Методическая разработка обобщающего урока по теме № 3 к УМК "The world of English 10—11"(В.П. Кузовлев, Н.М. Лапа)

I. Young people today have a particular relationship with the world. They form distinct cultural groupings. A particular cultural grouping is the way for young people to express their individuality. Today we’ll have a talk about different subcultures and about the reasons for choosing them.

1. Can you tell me the names of different subcultures?
P1, P2, …
I’d like to ask you some questions about the main features of these subcultures.

1. Who supports a liberal attitude and lifestyle? (Hippie)
2. Who cuts their hair shorter than others? (Skinhead)
3. Who prefers soul music? (Mod)
4. Who talks about being vampires and about the end of the world? (Goth)
5. Who uses computer-made music to create massive all-night dance parties? (Raver)
6. Who is associated with something rebellious? (Rocker, punk)
7. Who rejects everything and likes aggressive music? (Punk)
8. The members of which subculture are the “wizards” of the computer community? (Hacker)
9. Who wants to try out all sort of options and is thought to be violent? (Raver)
10. Who rides motorized vehicles. (Biker)
11. What are the main features of any subculture? (Image, music, values)

2. The attitude of society (especially grown-ups) towards the members of subcultures is different. Some people write letters to newspapers to express their opinion.
(A.B. Ex.4 p.37)

1. What would you write in support of a subculture? Read your letters, please.
   P1, P2, P3
2. What would you write against the members of a subculture?
   P1, P2, P3

3. Let’s have a talk about joining a subculture.
What do you think about it?
Why do teens choose a subculture?
P1, P2, P3, P4 (opinions – about 15 sentensies)

II. And now I’d like to invite you to the Press conference devoted to subcultures. May be it will help you to see if they can take place or not.
It will be held by Jessica Robertson. (P1)

Press Conference “Can subcultures exist?”

Jessica Robertson. Good morning, Ladies and gentlemen!
I’m Jessica Robertson. Today we’ll talk about the influence of different sucultures on the people’s life in different countries. Representatives of some subcultures are here today. They agreed to come here and give the interview to journalists of popular newspapers and TV programmes. They will tell us about problems of their lives, and values. Each of them will try to express his or her identity. Maybe, while listening to these stories, we’ll understand if it is good to be a member of any subculture or not. Now people have different opinions about it. And we begin listening to the story of our first guest.

Students’ stories as representatives of subcultures:

Hippie. My name is Floya. My parents are hippies too. When I was born my parents gave me a name like a flower – it’s our symbol. I have many friends. We like to be in a group and to go to the disco. We prefer rock’n roll, especially Beatles. We usually wear bright and loose clothes. With my friends we often talk about the world. The Beatles said that we all wanted to change the world. Yes, we want to change the world to the best. Of course, we know that a perfect planet is unrealistic. Human beings must live and learn by their mistakes. But we need to see examples of how to live in peace and harmony before we can change ourselves. Christ and Buddha were two such examples, and look at how many lives they influenced. Yoga and meditation bring us this inner peace and help us to act in balance with our surroundings. This is our dream – To live in harmony with each other and our planet. Also I want to tell you that our subculture is dying now because many people use drugs. It was the reason for many deaths of my parent’s friends. People think that it’s rather dangerous and leave our subculture.

Hacker. My name is Ann. I began to be engaged in computers a long time ago. At first I simply took a great interest in them. Then I wanted something greater. My friend Dido and I began common business. Of course, it’s very interesting. Some people think that hackers can break into other people’s computers and do something wrong. But I have absolutely other intentions. We worked for one man and made everything he wanted, naturally only in the good purposes. But ones Dido came to my place and said that she had found an other job, a highly paid job. Two years later I read in a newspaper about her. There was written that she was accused of having caused thousands of computers across the country to stop, because a “virus” had been unleashed. Then there was a court and she pleaded guilty. And now she is in prison. But I know that she had been offered a lot of money and she agreed because it was necessary for her at that moment. I agree that some hackers are very dangerous, but in general hackers are very clever and will be useful for the society.

Goth. I’m Randy Johns. I’m from England. First I met Goths when I was 11 years old. But I became a real Goth only at the age of 15. I’ve got a lot of friends. Sometimes we get together to talk about the end of the world. Of course, we like reading Bram Stoker. It’s true that we wear the blackest black, with a lot of silver jewellery and have black hair. But I’m sure that Gothdom is not a Satanism. Here’s Satanism and here’s Gothdom, there are 2 circles. The vast majority of people in Gothdom are not involved in Satanism. Gothdom is not a religion – it’s a subculture. I think, that music plays a great factor. Music is such a powerful medium. It affects the emotions. Goths are not more criminally inclined than other groups. But I’ve seen some kinds of crimes such as underage drinking, drug using, spray painting. All other things are a little bit of tagging.

Furry. My nickname is Cat. I’m from Russia. Why have I become a furry? In Russia few people know what a furry is. We call ourselves пушистики. It’s a highly affectionate subculture. We all are brothers or sisters. We imitate animals. They are ideal creatures. All people and animals are similar in something. And we must not forget about it. Long as we’re getting free of social conventions we might as well get to sex. A lot of furries like group sex. And it’s the only thing that I don’t admit. We can take the best animals’ qualities. They are kinder, cleverer and more faithful. So I want to be similar to animals rather than to people.

Skinhead. Being a skinhead is a lot in your heart. I mean the fashion is all part of it , but you have the belief as well. For years I just had short hair, never bald. People didn’t even know that I was a skin. Only those people who are familiar with the subculture knew. You don’t have to show the world what you are about unless you feel it’s necessary. I’m a proud working class kid, who knows his roots and believes in himself. I’m sure that skinhead is more than a fashion statement, it’s a way of life. We like to be in the crew. Hate is a word commonly associated with skinheads but it’s not about hate. We just want to keep our bloodline clean. Being a skinhead is not about being violent and hating everyone but about preserving a race and nation. We don’t roam the streets looking for a fight but work as lawyers, doctors and business men. Although things can turn violent, we don’t tolerate anyone trying to desiccate our race.

Jessica. It’s right time for asking questions.

Questions for representatives of subcultures:

To Hippie:

1. Can you tell me, please, what you like in hippie most of all?
2. Why do you like flowers?
3. I’d like to know, please, what you have done to help the Earth?
4. Do you personally use drugs?
5. Don’t you agree that joining a subculture is a bit of escapism?

To Goth:

1. How do you imagine the end of the world?
2. Can you tell me, please, what subcultures you hate?
3. What kinds of music do you prefer?
4. Do you think that being a Goth will prevent you from getting education?
5. Are you violent?

To Skinhead:

1. Why are you uninterested in politics?
2. Can you tell me why you hate black people?
3. You prefer reggae. Do you listen to other kinds of music?
4. Do you want to live on the planet on which all the people are skinheads?
5. Do you like aggressive people?
6. Is every skinhead a football fan?
7. Can you kill a man?

To Furry:

1. Are you a vegetarian?
2. Do you have any customs of initiation into your subculture?
3. Do you sometimes like to be alone?
4. If you want to be like animals, does it mean that you should help homeless animals?
5. Do you want your children to join this subculture?

To Hacker:

1. How did you learn to do such things with computers?
2. Do you earn money with the help of computers?
3. I’m interested to know, if you have got free time?
4. Are your friends hackers too?
5. Do you protest against your parents?

Jessica. We have listened to opinions of young people of different subcultures. You see that their stories are as different as they are. We understand that each of them developed the style distinct from others. Some of them can get into trouble in consequence of expressing their identity. If you want to join one of the subcultures, be attentive. You see that they have some problems. It rests to you to decide how these subcultures effect the cultural life of your country. To my mind we should be tolerant to different points of view. If young people have an ambition to try out all sort of options, they should have an opportunity to do it.
Thank you for taking part in our conference.

In conclusion. (Teacher)

I hope our lesson has helped you to determine your own attitude to a subculture. Some people think that all subcultures are awful an d dangerous. And I think this opinion is not absolutely right. For example Bill Clinton was a hippie in his youth and then he became the president of the USA.
Joining a subculture can help you to escape from loneliness but on the other hand it may cause much more difficult problems. I ask you to look for your own way in life. And I’m sure you’ll do it.