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Improve Your Vocabulary: Social Issues Words in English

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English Vocabulary about Social Issues: 20 words you need to know

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0:13 1 SINGLE PARENTING 1:00 2 DEPRESSION 1:50 3 SUBSTANCE ABUSE 2:35 4 BULLYING 3:16 5 SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION 4:15 6 CHILDHOOD TRAUMA 4:55 7 IDENTITY CRISIS 5:36 8 PEER PRESSURE 6:24 9 INSECURITY 7:12 10 OBESITY

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Top 10 Social Issues Affecting Our Youth

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Teens age 12 to 17 are more likely to become homeless than adults.

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Global body parts trade increases

A serious shortage of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them a new lease of life. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are carried out annually. Medical experts say this figure is greatly understated and put annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a thriving trade in organ trafficking and a booming black market in human body parts. "Transplant tourists" are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor willing to sell their liver or kidney as a short-term escape from poverty increases.

The body part trade is banned in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing and full of loopholes. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack down on illegal sales, which increases the number of deaths among donors. Transplant surgery carries high risks, especially with liver transplants, which involve removing part of the donor's liver. In Pakistan booming demand has led to a "kidney bazaar" - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, for which donors are paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no medical care after the surgery. China recently banned the sale of human organs and restricted transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts or their next of kin.

WARM-UPS

1. ORGAN DONATION: Walk around the class and talk to other students about organ donation. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your original partner(s) and share what you found out.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

shortages / wealthy foreigners / life-threatening illnesses / black markets / worldwide bans / loopholes / transplant surgery / medical care / next of kin

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. DONATING: In pairs / groups, talk about which of these body parts you would or would not donate:

4. BODY PART OPINIONS: In pairs / groups, discuss whether you agree or disagree with these opinions:

The worldwide trade in body parts should be banned

Everybody should carry an organ donation card

It's OK for people to donate their organs to help their family finances

Organs should only come from dead people

A person with a transplanted heart has a changed personality

Hospitals should grow organs for transplant purposes

5. ORGAN DONATIONS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with organ donations. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think it's OK to sell body parts. Students B think the opposite. Change partners often. Share your findings.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article's headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Global body parts trade increases

A serious __________ of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to __________ nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them a new __________ of life. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are __________ out annually. Medical experts say this __________ is greatly understated and put annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a __________ trade in organ trafficking and a booming black market in human body parts. "Transplant tourists" are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor __________ to sell their liver or kidney as a short-term escape from __________ increases.

The body part trade is __________ in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing and full of __________. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack down on __________ sales, which increases the number of deaths among donors. Transplant surgery carries high risks, especially with liver transplants, which involve removing part of the donor's liver. In Pakistan __________ demand has led to a "kidney bazaar" - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, for which __________ are paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no __________ care after the surgery. China recently banned the sale of human organs and __________ transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts or their __________ of kin.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Global body parts trade increases

A serious shortage of donated organs in rich countries __________________ worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with ________________________ looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them __________________. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are carried out annually. Medical experts say this figure _______________________ put annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a thriving trade in organ trafficking and __________________ in human body parts. "Transplant tourists" are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor willing __________________ kidney as a short-term escape from poverty increases.

The body part trade is banned in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing __________________. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack down on illegal sales, which increases the number __________________. Transplant surgery carries high risks, especially with liver transplants, which __________________ of the donor's liver. In Pakistan booming demand has led to a "kidney bazaar" - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, __________________ paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no medical care after the surgery. China recently __________________ human organs and restricted transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts __________________.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms ... for the words 'body' and 'part'.

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.

Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.

Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning...?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

STUDENT ORGAN DONATION SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about the ORGAN DONATION in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What did you think when you read the headline?

2. What comes to mind when you hear the words "organ donation"?

3. Do you think organ donation should be compulsory?

4. Why do/don't you carry an organ donor card?

5. What do you think of there being a trade in body parts?

6. What can rich countries do to encourage their citizens to donate their body parts after death?

7. What punishments should be given to people involved in the black market for human organs?

8. What do you think transplant tourists do abroad?

9. What can be done to help people who sell their organs to help their family?

10. How much would you sell a kidney or your liver for?

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?

2. How would you feel about having a new heart?

3. Why are there laws in some countries that ban organ transplants?

4. How would you feel about the body parts of a close, deceased relative being removed and transplanted in someone else?

5. What do you think a "kidney bazaar" looks like?

6. How do you think poor donors suffer in poor countries?

7. Do you think hospitals should grow new organs for transplant?

8. How would you feel about having a face and eye transplant?

9. Do you think it's a good idea to use organs from dead prisoners?

10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?

2. Was there a question you didn't like?

3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?

4. What did you like talking about?

5. Which was the most difficult question?

LANGUAGE

CORRECT WORD: Put the correct words from a–d below in the article.

Global body parts trade increases

A serious (1) ____ of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get (2) ____ of an organ that will give them a new (3) ____ of life. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are carried (4) ____ annually. Medical experts say this figure is greatly understated and (5) ____ annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a thriving trade in organ trafficking and a booming (6) ____ market in human body parts. "Transplant tourists" are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor willing to sell their liver or kidney as a short-term escape from poverty increases.

The body part trade is banned in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing and full of (7) ____. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack (8) ____ on illegal sales, which increases the number of deaths among donors. Transplant surgery (9) ____ high risks, especially with liver transplants, which involve removing part of the donor's liver. In Pakistan booming demand has led to a "kidney bazaar" - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, (10) ____ which donors are paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no medical care after the (11) ____. China recently banned the sale of human organs and restricted transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts or their (12) ____ of kin.

WRITING:

Write about organ donation for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about the illegal trade in body parts. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. ORGAN DONATION POSTER: Make a poster about the different body parts that are transplanted. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about the life of a poor person who has sold his/her kidney to help his/her family survive. Include imaginary interviews with the donor and recipient.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Which article was best and why?

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the boss of the WHO. Ask him/her three questions about the illegal trade in body parts. Give him/her three suggestions about how to crack down on the trade. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS
TRUE / FALSE: SYNONYM MATCH: PHRASE MATCH: GAP FILL:
Global body parts trade increases

A serious shortage of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them a new lease of life. The World Health Organization recently estimated that up to 21,000 liver transplants are carried out annually. Medical experts say this figure is greatly understated and put annual worldwide demand at over 90,000. This means there is a thriving trade in organ trafficking and a booming black market in human body parts. "Transplant tourists" are finding it easier to find new organs because the number of poor willing to sell their liver or kidney as a short-term escape from poverty increases.

The body part trade is banned in many countries around the world but laws are often very confusing and full of loopholes. This makes it difficult for authorities to regulate and to crack down on illegal sales, which increases the number of deaths among donors. Transplant surgery carries high risks, especially with liver transplants, which involve removing part of the donor's liver. In Pakistan booming demand has led to a "kidney bazaar" - rich patients pay $8,000 for a new kidney, for which donors are paid $300 - $1,000 and often get no medical care after the surgery. China recently banned the sale of human organs and restricted transplants for foreigners. It transplants many organs from executed prisoners after obtaining consent from the convicts or their next of kin.
LANGUAGE WORK

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A serious shortage of donated organs in rich countries is leading to a worrying increase in the shady and illegal body parts trade. Wealthy foreigners with life-threatening illnesses are looking to poorer nations like China, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and the Philippines to get hold of an organ that will give them a new lease of life.

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Scientists have discovered that addictions may be hereditary. A team from Britain's University of Cambridge found that siblings of drug addicts share the same brain abnormalities as their drug-using brothers and sisters. The research team said these abnormal brain structures are linked to poor self-control and drug dependence.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Why do people immigrate to other countries?, What is the reason you would move out of your country?, Is immigration from one country to another a problem? In what ways do you see it as a problem?, Do you think that immigrants are treated well in in most countries?, Do you think there is a relation between immigration and crime?, Should any government limit the number of immigrants entering the country? What would be a good number?, Is local culture threatened by immigration?, How far should immigrants retain their culture?, Should immigrants have the same rights as native citizens?, Is there a difference between political and economic immigration?, Should immigrants have the right to vote? In which elections?, What should be done with the illegal immigrants entering a country?, Should the country of origin of illegal immigrants be held responsible?, Do immigrants have a good or bad reputation in your part of the country?, Should students be allowed to wear clothes with cultural or religious symbolism at school?, Do you think immigrants are treated with more suspicion now than they were a year ago?, Do you know any people who have emigrated from your country?, Are there a lot of immigrants in your community?, Do immigrants in your community isolate themselves into a certain area?, Should immigrants be required to learn the local language?, How would you help an immigrant learn the local language?, How would you encourage children of immigrants to become bilinqual by maintaining the original language and becoming fluent in the local language?, Should immigrants be educated in their original language or the local language?, To what extent should official documents be written in several languages to accommodate immigrants?, Are immigration regulations too strict? In what way should they be changed?, How long should immigrants be required to live in the new country before they can become naturalized?, How does an immigrant become a citizen in your country?, How does immigration affect the economic situation in your community?, To what extent has the culture of your community become richer by immigrants?, How is your community incorporating immigrants into the life of the community?, Should employers who employ illegal immigrants be penalized?, Should illegal immigrants be deported?.

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Deal out cards at random from a shuffled deck.. Why do people immigrate to other countries?, What is the reason you would move out of your country?.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Do you think alcohol is a drug? Why/why not?, What are some of the characteristics of drunk people?, Is alcohol addictive? What about tea, coffee, and chocolate?, Should marijuana be illegal?, Is marijuana grown in your country?, Why do you think that tobacco is a legal drug?, Are any of your friends addicted to tobacco?, Do you know anyone who smokes a pipe?, What do you think about chewing tobacco?, Is there any difference between "soft" drugs such as marijuana and "hard" drugs like crack, heroin, cocaine etc?, Is ecstasy a soft or a hard drug?, Should there be punishments for dealing drugs?, Should there be punishments for using drugs?, Do you think that some people become more easily addicted to drugs than others?, If you are addicted to drugs, what should you do?, What else can people become addicted to?, Do you think it is easy to buy illegal drugs where you live?, Should women be prevented legally from drinking any alcohol or smoking when pregnant?, Do you think it is a good idea to have safe, legal injecting rooms for intravenous drug users, where they can use clean equipment and sterile water?, Cancer patients find that marijuana stops their pain. Should it be legal for them?, Do you think experimenting with alcohol and cigarettes leads to experimenting with harder drugs?, At what age should it be legal to drink and smoke?, What addictions are prevalent in your country? Is there any help provided for these people?, Are you addicted to anything? Think of all the things you consume or do every single day - are these addictions?, What should be done about people who have addiction problems? Is there any help for them?, Is there a difference between being addicted to drugs and being addicted to the internet? What are the differences? What are the similarities?, How is it possible to become addicted to exercise? Why did someone like this get addicted to exercise?, Can we just ban all harmful substances? Is this a good idea? Why/why not?, Do you check your phone first thing when you wake up?, Do you sleep with your phone next to your bed?, How do you feel if your phone is not with you all the time? Maybe in another room?, Do you check your phone in class or while at work or doing some other tasks?, If you leave your phone at home, do you feel a great sense of anxiety? Do you ever leave your phone at home?, At mealtimes, do you look at your phone instead of talking to your family or friends?, Do you take your phone into the toilet? Why?, When you are eating, is your phone always in your hand or on the table next to you?, Do you feel lonely if you don't get any messages or any notifications in a while?.

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Deal out cards at random from a shuffled deck.. Do you think alcohol is a drug? Why/why not?, What are some of the characteristics of drunk people?.

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social problems in today’s world and where you live

reasons for migration and the impact of widespread immigration on a society

poverty and it relation to poor education, crime, diseases and war

the most dangerous addictions for an individual and for the society

family problems

your opinion on modern diseases, human organ market, terrorism, racism, modern slavery and other social problems

homelessness: definition, reasons and solutions

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This is just my opinion, but...

This page lists useful expressions for the language function of giving opinions.

Elementary

1. I (really) think that ...

2. I believe (that) ...

3. I'm sure that ...

4. In my opinion / My opinion is ...

Pre-intermediate

1. I agree with ...

2. I feel that ...

3. I guess/imagine ...

4. I have no doubt that / I'm certain that ...

5. I strongly believe that ...

6. I've never really thought about this before, but ...

7. My personal opinion is that / Personally, my opinion is that ...

8. To be honest / In my honest opinion, ...

Intermediate

1. As far as I know, ...

2. I agree with the opinion of ...

3. I could be wrong, but ...

4. I'd definitely say that ...

5. I'd guess/imagine that ...

6. I'd say that ...

7. I'm absolutely certain that ...

8. I'm fairly confident that ...

9. I'm no expert (on this), but ...

10. I'm positive that ...

11. I'm pretty sure that ...

12. It seems to me that ...

13. It's a complicated/difficult issue, but ...

14. My (point of) view (on this) is ...

15. Obviously, ...

16. Some people may disagree with me, but ...

17. This is just my opinion, but ...

18. Without a doubt, ...

19. You probably won't agree, but ...

Upper-intermediate

1. After much thought, ...

2. After weighing up both sides of the argument, ...

3. Although I can see both points of view / Although I can understand the opposite point of view, ...

4. As I see it, ...

5. Correct me if I'm wrong, but ...

6. For me/ From my point of view, ...

7. Frankly, ...

8. I am not very familiar with this topic, but ...

9. I do believe/ feel/think ...

10. I have come to the conclusion that ...

11. I might change my mind later, but ...

12. I reckon/suppose ...

13. I tend to think that ...

14. I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask, but / I have very limited experience of this, but ...

15. I'm pretty confident that ...

16. I've always thought that ...

17. If you ask me, ...

18. I'm (absolutely) convinced that ...

19. In my humble opinion / IMHO, ...

20. It could be said that ...

21. It seems clear to me that ...

22. It would seem to me that ...

23. My initial reaction is ...

24. Not everyone will/would agree with me, but ...

25. Personally speaking / Speaking for myself, ...

26. The way I see it (is) ...

27. To be (perfectly) frank, ...

28. To the best of my knowledge, ...

29. What I think is ...

30. You could say ...

Advanced

1. After giving this matter some (serious) thought, ...

2. As far as I'm concerned, ...

3. As the old saying goes, ...

4. Having given this question due consideration, ...

5. I am of the opinion that ...

6. I can't help thinking that ...

7. I know this is a minority view, but / I'm in the minority in thinking that ...

8. I tend towards the opinion that ...

9. I think it's fair/reasonable to say ...

10. I'll tell you what I think, ...

11. I'm entirely/quite convinced that ...

12. I've come the conclusion that ...

13. If I must come up with an opinion / If you (really) want my opinion, ...

14. In my limited experience, ...

15. It could/might well be that ...

16. Know what I think? ...

17. My opinion was best expressed by ... when s/he said/wrote ...

18. My view/position on this (issue) (is clear and) is that ...

19. Off the top of my head, ...

20. Plainly, ...

21. Quite frankly, ...

22. There is a part of me that says ...

23. This may well be controversial, but ...

24. To my mind / To my way of thinking, ...

25. To summarise my (rather complex) views on the matter, ...

26. What I always say is ...

27. With some reservations, ...

28. Without a shred/shadow of doubt, ...

29. You'd have to be crazy not to agree that / Any idiot can see that ...

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This page lists useful expressions for the language function of giving opinions to other people. Graded by level. Vocabulary for ESL learners and teachers.