ECONOMY, COMMERCE AND FAIR TRADE
UNIT „ECONOMY, COMMERCE AND FAIR TRADE"
This lesson addresses economy, commerce and fair trade education education.
Global Trade
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
Look at the picture below and answer following questions: ● What can you see? ● What is inside the containers? ● How did these containers end up here? ● Why do we transport goods?
The author of the picture: Pat Whelen, taken from unsplash.com, https://unsplash.com/photos/RHC5ar0MFkE |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Writing |
2.1 You are an editorial board in the Economic Magazine. There is a big demand from your readers on the information concerning choosing the suppliers. Write a short list of tips to be developed into the long article by the journalist. 2.2 Present your list to the class. |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
3.1. What do you think the “supply chain” means? Read the article. Source: https://www.business.org/finance/inventory-management/how-to-choose-the-right-supplier-for-your-business/ 3.2 Put following activities in the correct order: 3.3 TRUE / FALSE: Read the sentences. Guess if 1-9 below are true (T) or false (F). 3.4 Match following expressions with correct definitions: |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Watching & Writing Vocabulary |
4.1 TRUE or FALSE. Guess if 1-6 below are T (true) or F (false) Watch the video, if necessary use subtitles, or change the playback speed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwKR08t5BGA 4.2 Match the word with its meaning: 4.3 TRUE or FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F). 4.4 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article. 4.1 Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. Consumption, seasonally, imports, exploded, flat, available, access |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
The materials are taken from: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2011/201117-free-trade-deal.html Read the article Fifteen Asian and Pacific countries have signed the world’s biggest free trade deal. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The countries include 10 Southeast Asian economies along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. These countries account for around 30 per cent of the global economy. The idea for the RCEP started in 2012. The governments have been talking to each other since then. China was key in pushing the deal forward to help economies during the coronavirus pandemic. An economics expert said: “COVID-19 has reminded the region of why trade matters and governments are more eager than ever to have positive economic growth.” Leaders of the 15 governments believe the free trade deal will help their countries and the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese Premier said: “The fact the RCEP has been signed after eight years of negotiations brings a ray of light and hope amid the clouds.” He added: “It clearly shows that multilateralism is the right way, and represents the right direction of the global economy and humanity’s progress.” South Korea said: “We believe that the RCEP, being the world’s largest free trade arrangement, represents an important step forward toward an ideal framework of global trade and investment.” It said the deal included, “a diverse mix of developed, developing and least developed economies.” 5.1 Match the word with its meaning 1. Paragraph 1 2. Paragraph 2 5.2 TRUE or FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F). 5.3 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article. 5.4 Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. along, pushing , signed, eager, talking, include, expert, account fact, important, right, help, diverse, being, ray, progress 5.1 Comprehension quiz |
Fair Trade
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
1.1 TRUE or FALSE. Guess if 1-5 below are T (true) or F (false) Watch the video, if necessary use subtitles, or change the playback speed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNPkiJrk_Bw 1.2 TRUE or FALSE. Guess if 1-7 below are T (true) or F (false) 1.3 Make meaningful expressions by joining words 1.4. Match the word with its meaning: 1.5 Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. heart, collapse, slave, transform, equality, similar, terms of trade 1.6. Watch the video one more time and compare Free trade and Fair trade. Fill in the table below by writing sentences / expressions in each row referring to four criteria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNPkiJrk_Bw |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
Prepare a short speech based on the filled tables and video material provided above. Follow the requirements: ● Your speech should be a maximum of 5 minutes in duration. ● Your speech should include the short description of two terms (free trade and fair trade) by referring to the four criteria given in the table. ● Use vocabulary from the video and online exercises. |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
Role play You work in pairs, each of you has different role to play. Read about your role and do not reveal it to the partner before the activity starts.
Student A: You are a farmer from Ethiopia. You grow coffee and you struggle with low prices and cannot afford decent living. You have heard about fairtrade and you know some farmers are successful in fair trade production. You would like to set up a cooperative in your neighbourhood. Not all farmers know the concept, convince them to join you and form a business together.
You may use following arguments:
1. Coffee is one of the most valuable and widely traded agricultural products. 2. It is mainly produced by smallholder farmers. 3. The more lucrative export of green coffee – beans that have been processed ready for export and roasting – is only an option for farmers who are able to form co-operatives, purchase processing equipment and organise export, or hire a contractor to carry out these services. 4. With Fairtrade, certified coffee producer organisations are guaranteed to receive at least the Fairtrade Minimum Price for their coffee. 5. The Fairtrade Minimum Price for the coffee covers their costs of production and acts as a safety net when market prices fall below a sustainable level. 6. There is an additional Fairtrade Premium to invest in business or community improvements, like schools, health-care etc. 7. In 2018, certified coffee farmers earned an estimated €76.6 million in Fairtrade Premiums that were invested in farmer services and community projects. 8. Fairtrade is an ethical brand with 25 years of experience in delivering real change to producer livelihoods. 9. Fairtrade works with over 400 businesses, from retailers and global brands to small businesses. 10. Consumers are eager to buy fairtrade products – they want to prove they are „good people“.
Some of the arguments taken from https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/farmers-and-workers/coffee/oromia-coffee-farmers-co-operative-union-ethiopia/
Student B: You are a farmer from Ethiopia. You grow coffee and you do manage to keep an average standard of living. You came across the recent studies concerning the fair trade system and you cannot imagine yourself in such a structure. You do not want to join the fair trade movement.
You may use following arguments:
1. Long-term studies compared conventional cofee growers and fairtrade coffee growers for 10 years – the results were not inspiring 2. Coffee market is inherently unstable and characterised by wide fluctuations in price.There are many factors that influence the coffee market for example weather conditions, disease. 3. Coffee has always been produced by smallholder farmers, not big corporations. 4. It is extremely difficult for growers to predict their income for the coming season and budget for their household and farming needs. 5. You are not free to decide how to spend money – Coffee farmers must use at least 25 per cent of the Fairtrade Premium to enhance productivity and quality, for example by investing in processing facilities. 6. It’s costly to join the network – 600 dollars in order to subscribe (application fee) 7. Annual fee ranges 1300 to 4000 dollars 8. You have to regularly undergo certification process, once you will not pass it you are out of the system 9. There is no guaranteed buyer. There is no promise that there is a willing buyer on the market, some cooperatives search for years 10. „Unfair coffee“ may be grown by fairtrade grower 11. Most fairtrade coffee comes from relatively rich nations – for example Costarica or Ethiopia. Those poorer sell for instance only 4% of the total fairtrade coffee (Tanzania) 12. There is insufficient demand, it ends up in an convencional coffee market 13. May promote inequality, already established growers are promoted, who do not live geographically far away from the buyer.
Some of the arguments were taken from: |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
Take the quiz and check your knowlege of free trade and fair trade. |
Learning outcome: + Analysis Critical thinking Open-mindedness Creativity |
Learning skills: Reading & Writing |
Discuss the results. Answer the following questions: · What was your score? · Where did you fail? · Did you learn something new from the quizz? If yes, say what. · Did any information surprised you? If yes, which one. |
