E. The Woman (Women) I Respect

The objectives of this section are to address the issue of role modelling, to brainstorm words that describe people and to practise giving impromptu speeches.

1. Vocabulary brainstorm

* Write on the board: "The qualities of the woman (women) I respect most are. . ."

* Ask learners to brainstorm in groups.

* Encourage learners to think about synonyms and antonyms for each word.

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Learners might want to share these objects by bringing them into class, or drawing them on the board during the presentation.

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I tested this idea with a group of female engineering graduate learners who felt that when they shared with each other the strengths of the women they respect, there was an overwhelming feeling of understanding. Trust was the key to this activity's success. They were interested in learning vocabulary as well as in practising their presentation and writing skills. They found the exercise enjoyable and useful. The presentations helped generate more ideas for their writing activities which consisted of three stages. Although re-writing is an unfamiliar or a dreaded task for some of them, they all appreciated the opportunity to practise writing and using their newly acquired vocabulary. We also discussed the importance of proofreading; they were either unfamiliar with it or reluctant to practise it.


2. Presentation

* Encourage learners to use newly acquired vocabulary by asking them to work together or on their own to prepare for a brief presentation on the topic: "Who is (are) the woman (women) I respect most?" Some questions to consider:

  • What are her qualities?
  • What object(s) would you associate her with? Why?
  • How has she influenced you?

3. Writing

* Ask learners to write about the same questions they based their oral presentations on. This writing exercise will give learners a chance to use their new vocabulary in writing. In addition, they are encouraged to elaborate on other thoughts that might have occurred to them during the presentations. Depending on the level of the group, learners are encouraged to submit several drafts of their writing to practise their editing and proofreading skills.


F. Women and Men in the Media

The objective of this section is to raise awareness of the often biased and stereotyped portrayal of gender and culture in the media.

1. Examining the media

* Collect pictures of women and men and gender-associated objects from flyers, magazines, newspapers, posters, children's toy or clothing catalogues published in Canada and other countries. It might take some time to collect good pictures.

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If you decide to use pictures from learners, give them sufficient time to collect the materials. Alternatively, this activity can be deferred until learners have had a chance to look at the pictures collected by the instructor, so that they will have a better idea as to what pictures to collect. In any case, they will need to find a couple of pictures to do exercise F-3, below.


* Invite learners to do the same, especially from newspapers or magazines from their own cultures.

* Examine and discuss the collection with the learners. Some questions to consider:

  • How do the women/men in the pictures look?
  • Are these common, ordinary people? Why do you think this is so?
  • What are these pictures trying to sell?
  • Who are the advertisements for?
  • Why are we looking at these pictures?
  • Who is not here? Why?
  • In your country, what do men and women look like on TV or in newspapers? How is it similar to or different from how they appear in the Canadian media?
  • Do you like or dislike these pictures? Why?

2. Writing

* Learners write about their feelings about this activity or some of the questions or issues that have been raised. The lists of questions from the group or class discussions can be used as a guideline.

3. Presentation

* Ask learners to choose a picture or two of women and men, preferably from newspapers or magazines from their culture. Ask them to make a presentation to the class about the pictures. Some questions to consider:

  • Why did you choose this picture?
  • What do you like or dislike about it?
  • How is it similar or different from the pictures we looked at?

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