We live in a global village (Lesson-23)

After completing the lesson students will be able to

• read and understand the texts
• follow instructions, commands, request and act accordingly
• understand and enjoy stories and poems

A Look at the pictures and discuss with your partner what you see in them.

B. Sohan has received a letter from his uncle, who is a captain in the Bangladesh Army. At present, he is in Congo on a US Peacekeeping Mission. Read his letter and do the activities that follow.

Dear Sohan,
I hope you are doing well, and focusing on your studies. I received your letter last week, but did not have the time to write back. Things are really busy here in Congo. I am glad to know that you read up about this country. You're right-Congo is a country in central Africa. It is rich in natural resources and its people are incredible. However, there are several regions in this country which face problems like political and ethnic conflict, often resulting in violent incidents. We try to maintain peace and security in those areas. We distribute food, water, and medicine to people, and sometimes even build houses for them. We also teach children in small schools.

Enough about the work I do here. Today, I'd like to tell you about an interesting young man I met here. His name is Ashar Santoso. He was born in Indonesia. When he was eight, he moved to Singapore with his parents and went to a Singaporean school. After a few years, he went to Denmark and completed his schooling there. For higher studies, he enrolled in a university in the US, and completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees there. Since then, he has travelled to many other countries around the world.
Ashar is now in Congo as a member of a voluntary organisation. His main job is to take care of children's education in a community school. His group has ten other members, all from different countries. Ashar is a nice fellow and has become a good friend of ours. We call him 'Mr Global Citizen'.
I was talking to him the other day, and mentioned how impressed I am that he has been to so many countries. I asked him how he felt about that, and he said:
"It's really nice to work with different people. I get to know so much about them their language, family life, culture, their thoughts and aspirations. I sometimes think I belong to all."
"Well, Ashar, you're a true global citizen," I said.
"Aren't you too, Reza?" smiled Ashar Santoso. "We're all part of the same human race, aren't we?"
I've thought a lot about what Ashar said. I guess we can all be global citizens if we look at the world and its people the way he does. How do you feel about it?

Well, that's all for today. I hope your final exams go well. Write to me soon.
With love,
Uncle Reza

B1 Now, match the words in column A with their meaning in column B.

B2 Answer the following questions.

a. Where is Congo?
b. Who called Ashar Santoso 'Mr Global Citizen'? Why?
c. Would you like to be a global citizen?

B3 If you got the chance to meet Ashar Santoso, what questions would you ask him? Make a list of five questions.

C Listen to the audio and fill in the following gaps.

The term 'global village' was ____ used by Marshal McLuhan. In 1962 and ___ he wrote two books on media and communication. In his books he said that telephone, TV and electronic media have brought all mankind close to one another. For example, if we see the news of floods in a distant country on TV, we feel that we are also ____ there. We can see what is happening at the same moment. We can share the same suffering with the people who are in the real ____ at the moment. McLuhan believed that electronic ____ would make the world a global village. When he first said about the idea of global village, the Internet was not invented. But now, personal computers and the Internet have made McLuhan's idea more ____ than ever. Now the entire globe is ____ in a world- wide web called 'The Internet'.