ESL WORKSHEET - Cyberbullying

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

CYBERBULLYING

LinguaHouse
Sep. 26, 2023

Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2-C1)
Type of English: English for Teenagers
Tags: Challenges; Science and Technology; Describing Goals and Challenges; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old; Vocabulary Lesson; Speaking
Publication date: 09/26/2023

The topic of this lesson is cyberbullying. Students will learn vocabulary from a short radio interview about the topic and will then watch an animated video which shows a story of bullying. The language point is on describing statistics. There is an optional homework task for the students to write an email to their school principal. Note: This is a potentially sensitive topic. Some students may have had experience with bullying. Please use your judgement as to whether this will be appropriate for your students (by J. S. Fox).

• 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

Host: Today we have psychologist, Anne Parker to tell us about cyberbullying. So first of all, what is the definition of cyberbullying?
Anne: It’s the use of technology to harass, threaten, or embarrass another person.
Host: And can you give us some examples of this?
Anne: Sure. There’s sending mean or threatening texts or instant messages. Catfishing someone. Spreading secrets or rumors online. Posting embarrassing photos.
Host: Is it really a problem though?
Anne: According to the i-SAFE foundation over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying. So, it is a big problem. After all, 95% of teens in the US are online, and most of them use their cellphone for the Internet. Although most cyberbullying occurs via Instagram, around 42%.
Host: But isn’t it just a matter of switching off your phone or computer?
Anne: It’s an interesting question. It sounds obvious. The problem actually is that it is rarely just ‘cyber’ bullying. It is more often than not an extension of or an added tactic of ‘real-life’ bullying. In fact, a study of more than 100,000 teenagers in the UK showed that less than one per cent of teens were bullied only online.
Host: What can someone do about this if they experience it?
Anne: There are a few things which might help. First of all, keep records and screenshots of any messages. Print hard copies. You want to be able to show someone what is going on. Try to ignore the bully, often they are looking for a reaction. Use technology against them. Block their number. Block messages. Report them to the platform they are using. Screen your calls. Talk to someone you trust, for example, your parent, a teacher, or a counselor. You can also talk to someone anonymously via a chat line or helpline. For example, there’s https://bilitis.org/en/online-chat-to-support-victims-of-bullying-at-school/ and https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/contacting-childline/. Also, and this goes for everyone, make sure you keep your passwords secure, don’t post your personal details online, and don’t automatically trust that someone online is who they say they are. Don’t post something that you would not feel comfortable being forwarded around or posted elsewhere online.
Host: What about if it is happening to someone you know?
Anne: As a bystander do not encourage or endorse bullying behavior. Don’t like, follow, forward, give thumbs up and so on to anything hurtful. Offer support to the person who is being bullied. Let them know they are not alone. Encourage them to report the bullying or report it yourself. Most bystanders want to do something. In fact, 4 out of 5 students or 81% say they would be more likely to intervene in cases of cyberbullying if they could do it anonymously. So, they do care but it can be a difficult situation.
Host: What about people who say, just get over it?
Anne: Bullying, on and offline, can have devastating consequences psychologically and in some extreme cases can lead to self-harm. So, people should take it seriously. Thankfully, however, as far as the extreme cases go, there was good news from one recent study of teens which showed that extreme scenarios don’t appear to be the average teen experience. Also, teens are resilient. The same study, which had Florida teens keep a diary for eight weeks, showed that the teens experienced negative emotions in weeks when cyberbullying was occurring, however by a week later these feelings had basically gone away. So perhaps they got help from friends or the situation resolved itself and it didn’t lead to serious problems.
Host: Okay, thank you, Anne.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Boy: He’s so pathetic
Counsellor: I appreciate you bringing this to my attention Raquel. Noah has a history of incidents. Why do the quiet ones always get picked on? We take bullying very seriously. We can’t police the Internet of course, but I’ll make a report of it.
Raquel: Oh. Oh my gosh. I’m sorry.
Raquel: Hey, are you okay?
Girl: Hey Rat-quel. (echo) Rat-quel, Rat-quel.
Dad: Quel. You’re kind of quiet. Those kids still bothering you? Hey, just don’t let those jerks on the Internet get to you. You’re lucky. Nowadays you can just block them. Case closed.
Noah: Hey, are you okay?
Raquel: Man, this sucks.
Noah: I’m really feeling that one.
Raquel: I know, right.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/english-for-teenagers/cyberbullying. Accessed on September 28, 2023. © 2008–2023 LinguaHouse.com. All rights reserved.