Teaching Procedures
Periods 1-2 Reading A
1. Introduction to Unit field work and lead-in to Reading A 10 min.
a. Describe a situation in which tariff issue is involved and assign the field work project by saying, for example:
Hello, class. Suppose you were an official in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Some people suggested that protective tariff for China’s auto industry be cancelled. But you know clearly that the industry is an infant one at the time being in China. Now, you are required to give comments on the proposal. Well, this is the background for your field work project of this unit. As usual, you have about two weeks to do this project. And there is the in-class presentation, of course.
b. Ask students to:
- search the library or the Internet for information about interview and tariff protection;
- make a list of questions and use them to interview an international trade professional;
- write a report about your group work and prepare for an in-class presentation.
c. Lead in to Reading A by saying, for example:
As the first step of your field work project, you may get some basic ideas about tariff protection by going through Reading A.
2. Pre-reading activities 10 min.
Activity 1 Brainstorming
a. Students work with partners and list some words relevant to “Tariff Protection”.
b. Invite some students to give their list and provide the suggested list below if necessary:
trade, tariff, import, export, quota, barrier, agreement, revenue…
3. In-reading activities 50 min.
Activity 1 Individual work: finding out the difficulties
a. Students read the text with attention to possible language difficulties and special terms.
b. Students raise questions concerning the difficulties found while reading.
c. Encourage students to join in the explanation of difficult points.
d. Comment on students’ performance.
Activity 2 Pair work: reviewing the expressions
a. Students work in pairs with one reading out language points or special terms and the other making a sentence, paraphrasing or translating.
b. Monitor the work and provide help if necessary.
Activity 3 Group work: getting the ideas
a. Students work in groups to discuss
- what tariff protection is;
- what the merits and demerits of tariff protection are.
b. Group representatives report about their work.
c. Invite peer comment and give feedback.
Possible difficulties in Reading A
- The infant industry argument contends that…(Paragraph 1)
infant
a) n. A child in the earliest period of life, especially before he or she can walk.
e.g. Infant mortality has been dramatically reduced because of modern medicine.
b) adj. Of or being in infancy. Newly begun or formed:
e.g. an infant enterprise
- This argument for protection rests on…(Paragraph 1)
rest on ; rely on; have sth. as a basis
e.g. I rested my elbows on the table.
- The exception is that…. (Paragraph 2):
exception. n
a) The act of excepting or the condition of being excepted; exclusion.
e.g. We praised them all, with two exceptions.
b) One that is excepted, especially a case that does not conform to a rule or generalization.
e.g. There is an exception to this grammatical rule.
- …should use trade barriers…. (Paragraph 7)
barrier n.
a) a structure, such as a fence, built to bar passage.
e.g. The police put a barrier across the road.
b) something immaterial that obstructs or impedes:
e.g. Intolerance is a barrier to understanding.
4. Post-reading activities 30 min.
Activity 1 Individual work: reviewing the ideas
a. Students read the passage again and point out the main idea of each paragraph.
b. Invite some students to present their work.
c. Give comments and refer them to exercise I for the topic sentences of some paragraphs.
Activity 2 Group work: learning more expressions
a. Students work in groups and discuss the expressions listed in exercise III.
b. Students try to make sentences using the expressions.
c. Student present the group work.
d. Comment on group performance.
5. Assignment
a. Students finish exercises IV-VII based on what they have learned in Reading A.
b. Students preview Reading B.
c. Students spare some time for the field work project.
