayor to propose how to make
these improvements. Remember to be specific and original in your
proposal. To help you develop your ideas, fill in the following table:
44
IMPROVING MY NEIGHBOURHOOD
Name of your neighbourhood
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…..…………..
Problems identified
…………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………...……………………
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……………...…………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………………………………
………………………
Possible solutions
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………...……………………
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45
…………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………....
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
……………………
Final Proposal
…………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………...……………………
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………….……………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
……………...
5c. Present your proposal to the rest of the class. Remember to
present the evidence and information you collected (photos, interviews
etc). You can create a PowerPoint presentation.
46
6. Mother Nature.
Look at the following picture and discuss the following
questions:
- Why are earth and nature often
represented as woman or mother?
- What parallelisms can you see in
the relationships between man-
woman and civilization versus
nature?
47
BIBLIOGRAPHY
VIDEO
GOLDBERG, E. [APMedia] (2000). Rhapsody in Blue - Fantasía 2000. Recuperado de
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJ-kGuOA_Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJ-kGuOA_Q
IMAGES
MARSHALL, T. (2016). Ilustración de Apple to open a giant campus in London’s
Battersea Power Station. Recuperado de https://thespaces.com/apple-to-open-a-giant-
campus-in-londons-battersea-power-station/
BENTLEY. (2018) Features of a Comic Strip Resource Pack with Comic Strip
Templates (Differentiated). Recuperado de https://www.tes.com/teaching-
resource/features-of-a-comic-strip-resource-pack-with-comic-strip-templates-
differentiated-11430095 A Study on Environmental Pollution by Chemical Industries in Bangladesh. Recuperado
de http://www.assignmentpoint.com/arts/social-science/study-environmental-pollution-
chemical-industries-bangladesh.html
EXTRA INFORMATION:
Women and life on Earth (2018) What is ecofeminism? Recuperado de
http://www.wloe.org/what-is-ecofeminism.76.0.html
MYLES, K. (2018) Ecofeminism. Sociology and Environmental. Recuperado de
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ecofeminism
48
Aims: 1-To learn to integrate people from different cultural
backgrounds
2- To raise awareness of the importance of multiculturalism
in schools
1. Examine the title of the poem: We refugees. Do
you know any refugee? Where do they come from?
Why do you think they come? Try to describe their
life here.
2. Read the following poem, “We Refugees” by
Benjamin Zephaniah.
We Refugees
I come from a musical place Where they shoot me for my song And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place Where they hate my shade of skin
7
WE REFUGEES
Breiabveiuabvuie
bvuervbleabvuea
iubeavneuabvune
auiceurvbleiabviu
eabvfbeaovrebns
auibviueabuibuibi
sdbldbaiuebcubif
uvbiefiablvueabiv
aedsiibvualevebu
TEACHER’S GUIDE
1. The teacher should
encourage students to actively
participate in this activity.
49
They don’t like the way I pray And they ban free poetry.
I come from a beautiful place
Where girls cannot go to school There you are told what to believe
And even young boys must grow beards.
I come from a great old forest I think it is now a field
And the people I once knew Are not there now.
We can all be refugees
Nobody is safe, All it takes is a mad leader
Or no rain to bring forth food, We can all be refugees
We can all be told to go,
We can be hated by someone For being someone.
I come from a beautiful place
Where the valley floods each year And each year the hurricane tells us
That we must keep moving on.
I come from an ancient place All my family were born there And I would like to go there
But I really want to live.
I come from a sunny, sandy place Where tourists go to darken skin
And dealers like to sell guns there
I just can’t tell you what’s the price.
I am told I have no country now
I am told I am a lie
I am told that modern history books
May forget my name.
We can all be refugees
Sometimes it only takes a day,
Sometimes it only takes a handshake
TEACHER’S GUIDE
2. The teacher reads the
poem out aloud. She/he puts
emphasis on pronunciation,
stress, rhythm, remarks and
emphasizes words and
sentences that are relevant for
the understanding of the
poem. His/her voice should be
appealing so that the students
could get into the story and
ask questions to check the
comprehension of the poem.
Then, the teacher makes
them read aloud each stanza
in turns and correct the
important mistakes they make
in pronunciation.
50
Or a paper that is signed.
We all came from refugees
Nobody simply just appeared,
Nobody’s here without a struggle,
And why should we live in fear
Of the weather or the troubles?
We all came here from somewhere.
2. Now students read the poem aloud feeling the music and the meaning of the words analyzing it stanza by stanza, explaining it with their own words.
Explain the following lines from the poem:
1st stanza:
“Where they shoot me for my song”
2nd stanza:
“And they ban free poetry”
3rt stanza:
“Where girls cannot go to school”
4th stanza:
“And the people I once knew
Are not there now”
51
5th stanza:
“We can be hated by someone”
6th stanza:
“That we must keep moving on”
7th stanza:
“But I really want to live”
8th stanza:
“And dealers like to sell guns there”
9th stanza:
“I am told I have no country now
10th stanza:
“We can all be refugees”
3. Guess which country the poet is writing about with the help of the information below. If you still do not know the answer you can look at these pictures.
“Musical place”
“Sunny, sandy place”
“Where tourists go to darken their skin”
“Each year the hurricane tells us that we must keep
moving on”
52
4. In groups create a story according to the following steps:
A new classmate has arrived to your class. Her name
is Fatema and she is from Syria and she does not
speak Spanish. Fatema comes to Valencia because
there is a war in her country and her family has to
run away in search of a new, safe and prosperous life.
If you like, you can follow the guidelines below:
What would you do to integrate your new classmate?
How
would you
communicat
e with her?
TEACHER’S GUIDE
4. The teacher divides the
class into heterogeneous
groups of four or five students.
He/she revises their stories
and ideas while they are
working on it and tries to
guide them.
gsonvffodsjig
orehuvniovnrf
diovieoanfveo
rnvefrnujfvioj
afiodsnfrnvafj
nvoerniosnvi
oneroinoinvfr
eovinaiofgjrei
avinjviejdsao
vnnfeafrejigvj
reinavorsfinv
adojgvieojavij
aioenjnfjnfnn
nTEACHER’S
GUIDE
5. The teacher
reminds students
that some of the
interviewees would
not want to be
recorded, so they
must respect their
decisions. This
task should be held
outside the
classroom.
53
Do you think that Fatema will stay in Spain forever or
will return to her country?
Who does she live with? With her family or in a
shelter?
Which things of your country or city would
you show to her?
Which things of her culture and country do you think
that she would you tell you about?
Do you think that Fatema has received the same
education as her brother Abdellatif?
Do you think that women are treated in the same way
as women in Spain?
- You can add your own ideas, be original!
5. In groups of three or four people, students should walk around their village / city and try to find immigrants to interview them and then share it with the whole class. If possible, record the interviews and if not, write down their answers. Students should be polite and understand that not all immigrants would like to participate. Follow these suggestions in order to make your own questions.
5. Remind students that
some of the interviewees
would not want to be
filmed or recorded, so
they must respect their
decisions. This task
should be held outside
the classroom.
54
When did you arrive in Spain?
Why did you decide to come to this country?
Have you lived in other Spanish cities? If so, how long and
in which cities?
How do you feel about living in Spain? Do you like it?
Do you feel integrated and welcomed?
How is your country like?
Why did you decide to leave your country? Would you like
to come back in the future?
Tell us about the difficulties you found when you first
came to this country.
6. Compare your stories with the interviews you have done. Are they similar? Have they changed your opinion about refugees? What do you think about them now? Talk about these ideas with the rest of the class.
55
56
8
Selling your body,
selling your soul
AIMS: - to raise awareness of what ‘rape’ and ‘sexual harassment’ really imply.
-to deconstruct the sex misconception related to (masculine & feminine)
prostitution
1. CRITICAL THINKING
1.1. Discuss the following questions:
✓ Look at the cover of the novel… Do you know what disgrace means? Can you
guess it?
✓ What kind of disgrace do you think the novel is going to talk about?
✓ What types of disgrace have you experienced?
✓ Do you think the writer, J.M. Coetzee, has written this book to transmit some
kind of disgrace that he has experienced?
57
2. WRITING
2.1. The text we are going to read talks about a relationship between a
university professor and a prostitute. In groups, describe in your own
words how you imagine the character of the university professor
and the prostitute and share it with the class afterwards.
2.2. In groups, discuss the following idea: Do you think being a prostitute
is a disgrace?
2.3. Write a short passage about how you would feel if you had to
exercise prostitution unwillingly?
3. READING
Read the following text corresponding to the first chapter of the novel Disgrace
(2000) by J. M. Coetzee (Nobel Prize in Literature) and answer the questions
below.
FOR A MAN of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of
sex rather well. On Thursday afternoons he drives to Green Point. Punctually at two
p.m. he presses the buzzer at the entrance to Windsor Mansions, speaks his name, and
enters. Waiting for him at the door of No. 113 is Soraya. He goes straight through to the
bedroom, which is pleasant-smelling and softly lit, and undresses. Soraya emerges from
the bathroom, drops her robe, slides into bed beside him. 'Have you missed me?' she
asks. 'I miss you all the time,' he replies. He strokes her honey-brown body, unmarked
by the sun; he stretches her out, kisses her breasts; they make love.
Soraya is tall and slim, with long black hair and dark, liquid eyes. Technically he is old
enough to be her father; but then, technically, one can be a father at twelve. He has been
on her books for over a year; he finds her entirely satisfactory. In the desert of the week
Thursday has become an oasis of luxe et volupté. In bed Soraya is not effusive. Her
temperament is in fact rather quiet, quiet and docile.
58
In her general opinions she is surprisingly moralistic. She is offended by tourists who
bare their breasts (`udders', she calls them) on public beaches; she thinks vagabonds
should be rounded up and put to work sweeping the streets. How she reconciles her
opinions with her line of business he does not ask. Because he takes pleasure in her,
because his pleasure is unfailing, an affection has grown up in him for her. To some
degree, he believes, this affection is reciprocated. Affection may not be love, but it is at
least its cousin. Given their unpromising beginnings, they have been lucky, the two of
them: he to have found her, she to have found him.
His sentiments are, he is aware, complacent, even uxorious. Nevertheless he does
not cease to hold to them. For a ninety-minute session he pays her R400, of which half
goes to Discreet Escorts. It seems a pity that Discreet Escorts should get so much. But
they own No. 113 and other flats in Windsor Mansions; in a sense they own Soraya too,
this part of her, this function.
He has toyed with the idea of asking her to see him in her own time. He would like
to spend an evening with her, perhaps even a whole night. But not the morning after. He
knows too much about himself to subject her to a morning after, when he will be cold,
surly, impatient to be alone.
That is his temperament. His temperament is not going to change, he is too old for
that. His temperament is fixed, set. The skull, followed by the temperament: the two
hardest parts of the body.
Follow your temperament. It is not a philosophy, he would not dignify it with that
name. It is a rule, like the Rule of St Benedict. He is in good health, his mind is clear.
By profession he is, or has been, a scholar, and scholarship still engages, intermittently,
the core of him. He lives within his income, within his temperament, within his
emotional means. Is he happy? By most measurements, yes, he believes he is. However,
he has not forgotten the last chorus of Oedipus: Call no man happy until he is dead.
In the field of sex his temperament, though intense, has never been passionate.
Were he to choose a totem, it would be the snake. Intercourse between Soraya and
himself must be, he imagines,rather like the copulation of snakes: lengthy, absorbed, but
rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest.
Is Soraya's totem the snake too? No doubt with other men she becomes another woman:
la donna e mobile. Yet at the level of temperament her affinity with him can surely not
be feigned.
Though by occupation she is a loose woman he trusts her, within limits. During
their sessions he speaks to her with a certain freedom, even on occasion unburdens
himself. She knows the facts of his life. She has heard the stories of his two marriages,
knows about his daughter and his daughter's ups and downs. She knows many of his
opinions.
Of her life outside Windsor Mansions Soraya reveals nothing. Soraya is not her real
name, that he is sure of. There are signs she has borne a child, or children. It may be that
she is not a professional at all. She may work for the agency only one or two afternoons
a week, and for the rest live a respectable life in the suburbs, in Rylands or Athlone.
That would be unusual for a Muslim, but all things are possible these days.
✓ Do you think, for a man of 52 years old and divorced, sex is a problem?
✓ Why do you think Soraya exercises prostitution?
✓ Do you think prostitution is an embarrassing profession?
59
✓ How do you imagine Soraya’s life when she is not working as a prostitute?
✓ Do men also exercise prostitution?
✓ Why does feminine prostitution seem to be more controversial?
4. LISTENING - WATCHING
4.1. You are going to watch two videos related to
prostitution. Answer and discuss the following questions before
watching them.
✓ Do you think that prostitution is a choice? Why?
✓ What comes to your mind when you hear the word prostitution?
For many, this word may conjure images of women who have no regard for respected
social ethics and don’t mind selling their body for some quick cash. Is that what you
think?
For others prostitution is just a way of living; is that what you believe
4.2. Now pay attention to the content of the videos and answer some questions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFUal3WO_h0
60
4.2.1. Multiple choice. Read the following questions and choose the correct option
according to the information of the vídeo you have watched:
a) How can prostitution be described?
a) A choice of everyone
b) A choice of those with the fewest choices
c) A condemnable job
b) How do women enter in prostitution?
a) From vulnerability
b) From poverty
c) From the lack of sex
c) When do many women start prostitution
a) From 12
b) Under 12
c) From 18
d) What is the woman’s primary value?
a) Beauty
b) Intelligence
c) Sex appeal
e) Women who decide to become prostitutes suffer some kind of?
a) Social disadvantage
b) Mental illness
c) Anxiety
CRITICAL THINKING. Answer the following questions:
● Do prostitutes have freedom? Why?
● Why do you think that people with less choices are forced to do this?
● Do prostitutes get out of poverty through prostitution?
● Which factors do you think that make them become prostitutes?
● How can we fight to avoid prostitution when it is not a choice?
61
WATCH AND LISTEN to what the next women say about prostitution:
Write down the main ideas they express.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2FWX9PFews
SPEAKING
INTERVIEW. Imagine that you have to interview a female prostitute. Think about
the questions you would ask her and create a script.
You could ask her about:
✓ Her childhood
✓ Her background
✓ Her goals in life
✓ Her reasons
✓ Working conditions
✓ Future dreams and expectations
62
ROLE PLAY. You would represent in pairs the script you have created (one of you
is the reporter and the other the prostitute). First, try to understand the position of the
prostitute and make it as realistic as possible.
REFLEXIVE THINKING.
✓ Do you think that prostitution is a
job?
✓ Should the government make it legal?
✓ Which could be the motivation of a
prostitute?
✓ Why is prostitution maily a “female” job?
✓ Can you be a prostitute and a feminist?
63
8
THIS IS NOT MAKING LOVE….
IT IS RAPE
AIMS: TO EXAMINE RAPE, HARASSMENT AND TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS
The handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Ceremony goes as usual.
I lie on my back, fully clothed except for the healthy white cotton underdrawers.
What I could see, if I were to open my eyes, would be the large white canopy of
Serena Joy’s outsized colonial-style four-poster bed, suspended like a sagging
cloud above us […]
Above me, towards the head of the bed, Serena Joy is arranged, outspread. Her
legs are apart, I lie between them, my head on her stomach, her pubic bone
under the base of my skull, her tights on either side of me. She too is fully
clothed. My arms are raised; she holds my hands, each of mine in each of hers.
This is supposed to signify that we are one flesh, one being. What it really means
is that she is in control, of the process and thus of the product. If any. The rings of
her left hand cut into my fingers. It may or may not be revenge.
My red skirt is hitched up to my waist, though no higher. Below it the Commander
is fucking. What he is fucking is the lower part of my body. I do not say making
love, because this is not what he’s doing. Copulating too would be inaccurate,
because it would imply two people and only one is involved. Nor does rape cover
it: nothing is going on here that I haven’t signed up for.
There wasn’t a lot of choice but there was some, and this is what I chose.
Therefore I lie still and picture the unseen canopy over my head. I remember
Queen Victoria’s advice to her daughter. Close your eyes and think of England.
But this is not England. I wish he would hurry up. Maybe I’m crazy and this is
You are going to read an extract from the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by
Margaret Atwood.
1. Try to think about what the title of the novel expresses and answer the
following questions:
• What kind of characters do you think are going to appear in the text?
• What does a handmaid do?
• Do you think that a handmaid’s contract includes sexual services?
64
some new kind of therapy. I wish it were true; then I could get better and this
would go away.
Serena Joy grips my hands as if it is she, not I, who’s being fucked, as if she
finds it either pleasurable or painful, and the Commander fucks, with a regular
two-four marching stroke, on and on like a tap dripping.
He is preoccupied, like a man humming to himself in the shower without knowing
he’s humming; like a man who has no other things on his mind. It’s as if he’s
somewhere else, waiting for himself to come, drumming his fingers on the table
while he waits. There’s impatience in his rhythm now. But isn’t this everyone’s
wet dream, two women at once? They used to say that. Exciting, they used to
say.
Time to reflect:
1. Look at the word “Ceremony” (line 1). Why is it in capital letters? What about the word
“Commander” (line 15)?
1. Describe the characters that appear in the text: focus on their physical and psychological
appearance.
3. Think about the figure of the Commander: how do you think this kind of Commander is
present nowadays? Where can you find people like him nowadays?
4. In groups, imagine that you are a reporter and have to interview the handmaid that appears
in the text read before. What would you like to know about her? Write some questions and
the possible answers.
Example: Interviewer: Since when is this happening to you?
Handmaid: Well, actually it started when...
4. WATCH & LISTEN: You are going to watch a sequence of the extract you have just
read. Pay attention to it and disscuss the topic with your teacher and the class afterwards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LIGdt1J-ds
65
5. The songs you have below show some kind of gender violence in their lyrics. In groups,
a) try to analyze them
b) express what they say
c) find the lines where there is gender violence and say why.
Excerpt 1: The Police - Every breath you
Every breath you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I'll be watching you
[...] Oh can't you see You belong to me
My poor heart aches With every step you take
Excerpt 2: David Guetta - Hey Mama
Yes I do the cooking Yes I do the cleaning
Yes I keep the nana real sweet for your eating
Yes you be the boss yes I be respecting Whatever that you tell me 'cause it's game
you be spitting
Excerpt 4: Eminem - So much better
Pick up the goddamn phone
Bitch where the fuck were you Tuesday?
With who you say? I wasn't at the studio
Bitch what'd you do screw Dre? You went there looking for me Boo that excuse is too lame
Keep playing me you're gonna end up with a huge goose egg
Excerpt 3: Guns N’ Roses - It’s so easy
Ya get nothin' for nothin'
If that's what ya do Turn around bitch I got a use for you
Besides you ain't got nothin' better to do And I'm bored
Excerpt 5: The Beatles - Run for your life
Well, I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man [...]
Well, you know that I'm a wicked guy And I was born with a jealous mind
And I can't spend my whole life Trying just to make you toe the line
66
VIDEO. Listen to the testimonies of five women who suffered sexual harassment and
abuse. Was the abuser an acquaintance of the victim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSWwX7lBEGk&t=8s
Listen again and answer the following questions:
• Can you explain the two different ways of reaction mentioned in the video?
• Did these women report their sexual harassments?
• Why did they make that decision?
• Was it easy for these women to continue with their lives without thinking about that
dreadful experience?
• What would have happened if these women had felt supported by organizations or
institutions?
In groups, represent a real life situation you have seen or listened to concerning
sexual harassment, violence, rape o any other kind of abuse.
Example: role-play performing the situation of a male student controlling his girlfriend's cell
phone to know with whom she talks or what she does.
67
9
Breaking Chains
Aim: to interrogate old and new expressions of slavery
1- Look at the picture and narrate what is happening.
The text you are going to read in this unit is titled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Think about the title and answer the following questions:
1. What do you think the text could be about?
2. Pay attention to the word ‘slave’, do you know what it means?
3. Why do you think the protagonist is a girl? Are there any slave men?
4. Think about the work this slave girl has to do. Mention examples
5. Do you associate slavery with racism?
6. What do you know about the slavery?
7. Do you think that in a patriarchal system a woman is a slave?
8. Why do you think that slavery is in most cases related to racism? Could it
be because white people consider that they have the power?
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
by Harriet Jacobs
I now entered on my fifteenth year--a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl. My
master began to whisper foul words in my ear. Young as I was, I could not remain
ignorant of their import. I tried to treat them with indifference or contempt.
He peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster
could think of. I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. I
was compelled to live under the same roof with him--where I saw a man forty
years my senior daily violating the most sacred commandments of nature. He told
me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things. My soul
revolted against the mean tyranny. But where could I turn for protection? No
matter whether the slave girl be as black as ebony or as fair as her mistress. In
either case, there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or
even from death; all these are inflicted by fiends who bear the shape of men. The
mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings towards
her but those of jealousy and rage. The degradation, the wrongs, the vices, that
grow out of slavery, are more than I can describe.
[…]
Every where the years bring to all enough of sin and sorrow; but in slavery the very
dawn of life is darkened by these shadows. Even the little child, who is accustomed
to wait on her mistress and her children, will learn, before she is twelve years old,
why it is that her mistress hates such and such a one among the slaves. Perhaps the
child's own mother is among those hated ones. She listens to violent outbreaks of
jealous passion, and cannot help understanding what is the cause. She will become
prematurely knowing in evil things. Soon she will learn to tremble when she hears
her master's footfall. She will be compelled to realize that she is no longer a child.
[…]
I cannot tell how much I suffered in the presence of these wrongs, nor how I am
still pained by the retrospect. My master met me at every turn, reminding me that I
belonged to him, and swearing by heaven and earth that he would compel me to
submit to him. If I went out for a breath of fresh air, after a day of unwearied toil,
his footsteps dogged me. If I knelt by my mother's grave, his dark shadow fell on
me even there. The light heart which nature had given me became heavy with sad
forebodings. The other slaves in my master's house noticed the change. Many of
them pitied me; but none dared to ask the cause. They had no need to inquire. They
knew too well the guilty practices under that roof; and they were aware that to
speak of them was an offence that never went unpunished.
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Comprehension questions.
Discuss them with the rest of the class and your teacher aloud, then you can
write a proper answer.
1. Which adjectives does the protagonist use to describe her master?
2. How do you think the protagonist of the text looks like? There are some words that define
the main character’s feelings, can you try to guess how her personality is?
3. Explain how you imagine an ordinary day in the life of this slave girl. Which tasks do you
think she has to do everyday from sunrise till dusk?
4. How do you think Harriet’s life was before working as a slave? How do you think she
arrived there?
5. Let’s focus on some specific lines of the excerpt:
“The mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings towards
her but those of jealousy and rage”.
Who is the mistress? Is there any other part in the text where the narrator names this
character? Which is the main adjective used to describe this mistress?
CRITICAL THINKING: nowadays slavery
a) Do you recognize any of the following brands? Have you ever bought at least one of
their products?
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Now, let’s find out how people work in these factories...
1.What is the first thing you have noticed in these pictures? Did you know about their work
conditions?
2. What do you think about the fact that children are working for these and other brands?
3. Why do you think these big enterprises behave like this with their workers? Can we define
this as modern slavery?
4. Do you think that nowadays slavery is also latent in other business such as prostitution,
pornography? How does it work?
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What does the picture above represent?
WATCH AND LISTEN.
You are going to watch a scene from the biographical movie Hidden Figures (2016) where
the protagonist, an Afro American woman has an important conversation with her boss at
work. Then answer the following questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j6p7ajuh-E
- The boss was looking for the woman. Where was she?
- Why did the woman take so long?
- Is the woman supported by her workmates?
- How does she feels?
CRITICAL THINKING
Reflect on the following ideas extracted from the video:
- The woman in the video is treated differently and segregated because she is black. Why do
you think black people are treated like this?
- Have you ever heard of a situation of racism or xenophobia in your environment?
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- How would you feel if you were the person attacked?
- In addition to being black, the protagonist in the video is a woman, a reason why her salary
is lower than those of her workmates. What is your opinion about the fact that in our society a
man and a woman are paid differently for doing the same job?
WRITING
In the following pictures you can see different women fighting for their rights.
-Which aspects do you see in common between them?
-In pairs, imagine you are a journalist that has to write about these events. Write an
opinion article on the racism that is still going on these days. It can deal with what is
happening in the pictures.
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