National identity cards

Introduction

This lesson focuses on the use of national identity cards. Students begin with an activity to think about the information that they have - or would expect to have – on a national identity card. They then ask each other questions about their own experiences with forms of ID, before reading about the viewpoints of two people about the use of national ID cards. Students brainstorm arguments for / against the use of national ID cards before participating in a role play. They have the option of practising the pronunciation of some vowel sounds. 

You can use a student worksheet for this lesson, or a presentation for a no-printing option.   

Learning outcomes

• Ask and answer questions about experiences related to national identity cards
• Read short texts and identify viewpoints and for / against arguments
• Participate in a role play and use expressions to ask for and give opinions, agree and disagree
• Some students may practise sounds /eɪ/ and /ə/

Age and level

13-17, Adults (B1+)

Time

Approximately 60-70 minutes + optional 10-minute activity

Materials

The materials can be downloaded below. 

• Lesson plan
• Presentation
• Student worksheet

Task 1: Lead-in (10 mins)

• Show slide 2 or refer students to Task 1 in the student worksheet. Ask students to tick the information that appears on their national identity cards. 
• If students don't have a national identity card, ask them to tick the information that they would expect to find on one. 
• Ask the class:
  o    Is there any information on their national identity card that isn’t included in the table?
  o    Do you think any other information should be included on a national identity card?
  o    Do you think that national identity cards should be mandatory?
  Note: You could explain that some countries (e.g. Australia, UK) do not have national identity cards. 

Task 2: Pronunciation focus (10 mins) (Optional)

• This activity focuses on two sounds: /eɪ/ as in the ‘a’ sound in ‘name’ and /ə/ as in the final sound of ‘er’ in ‘number’. Use this activity if this would be useful practice for your students. 
• Before students begin, check that they can hear the difference between the two sounds. Say the words ‘name’ and ‘number’ and have them repeat the words. Alternatively, play sound files of these words. They are easy to find in an online dictionary e.g. 
  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/name
  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/number
• Now show slide 3 or refer students to Task 2 in the student worksheet. Explain that students should put the words in the correct group according to the pronunciation of the underlined letters. It may be useful to do some examples with the class first.
• If your students are not confident with / new to pronunciation exercises, you could do the exercise together with the class. Say / play the audio for each word, then ask students to vote for the correct group. 
• Alternatively, put students into pairs or small groups and ask them to categorise the words. They could use online dictionaries to listen to the words if that is possible. Check answers with the class. 
  Answers:
  /eɪ/ as in ‘name’: date, occupation, status
  /ə/ as in ‘number’: address, fingerprint, gender, marital, occupation, personal, signature, status 
• If you have time, you could look at spelling / pronunciation patterns e.g. /ə/ for words ending in ‘er’, and words ending in ‘tion’. 
  Note: This exercise is based on typical British English pronunciation. Pronunciation may be different in other kinds of English. 

Task 3: Speaking activity (10-15 mins)

• Show slide 4 or refer students to Task 3 in the student worksheet. 
• Explain that students will ask questions to find others in the class who confirm the sentences i.e. they should find someone who has lost their identity card or passport. When they find someone who has, they should ask a follow-up question to find more information. They should note the name and extra information in the table / in their notebooks. 
• If necessary, elicit initial / follow-up questions that your students can ask e.g. 
  o    Have you ever lost your...? Where did you lose it?
  o    Have you had to show your ...? Why did you have to show it?
  o    Do you like / hate your...? Why do you like / hate it?
  o    Do you think national...? Why? Why not?
• When students are ready, they move around and ask and answer questions of different classmates. If you have a large class, students can ask classmates sitting around them. If necessary, demonstrate the activity with a student. 
• Give students a few minutes to ask and answer questions, then end the activity. Ask some students to share their findings with the class. 
• Focus on the final question: Do you think national identity cards are necessary? Ask some students to give their opinions and to say why / why not. 

Task 4: Reading (10-15 mins)

• Explain that national identity cards are not used in the UK. The UK government attempted to introduce ID cards in the early 2000s but they were not successful. The introduction of national ID cards remains an issue. 
• Explain that students are going to read the viewpoints of two British people: one who is for the introduction of mandatory national ID cards, and one who is against. 
• Show slide 5 of the presentation or refer students to Task 4 in the student worksheet. Ask them to read Rachel’s text. As they read, they should note the reasons Rachel gives for being for the introduction of national identity cards.
• Now ask students to read Nick’s text. As they read, they should note the reasons Nick gives for being against the introduction of national identity cards. Nick’s text is on slide 6 of the presentation. 
• Give students a little time to compare their ideas, then ask them to give Rachel’s / Nick’s arguments. Help with vocabulary where necessary. 
  Answers
  Rachel: ID cards are convenient in everyday life e.g. to prove age, remove need to carry numerous documents & to prove who you are for everyday things (e.g. opening a bank account); could reduce crime levels
  Nick: invasion of personal freedom and privacy; we have other documents to prove who we are; other countries manage without them; it would cost taxpayers a lot of money
• Ask students to say who they agree with and why.

Task 5: Role play (20 mins)

• Divide the class into two halves. One half will play the role of Rachel (who is for the use of national identity cards; the other half will play the role of Nick (who is against the use of national identity cards). You could allocate students, or they could choose a group according to their beliefs. 
• Students in each group work together to brainstorm arguments for / against the use of national identity cards. Give them some time to prepare ideas and help if necessary. Some extra suggestions are given below. 
  o    For: National ID cards can help to: prevent fraud and identity theft / terrorism; make delivery of public services / benefits / health care more efficient; keep voting secure; give everyone in a country recognised status; manage immigration; useful for travel within regions (e.g. the European Union)
  o    Against: concerns about storing data safely and potential misuse of data; can be used to track, control, monitor and discriminate against citizens; some groups may find it difficult to obtain cards & may lose access to essential services 
• When students are ready, put two ‘Rachel’ and two ‘Nick’ students together to make groups of four. In their small groups, they argue for / against the use of national identity cards.
• You can monitor and provide support and extra language input. If the class are willing, some of the pairs can then do their role play in front of the group. 
  Note: Before the role play, you could elicit some useful phrases (these are also available on slide 7)
• Giving opinion: In my opinion..., Don't you believe that...?, From my point of view..., The way I see it...
• Asking for opinion: Why do you say that?, What do you think?, How do you see it?
• Agreeing: I agree with you up to a point, I see what you're saying, OK, that's true.
• Disagreeing: I just don't agree, I think you're confused, I don't agree at all!
  

Task 6: Famous ID cards (10 mins)

• As a fun activity to end the lesson, ask students to make a fake ID card for a famous person. First, create an example together on the board, then get students to create one in pairs. 
• Ask pairs to share their ID cards with the class or in groups. However, they should not give the name or surname of the person. Can their classmates say who the ID card belongs to?