LIFE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
PART B: SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
WANTED!!!
PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS TO WORK WORLDWIDE
To investigate life in another country
Some knowledge of another language an advantage
Training will be provided
Life in Another Country
B1
TRAINING PROGRAMME
FOR PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS
As a trainee investigator you will be finding out as much as you can about Europe. At
the same time, the Spymaster you will be working for will be finding out about you
and your ability to work on your own or as member of a team of investigators.
You and your team will be set four challenges:
1. To design and produce a poster about life in Europe.
2. To see how many different languages you could cope with.
3. To show how well you can work together as a team.
4. To show how well each member of your team can take
responsibility for their own work.
To prepare you to meet these challenges you have been set a number of team
tasks that you will work on together and a number of special assignments which
you will work on by yourself.
Find more information on the next page…
Life in Another Country
B2
WORKING WITH OTHERS
As a member of the team you will be expected to play your part in all the team tasks.
You will be expected to be helpful to others and to accept help yourself when you
need it.
You will be expected to play a different role at different times (e.g. reader, scribe,
leader, timekeeper, encourager).
At the beginning of each team task, the team will discuss and agree with the
Spymaster the role that each member of the team will play.
At the end of each team task you will be asked to explain the part you played and
say how well you thought you carried it out.
WORKING BY YOURSELF
When you have a special assignment to do by yourself, you will be expected carry it
out as well as you can.
You will be expected to show how well you can keep your mind on the task and that
you can complete it without being supervised all the time.
If you find yourself in difficulty with a piece of work, you will be expected to do these
things:
FIRST …
Think if you have done something similar before
which you can look up to help you.
THEN …
Think how you could find out the information that
you need.
IF YOU ARE STILL STUCK
Ask politely for help which will enable you to get on
with the work. Explain clearly what help you need
to enable you to continue with the task.
When you have the help you need, complete the task as well as you can so that you
can be proud of your work.
Life in Another Country
B3
TEAM TASK 1
What does Europe mean to you?
Discuss in your group what you think about when you hear the word ‘Europe’.
One person (the scribe) should write down all the suggestions in the space below.
This is a brainstorming exercise, so there are no ‘wrong’ answers. The scribe should
write down everyone’s suggestions.
Everyone should make at least one suggestion.
When you have finished, underline the ideas that you think you might be able to use
on the poster you are going to produce later.
All members of the group should sign the paper to say they all made at least one
suggestion.
When you have finished, one person will report back to the Spymaster on behalf of
the group.
What does Europe mean to you?
Now turn over >>
Life in Another Country
B4
What does Europe mean to you? (continued)
These ideas belong to:
Life in Another Country
B5
TEAM TASK 2
Code breaking
Spies sometimes use a code to hide the meaning of messages they want to keep
secret. Your Spymaster has sent your team a coded message for you to practise
with. If your group can work out what the message is, you can use it as your slogan
for your poster. Write the message in the space provided at the bottom of the page.
Before you start, remember to discuss how you are going to organise the task as a
team.
THE MESSAGE:
The coded message looks like this:
5 21 18 15 16 5 – 9 19 – 20 8 5 – 14 1 13 5 – 7 9 22 5 14 – 20 15
– 1 – 7 18 15 21 16 – 15 6 – 3 15 21 14 20 18 9 5 19 – 9 14 – 15
21 18 – 16 1 18 20 – 15 6 – 20 8 5 – 23 15 18 12 4. 19 3 15 20 12 1
14 4 – 9 19 – 16 1 18 20 – 15 6 – 5 21 18 15 16 5.
What does it mean?
Here’s how to work it out:
THE CODE:
Each letter of the alphabet is given a number: 1 = A
2=B
3 = C and so on...
THE KEY
You can use this grid to help you to work out which letter matches each of the
numbers. The grid is called a key because it will help you to unlock the meaning of
the message.
A
1
N
14
B
2
O
15
C
3
P
16
Life in Another Country
B6
D
4
Q
17
E
5
R
18
F
6
S
19
G
7
T
20
H
8
U
21
I
9
V
22
J
10
W
23
K
11
X
24
L
12
Y
25
M
13
Z
26
WORKING OUT THE MESSAGE:
Use the key to find out the letters that match each number. Write the letters in the
grid below. There is a space between each word.
5
21
18
15
16
5
14
1
13
5
20
15
6
1
3
5
9
19
7
9
22
5
7
18
15
21
16
20
18
9
5
19
15
21
14
20
14
15
9
14
15
21
18
16
1
18
20
15
6
20
8
5
23
15
18
12
1
14
4
15
6
.
19
3
15
20
19
16
1
18
20
16
5
.
18
15
12
Write the letters again here to reveal the message:
Life in Another Country
B7
8
4
9
5
21
TEAM TASK 3
The countries of the European Union
Your Spymaster will provide your team with an outline map of Europe with 25
countries numbered. These are the countries which together make up the European
Union (sometimes called the EU). Your team task is to identify each of the countries
and to write down its name next to its number in the grid below. Divide up the task
between you to start with, then make a complete list to give to your Spymaster.
1
14
2
15
3
16
4
17
5
18
6
19
7
20
8
21
9
22
10
23
11
24
12
25
13
You may have noticed that there are some countries that are not part of the
European Union, and so are not in the list of 25 that you wrote down.
Write down, in the box below, the names of some countries that are not members of
the EU.
Life in Another Country
B8
THE COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
1
10
18
2
11
19
3
12
20
4
13
21
5
14
22
6
15
23
7
16
24
8
17
25
9
Life in Another Country
B9
KEY
The countries of the European Union
1
United Kingdom
14
Greece
2
Republic of Ireland / Eire
15
Cyprus
3
France
16
Slovakia
4
Germany
17
Hungary
5
Spain
18
Czech Republic
6
Sweden
19
Austria
7
Finland
20
Slovenia
8
Poland
21
Luxembourg
9
Netherlands
22
Malta
10
Belgium
23
Estonia
11
Denmark
24
Lithuania
12
Italy
25
Latvia
13
Portugal
Life in Another Country
B10
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 1
Card sort
Cut out these cards. Each card gives the name of a European Country. Most of the countries are
members of the EU, but some are not. Your task is to arrange the countries in alphabetical order.
ITALY
FINLAND
NETHERLANDS
SWEDEN
FRANCE
POLAND
SLOVAKIA
LATVIA
SLOVENIA
UNITED KINGDOM
DENMARK
MALTA
HUNGARY
SWITZERLAND
ESTONIA
SPAIN
IRELAND
GERMANY
PORTUGAL
NORWAY
CYPRUS
BELGIUM
AUSTRIA
CZECH REPUBLIC
LITHUANIA
GREECE
LUXEMBOURG
Life in Another Country
B11
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 2 Wordsearch
The names of some European countries are hidden in the wordsearch below. Find
them and draw a ring round each one. How many can you find?
O
Y
L
J
B
K
R
L
U
X
E
M
B
O
U
R
G
P
A
C
A
P
X
Y
M
F
D
T
W
F
N
T
A
T
M
B
R
Q
W
Z
B
Q
O
R
G
H
P
R
I
B
B
G
X
S
O
L
V
N
T
T
D
A
Z
A
U
S
T
R
I
A
V
V
B
K
Q
I
A
F
J
Y
R
A
H
E
N
T
L
U
N
G
Y
G
F
R
A
N
C
E
P
E
Life in Another Country
B12
F
G
U
N
I
T
E
D
K
I
N
G
D
O
M
X
X
F
A
C
V
S
U
C
N
Q
S
K
O
L
L
F
H
R
W
O
V
S
W
C
R
N
S
Y
P
C
P
S
I
D
G
X
G
F
Q
R
D
W
A
Q
V
N
I
J
I
J
A
A
P
P
A
I
Q
I
P
J
N
E
Q
F
F
A
S
H
N
I
I
S
W
K
Y
T
V
N
V
S
S
D
S
N
Y
A
E
U
K
X
N
I
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T
M
A
X
L
D
Z
G
E
N
E
C
B
E
L
G
I
U
M
H
L
M
L
L
A
E
D
Q
N
D
E
Y
Y
D
H
J
C
B
Q
V
L
R
Y
S
N
N
T
X
Q
Z
K
P
O
R
T
U
G
A
L
D
B
Q
K
S
D
M
C
L
L
N
A
B
Q
Y
T
E
Y
K
W
P
Y
O
Y
K
X
A
O
Y
D
I
B
Y
V
A
F
D
L
Q
G
R
E
E
C
E
J
R
Q
X
D
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F
M
F
L
V
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P
Y
D
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K
U
P
S
I
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O
B
T
E
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G
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M
A
N
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D
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K
K
M
H
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C
D
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Q
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B
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O
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P
C
A
R
S
B
D
H
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 3
Putting yourself in the picture
This task will show how you fit into the European picture.
The Spymaster will give you two diagrams and explain what you have to do. Listen
carefully, and carry out the task to the best of your ability.
You can use drawings or pictures or a mixture of the two.
Be prepared to talk about your finished diagram.
Life in Another Country
B13
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 3 Putting yourself in the picture
This diagram shows how you fit into your
own community and into larger
communities. Use a blank diagram to
show more detail about yourself
the rest of
the world
Europe
your country
and/or your
nationality
your friends
and the local
community
your family and
close friends
Put a photo or
drawing of
yourself here
Put your name here
Life in Another Country
B14
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 3 Putting me in the picture
This diagram shows how I fit into my own
community and into other communities.
Life in Another Country
B15
TEAM TASK 4
About the European Union
Your team should study the information in the box below, then do the quiz that
follows. All the answers are somewhere in the box.
The 25 countries you listed for the previous task are members of the
European Union (also known as the EU). The EU is a group of countries
whose politicians work together to try to improve the lives of all the people
who live in those countries. Each country sends a number of politicians to
represent it at the European Parliament in Brussels (Brussels is in Belgium).
The politicians are known as Members of the European Parliament, or MEPs.
The United Kingdom is a member of the European Union, and there are
seven MEPs who represent the interests of people in Scotland.
QUIZ
1. How many countries are there in the European Union?
___________________________________
2. What is the short name for the European Union?
________________________________________
3. Where is the Parliament of the European Union?
_______________________________________
4. What are the members of the European Parliament also known as?
____________________________
5. How many MEPs does Scotland send to the European Parliament?
_________________________
Life in Another Country
B16
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 4
The European Union flag
Just as countries have their own flags, the European Union has its own flag too, Find
out what it looks like and draw it here. If you prefer, you can stick a picture of it on
this page.
Life in Another Country
B17
TEAM TASK 5
European countries and their languages
Here’s a team task which you can do over a number of sessions.
In the column on the left you will find the names of the European countries you have
been finding out about. See if you can find out what languages are spoken in each
country, and write them down in the second column.
Country
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Life in Another Country
B18
Languages
Country
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Life in Another Country
B19
Languages
Country
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom (Scotland,
England, Wales, Northern
Ireland)
Life in Another Country
B20
Languages
TEAM TASK 6
The language challenge
Many different languages are spoken in Europe, and many, many more in the rest of
the world. See how many different languages your team can learn. Choose a single
word, or expression (e.g. ‘Hello’ or ‘How are you?’) and see how many different
languages you can learn how to say that in.
To find out, you could ask people to teach you, you could use the internet or you
could use books or CDs from a library.
In the grid below, fill in the word or expression you are going to learn, then make a
list of the languages you learn. You could record your words on tape, or you could
write them down here, but remember which languages you manage to learn!
LEARNING HOW TO SAY...
LANGUAGES LEARNED
Life in Another Country
B21
HOW TO SAY IT
TEAM TASK 7
The poster challenge
Your team can now work on producing a poster about Europe.
These are some of the things you need to do first:
1. Discuss what you are going to put on your poster.
2. Decide what materials or information you are going to need and where you will
get them.
3. Decide which bits of the work the different people in your team will be responsible
for.
Use this grid to plan your work:
Our poster will be about...
What materials or information will you need?
Who will do what?
Life in Another Country
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SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT 5
Preparing for your interview
You have done well, and you are almost ready to be considered a qualified private
investigator. All that remains is for you to be interviewed by the Spymaster to see if
you are ready for your first real investigation. Here are some of the questions you will
be asked at your interview. Some of the questions are quite easy, others are more
difficult. Think about them now so that you will ready for your interview.
About you
What is your name?
Where do you live?
What language do you speak at home?
What other languages are spoken in Scotland?
About your investigation
Which country would you like to find out more about?
What language is spoken there?
Do you know any word or phrases in that language?
What aspect of life in that country would you like to investigate first?
Why have you chosen that topic?
What sort of foreign words and phrases do you think you could learn in connection
with that topic?
About your skills as an investigator
How well have you worked on your special assignments?
Is there anything you could improve on?
How well have you worked as a member of a team?
Is there anything you could improve on?
Are you ready to start your first investigation?
Life in Another Country
B23
LIFE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
TASK 1 Planning your investigation
What you have to do
You have two investigations to do. Each investigation is made up of three main
tasks:
1. You have to investigate an aspect of life in the country you are studying.
2. You have to compare it with the same aspect of life in this country.
3. You have to learn some of the foreign language linked to the aspects of life
you are investigating.
So you have to decide which country to investigate, then what aspects of life in that
country you want to investigate, then the sort of language that might be linked to
that.
Deciding which country to investigate
First you need to decide which country you are going to investigate. Discuss this with
your teacher and write the name of the country here.
The country I am going to investigate is:
_______________________________________________
Now write down the name of the main language which is spoken in that country.
People who live there speak:
___________________________________
Life in Another Country
B24
2. Deciding which topic to investigate
You now need to decide what aspect of life there you are going to investigate. The
subject you choose must have something to do with one of these topics in the list
below. Start by ticking topics that sound most interesting.
Someone’s personal details (family, friends, likes, dislikes, etc.)
Home life (houses or towns, etc)
Leisure activities (sports, hobbies, entertainment, etc.)
Learning (school, college, careers, etc.)
Shops (types of shops, prices, things to buy, etc.)
Food (menus, eating out, cooking, etc.)
Travel and tourism (holidays, places of interest, transport, etc.)
Places to stay (hotels, campsites, hostels, etc.)
Now think about what particular aspect of that topic would be interesting to study.
For example, you might like to investigate the personal details of people from that
country that you are interested in, for example pop stars, sportsmen and women,
your penpal, etc. Remember that you need a similar person in this country to
compare them with.
Or, for Home life, you might like to choose a town or area in the foreign country
which is similar to your own, and investigate what there is for young people who live
there to do in their spare time. You could think about whether your area has similar
opportunities for young people, or different ones.
When you have thought about this and talked about it, jot down some ideas here.
I’d like to find out about…
Life in Another Country
B25
Deciding how to collect information
There are all sorts of ways to gather information. Here’s a list of some of the ways.
Tick the ones you think you might use:
•
using a computer and the internet
•
asking someone who has lived in that country or who has visited it often
•
linking with a school in that country
•
looking up books, brochures and other printed material
•
watching a video
•
visiting local shops or other places where you can find things from the country
•
asking a penpal.
You may have other ideas of your own, Write them down here:
Life in Another Country
B26
Deciding what sort of words to learn
You also need to learn some of the language used by people in that country. What
sort of words, linked to your investigation, will you learn?
I’ll learn some words to do with:
How are you going to learn these words? Here are some ways to think about. Tick
the ones you might be able to use:
•
asking the teacher
•
talking someone who was born in the country or who knows the language well
•
using a tape, a CD or a video
•
using a computer
•
going on a visit to the country.
If you have other ideas, write them down here:
I could learn some foreign words by…
Life in Another Country
B27
Choosing personal targets
Finding things out involves practising lots of personal skills that you will need to
make a success of your life. Here are some of the skills you could practise. Tick the
ones which seem to be particularly important for you.
•
the ability to talk to people politely and confidently
•
the ability to listen carefully and to learn
•
the ability to plan and carry out work efficiently on my own
•
the ability to work well with other people
•
the ability to find things out from a variety of sources
•
the ability to produce neat and tidy work.
You may have ideas of your own. Write them down here:
•
the ability to…
•
the ability to…
•
the ability to…
Summary
On the next page, write a neat summary of all the things you have planned to do.
This is your Personal Target Sheet. Store it carefully. When you have finished your
investigation you will be able to look at it again and see how well you have met all
the targets you set yourself.
Life in Another Country
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Name:
The country I plan to investigate is:
I aim to find out about:
I will find out information by:
I will learn at least eight words or expressions to do with:
During my investigations, I will try to improve the following skills:
Signed:
Date:
Life in Another Country
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Name:
The country I plan to investigate is:
I aim to find out about:
I will find out information by:
I will learn at least eight words or expressions to do with:
During my investigations, I will try to improve the following skills:
Signed:
Date:
Life in Another Country
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INVESTIGATION LOG
Name __________________________________________________________________________
Investigation title _____________________________________________________________
DATE
Life in Another Country
B31
THIS IS WHAT I DID TODAY
THIS IS HOW WELL I WORKED
DATE
Life in Another Country
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THIS IS WHAT I DID TODAY
THIS IS HOW WELL I WORKED
LANGUAGE LOG
Name __________________________________________________________________________
Investigation title _____________________________________________________________
THIS IS WHAT I KNOW
THIS WHAT IT MEANS
THIS IS HOW I KNOW IT
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
Life in Another Country
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LANGUAGE LOG (continued)
THIS IS WHAT I KNOW
THIS WHAT IT MEANS
THIS IS HOW I KNOW IT
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
I can say it
I can understand it when
I hear it
I can understand it when
I see it written
I can write it correctly
Life in Another Country
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HELP SHEET 1
INTERVIEWING A PERSON
The name of the person I want to interview is
___________________________________________________________________
I want to interview him/her because
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
I want to talk to him/her about
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
There are three stages to think about:
•
Arranging the interview
•
Planning the interview
•
Carrying out the interview.
Tick each stage when you have completed it.
There is a Help Sheet for each stage.
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HELP SHEET 2
ARRANGING THE INTERVIEW
Before you can interview someone, you must ask if they are willing to talk to you.
You can do this by
a. speaking to the person face to face
b. telephoning
c. writing a letter, a fax or an e-mail.
Tick the method you will use, then find the notes below which deal with that method.
a. If you are going to speak to the person face to face
Plan what you are going to say, and practise with the teacher or with a partner. Here
are some of the things you might want to think about:
1. How will you get the person’s attention?
You could begin with ‘Hello’ or Excuse me’ and then the person’s name.
For example:
‘Hello, Mr Sinclair.’
‘Excuse me, Mrs Robinson.’
2. Explain who you are (unless they know you already, of course!) You
could say:
‘My name is.............. I go to ............... school.’
3. Explain what you want, and why. For example:
‘I’m studying life in ........................ and I thought you might be able to help
me.’
‘Would you be willing to talk to me about life in ............................. ?’
Life in Another Country
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4. Arrange a time and place to meet to talk.
‘When would be convenient for you?’
‘Where would be the best place to meet?’
Or you could suggest a time and place. For example:
‘Would you be able to come in to the school on Tuesday at 2 o’clock when
I have my Modern Language class?
5. Say thank you, and make sure you are both clear about when and where
you will meet.
NOTE: If you arrange for the person to come to school, don’t forget to tell your
teacher and the school office so that they will be expecting them. It might be a good
idea to arrange to be around when your interviewee arrives, so that you can look
after them and make them feel welcome.
Life in Another Country
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b. If you are going to telephone to arrange the interview
Practise with the teacher or with a friend if you feel nervous. Thinking what you are
going to do and say before you make the call will help you to feel more confident and
easy about it. Here are some things to think about before you make the call.
Write down the number you are going to phone:
__________________________________________
Who are you going to ask to speak to?
_________________________________________________
What will you say if the person you want to speak to is not there?
___________________________________________________________________
When the person you want to speak to is on the line, explain who you are and where
you go to school
___________________________________________________________________
Explain what you want, and why
___________________________________________________________________
Arrange a time and place to meet and talk
___________________________________________________________________
Say thank you and make sure you are both clear about when and where you will
meet.
___________________________________________________________________
Life in Another Country
B38
c. If you are going to send a letter, a fax or an e-mail
You need to say the same sort of things as you would say to the person face to face
or on the phone, but you say it in writing.
You need to:
• say who you are
• explain why you are writing
• say what you want them to do for you
• arrange a time to meet.
Here’s an example, but of course you would need to put in your own details and
change it to fit your own arrangements. If you are writing a letter, remember to put
your address at the top of the page. Your teacher will show you the correct way to
set it out, or your English teacher may be able to help.
Here are some ideas for what you could put in your letter, but you will have to add
the details, of course.
Dear ..........................................
My name is ……………......and I am a student at …………(school or college)
.....................................
I am studying life in ..........(country).......... and am investigating
.................(topic)................................
I would like to talk to you about this to help me with my studies.
If you are agreeable, I would like to have a meeting with you soon. Would it
be convenient for me to come to see you on .........(date)............ at
..........(time)...........?
or:
Would you be able to come to ..........(place)....... on ...........(date)....... at
..........(time)........?
I hope you will agree to help me and I look forward to talking to you.
Yours sincerely
...... (your name in full).......
Make sure that all the words are spelled correctly and that your letter looks clean and
neat.
Life in Another Country
B39
HELP SHEET 3
PLANNING THE INTERVIEW
You want the interview to go well, so here are some of the things you need to think
about in advance. There is a planning sheet on the next page for you to note down
what you plan to do.
Preparing some of the questions
The person you are going to interview will expect you to be quite clear about what
you want to ask them, so have a list of questions ready. You can of course ask other
questions that occur to you during the conversation, but the list will be there to
remind you if get stuck, or if you forget what you meant to ask about.
You can ask detailed questions about particular things you want to know about, or
you can ask more ‘open’ questions and leave it to the person to decide what they
think you would be interested in. It is probably best to have a mixture of questions.
Remember to ask them their opinions, as well as about facts. It might be interesting
to ask them how they feel about similar things in this country too.
Write down a list of the things you want to ask about and have it handy during the
interview. You might like to show the list of questions to your teacher or to the group
you are working with, to see if they have any good ideas you could include.
Deciding where to hold the interview
Discuss with the teacher where would be the best place to hold the interview. A
noisy classroom is probably not the best place for a quiet conversation!
Recording the information
You need to remember what the person says so that you can use it in your
investigation, so think about how you are going to do this.
If you write quickly and easily you could take notes, but this is difficult to do and hold
a good conversation at the same time. It would probably be better to listen very
carefully and to make notes as soon as possible after the interview has ended.
If the person agrees, you could tape the conversation, but remember to arrange the
equipment beforehand and make sure it works.
There is a form on the next page for your planning notes.
Life in Another Country
B40
INTERVIEWING A PERSON: PLANNING NOTES
Name of person to be interviewed:
Date and time of interview:
Where the interview will be held:
Some questions to ask:
Life in Another Country
B41
HELP SHEET 4
CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
When you meet the person you are going to interview
• Smile. Say good morning or good afternoon and their name.
• Thank them again for agreeing to help you.
• Make sure you have your questions handy and anything else that will be
needed during the interview.
At the beginning of the interview
• Smile. Remind the person of the topic you are studying.
• If you are recording the interview, switch on the recorder and make sure it is
working.
During the interview
• Ask your questions clearly and politely.
• Listen very carefully to the answers, whether long or short.
• Let the person know you are listening carefully by:
o making eye contact (looking at them)
o looking interested
o nodding at suitable points
o expressing your interest in words (Oh, that’s interesting. Really?)
o asking follow-up questions (Probably beginning with question words
like Who? What? How?)
o asking for further information (Could you tell me more about that?)
At the end of the interview
• Thank the person again for giving you their time.
• Say how interesting you found it and how it will help you in your work.
After the interview
As soon as you can, do one or more of these things:
• If you have recorded the interview, make sure that the recording has been
successful.
• Make notes about what you have learned, by hand or on a computer.
• Tell somebody all about it. (Going over the details aloud will help to fix them in
your memory.)
• Record your report on tape so that you can listen to it again later.
• Write to the person, or phone them, to say how useful the interview has been.
Life in Another Country
B42
PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS
When you have finished your investigation, you need to present your findings. There
are different ways of doing this. You may decide to use one or more of the methods
listed on this page, your teacher may suggest a method, or you can use ideas of
your own.
Remember that as well as describing life in the country you chose to study, you have
to compare it with life in your part of this country. In other words, you have to say
what is the same and what is different about life in the two countries.
You also need to show that you are familiar with some of the foreign words and
phrases that are used. You may be able to find ways of including these words in your
presentation. If not, your teacher will suggest other ways for you to show how much
you know about the language.
You could...
• give a talk, perhaps using pictures, maps or diagrams to help you
• make a poster or booklet
• write an article about it
• create a series of pictures or photographs and write captions for them
• give an interview in which you talk about your findings to the interviewer
• write and perform a dialogue between two people, one from Scotland, one from
the foreign country, talking about life in their countries
• direct and make a video showing similar scenes from the two countries.
Other methods…
•
•
•
Whatever way you decide to present your findings, make sure that you have
included all the things needed for you to pass the assessment. There is a checklist
on the next page which you can use to see if you are really ready.
Life in Another Country
B43
ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
1a Learning about life in another country
In order to pass the assessment at the end of each period of study, you have to
show that you have learned at least six things about a particular aspect of life in the
country you are studying.
Can you do this?
Think about it, and tick one of the boxes for each thing you can think of. Of course,
you may think of lots more than six, but six is the minimum needed to pass. How
many boxes can you tick? Have you included each of those things in your
presentation?
1b Comparing life in another country with life in Scotland
You must also be able show that you can compare at least three things in the foreign
country with similar things in your own part of Scotland. That means you must be
able to show what is the same in the two countries, or what is different.
Can you do this?
Think about it, and tick one of the boxes for each thing you can think of. Of course,
you may think of more than three, but three is the minimum needed to pass. How
many boxes can you tick? Have you included each of those things in your
presentation?
Now turn over and see if you know enough of the language to pass.
Life in Another Country
B44
2 Language
You must be able to show that you know at least eight items of the foreign language
which have something to do with the aspect of life you have been studying. If you
have been keeping a Language Log it will be easy for you to test yourself to see if
you are still familiar with the words and phrases that you have put in your Log. Look
at your Language Log now, and see if you can remember at least eight of them.
If you haven’t been keeping a log, you could think about the words and phrases you
know, and tick one box for each one you remember.
Another way of checking: you could work with another member of your group or
class and see how many you can remember between you. Then you can teach each
other the ones you didn’t know.
If you are really stuck you could ask the teacher to go over some of the words and
phrases again while you try to learn them.
If you haven’t managed to fill in all the shaded boxes, don’t worry. You can go back
and work out what it is you still need to learn, and you can ask for help if you need it.
If you have managed to put a tick in each of the shaded boxes (or more) then you
are ready to be assessed!
Life in Another Country
B45
Julia Summers
has successfully investigated
HOLIDAYS IN GREECE
and has learned some associated Greek words
Signed:
Date:
Julia Summers
has successfully investigated
FOOD IN GREECE
and has learned some associated Greek words
Signed:
Life in Another Country
B46
Date:
Julia Summers
has successfully investigated
HOLIDAYS IN GREECE
and has learned some associated Greek
words and phrases
Signed:
Date:
Life in Another Country
B47