ESL WORKSHEET - Society and Change

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

SOUTH KOREANS TO BECOME

A YEAR YOUNGER

LinguaHouse
May 2, 2022

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of English: General English
Tags: Breaking News; Society and Change; Crime and The Law; Challenges; Beliefs, Religion and Superstition; 18+ Years Old; 16-18 Years Old
Publication date: 05/02/2022

A breaking news lesson about South Korea’s planned changes to the way it measures age, with a news report about the story and an article about cultural differences around the world. Students will learn related vocabulary, practice reading and listening skills, and reinforce their new vocabulary with conversation practice (by David J. Marriott).

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audios (Am/Br English).

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Newsreader: The man who is set to become the next President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, is hoping to standardize the way that age is counted in the Asian country.
The move, which has already encouraged public debate, is considered controversial because South Korea has its own unique method for counting age.
Babies born in the country are seen to be one year old from the date of their birth. They then gain another year on New Year’s Day, meaning that a boy or girl with a December birthday would be considered two years old within a few weeks.
Confusingly, South Korea has used the international counting system for official purposes since 1962, in which a person’s age is calculated by their birth date. This method is used for most legal and administrative purposes.
A second official age system, which is also used in some legal situations, has a baby being born at the age of 0 and gaining a year each January 1st.
The Korean age method, in which a December-born child could age a couple of years in a couple of weeks, is, however, used by most of the wider population, and it is seen as part of the country’s rich traditions.
As such, it may be impractical to expect the people of Korea to change the way they measure their age any time soon.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/south-koreans-to-become-a-year-younger. Accessed on August 29, 2023. © 2008–2023 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.