Temat: How to survive on meagre income?
Aims: to develop empathy
to practise making decisions
to practise pair-work
to practise justification of one's own opinion
to revise vocabulary connected with economics and finances
Level: B1+/B2/C1
Aims: to develop empathy
to practise making decisions
to practise pair-work
to practise justification of one's own opinion
to revise vocabulary connected with economics and finances
Level: B1+/B2/C1
- T divides Ss into pairs. Each pair should have access to a computer with the Internet.
- T asks Ss to imagine that they are adults, they have a family and a full-time job, but suddenly they lose their job. T asks the following questions:
- What do you do?
- How do you feel?
- What actions are you planning to take?
- Who might help you?
- In pairs Ss play an online game called “Spent” (http://playspent.org/). Their task is to manage their finances in such a way that they will survive till the end of the month on their income. If they fail, they have to start again. The task lasts about 20 – 30 minutes, the time depends on what progress Ss are making.
- After the end of the game T asks Ss to discuss the following questions in pairs (these questions might be displayed during the whole game):
- How did you feel during the game?
- Did you manage to make it till the end of the month? Why? Why not?
- What did you spend your money on?
- What kinds of problems did you have?
- What decisions did you make? Which of them was the most difficult / uncomfortable?
- Did you break the law? Was it really necessary?
- Did you have to make any sacrifice?
- What do you think about the statistics provided? Was there anything that surprised you?
- How to survive on meagre income?
- If time Ss might change pairs and discuss the same questions with another person who played a different game. Another idea of a follow-up exercise is to ask Ss to write non-stop for five minutes and note down their reflections on how they felt playing the game.