Outcomes Advanced p 39. Politics. Extra Speaking

1. Conversation: Talk about the following questions with your partner for about 5 minutes. The pictures are there to help you.

1.    Do politicians who divide us make life better for the citizens of a nation? Shouldn't their aim be to help protect and empower the overwhelming majority of their citizens? Should disagreements always lead to division? Or should they provide an opportunity to better approach the common good with more diverse support? Does anybody benefit from our division? Do divided people get things done more easily or is it harder? Should we strive to find common ground, which can drive us to pursue a common good that is right for us all, not just those who agree with us? Are the political parties becoming more entrenched? What can we do about it?

2.    What are the strengths and weaknesses of a parliamentary government? and of a constitutional monarchy, with a monarch as head of state?

3.    What is the impact of fake news in society? How can we spot it? Have you ever received any bogus messages designed to spread misinformation about politics? Should bogus accounts on Facebook and Twitter be deleted?

4.    What political decisions can provoke an uproar? Can austerity measures cause resentment and make people more defiant towards the authorities? Can riots be justifiable?

2. Below there are some issues related to the topic. You must talk about at least two of them for 3 minutes approx. you may be asked further questions about the topic when you have finished.

Partner A                

·         Have you ever tried to convince staunch supporters of a political party that they might be wrong? How?

·         Do you think that a democratic system has its shortcomings? Which are the worst?

·         When should a politician step down? What do politicians have to do in order to be ousted?

Partner B            

·         Can you think of a political hot potato that our government has to deal with? What strategies does it have in place? Do they use compelling and engaging sound bites? Do people find them convincing?

·         Are there any biased media outlets in your country? Do they have an axe to grind? In what ways do they capitalize on the increasing social and political polarisation? How do they galvanise their audiences?

·         What's your opinion about the following statements: "I'm not going to vote. What's the point? It's not like it makes any difference, does it." "They should make it much harder for people to get into the country," "It's about time the government clamped down on foreigners using and abusing the National Health Service."  What other statements can you think of? Are any of these statements helpful? How fair do you think they are?

Vocabulary

1. Pictures

The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament

The House of Commons is the lower house

The Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs)

The House of Lords also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

misleading: /ˌmɪsˈliːdɪŋ/ giving the wrong idea or impression and making you believe something that is not true. E.g. misleading information/advertisements. It would be seriously misleading to suggest that television has no effect on children.

fake news /ˌfeɪk ˈnjuːz/ false reports of events, written and read on websites. Fake news websites (also referred to as hoax news) deliberately publish hoaxes which may serve the goal of propaganda or disinformation — using social media to amplify their effect. Fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial or political gain. E.g. Many of us seem unable to distinguish fake news from the verified sort. Fake news creates significant public confusion about current events.

hoax: /həʊks/ an act intended to make somebody believe something that is not true, especially something unpleasant. E.g. a bomb hoax. hoax calls. The emergency call turned out to be a hoax. Does he still think climate change is a hoax?

post-truth: /ˌpəʊst ˈtruːθ/ relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts. E.g. In this era of post-truth politics, it's easy to cherry-pick data and reach any conclusion you like. The referendum was the first major vote in the era of post-truth politics. He dubs the current administration a " post-truth" White House. His lecture was entitled "Fake News in a Post-truth World".

cherry-pick (somebody/something) to choose the best people or things from a group and leave those which are not so good. E.g. They cherry-picked the most promising potential customers and concentrated their efforts on them. Policymakers will cherry-pick ideas from the study, and commit to implementing only the easiest and cheapest ones. He was accused by his colleagues of cherry-picking when he selected all the best students for his own course.

pursuit: /pəˈsjuːt/ pursuit of something the act of looking for or trying to find something. E.g. the pursuit of happiness/ knowledge/ profit. She travelled the world in pursuit of her dreams.

allocate: /ˈæləkeɪt/ to give something officially to somebody/something for a particular purpose. E.g. allocate something (for something) A large sum has been allocated for buying new books for the library. allocate something (to somebody/something) They intend to allocate more places to mature students this year. More resources are being allocated to the project. allocate somebody/something sth The project is being allocated more resources. allocate something to do something Millions have been allocated to improve students' performance.

allocation: /ˌæləˈkeɪʃn/ an amount of money, space, etc. that is given to somebody for a particular purpose. E.g. We have spent our entire allocation for the year.

bureaucrat: /ˈbjʊərəkræt/ an official working in an organization or a government department, especially one who follows the rules of the department too strictly.

provision: /prəˈvɪʒn/ the act of supplying somebody with something that they need or want; something that is supplied. E.g. housing provision. The government is responsible for the provision of health care. There is no provision for anyone to sit down here. The provision of specialist teachers is being increased.

equity: /ˈekwəti/ a situation in which everyone is treated equally. Fairness. E.g. a society where justice and equity prevail.

equality vs equity: equality generally refers to equal opportunity and the same levels of support for all segments of society. Equity goes a step further and refers to offer varying levels of support depending upon need to achieve greater fairness of outcomes. Should per student funding at every school be exactly the same? That’s a question of equality. But should students who come from less get more in order to ensure that they can catch up? That’s a question of equity.

1. Questions

overwhelming: very great or very strong; so powerful that you cannot resist it or decide how to react. E.g. The evidence against him was overwhelming. The overwhelming majority of those present were in favour of the plan.

strive: /straɪv/ to try very hard to achieve something. E.g. strive (for something) We encourage all members to strive for the highest standards. strive (against something) striving against corruption. strive to do something Newspaper editors all strive to be first with a story. She strove to find a solution that was acceptable to all.

pursue something: /pəˈsjuː/ to do something or try to achieve something over a period of time. E.g. to pursue a goal/ an aim/ an objective. We intend to pursue this policy with determination. She wishes to pursue a medical career.

entrench something: /ɪnˈtrentʃ/ to establish something very firmly so that it is very difficult to change. E.g. Sexism is deeply entrenched in our society. entrenched attitudes/ interests/ opposition. This idea had firmly entrenched itself in his consciousness.

parliamentary government: a system of government having the real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually and collectively responsible to the legislature.

bogus: /ˈbəʊɡəs/ pretending to be real or genuine. False. E.g. a bogus doctor/ contract. bogus claims of injury by workers.

uproar: /ˈʌprɔː(r)/ a situation in which there is a lot of public criticism and angry argument about something that somebody has said or done. Outcry. E.g. The article caused (an) uproar.

austerity: /ɒˈsterəti/ /ɔːˈsterəti/ E.g. War was followed by many years of austerity.

defiant: /dɪˈfaɪənt/ openly refusing to obey somebody/something, sometimes in an aggressive way. E.g. a defiant teenager.

riot: /ˈraɪət/ a situation in which a group of people behave in a violent way in a public place, often as a protest. E.g. One prison guard was killed when a riot broke out in the jail.

2. Questions A/B

staunch: /stɔːntʃ/ strong and loyal in your opinions and attitude. Faithful. E.g. a staunch supporter

of the monarchy. one of the president’s staunchest allies. a staunch Catholic.

shortcomings: /ˈʃɔːtkʌmɪŋz/ faults in somebody’s character, a plan, a system, etc. Defects. E.g. She made me aware of my own shortcomings. Despite a number of shortcomings, the project will still go ahead.

step aside/down: to leave an important job or position and let somebody else take your place. E.g. She stepped down as captain of the team.

oust: /aʊst/ to force somebody out of a job or position of power, especially in order to take their place. E.g. oust somebody (as something) He was ousted as chairman. oust somebody (from something) The rebels finally managed to oust the government from power. She is a strong supporter of the recently ousted president.

hot potato: /ˌhɒt pəˈteɪtəʊ/ a problem, situation, etc. that is difficult and unpleasant to deal with. E.g. The issue of taxing domestic fuel has become a political hot potato.

in place: working or ready to work. E.g. All the arrangements are now in place for their visit. How long has the import ban been in place?

compelling: /kəmˈpelɪŋ/ that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting. E.g. Her latest book makes compelling reading.

engaging: /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/ interesting or pleasant in a way that attracts your attention. E.g. an engaging smile.

sound bite: a short phrase or sentence taken from a longer speech, especially a speech made by a politician, that is considered to be particularly effective or appropriate. E.g. Today the electorate functions largely on sound bites, clichés, promises and anxiety-evoking warnings.

biased: /ˈbaɪəst/ biased (toward(s)/against/in favour of somebody/something) having a tendency to show favour towards or against one group of people or one opinion for personal reasons; making unfair judgements. E.g. biased information/sources/press reports.

media outlet: a newspaper, television company or other mass media which publishes news stories. E.g. Media outlets across the globe covered the Ukraine crisis in detail.

have an axe to grind: to have private reasons for being involved in something or for arguing for a particular cause. E.g. She had no axe to grind and was only acting out of concern for their safety. These criticisms are commonly voiced by those who have some political axe to grind.

capitalize on/upon something: to gain a further advantage for yourself from a situation. E.g. The team failed to capitalize on their early lead. She capitalized on her knowledge and experience to get a better job.

galvanise: to cause someone to suddenly take action, especially by shocking or exciting them in some way. E.g. Western charities were galvanized by TV pictures of starving people.The prospect of his mother coming to stay galvanized him into action and he started cleaning the house. It should galvanise people to participate, to make their views known through the ballot box. Democrats hold last-minute rally to galvanize voters.

clamp down (on somebody/something) to take strict action in order to prevent something, especially crime. E.g. a campaign by police to clamp down on street crime. The US government is clamping down on drugs.