Academic English

Content Warning: This conversation deals with war, trauma, and political conflict.

In small groups, try to predict the following ideas about the news report before you listen:

1. the setting, or where the action is taking place (e.g., in the countryside, along a beach, in the city, at sea, in the jungle, in the mountains, etc.);
2. how long has the war being going on;
3. problems that have resulted from the war (e.g., hunger, loss of life, orphaned children, blackouts, sniper attacks, starvation, disease, malnutrition, looting, landmines, etc.)

1. War is sometimes necessary to protect a country.
2. Peace talks are more powerful than weapons.
3. Soldiers should always be respected, no matter the war.
4. War rarely solves the real problem.
5. Countries should never get involved in wars that don’t affect them directly.
6. Peacekeeping missions can help stop future wars.
7. People should refuse to fight if they believe the war is wrong.
8. The media influences how we feel about war and peace.
9. A peaceful protest can be more effective than violence.
10. Education is the best long-term solution to war.

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)

Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:

• unrest (noun): dissatisfaction or anger against society or political parties
  – Political unrest has caused instability in that region of the world.
• stationed (verb): to be assigned to a particular place like in the military
  – My father was stationed in Germany for two years with the airforce.
• outskirts (noun): the outer area of a city
  – Often, the outskirts of the city are the most peaceful.
• launch (verb): start
  – The vice-president decided to launch his election campaign last week.
• abandon (verb): to stop or give up on something
  – The ruling government abandoned its decision to raise taxes further because of voter discontent.
• quell (verb): to put down or end
  – The military used force to quell social unrest.
• bleak (adjective): hopeless
  – The economy looks very bleak at this point with sky-high inflation and unemployment at 27 percent.
• artillery (noun): large guns, often on wheels, used by armies
  – Developing countries in that region are increasing their stockpiles of artillery as a way to demonstrate their military muscle.
• strongholds (noun): strongly defended places
  – The army attacked the enemy’s strongholds just before dawn.
• starvation (noun): a state of extreme hunger which can lead to death
  – Thousands of people are on the verge of starvation in that country.
• adequate (adjective): enough
  – If adequate food supplies do not become available, many people will not survive the winter.
• shelter (noun): a place, like a house, that provides protection from danger or weather
  – We need to seek shelter before the storm.
• epidemics (noun): a sudden and widespread start of an infectious disease among many people
  – There has been an epidemic of malaria for the past three months.
• linger on (verb): continues slowly on
  – The conflict has lingered on for more than three years.

1. Pretend that it is one week after the original story was broadcasted, and you have been asked to report on the recent events of the conflict. First, write your story in about 50 words and then read your story. Share your production with your group or the class.
2. Use a search engine to find an article(s) that discusses one or more problems associated with war. Write a short essay on the information you found. Give a short presentation to the class or in a small group.
3. Discuss the following ideas with another student:
   • the greatest areas of conflict in the world and how they affect you directly or indirectly
   • the main causes of these conflicts
   • the keys to resolving these problems