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The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes

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The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes

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Our (Kathrin Gasser & Nico Pegutter) semester project focuses on the the speech by Severn Suzuki in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

Why we picked it: We picked the speech because the topic of climate change and sustainable development is still important and the students probably have pre-knowledge about the topic. It might be interesting for the students to see that children 30 years ago were fighting for the same reasons as today.

Language points:
important vocabulary, Conditional, persuasive language

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I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Our (Simon Braunsar & Elisabeth Kaltenegger) semester project is going to deal with Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream" delivered on August 28 in 1963 during the March on Washington.

Why we picked it:
The speech provides a lot of teaching potential. First of all it is a great way of teaching the will-future and second it deals with the topic of equality and freedom. The speech was of great importance for the civil rights movement, and in general for American history. Most students have heard of Martin Luther King and it is topic with a lot of potential for further discussion and reflection.

Language points:
vocabulary, grammar (will-future), persuasive language/literary terms

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Sudy Marie-Therese

Text: “About 400 pit bulls euthanized last year in Prince George’s [Maryland], officials say”, a Washington Post article from Rachel Chason (2019); euthanasia of animals in the USA and breed-specific legislation (BSL)

Why I picked it: I chose my text because I wanted many passive-voice-constructions in one relatively “recent” newspaper article that deals with an important and relevant issue (--> overcrowded shelters in Austria after COVID-19 pandemic; Listenhunde; Should euthanasia of humans be legalized in Austria? – current political debate).

Language points: passive voice, political jargon, dealing with data (vocabulary)

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Gotti relaxes in the shade Oct. 1 during a rally in Washington as advocates push for Prince George's County to overturn its ban on pit bulls. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

More than 400 pit bulls were euthanized last year in Prince George's County, the second-largest jurisdiction in the country to ban the breed, and more than 250 have been euthanized so far this year, officials said Monday.

Advocates are pushing to overturn the ban, which they say is costly, ineffective and inhumane.

Prince George's Department of the Environment spokeswoman Linda Lowe on Monday provided statistics on the number of pit bulls euthanized in the county, after a request last week by The Washington Post.

There were 687 pit bulls impounded last year, 402 of which were euthanized and 283 of which were placed in other shelters or with rescue organizations or returned to their homes, Lowe said. Two others are listed as dead.

So far this year, 492 pit bulls have been impounded, with 234 of them placed in homes or with organizations and 258 euthanized.

The decision to euthanize dogs is made based on a behavioral assessment of the animals - which includes examining aggression toward humans and other dogs - or when there is not interest or spaces from rescue organizations or shelters outside Prince George's, Lowe said.

The county has had a pit bull ban since 1997, applying to dogs that are at least 50 percent pit bull, but its enforcement is spotty. In 1996, before the ban passed, there were 853 dog bites reported in Prince George's, 108 of which were from pit bulls or pit bull mixes, said county Health Department spokesman George Lettis. There were 484 dog bites reported in Prince George's in 2010, 70 of which were from pit bulls or mixes, he said, adding that 2010 is the most recent year for which breed-specific data is available.

The County Council is considering an overhaul of its animal control code, including stricter penalties for owners who do not care for their dogs. Animal rights activists want to repeal the ban as part of that legislation, but most council members said that is unlikely this year.

Prince George's is the only jurisdiction in the Washington region with such a ban. The county spends about $570,000 annually on animal control officers, boarding for impounded dogs and euthanization, Lowe said.

National debate over pit bull bans moves to Prince George's

A second chance: What happened to Michael Vick's dogs?

An author says she hoped to advance the debate about pit bulls. Instead, she became a target.

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About 400 pit bulls euthanized last year in Prince George's, officials say

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More than 400 pit bulls were euthanized last year in Prince George's County, the second-largest jurisdiction in the country to ban the breed, and more than 250 have been euthanized so far this year, officials said Monday. Advocates are pushing to overturn the ban, which they say is costly, ineffective and inhumane.

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Our (Etta Zechmann & Helena Tischler) semester project focuses on Greta Thunberg's speech "How dare you" held in 2019 at the World Climate Summit.

Why we picked it: We decided to use this speech because Etta and I both study geography as a second subject and we think that climate change and the Friday's for Future movement is a highly important topic which has a lot of potential to start interesting discussions in class.

Language points:
vocabulary about climate change, grammar (future tense), rhetoric devises and persuasive language

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Greta Thunberg to world leaders: 'How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood'

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Emma Watson's speech about gender equality

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Emma Watson's speech about gender equality

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Our (Elisabeth Brantner, Olivia Messner, Hannah Pulsinger) semster project is going to deal with Emma Watson's speech about gender equality held in 2014 at the United Nations.

Why we picked it:
The speech has a lot of teaching potential, not only language wise but also about the topic of gender equality. Moreover, Emma Watson is a famous actor and most of the students know her from the Harry Potter movies. Besides this, there is also a lot of discussion potential.

Language points:
vocabulary (or semantic field), grammar, persuasive language

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Our semester project (Daniela Hinteregger, Lara Höffernig & Andreas Helmberger) is going to be about the song ‘Castle on the Hill’ by Ed Sheeran.

Why we picked it: Ed Sheeran is a well known singer and songwriter and also his songs are familiar to most students. Also, most students may know this song by heart but don’t question the meaning behind the lyrics. The song can ultimately be used as a starting point for learners’ personal histories.

Language points:
vocabulary (nostalgia, stereotype); poetic devices; grammar (past simple, present perfect)

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Our (Natascha Šumnik, Sarah Zernig & Victoria Sorger) semester project is about the episode "lucky penny" of the series How I Met Your Mother.

Why we picked it: We decided to use this episode as the characters frequently use the Conditional III in their dialogues. The series therefore reflects real grammar, so students get used to hear language in an authentic context. In addition, using TV shows in the language classroom allows a small break from "traditional" classroom activities and furthermore increases students' motivation. As digital learning becomes increasingly important, we decided to incorporate a digital medium into our semester project.

Language points: grammar (conditionals), vocabulary, pronunciation

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Our (Tamara Feichtinger & Nadine Elvers) semester project is going to be about a crime scene (season 2, episode 4, 3:55-5:20 min.) of the series Lucifer.

Why we picked it: Lucifer is a well-known American series, therefore, we are sure that the majority of students has at least heard of the series. Additionally, watching series has become more and more popular, which is why including series will probably increase the students’ motivation and raise their interest.

Language points: vocabulary (police jargon/words), grammar (abbreviated sentences), pronunciation (AE vs BE)

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My semester project is about teaching with musical theatre songs. I have picked two songs from the musical 'Dear Evan Hansen'.

Why I picked it:
Because I am a huge fan of musicals and I would like to pass on this excitement to my future students and because I think that learning something through catchy songs can benefit the students.

Language points:
rhetorical figures, present perfect, vocabulary

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Text: a speech by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a rising political star in the US
Why we picked it: because it is topical and AOC is a great speaker; the speech gives insights into the US political system
Language points: past tenses, rhetorical figures