Social & Sustainable

Entrepreneurship
ELP – Level 8
Instituto de Idiomas
2023

COURSE GOAL

This course is the last of nine levels that aims to continue developing listening,
speaking, reading, and writing skills at the intermediate B2 proficiency level
through the medium of themes intended to encourage students to become
innovative, entrepreneurial leaders capable of proposing innovative solutions to
local problems. It focuses on using language to communicate and interact with
others by demonstrating all skills developed throughout the program. Students
will create a report and give a formal presentation expanding upon the content
of the course. Themes for this level include three modules in this course which are
built upon the following themes: Community Issues, Entrepreneurship, and
Leadership, Organizing, and Action.
MODULE 1: RECOGNIZING ISSUES IN YOUR COMMUNITY

INTRODUCTION
This module aims to identify and
analyze the main problems in our
society and how we can all
contribute with concrete
solutions that would make a real
impact from the perspective of
the students' professions. Topics
like community issues,
environmental injustice,
community problem analysis,
and achievement gap will lead
the module.

TOPIC #1: Community Issues

Refers to different factors that may harm a specific community and how we
can analyze it from an informed perspective.
TOPIC #2: Environmental Injustice
Refers to the analysis of how people experience different pollution levels,
deaths, and livelihoods depending on their social level.
TOPIC # 3: Community Problem Analysis
Refers to the analysis of a problem to identify the intertwined factors that
created it.
TOPIC # 4: Achievement Gap
Refers to how some communities have fewer opportunities to achieve their
goals and related factors.

MODULE 1: TABLE OF CONTENT

1
TOPIC #1: Community Issues
1. What is a community problem?
2. How do healthcare costs hurt American workers and benefit the
wealthy?
3. Grammar: Compare contrast Signal Words
4. How should I start analyzing a community problem?

TOPIC #2: Environmental Injustice

5. What is environmental injustice?
6. Grammar: adverbs and adjectives
7. Project #1 part 1

TOPIC #3: Community Problem Analysis

8. How to address the problem?
9. Project #1 part 2

TOPIC #4: Achievement Gap

10. Educational achievement gap
11. Grammar: Used to and would to express past
12. Manatí’s achievement gap.
13. Project #1 Part 3
14. iTEP practice

2
TOPIC 1: COMMUNITY ISSUES

VOCABULARY BUILDING
Choose some of the community problems examples below and match them with
the right picture. There’s more than one possibility.

Adolescent pregnancy, access to clean drinking water, child abuse and neglect,
crime, domestic violence, drug use, pollution, mismanagement of resources, lack of
funding for schools, health disparities, HIV/ AIDS, hunger, inadequate emergency
services, inequality, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, poverty, deficient
transportation, inadequate access to public services and police brutality.

3
 WHAT IS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

Problems can arise in any community and may be related to

different factors. In our country Colombia, many of the
problems the communities have are derived from the
government’s corruption. Think of the problems that may be
derived from corruption and mention some of them:

CORRUPTION

Here are some criteria you may consider when identifying community problems:

CRITERIA FOR ANALYZING A COMMUNITY PROBLEM

Frequency The frequency with which this problem

occurs

Duration The time that the problem has been

present in the community

Scope or Range The number of people or target

communities the problem affects

Severity The problem is disrupting personal or

community life, and the possible
intensity

Equity of treatment The problem deprives people of legal

or moral rights

4
What is seen as a problem can vary from place to place and group to group in
the same community. Although there is no official definition of a community
problem, the above examples and criteria should help you begin to name and
analyze community problems.

SPEAKING TASK
Group work. Choose one of the community problems examples you gave
related to corruption and complete the following table by outlining some brief
ideas and share with the class:

COMMUNITY PROBLEM

Community problem description

Frequency and duration

Scope or range

Severity

Equity of treatment

5
 BUILDING VOCABULARY
Complete the following table with the corresponding synonym or definition. Then,
write a sentence with each word:

Vocabulary word Synonym/Definition Sentence

Vast

Opioid

Stagnation

Wage

Expenditure

Drift

Excel

Profitable

Subsidize

Lobbyist

Now, match the word with the

definition:
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/games
/jewel/how-healthcare-costs-hurt-
american-workers-and-benefit-the-
wealthy-12598777

6
READING Read the following text and complete the tasks.

HOW HEALTHCARE COSTS HURT AMERICAN WORKERS AND BENEFIT THE

WEALTHY

Americans spend vast sums on health care. Certainly, health care is

expensive all over the world, and it makes good sense for rich countries to
spend large amounts to extend their citizens’ lives and reduce pain and
suffering. But America does this about as bad as it is possible to imagine.

Health care can sometimes harm people, through medical mistakes,

or the over prescription of opioids. But there is also harm to people’s lives from
its extraordinary and unnecessary costs. The percentage of national income
that is absorbed by health care has grown over the past half-century, from 5%
in 1960 to 18% in 2017, reducing what is available for anything else from 95% in
1960 to 82% today. The costs of health care contribute to the long-term
stagnation in wages; fewer good jobs, especially for less-educated workers;
and rising income inequality.

American health care is the most expensive in the world, and yet
American health is among the worst among rich countries. The chart
accompanying this story shows life expectancy and health expenditure per
capita from 1970 to 2017. It highlights just how far off course the U.S. has drifted.
The U.S. has a lower life expectancy than the other wealthy countries
but vastly higher expenditures per person.

America is a rich country, and it makes sense for Americans to pay for
more and better health care. Yet Americans do not use more of most medical
services compared with other countries’ citizens.

How is it possible that Americans pay so much and get so little? The
money is certainly going somewhere. What is a waste to a patient is income
to a provider. The industry is not very good at promoting health, but it excels
at promoting wealth among health care providers, including some successful
private physicians who operate profitable practices.

7
 Americans like to believe that their system is a free-market one, in spite of
the fact that the government is paying half of the cost, is paying the prices
demanded by pharmaceutical companies without negotiation, is permitting
professional associations to restrict supply, and is subsidizing employer-provided
health care through the tax system.

So is the way that the healthcare industry is protected in Washington by its

lobbyists—five for every member of Congress. Our government is complicit in
extortion which is an important contributor to income inequality in America today.
Through pharma companies that get rich by addicting people, and through
excessive costs that lower wages and eliminate good jobs, the industry that is
supposed to improve our health is undermining it.

Adapted from https://time.com/5785945/health-care-problems-america/

Check if the following statements are true or false:

1. Healthcare in the US is more expensive now than before T F

2. High prices in healthcare impact positively the creation of jobs T F
3. American health quality is one of the best among rich countries T F
4. The U.S life expectancy is lower than it is in most rich countries T F
5. Healthcare providers in the US have a more profitable business than most
countries T F

Compare and Contrast Signal Words

Compare contrast signal words are used to highlight similarities and differences.

The following signal words help us emphasize that two aspects are being
compared:

also - as well as - both - in the same way - in addition - just as - like - similarly –
too

The following signal words help us emphasize that two aspects are being
contrasted:

although - but - compared with - even though - however - in contrast to -

instead
less than - more than - nevertheless - on the other hand - otherwise - rather
than
regardless - though - unless - unlike - while – yet

8
Comparing and Contrasting health care spending Vs life expectancy in the US
and other developed countries

Healthcare spending in
the USA is high, as well
as it is also high in
Switzerland (Compare)

Life expectancy in the

US is low, in the same
way, as it is in the UK
(Compare)

Healthcare spending in
the USA is the highest in
the world, however, life
expectancy is better in
other countries
(Contrast)

Life expectancy in the

US is low, regardless of
the high spending on
healthcare (Contrast)

Look at the graph again and

write 2 sentences comparing and 2 contrasting the US and other countries:

1. _______________________________________________________.

2. _______________________________________________________.

3. _______________________________________________________.

4. _______________________________________________________.

9
After reading the text “How Healthcare Costs Hurt American Workers and Benefit
the Wealthy”, follow the instructions below to complete the table.

HOW SHOULD I START ANALYZING A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

Analyzing community problems is a way of thinking carefully about a

problem or issue before acting on a solution. It first involves identifying reasons
for a problem to exist and then, identifying possible solutions and an
improvement plan.

STARTING WITH AN ANALYSIS CAN HELP…To better identify what the

problem or issue is about and the reasons behind why it happens.

“American health care is the most expensive in the world, and yet
American health is among the worst among rich countries. How is it possible
that Americans pay so much and get so little? The money is certainly going
somewhere. What is a waste to a patient is income to a provider. The industry
is not very good at promoting health, but it excels at promoting wealth among
health care providers, including some successful private physicians who
operate profitable practices”

What is the problem here? The low quality of health services, the
economic model that gives life to the health system, and the destination of
the funds. Before looking for solutions, you would want to clarify just what is the
problem (or problems) here. Unless you are clear, it's hard to move forward.

Problems are usually symptoms of something else. What is that

something behind the problem? – What is the cause of the problem and the
reason (s) why it has not been solved yet? We should find out. What are the
barriers and resources associated with addressing the problem? Which
reliable sources of information could (Institutions, websites, etc.) could help
me be sufficiently informed about the problem?

It's good practice and planning to anticipate barriers and obstacles

before they might arise. By doing so, you can propose to mitigate them.
Analyzing community problems can also help you understand the resources
you need. The better equipped you are with the right resources and support,
the higher your chances of success.

10
SPEAKING TASK
Group Work. Using the community problem described in the text: “How
Healthcare Costs Hurt American Workers and Benefit the Wealthy'', let's
complete the following table:

Community Problem Description

1. What is something behind the problem?

2. What is the cause of the problem and the

reason (s) why it has not been solved yet?

3. What could be the barriers to addressing

the problem?

4. What resources could be needed to

address the problem?

5. Which reliable sources of information

(Institutions, websites, etc.) could help me
be sufficiently informed about the
problem?

11
TOPIC 2: ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE

1. What is Environmental Injustice? Use your own words:

2. Now share your definition with your classmates.

3. Read some of the definitions given by your classmates and paste here the

one you liked the most

Read the following quote about environmental injustice and look for a similar
one that calls your attention. Then, comment on them.

Example: It is evident that people in low-income

neighborhoods are in greater danger of suffering the
negative effects of pollution, which discusses social
injustice.

Your comment:

12
 My quote: My comment:

LISTENING

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE
Watch the following video
Oil, Gas, and the Effects of https://youtu.be/vWfRbKY9gJM and
Environmental Racism complete the table below:

1. Description of the environmental

injustice case

2. The causes of the environmental

problem

3. The impact on the community's

quality of life

4. The unequal environmental

protection provided by the
government to this particular
community

5. Solutions that community

members are demanding

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 VOCABULARY BUILDING
Match the words in the box with the right definition:

wasteful- policies- affluence- collide- barrage- fundamentalism- untenable-

disease- average- incomes- looming-endemic- summed up

1. __________ (v.) to crash

2. ________________ (Phrasal verb) summarized or in short words
3. __________ (adj) an illness characteristic from a region or territory
4. _________ (n.) a plan of action adopted or pursued by an individual,
government, party, business, etc.
5. _____________________ (adj)threatening or growing danger
6. _____________________ (adj) the most common thing
7. __________(adj) something that is not sustainable.
8. ____________ (adj) means given to or characterized by useless
consumption
9. ____________ (n.) something that makes you sick
10. __________ (n.) strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles:
11. __________ (n) an overwhelming amount
12. __________(n.) the state of having an abundance of money and material
goods.
13. ________ (n.) how much money you get.

Now, match the word with the definition:

https://www.cram.com/flashcards/games/j
ewel/environmental-injustice-12599655

14
 LISTENING
ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE:
Task 1: Use the information from the video, and fill in the blanks. There are some
extra words you don’t need to use. https://youtu.be/dREtXUij6_c

widely different income bracket greener

already nutritious organic simply hazardous
as deliberate industrial

1. People within a city may look the same, but they can live in _(a)__________

places depending on their wealth, ethnicity, and income.

2. Parts that are whiter and wealthier tend to have ____(b)____ spaces,

grocery stores with _(c)_______ (d)_______ food, and, of course, the money

to buy it.

3. the parts that are poorer and more diverse tend to have ___(e) ___ ports,

highways, and _(f)_________waste.

4. This segregation wasn’t always (g)_______ as plain old racism.

5. Some separations can (h)________be traced to poor land-use planning.

6. Programs don’t work because of bad planning, for instance, planning

trees programs plant trees in neighborhoods that are (i)______ green.

7. So environmental injustice can be seen when citizens’ ethnicity, race, and

wealth and (j) _______________ affects how they live (k)________ different

lives.

LISTENING

15
Task 2: Watch the video again and answer the questions below.

https://youtu.be/dREtXUij6_c

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE:

1. How does environmental injustice

impact the type of community
(race, stratum)?

2. How did this social inequity begin?

3. What happens to rural areas? How

do they experience environmental
injustice?

4. How is environmental injustice

perceived on a global level?

5. What does environmental justice

focus on

6. What are the main effects these

communities must cope with?

16
 ACTIONAID USA

Watch the following video https://youtu.be/WR1u58UWji4 and answer the

questions below:

1. What is the main purpose of Action Aid USA?

2. What does the video’s term “Locally led” imply?

3. What are the solutions proposed to problems and inequalities

these communities face?

SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS LONG TERM SOLUTIONS

4. What are the challenges these communities need to face to

achieve the goal of living in a just and equitable world?

17
GRAMMAR

Adverbs and Adjectives

Look at the sentences from the listening task1 and see how adverbs and
adjectives are used:

Environmental injustice can be seen when citizens' ethnicity, race, and

wealth directly affect how they live widely different lives within the same
city.
This segregation was not always deliberate as plain old racism.

Also:
https://view.genial.ly/60070b139eeb2b0ceed12218/presentation-adverbs-and-
adjectives

Read the following excerpt, check the highlighted words, and complete the
chart below:

ActionAid USA

ActionAid is an international network building a just, equitable, and

sustainable world in solidarity with communities, particularly on the frontlines of
poverty and injustice. We know this can only be done by shifting power
towards communities and away from elites – and aid as traditionally practiced
does not accomplish this. That is why we act in partnership with people in the
frontlines of poverty and injustice so they can raise their voices loudly. Together,
we tackle the symptoms of unequal power – poverty, hunger, gender-based
violence, climate change, conflict, and disaster – and challenge the unfair
ideologies, unequal legal systems, and social norms that lie underneath.
ActionAid embraces feminist leadership as necessary to moving our
mission forward. We define feminist leadership as a positive and inclusive use
of power to build a strong organization capable of changing the world.

Adapted from:
https://www.actionaidusa.org/about/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIktrV-
eyX8QIVgbyGCh0pHgKvEAAYASAAEgKjv_D_BwE

18
Complete the following table with the underlined words:

Adjectives Adverbs

Complete the sentences with the correct adjectives:

blind dead injured poor rich sick unemployed

1. The monetary crisis impact is still felt by the ......... now. They cannot afford

what they need.

2. The tsunami killed many people, and the bodies of the ............. were found

all over the town. So, they were buried in the same hole.

3. The hatred against the .......... begins to grow as the people suspect them

of corruption.

4. ............ people can use the Braille system to read and write.

5. As a nurse, Ann spends most of her time looking after ...........and

_____people.

19
WRITING
Write 5 sentences using the following adjectives:

Unequal - unfair - equitable - sustainable - inclusive

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SPEAKING TASK 1
Group Work. Discuss the following questions with your partners. Use adverbs and
adjectives.

STUDENT A
1. What is environmental injustice?
2. How do environmental issues disproportionately impact
communities with high poverty?
3. Describe some environmental injustice cases that exist in your
community?

STUDENT B

1. Are there social organizations You can work with within your
community?
2. How do you think environmental justice improves the world?
3. How do we ensure everyone has a voice in the conversation?

20
SPEAKING TASK 2

Part 1: Group work: (Research / Speaking)

Work in groups to look for information about a place in Colombia where a case of
environmental injustice may be happening and describe how environmental injustice
affects communities in this area. Include a picture of the place, and include
information about the following content aspects:
1. The causes of the environmental problem
2. The impact on the community´s quality of life
3. The unequal environmental protection provided by the government, laws,
and deficient regulations for this case
Be ready to share a visual about what you have found.

Part 2: Individual work (Writing)

Considering the information, you researched and compiled within your group, now
you will describe a problem that results from that environmental injustice case, using
adjectives and adverbs.
You will individually write one or two paragraphs describing the case. Take
into consideration the following aspects:
Grammar: it should include at least 5 adjectives and 3 adverbs. Highlight the
adjectives in red and the adverbs in green.
Vocabulary: You should also use 5 words from the vocabulary learned in this
module 1 so far (Vocabulary topics #1 and #2). Highlight in blue the vocabulary
words you use.

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TOPIC 3: COMMUNITY PROBLEM ANALYSIS

VOCABULARY BUILDING
Use the words in the box to complete the sentences. Three words will not be used:

assumptions - consensus – straightforward – rooted - first glance – underlying -

advocacy – incentives - restraining forces – desirability

1. There is no _________________ in the Senate to approve that law.

2. We need to go ______________________ to the problem and give a solution

immediately!

3. These are only _______________________. We have no evidence to prove it.

4. I identified the problem at ______________________.

5. There are not enough __________________ for people to work in this field.

6. These ________________ factors are not easy to spot.

7. These problems are _____________________ in all the layers of our society.

Now, match the word with the

definition:
https://www.cram.com/flashcards/ga
mes/jewel/topic-3-12629925

c
22
READING Read the following text and answer the questions.

HOW TO ADDRESS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

The ultimate goal is to understand the problem better and to deal with it more
effectively, so the method you choose should accomplish that goal. We'll
offer some step-by-step guidelines here and go over a couple of specific ways
to determine the causes of the problem.

1. Justify the choice of the problem.

Apply the criteria we have listed above – frequency, duration, range, severity,
equity, as well as ask yourself whether your organization or project can
address it effectively, in order to decide whether the problem is one that you
should focus on.

Let’s take the following problem as an example: Child Obesity

PROBLEM: CHILD OBESITY

The percentage of overweight and obese children in the community has
been steadily increasing, and now approaching 25%. Since we know that
childhood obesity tends to lead to adult obesity and that obesity and being
overweight are linked to chronic conditions – diabetes, heart disease, stroke
– this is a problem that needs to be addressed now. Our organization has the
will and the ability to do it.

2. Frame the problem.

State the problem without implying a solution or blaming anyone, so that you
can analyze it without any assumptions and build consensus around
whatever solution you arrive at. One way is to state it in terms of a lack of
positive behavior, condition, or another factor, or the presence or size of
negative behavior, condition, or other factors.

There are too many children in the community who are overweight or obese.
The problem is particularly serious among low-income families.

1. What’s the purpose of the passage?

2. What is the justification for the problem?

3. How should a problem be framed?

23
 3. Identify whose behavior and/or what and how environmental factors need
to change for the problem to begin to be solved.

This can be as straightforward as individuals changing their behavior from

smoking to not smoking, or as complex as persuading legislators to change
laws and policies (e.g., non-smoking ordinances) in order to change others’
behavior (smokers don’t smoke in buildings or enclosed spaces used by the
public) in order to benefit yet another group by changing the environment
(children are protected from secondhand smoke in public.)

All, and particularly low-income, children should have the opportunity and the
motivation to eat more healthily and exercise more. Parents may need to
change their children’s – and perhaps their own – diets, and schools may
need to adjust their lunch programs and exercise schedules. In low-income
neighborhoods, there needs to be greater access to healthy food and more
safe places for children to play or participate in sports, both outdoors and
indoors.

4. Analyze the root causes of the problem.

The real cause of a problem may not be immediately apparent. It may be a

function of a social or political system or may be rooted in behavior or situation
that may at first glance seem unrelated to it. In order to find the underlying
cause, you may have to use one or more analytical methods, including critical
thinking and the “But Why?” technique.

Very briefly, the latter consists of stating the problem as you perceive it and
asking “But why?” The next step is to answer that question as well as you can
and then ask again, “But why?” By continuing this process until you get an
answer that can’t be reduced further, you can often get to the underlying
cause of the problem, which will tell you where to direct your efforts to solve
it.

4. Is it important to identify the environmental behaviors that need to

be changed? Why?

5. Why isn´t the cause of the problem immediately visible?

24
 The difference between recognizing a problem and finding its root cause is
similar to the difference between a doctor’s treating the symptoms of a
disease and actually curing the disease. Once a disease is understood well
enough to cure, it is often also understood well enough to prevent or
eliminate. Similarly, once you understand the root causes of a community
problem, you may be able not only to solve it but to establish systems or
policies that prevent its return. There are too many children in the community
who are overweight or obese. The problem is particularly serious among low-
income families. (But why?)

Because many low-income children do not eat a healthy diet and do not
exercise enough. (But why?)

Because their parents, in many cases, do not have the knowledge of what a
healthy diet consists of, and because, even if they did, they lack access in
their neighborhoods to healthy foods – no supermarkets, produce markets,
farmers’ markets, or restaurants serving healthy food – and therefore shop at
convenience stores and eat out at fast food places. Kids do not play outside
because it’s too dangerous – gang activity and drug dealing make the street
no place for children. (But why?)

Parents may never have been exposed to information about healthy food –
they simply do not have the knowledge. Market owners view low-income
neighborhoods as unprofitable and dangerous places to do business. The
streets are dangerous because there are few job opportunities in the
community, and young men turn to make money in any way possible.

By this point, you should have a fair understanding of why kids do not eat
healthily or get enough exercise. As you continue to question, you may begin
to think about advocacy with local officials for incentives to bring
supermarkets to low-income neighborhoods, for after-school programs that
involve physical exercise, parent nutrition education, anti-gang programs…or
for all of these and other efforts besides. Or continued questioning may reveal
deeper causes that you feel your organization can tackle.

6. What does the why-strategy consist of?

7. What’s the main reason for understanding the causes of a

community problem?

25
 5. Identify the restraining and driving forces that affect the problem.

This is called a force field analysis. It means looking at the restraining forces
that act to keep the problem from changing (social structures, cultural
traditions, ideology, politics, lack of knowledge, lack of access to health
conditions, etc.) and the driving forces that push it toward change
(dissatisfaction with the way things are, public opinion, policy change,
ongoing public education efforts, existing alternatives to unhealthy or
unacceptable activity or conditions, etc.) Consider how you can use your
understanding of these forces in devising solutions to the problem.

Forces restraining change here include:

The desirability and availability of junk food – kids like it because it tastes good
(we are programmed as a species to like fat, salt, and sugar), and you can
get it on every corner in practically any neighborhood.

The reluctance of supermarket chains to open stores in low-income

neighborhoods.
The domination of the streets by gangs and drug dealers.

Some forces driving change might be:

Parents are concerned about their children’s weight.

Children’s desire to participate in sports or simply to be outdoors.
Media stories about the problem of childhood obesity and its consequences
for children, both now and in their later lives.
A full-force field analysis probably would include many more forces in each
category.

6. Find any relationships that exist between the problem you’re concerned
with and others in the community.

In analyzing root causes, you may have already completed this step. It may
be that other problems stem from the same root cause and that there are
other organizations with whom you could partner. Understanding the
relationships among community issues can be an important step toward
resolving them.

8. What are some of the restraining and driving forces that affect the
problem?

9. Do other local community problems usually stem from the same cause?

26
 We have already seen connections to lack of education, unemployment,
lack of after-school programs, and gang violence and crime, among other
issues. Other organizations may be working on one or more of these, and
collaboration might help both of you to reach your goals.

7. Identify personal factors that may contribute to the problem.

Whether the problem involves individual behavior or community conditions,

each individual affected by it brings a whole collection of knowledge (some
perhaps accurate, some perhaps not), beliefs, skills, education, background,
experience, culture, and assumptions about the world and others, as well as
biological and genetic traits. Any or all of these might contribute to the
problem or to its solution…or both.
A few examples:
Genetic predisposition for diabetes and other conditions.
Lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition.
Lack of knowledge/ skills for preparing healthy foods.

8. Identify environmental factors that may contribute to the problem.

Just as there are factors relating to individuals that may contribute to or help
to solve the problem you are concerned with, there are also factors within the
community environment that may do the same. These might include the
availability or lack of services, information, and other support; the degree of
accessibility and barriers to, and opportunities for services, information, and
other support; the social, financial, and other costs and benefits of change;
and such overarching factors as poverty, living conditions, official policy, and
economic conditions.

Sample environmental factors:

• Poverty
• Lack of employment and hope for young men in low-income
neighborhoods
• Lack of availability of healthy food in low-income neighborhoods
• General availability – at school as well as elsewhere – of snack foods
high in salt, sugar, and fat
• Constant media bombardment of advertising of unhealthy snacks,
drinks, and fast food.

10. How can individual factors foster the community problem?

11. Why do environmental problems also foster community problems?

12. What is the difference between driving forces, personal factors, and
environmental factors?

27
TOPIC 4: ACHIEVEMENT GAP

VOCABULARY BUILDING
Complete the sentences with the right word from the box. Some words will not
be used.

segregation- desegregation- facilities- performing arts- resources- disparity -

achievement gap- poverty- high quality

1. Apartheid was the systematic _________ of black people in South Africa.

2. There are some vulnerable areas of the city where people lack the means to
satisfy their basic needs. You can see lots of ____________.

3. You cannot call it real _____________ if you just add some black kids to a white-
kids school.

4. Many schools have ______________ as part of their extracurricular activities; so,

students in these schools usually play musical instruments, or enjoy acting classes.

5. There are not many ____________ in public schools. They sometimes do not even
have books or electricity, and teachers do not get well paid either.

6. ______________ education is usually very expensive in Colombia. For example,

schools that offer great classroom environments and advanced technological
tools usually cost more than one million pesos monthly.

7. The main ________________ between public schools and private schools stems
from their funding and administration. As the names imply, public schools are
administered and funded by the state or national government whereas private
schools are funded wholly or partly by students' tuition and administered by a
private body.

8. The most commonly discussed ________________ in the United States is the

persistent disparity in national standardized-test scores between white and Asian-
American students, two groups that score higher on average, and African-
American and Hispanic students, two groups that score lower on average.

9. Public schools’ ___________ are not always in good condition. However,

sometimes public schools are bigger, and they even have bigger gyms or
classrooms than some Private schools.

28 Now, match the word with the definition:

https://www.cram.com/flashcards/games/j
ewel/topic-4-achievement-gap-12629944
 LISTENING
Before watching the video complete the following table about the differences between
public and private education in Colombia: https://youtu.be/7O7BMa9XGXE

PRIVATE EDUCATION PUBLIC EDUCATION

POSITIVE ASPECTS: POSITIVE ASPECTS:

NEGATIVE ASPECTS: NEGATIVE ASPECTS:

Listen and Check ( ) on the TRUE affirmations.

1. She struggled and worked for scholarships to get high-quality

education (___)
2. She went to a white people’s school (___)
3. Her neighborhood friends had the same opportunities she did (___)
4. The education system in the USA is fair and well balanced (___)
5. Poor people stay poor because they do not have the same school
facilities (___)
6. She works in a school with different conditions from the school she
went to (___)
7. She feels happy to have better experiences than her classmates
(___)
8. Poor schools are usually the ones filled with people of color (___)
9. The school system in the USA was built by slaves (___)
10. Slaves that worked building schools were able to go to school (___)
11. A lot of people talk about the issues in the school system (___)
12. Her students recognize desegregation (___)
13. When it comes to schools black lives matter in the USA (___)
14. Kids in her school know they deserve brand new books (____)
15. Kids in her public school did not like reading (___)

29
What is the achievement gap? Why does it happen?

Group work. Outline some ideas about possible solutions for the achievement
gap in Colombia:

SPEAKING TASK 2

Work in groups to carry out the following task:

* Look up information about public schools in Colombia and compare them with
private schools. (Specific data and statistics about their quality)
* Look up information about poverty rates and other causes that may be associated
with the education quality in public schools
* Look up information about projects to improve public education that already exist
in Colombia.
* Use vocabulary from this topic
*Make a Poster and present.

30
GRAMMAR
Read the following article below: “Comuna 13 in Medellin: History and Present”
and identify how “used to” and “would” are used to imply the past:

COMUNA 13 IN MEDELLIN: HISTORY AND PRESENT

Medellin is divided into 16 communes and all 250 neighborhoods are part of
one of these comunas (in Spanish). Therefore, comunas are not only the slums or the
vulnerable neighborhoods that many people think.
Within what is now Comuna 13 there used to be a village but in the late 1800s,
it was later changed to a neighborhood of Medellin called La America. It was full of
big farms devoted to agricultural production since the altitude would be very
appropriate to grow many types of fruits and vegetables. However, the usage
of the land changed dramatically after 1946 when a housing cooperative transformed
a big farm into a residential sector. During the ’60s and ’70s, many illegal settlements
developed in the surrounding areas. Many people sold their lands to new settlers from
many different Colombian cities looking for jobs in the prosperous economy.
Comuna 13 is a place that from its foundation has been poorly managed by
the local government and has been historically occupied by immigrants. These victims
were forced to leave their homes and live in this unknown new neighborhood with no
skills apart from farming and construction knowledge. They were discriminated against
by the older settlers and saw them as “invaders, “disrupting the integration of the entire
Comuna 13.
From the late ’80s and beginning of the 90s Paramilitaries, FARC and ELN were
disputing the control of the area since this territory is strategically located as a way to
take out cocaine and take in weaponry. Moreover, these illegal groups would also
control the communities by acting as judges responsible for settling disputes, deciding
who would live and die, who would be a thief and who should be paid back for being
a victim. The expansion of these illegal armies got out of control to the extent that it
became a national problem.
It was not until 2002 when the president of Colombia decided to intervene in
Comuna 13 along with the support and encouragement of the then Mayor of Medellin.
As a result, 10 military operations were implemented in 2002. It is presumed that the
Colombian police and army partnered with the paramilitaries to wipe out the guerrillas
from Comuna 13.

31
 For the next 2 years, paramilitaries were illegally judging and putting many
people on trial; those who would be found guilty or supposedly helping the guerrillas
would be usually condemned to death. Therefore, from 2003 to 2004 (when
paramilitaries were demobilized) more than 200 people mysteriously disappeared and
were allegedly buried in garbage dumps.
In 2006, as compensation for many decades of neglecting Comuna 13, the
elected mayor decided to invest a huge amount of money to improve inhabitants’
quality of life, and in 2008, a new cable car line was built to integrate this Comuna with
other surrounding communities.
Moreover, in 2011 the first electrical escalators for social purposes constructed
in the world were finished in Comuna 13. These escalators would allow people to climb
384 mts in only 6 minutes instead of what used to be a torturous climb of 25
minutes.
Even though this project has helped the community greatly, the most valuable
asset in this place is its people. Welcoming, warm, cheerful, and happy are all
adjectives that perfectly fit them.
Adapted from: https://medellindaytrips.com/comuna-13-in-medellin-history-
and-present/

USED TO AND WOULD FOR PAST TENSE.

Look at the following sentences:

1. In Comuna 13, there used to be a village but in the late 1800s, it was later
changed to a neighborhood.
2. Moreover, these illegal groups would also control the communities by acting as
judges responsible for settling disputes.
3. Comuna 13 didn’t use to be safe in the late 80s and 90s.
4. Those who would help the guerrillas often got killed.
5. These escalators allow people to climb 384 mts in only 6 minutes instead of what
used to be a torturous climb of 25 minutes.
6. Did Comuna 13 use to have graffiti in the past? I don’t know, but it does now.

32
PRACTICE 1: Complete the sentences using the verb given with the correct form
of used to or would. If both used and would are possible, use would.

1. I loved going to my grandmother because she ________________ cook amazing

dishes every time we visited her.
2. There ______________ be so many people in the streets but now there is barely
anyone.
3. When we had a serious argument, Simon and I ____________ talk to each other
for weeks.
4. I ____________ (share) an apartment with a friend, but then I moved out. I have
my place now.
5. My parents _________ (travel) to other countries when they were young, but
now they ________ (go) to places that are nearby.

For more info:

- https://view.genial.ly/5efa266a9886eb0d82452338/horizontal-
infographic-lists-used-to-would
- https://view.genial.ly/60a4e6c06e18150d39725006/interactive-
content-would-used-to-epttp-ma1

Now, let’s remember our past!

https://view.genial.ly/5fb7fa315c1a980
d1cad68cd/game-used-to-and-would

PRACTICE 2:

Write two sentences using “used to” Write two sentences using “would”
about things you did in the past in the past referring to important
before the pandemic and that now things that happened in your life:
you do not do it anymore:
1.
1.
2. 2.

33
 PRACTICE 3:
Now choose one of the sentences you wrote using used to, be used to and get
used to and turn them into the negative and interrogative form:

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE

Used to

Be used to

Get used
to

PRACTICE 4:
Say some sentences with used to, be used
to, and get used to, with the following
situations:

A child - Buy less with the same money - Work 8 hours a day
Come to class from Mondays to Fridays - Study at a school
Stay at home during the pandemic - Live in the same house for years
Do exams online - sleep late

1
VOCABULARY BUILDING
Is there an achievement gap in Manatí?

Use the words in the box and the hints below to complete the Puzzle:

social stratum - commodity bundle - - average - score- standardized test - financial

aid- unshifted- relentless- high rates- sexual assault.

2
ITEP PRACTICE

INSTRUCTIONS
This first practice is a non-graded performance with activities and topics similar
to the ITEP test in which you will take an exit test. Open the practice and write
down the points you got.

Test Results Comments

GRAMMAR PRACTICE 1
https://www.liveworksheets.com/br1777037il

LISTENING PRACTICE 1
https://www.itepexam.com/prep-guide-
listening-archive/

READING PRACTICE 1
https://www.liveworksheets.com/zb1707212zi

3
PROJECT 1: COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY

Project 1 General Instruction

The essay “Getting to know Manatí” on the next pages introduces the difficult
reality of a town in Colombia, while it draws similarities and differences with other
municipalities based on a set of social aspects.

You will write an 800-1000 word compare - contrast essay describing a

community issue in Colombian’s Caribbean region by identifying similarities and
differences in relation to other communities or cities and how it impacts their
opportunities to succeed. Aspects such as access to quality public services,
education, employment opportunities, infrastructure, and environmental
conditions, among others may lead the analysis.

Your analysis should take you beyond the obvious similarities or differences. Try to
focus on the most provocative or interesting elements. Explain why you feel these
similarities and/or differences are significant.

Follow the structure of the sample essay “Getting to know Manatí” on the next
page:

4
WRITING

COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY STRUCTURE

Topic: Achievement Gap in Manatí

Main Idea: Lack of investment in

Manatí and opportunities to access
quality education for its people, in
contrast with other towns and cities of
Atlántico Department.

Aspect #1: Aspect #2: Aspect #3:

Poor resources Lack of access Lack of
students have to aids to study opportunities to
access to in in contrast with study for female
contrast with other cities on students in
other cities on the Caribbean contrast with
the Caribbean coast other cities on
coast the Caribbean
coast

5
 GETTING TO KNOW MANATÍ

Read the following sample of a compare-contrast essay about Manatí and check its
structure and ideas:

Notice the following aspects:

1. The different sections in which it is divided

2. The words that are highlighted in blue are the new
vocabulary words
3. The words that are highlighted in green are the
connectors
4. The words that are highlighted in red are the
compared contrast signal words
5. The words highlighted in purple are adjectives and
adverbs

HOOK/QUESTION (Here a question is used as a hook to get the reader´s attention)

Can you imagine living where most of its residents are among the lowest economic

conditions and with few opportunities to access quality education?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION (Here the main idea of what the essay is going to be about is outlined)

Manatí is a town located in Atlántico Department, Colombia, where there are 17.292

citizens, and 78% of this population is registered as social stratum “one”, which implies

that they are in the poverty line. Five hundred thirty-four members of this population also

live-in social stratum zero, which means their income is lower than the one a family would

need to buy a commodity bundle. Different interconnected aspects may affect this high

level of poverty within this municipality. However, this essay will focus on the lack of

investment in Manatí and opportunities to access quality education for its people, in

contrast with other towns and cities in the Atlántico Department.

6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BODY PARAGRAPH 1 (this paragraph emphasizes the poor resources students have

access to in contrast with other cities)

Firstly, there are only 2 private schools where Manatí’s students can enroll, in contrast with

the large number of private schools where students can enroll in other big cities on the

Caribbean Coast like Barranquilla and others. This affects the quality of resources and

education that students from Manatí receive, as private schools have better results in

Colombian standardized tests than public schools (Amaya, 2019). Sadly, this also reflects

the number of tools students have access to. Students in the two main public schools in

Manatí, only have access to 20 to 28 computers as stated in the development plan

presented by Manatís’ Major’s city hall (Alcaldía de Manatí,2020). These 20 to 28

computers are to be used by an average of 1732 students per school. Needless to say,

this leads to worse results in Pruebas Saber and higher dropout rates in Manatí.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BODY PARAGRAPH 2 (this paragraph emphasizes the lack of access to aids to study in

contrast with other cities)

In this order of ideas, Manatí’s students have the lowest scores on standardized tests in

Atlántico. Manatí’s students score an average of 38.5 points in Pruebas saber pro, while

their neighbor, Sabanalarga, has an average of 48,9 points in these tests and the main

city has an average of 53 points per student. This creates a loop in education, so the

government offers financial aid for students to pursue higher education depending solely

on their scores in this type of exam. Although it can be said that most of the scholarships

have been given to students from other Universities which are closer to the country’s

capital, the Atlántico Department has an average score of 231 in ICFES (23 points less

than the country’s average) (Amaya, 2019), it is not unrealistic to state that Manatí’s

possibilities to access these scholarships are lower than the average students in Atlántico

7
department. They are born within miserable conditions, with a lack of resources to get

educated, so they drop out or they continue long enough just to discover that they

cannot reach the bar that has been set for them. Thus, the system perpetuates the lack

of opportunities for these youngsters to have access to quality education.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BODY PARAGRAPH 3 (this paragraph emphasizes the lack of opportunities to study for female

students in contrast with other cities)

Some may consider this lack of resources and motivation determined the disaster that

drowned the town in 2010. However, many of the problems have persisted over the years

and seem to be getting worse. With the lack of opportunities and education, the

percentage of female students who get pregnant is higher than in other nearby towns,

as well as the rate of sexual assault on women, which the city hall has reported as a

relentless increase, as well as an unshifted inequality for women to access higher

education. This creates an unsafe environment to develop critical thinking skills, cultivate

ambition and dreams, or merely live a healthy life where learning can be nurtured, and

women can succeed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONCLUSION (this paragraph summarizes the previous ones)

To summarize then, Manatí’s lack of opportunities and education seem to entangle with

other community issues that create a never-ending circle of calamity. Manatí’s citizens

are exposed to different community problems such as high rates of unemployment,

poverty, sexual assault, and mortality. Their opportunities to improve their lives are way

less favorable than other municipalities in Atlántico, as only 39% of the population has

access to means of communication that can keep their learning updated to current

needs, such as the internet. Their resources do not cover all the students enrolled in their

biggest schools. So, this results in low standardized test scores. These low scores keep

8
students from obtaining governments economic aid and financial incentives to pursue

further education, while more than 70% of the population within this area lives in extreme

poverty.

(807 WORDS)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

REFERENCES

Alcaldía de Barranquilla (12 Mayo, 2020). Plan de Desarrollo 2020 – 2023. Taken
from: https://www.barranquilla.gov.co/transparencia/planeacion/politicas-
lineamientos-y-manuales/planes-estrategicos/plan-de-desarrollo

Alcaldía de Manatí. (14 Julio, 2020). Plan de desarrollo. Taken from:

https://Manatíatlantico.micolombiadigital.gov.co/sites/Manatíatlantico/conte
nt/files/000081/4047_Manatí-plan-de-desarrollo.pdf

Alcaldía Municipal de Sabanalarga Atlántico. (14 Julio, 2020). Plan de Desarrollo

de Sabanalarga 2020-2023. Taken from:
https://sabanalargaatlantico.micolombiadigital.gov.co/sites/sabanalargaatlan
tico/content/files/000146/7276_plan-de-desarrollo-municipal.pdf

Amaya, G. (23 Octubre, 2019). El 50% de los bachilleres no cursa estudios

superiores. Taken from: https://www.elheraldo.co/barranquilla/el-50-de-los-
bachilleres-no-cursa-estudios-superiores-672433

9
 COMPARE AND CONTRAST VENN DIAGRAM
Watch the following video and complete the Venn Diagram to brainstorm your
ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyjcEa4Z9Dc

YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY: A DIFFERENT COMMUNITY

…versus…

Point by Point
About
(C/C* points)

*C/C = Compare and Contrast

10
 WRITING
Outline the main ideas to organize your information before you write the essay

COMPARE AND CONTRAST OUTLINE

Topic:

Main Idea:

Aspect #1:
Aspect #2: Aspect #3:

Now, write your compare-contrast essay!

11
WRITING
Outline the specific ideas to organize your information before you write the
essay
COMPARE AND CONTRAST OUTLINE

INTRODUCTION. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyjcEa4Z9Dc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msaynBwwxkA&ab_channel=Scribbr

Hook:

Background: Definition / Importance

Thesis Statement:

BODY PARAGRAPH 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHJDfbN4sJQ

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hvMSeg1s7uc

Topic Sentence:

Reasons (Type of Citation): Is it direct, paraphrasing, or summarizing?

Present it:

Explain it:

Give your opinion:

Concluding Sentence:

12
 BODY PARAGRAPH 2.

Topic Sentence:

Reasons (Type of Citation): Is it direct, paraphrasing, or summarizing?

Present it:

Explain it:

Give your opinion:

Concluding Sentence:

BODY PARAGRAPH 3.

Topic Sentence:

Reasons (Type of Citation): Is it direct, paraphrasing, or summarizing?

Present it:

Explain it:

Give your opinion:

Concluding Sentence:

13
 CONCLUSION. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF2Ae59aQR4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UElC_YZ0Eo&ab_channel=Scribbr

Restate the thesis statement:

Summarize the points

Finish (Reflection / Teaching):

REFERENCES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmVZP2309P4&ab_channel=Scribbr

FOR MORE INFO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvMSeg1s7uc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02VH8GvMYoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzvKXYRp-ig

14
GRAMMAR
Look at the list of words below that work to identify similarities and differences in
different aspects under analysis when you write your essay:

Compare and Contrast Signal Words

Compare contrast signal words are used to highlight similarities and differences.

The following signal words help us emphasize that two aspects are being
compared:

also - as well as - both - in the same way - in addition - just as - like - similarly –
too

The following signal words help us emphasize that two aspects are being
contrasted:

although - but - compared with - even though - however - in contrast to -

instead
less than - more than - nevertheless - on the other hand - otherwise - rather
than
regardless - though - unless - unlike - while – yet

Connectors

Look at the list of words below that work to connect your ideas when you write
your essay:

For a start - To summarize – Eventually - In the end - At last – Furthermore - In

addition -Lastly

Last but not least - To conclude - At the end – First – Second – Third – Then –
Next – After

As soon as – Later – Before – Finally- Meanwhile - In conclusion – Subsequently –

Firstly

In the first place - First of all - To begin

15
 ESSAY CHECKLIST

1. Introduction: It has a clear main idea with an interesting hook

2. Body Paragraphs: It addresses one particular aspect of each body paragraph where

each one offers clear comparisons or contrasts with examples and evidence.

3. Conclusion: It concludes by rephrasing the main idea.

4. It uses at least 5 compare and contrast words.

5. It uses at least 5 connectors to give coherence to the text

6. It uses at least 5 vocabulary words from module 1

7. It uses at least 5 adjectives and adverbs

REFERENCING SUGGESTIONS.

How do you add your reference list at the end? Well! it depends on your
sources. Look at the examples:

YouTube Video

Person or group who uploaded a video. (Date of publication). Title of video

[Video]. Website host. URL ←-

Example: [Salto de ajuste de texto] Tasty. (2018, March 7). 7 recipes you can make in 5
minutes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5wHw6l11o

Online sources
Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL
Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium.
https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

16