ESL Lesson 3

Economic growth

Lesson Objective: To have students discuss how banking work by giving loans that allow our world economy to expand.

Open Discussion Topic:

Start by asking what banks do. Some examples may be keeping your money safe, deposit boxes for valuable things, making loans for homes, cars, businesses etc… Keep in mind other subjects can come up related to banks like Jessie James and bank robbers, famous bank robberies and jewel heists, that all counts too, but try to keep the conversation on how are banks able to make loans? Explain that, it is assumed with unlimited (limitless) oil and gas there will be limitless growth in businesses around the world for all time. The bank gives a 30 year loan to Tom Jones because the bank assumes (thinks) there will still be jobs and a growing world economy throughout the 30 years that will allow Tom Jones to pay back his home loan every month. Business starts up or car loans operate on the same system of beliefs, there will always be energy to make the world economy grow and the loan money will be paid back. Now as Peak Oil is becoming more well known in our societies, it looks like there will have to be some limit on growth. What was before limitless and cheap now has a limit and is getting more expensive year on year.

Extension Activity: Have your students guess at the price they think oil will be in 20 years, 2027, and how much a bottle of soda, a car, a house will cost at that time. Also ask them how much money someone will need to earn per year to have a comfortable lifestyle based on the price of items in 2027. This is a good way to explain inflation.

Discussion Activity 1:

Gather your student’s ideas on banking and how they see themselves using banks for their future life plans in the next twenty years. The regular family that will need a loan to buy a house, car or send their child to university. See if they also understand the need for business loans to keep the economy going. How will energy limitations or limited energy effect giant corporations that need loans to expand on the stock markets of the planet? Business X needs a new office building and then hires more employees. These loans create new businesses and jobs that expand, and then the economy expands. Can they trace a larger plan for the future world economy expanding to 10 billion people? What about reversal of economic growth, goods and services?

Discussion Activity 2:

Have your students brainstorm to link goods involved in the construction of a shopping mall, skyscraper, house or building. If there is no new construction started, what will be affected back down the supply chain of goods and service? This is called the trickle down effect. Have them think about what is used to build a house, shopping mall or skyscraper, this list is truly endless. Link the services together to the building industry, if no new skyscrapers are being built than the elevator company will have no orders and need fewer workers. What parts are there in an elevator? Well, the plastic buttons that you push to select a floor are made by company Q, the metal cables that lift the elevator up and down are made by company X, the metal to make the cables will come from a mine somewhere which will dig less ore and need less workers. You can do this trace back with each and every product or material they come up with. Work all the way back down the line of goods or services that will be less needed or less used. What do they think about it? How will it affect them, someone in their family or their country?

Unit 3 Focus:

What throughout history has been used as payment for something? Follow the mediums (forms) of payment from the gold and silver standard called hard currencies, to today's payment methods of credit cards and cash sometimes called fiat money. Also through history we have traded and bartered; labour, food, gems, tools, spices, silk, seashells, jade, animal skins, cocoa, coffee, and farm animals etc…

Extension Topic: As currencies (physical money) of certain countries loose or gain value, what will the medium (form) of payment that modern society uses change to? This will include all stocks, bonds, futures, credit, real estate, currency and futures markets that the present system of limitless growth, with limitless oil and energy operates.

Extension Activity: Review large numbers from 1,000 to 1 billion. After reviewing thousands, millions and billions have your students in pairs speak and write the numbers they hear. Student A thinks of a number and tells it to student B who will write the number they hear. Good listening exercise and number review.