unit 1: video

LISTENING 1
Nick Ferrari: ‘Rule Britannia!’ (0:00–6:40)

PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. How did the colonies empower the British Empire?
2. Do you know how contemporary people in ex-colonies feel about the British rule?

VIEWING TASK
Listen to the debaters and fill in the table below.

Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you believe ex-colonies would be more prosperous now if it had not been for the British Empire?
2. Do you think the aftermath of the British colonial rule is still pronounced in former colonies? If so, how does it manifest itself?
3. In your opinion, would reparations compensate for the wrongdoings of the Empire and reconcile the opposing positions?

LISTENING 2

Scottish Independence: Could Britain Break Up? | The Economist (13:47)

Notes
1. The Scottish National Party (the SNP) is now the largest regionalist and social-democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for membership of the European Union, with a platform based on civic nationalism.
2. Holyrood (/ˈhɒliruːd/) is an area in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, where the modern Scottish Parliament Building is situated. The name is often used in the media as a metonym for the Scottish Parliament.

PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. What do you know about the relations between Scotland and the rest of the UK in the 20th — early 21st centuries?
2. Do you know why the Scottish independence debate is back on the political agenda?

VIEWING TASK
Watch part of the video (3:15-8:30) and answer the following questions:
1. How does Scotland benefit from staying within the union?
2. What events have fostered nationalist sentiments in Scotland since the mid-20 th century?
While watching, fill in the table.

OUT-OF-CLASS VIEWING
Watch the video to the end out of class and decide whether the statements below are true (T)
or false (F). Support your opinion. Be ready for the class discussion.
1. Most Scots favour independence rather than further devolution.
2. Scotland will not necessarily be better-off if it goes it alone.
3. There isn’t much chance that Scotland will be granted permission to hold another independence referendum.
4. If Scotland leaves the UK, this will create a domino effect.
5. Reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland is a possibility.
6. The break-away of any constituent part of the UK is unlikely to have significant economic consequences.

Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think further devolution of powers to the Scottish parliament would take the issue of independence off the table?
2. What other challenges and opportunities do you think there would be for Scotland if it gained independence?
3. What impact, in your opinion, would Scotland’s secession have on Britain?

LISTENING 3

Vocabulary
1. to take on valence — to acquire attractiveness, significance
2. to inculcate — to instill (an idea, attitude, or habit) by persistent instruction

Notes
1. Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal (born 19 August 1955), is a British-Dominican diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
and took office on 1 April 2016. She is the 2nd Secretary-General from the Caribbean and the 1 st woman to hold the post.
2. Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British surreal comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something
larger in scope and influence, including touring stage shows, films, albums, books and musicals. The Pythons’ influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music.

PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. What kind of political entity, to your knowledge, is the Commonwealth? When was it set up?
2. What do you know about the role of this association?

VIEWING TASK
a) Watch the first part of the video (0:24–3:10) and tick the points you hear about the British Empire’s contribution to its colonies.

b) Watch the second part of the video (3:11–8:49) and answer the questions:
1. Why has the Commonwealth grabbed the attention of the public and media recently?
2. What was achieved by the Commonwealth before 2016?
3. What ties the Commonwealth countries together?

Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The Commonwealth is often criticised for being outmoded and ineffective, but what do you think
compels the member states to stay within the association?
2. What, to your knowledge, is the reason for the current revival of the UK’s interest in the Commonwealth?

OUT-OF-CLASS VIEWING
Watch the third part of the video (8:50–22:40) out of class and get ready to discuss the critical thinking questions.

Critical Thinking
1. Did the speakers, in your opinion, manage to make a convincing case in assessing the present relevance of the Commonwealth?
2. What do you think Kamalesh Sharma, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, implied by saying, ‘Before you consider what it does, Commonwealth is of great value to the world for what it is’?
3. Give an answer to the question posed in the video: ‘If the majority of the Commonwealth countries were developed countries, would the nature of the organisation be the same?’