WARM- UP ACTIVITIES

1. Have a look at the word cloud below. Can you guess the topic we are going

to discuss today?

2. What are the effects of the economic crisis? Fill in the table and then

discuss the results with the class.

ECONOMIC EFFECTS

SOCIAL EFFECTS

POLITICAL EFFECTS

OTHER

3. Which age group is most affected by the economic crisis?

4. Do you know what brain drain is?

ACTIVITY 1

Listen to the text/Watch the video and fill in the gaps.

They are the crisis generation, school leavers who dreamt of a 1)…………… job of a

future full of opportunity but instead unemployment and uncertainty beckon.

How to stay positive is the hardest 2) ………………. to solve.

“It’s not sure what the future in Greece will hold, a lot of unemployment a lot of

not good payment, not good opportunities so we have to go abroad”.

“It will be very difficult to find a job in my country but I will try hard and with the

help of god to find a job”.

Before Greece's first 3) ……………… three years ago - and the spending cuts that

followed - unemployment here was on the 12%. Now it's gone up to 27%.

And among young people between the ages of 16 and 25 it was 31.2% and today it’s

a staggering 64.2%

4) ………………….. has hit hard but it is the austerity demanded by Greece’s

international lenders that has had such a devastating impact and so the brightest

like Christina are leaving. Greek emigration to Germany rose by over 40% last year.

She plans the same after failing to find work here. The brain drain will make it

harder for Greece to recover.

“I don’t want to leave my family, my mother and my father. Abroad I won’t have

friends; at least in the first year it will be difficult to find friends but I have no

choice…

-It’s a sacrifice you are willing to make.

-Yes.

But some are fighting back. This youth start up trains volunteers for events and

exhibitions.

At 22 years old the entrepreneurs want to inspire others with their spirit refusing

to accept the 5) …………………. of unemployment.

“Many people think that today’s time that the financial crisis is like the death. I

believe that it’s not like the death. I believe it’s an opportunity to shape our future

the way that we want to save it. The young people have to show the way and to

lead the path. We have to be the leaders of Greece.”

A small success story in an otherwise 6) …………………. climate. Greece needs its

youth to rebuild it in years to come but for now they are too often the victims of

the country’s economic 7) ………………………….

MARK Lowen BBC NEWS ATHENS.

ACTIVITY 2

Read the text again and answer the questions.

1. Which age group is most affected by the economic crisis in Greece?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. How do young people hope to improve their lives by going abroad?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Why is brain drain bad for a country?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. How do you think a country prevent its youth from emigrating ?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ACTIVITY 3

Match the words you found in the gaps above with their definitions.

1. bad effect (n) ________________

2. a mathematical statement (n) ________________

3. lending money to help somebody in debt (n) ________________

4. hopeless (adj) ________________

5. firmly fixed (adj) ________________

6. break down (v) ________________

7. a period when the economy of a country is not successful (n)

________________

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES

Students form two groups and discuss about the pros and cons of brain

drain. One group will support the idea of migrating abroad and the other

will try to talk a young person out of migrating because of the crisis.

Students can make a PREZI presentation about the phenomenon of brain

drain and its causes and effects.

Students can roleplay a dialogue between a young person who wants to

emigrate with a member of the volunteer group in the video. They can

record this in VOCAROO.

TEACHER’S KEY

WARM-UP ACTIVITIES

1. Elicit the words austerity, recession etc. Pre- teach the vocabulary.

2. Some ideas to fill in the table

ECONOMIC EFFECTS

taxes, pay cuts, cutbacks in the social state, austerity measures

SOCIAL EFFECTS

social outcry, protests, strikes, demonstrations, people emigrate

POLITICAL EFFECTS

political Instability, form of coalitions

OTHER

depression, people feel hopeless and helpless

3. Young people

4. When young people with high qualifications (degrees etc.) leave their

country to have a better future abroad.

Activity 1

They are the crisis generation, school leavers who dreamt have a stable job a

future full of opportunity but instead unemployment and uncertainty beckon.

How to stay positive is the hardest equation to solve.

“It’s not sure what the future in Greece will hold, a lot of unemployment a lot of

not good payment, not good opportunities so we have to go abroad”.

“It will be very difficult to find a job in my country but I will try hard with the help

of god to find a job”.

Before Greece's first bailout three years ago - and the spending cuts that

followed - unemployment here was on a 12%. Now it's gone up to 27%.

And among young people between the ages of 16 and 25 it was 31.2% and today it’s

a staggering 64.2%

Recession has hit hard but it is the austerity demanded by Greece’s

international lenders that has had such a devastating impact and so the brightest

like Christina are leaving. Greek emigration to Germany rose by over 40% last year.

She plans the same after failing to find work here. The brain drain will make it

harder for Greece to recover.

“I don’t want to leave my family, my mother and my father. Abroad I won’t have

friends; at least in the first year it will be difficult to find friends but I have no

choice…

-It’s a sacrifice you are willing to make.

-Yes.

But some are fighting back. This youth start up trains volunteers for events and

exhibitions.

At 22 years old the entrepreneurs want to inspire others with their spirit refusing

to accept the scourge of unemployment.

“Many people think that today’s time that the financial crisis is like the death. I

believe that it’s not like. I believe it’s an opportunity to shape our future the way

that we want to save it. The young people have to show the way and to lead the

path. We have to be the leaders of Greece.

A small success story in an otherwise bleak climate. Greece needs its youth to

rebuild it in years to come but for now they are too often the victims of the

country’s economic collapse.

Activity 2

1. The young generation

2. To have a good job with a good payment and good opportunities

3. All the educated and talented people leave and the country will not

recover easily as it will lack human resources.

4. A state should create good working conditions for young qualified people

and also benefits(less taxes, financial support to start a business etc)

Activity 3

1. Scourge

2. Equation

3. Bailout

4. Bleak

5. Stable

6. Collapse

7. Recession

Resources

VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwawI1zdsuE

IMAGE

http://globalsouthafricanActivis.tumblr.com/post/55885694623/south-africa-can-turn-

brain-drain-into-a-brain-gain

VOCABULARY

http://www.synonym.com/

Created by Eleni Tsagari