THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
THE ECONOMY OF
THE EUROPEAN
UNION
TEACHERS’ NOTES
Esther Gonzàlez Jové
December 2010
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
INTRODUCTION
The aim of these teaching notes is to provide guidance on how to use the students’
worksheets and supplementary materials.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
UNIT 1: THE EUROPEAN UNION’S ECONOMY
LESSON 1: THE ECONOMIC SECTORS TIMING: 7 hours
CONTENT
The economic sectors
The relationship between the level of economic development and the percentage of
people working in each sector.
PROCEDURE
1ST HOUR
In this first hour, the key ideas are introduced to the students. The language tips needed
are provided in the students’ worksheets.
Brainstorming. Ask students some questions such as: what do you know about the
economic sectors? / Can you tell me something about the economic sectors? / What
are the key words to come to your mind when talking about the economic sectors?
Running dictation (see supplementary materials).
o Write on the board and explain any key words or phrases from your running
dictations – sentences that your students may find difficult to understand such
as steel, coal, goods…
o Display each sheet of paper with the definition of each economic sector around
the classroom.
o Students will work in pairs.
o Assign an economic sector to each pair and give the corresponding sheet which
includes the title of the economic sector.
o Each group must have a runner/reader and a writer.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
o First the runner goes around the room to find his or her economic sector.
o The runner reads the sentences committing them to memory.
o Tell students that they are not allowed to touch the paper, take the paper back to
the group or shout out the sentence across the room.
o Once they think they can remember the sentence they return to the group and
repeat to them what it said.
o The writer of the group writes down the sentence as it is dictated. Tell students
that if the runner forgets part of the sentence they are allowed to go back to the
paper and re-read it.
o Then the group put the sentences in the correct order.
o Tell students that the team that finishes first wins.
o At this point ask each group to read aloud the definition of their economic sector.
PowerPoint
o Show and explain the PowerPoint about the economic sectors. (slides 1 – 5)
o Ask students to take some notes while viewing the presentation.
Ending the lesson
o One minute papers. At the end of a CLIL lesson tell students that you are going
to ask them some questions related to what they have been doing in this
session: what was the most important thing you learnt today? What remains
unclear? What two important questions do you still have? What would you like
to know more about? This technique provides feedback to the teacher.
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Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
2ND HOUR
In this second hour, the economic sectors are explained in depth and some activities are
done in order to check the students’ understanding.
Let’s just recap on what we did the other day. Ask them some questions such as:
what are the economic sectors? Name an economic activity for each economic sector.
What were the main things we worked on last lesson?
Activity 11
o Find a text which has key words and expressions to be learnt. For example:
There are four main factors of production, known as INPUTS that are used to
produce the economy’s goods and services. These are land, labour, capital and
enterprise. Land is used to describe the gifts of nature used in the production
process. These are raw materials which are found on, in or above the Earth.
Examples of land are soil, fish and coal. Labour is the term used to describe any
production activity, whether it involves mental or physical effort. Examples of
labour are a teacher or a fireman. Capital is the name given to items necessary
to produce a good or service. Examples of capital are machines, vehicles and
money. Enterprise is the most important factor of production as this is the
process of bringing together the other factors to produce a good or service. It is
carried out through an entrepreneur.
Key words and expressions
inputs produce goods and services labour
capital enterprise raw materials nature
land entrepreneur factors of production item
known as are used to Earth
1 Adapted from, Deller S. and Price C. ‘Teaching Other Subjects Through English’ (CLIL), 2007
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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o Make a copy for each student.
There are f__ __r main __act__ __ __ of pro__ __ __ __ __ __ __, kn__ __n as
in__ __ts that are u__ __ __ to produ__ __ the ec__n__my’s go__ __ __ and
ser__ __ __ __ __. These are l__ __ __, __ __ __our, ca__ __ __al and
enter__ __ __se. L__ __ __ is __ __ ed to describe the gifts of __ __ __ure used in the
pro__ __ __tion process. These are r__ __ mater__ __ __ __ which are found on, in or
above the __ __ __th. Examples of land are s __ __ __, fish and c__ __ __.
__ __ __ our is the term u__ __ __ to describe any production activity, whether it
involves m__ __ __ __ __ or physical effort. Examples of labour are a
t__ __ __ __ __ __ or a f__ __ __ __ __ __. Capi__ __ __ is the name given to
i__ __ __ __ necessary to produce a g__ __ __ or s__ __ __ __ __ __ . Examples of
capital are machines, vehicles and m__ __ __ __. Enter__ __ __ __ __ is the most
important fac__ __ __ of __ __ __ __ __ __tion as this is the process of bringing
together the other factors to produce a good or service. It is carried out through an
entre__ __ __ __ __ __ __.
o Write the title of the text on the board. Tell the students that you are going to
read the text to them.
o Ask students to work in pairs to write a list of key words and phrases they think
could be in the text. Divide the board in half and ask the students to read out
their words. Write these on one side of the board. Add and explain any new
words from your key words list that are not on the board.
o Write the list of expressions on the other side of the board. Discuss the
expressions and translate into L1 if necessary.
o Read the text. Ask the students to listen but not write anything down.
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o Read the text twice more. Now tell the students to write down any of the words
and phrases they hear while you are reading, but not to make notes about the
text.
o When you have finished reading put students into groups of three or four. Give
the groups time to compare their individual lists.
o Give every student a copy of the gapped text. Tell the students they can work
together to build up the text. Explain that they can send members of their group
to ask other groups for help, but they must not ask you for help. Give the
students time to work on the text.
o Stop the activity just before the groups have completed the whole text.
o The students take it in turns to read out their texts. When they have a gap they
nominate someone from another group to continue. If nobody knows the missing
word, give them clues such as it’s the opposite of…, it means the same as…,
another word for this could be…
o Show the completed text on the screen or whiteboard for a final check.
o Ask students to write down the key words and expressions from the text and
take it in turns to explain them to their partners.
o Homework. Ask the students to write sentences using the expressions from the
board.
PowerPoint
o Show and explain the PowerPoint about the economic sectors. (slides 6 – 12)
o Ask students to take some notes while viewing the presentation.
Activity 2 and 3.
Students work individually in both activities.
In activity 2, ask students to match the definitions of different types of economic sectors
with the names given. Then, in activity 3, ask students to identify the types of economic
sector that are in the photos and write the letters in the correct categories in activity 2.
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Ask students to check the correct answers on the whiteboard.
The solution is as follows:
The secondary sector: this sector includes activities which process raw materials or
assemble parts to make a finished product. Photos: A, E, H
The tertiary sector: activities such as food, health, personal and entertainment, fall
under this category. Photos: B, F, I
The primary sector: industries in this category make use of the extracted natural
resources. Photos: C, D
The quaternary sector: the sector of industry including the intellectual services such as
research, development and information. It was once considered part of the tertiary
sector. Photos: G
Activity 4 and 5.
Students work in pairs in both activities.
Activity 4
Ask students to classify the jobs given as primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary
sectors. As a whole class they compare their answers.
The solution is as follows:
1) Teacher: tertiary
2) Miner: primary
3) Software developer: quaternary
4) Farmer: primary
5) Salesman: tertiary
6) People who work in a textile factory: secondary
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Activity 5
Ask students to write their own examples trying not to repeat any of the examples given
in the previous exercises. When they have finished ask them to write their examples on
the whiteboard and check their answers by asking their peers or teacher.
Some examples for each economic sector are suggested.
Primary sector: fisherman, woodcutter.
Secondary sector: builder.
Tertiary sector: plumber, bus driver.
Quaternary sector: scientist.
3RD HOUR
In this third hour students will continue working on the economic sectors doing some
different activities such as a collocation activity and a sector game. After having done
some exercises the employment structures will be introduced to the students.
Let’s just recap on what we have been doing since we started the unit.
o Question-and-Answer Pairs. Firstly, students work alone in order to write five
questions related to the topic which has been explained in class. Secondly, they
write the answers to their questions on a separate sheet of paper. Thirdly,
students working in pairs exchange questions but not answers. And finally, after
having answered their partner’s questions, answers are compared. Go round the
groups checking their work.
Activity 6.
Students work in pairs. In this activity, students name a secondary and a tertiary
industry that may arise from each primary industry. The first example is given as a
model. Some definitions are provided in order to help students’ understanding. Then
ask students to give their own example starting with naming a primary industry. When
they have finished as a whole class they compare their answers. Invite any students
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Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
who think their example is wrong to check their answer.
The solution is as follows:
Primary sector Secondary sector Tertiary sector
1. Fishing Fishery Restaurant
2. Mining Oil refinery Gas station
3. Logging Paper mill Stationery store
4. Quarrying Stone manufacturing
plant
Furniture store
5. Sugar plantation Sugar refinery Grocery store
MY OWN EXAMPLE
6. Farming Factory farming Supermarket
Activity 7. COLLOCATION ACTIVITY
Students work in pairs. Explain what a collocation is to the students. Ask students to
match the nouns given to the verbs given. Tell students that some verbs can go in 2 or
3 places. The first example is given.
an idea a hospital a new plan rice
cars medical care steel microchips
wine plastic goods new products new fashions
a business financial services dresses
BUILD
Hospital
PROVIDE
Financial services
Medical care
MANUFACTURE
Cars
Steel
Plastic goods
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Activity 8. SECTOR GAME.
Students work in pairs or in groups of four depending on the number of students. Ask
students to write a list of twelve jobs, three for each economic sector. Tell students that
they have to make an effort to not repeat any examples given in the exercises done
before. They can use a dictionary or internet if necessary. When they have finished,
ask students to write the examples on the different pieces of paper provided by the
teacher and pass them to another group. Teacher will provide the name of the
economic sectors on different pieces of paper. Each group classify each example
(piece of paper) into primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary.
PRIMARY SECTOR
SECONDARY SECTOR
TERTIARY SECTOR
QUATERNARY SECTOR
PRODUCE
Microchips
Rice
Wine
DEVELOP
An idea
A new plan
A business
DESIGN
Dresses
New products
New fashions
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Brainstorming
o Ask some questions to check the students’ understanding concerning the
employment structure such as: what is the most important economic sector in a
rich country? What is the most important economic sector in a poor country?
What does MEDCs mean? What does LEDCs mean? Tell me the name of a rich
country, a poor country and an emerging and developing country.
PowerPoint
o Show and explain the PowerPoint (slides 13– 17). At the same time do the
activities 1 and 2 suggested in the presentation.
o Ask students to take some notes while viewing the presentation.
4TH HOUR
In this fourth hour an ICT activity related to the employment structure is done.
Let’s just recap on what we did the other day. Let’s start with activity 3 suggested in
the PowerPoint in order to review the content explained in the previous session. You
can also ask what were the main things we worked on last lesson?
Activities 9 – 13. ICT activities based on employment structure. Students will work
with a Word and Excel document.
Activity 9
Students work individually if there are enough computers. Ask students to complete
these tables with the information they could find at the following website:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html
The solution is:
SPAIN
SECTOR % LABOUR FORCE BY OCCUPATION
Primary 4,2
Industry 24
Services 71,7
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ETHIOPIA
SECTOR % LABOUR FORCE BY OCCUPATION
Primary 85
Industry 5
Services 10
CHINA
SECTOR % LABOUR FORCE BY OCCUPATION
Primary 39,5
Industry 27,2
Services 33,2
Activity 10
Ask students to open Microsoft Excel, copy each table in a different sheet and make a
pie chart with the information given above.
is a pie chart
Activity 11
Then ask students to copy and paste each pie chart in their word document.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Activity 12
Students work in pairs now. Ask students to look at the diagrams above and then
answer the questions based on the employment structures. Tell students to justify their
answers using the information provided by the tables below.
Spain
Ethiopia
is
the
richest
poorest
country because most people
work in the
primary
secondary
tertiary
sector such
as
China
is
the/a/
an
richest
poorest
emerging
and
developing
country because
the labour force is
more equally
distributed
between
the three
sectors
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
A possible solution is:
Activity 13
Ask students to answer the following questions based on the previous activities.
1) What percentage of people work in tertiary jobs in China? 33 %
2) In which country does the greatest percentage of people work in the primary
sector? In Ethiopia
3) Give reasons why there are a low percentage of primary workers in Spain.
Use the underlined sentence to start your answer + because + reasons
4) Suggest reasons why it might be difficult for secondary industry to develop in a
LEDC or poor country.
Use the underlined sentence to start your answer + because + reasons
Spain is the richest country because most people work in the tertiary
sector such as banking and tourism.
Ethiopia is the poorest country because most people work in the primary
sector such as farming.
China is an emerging or developing country because the labour force is
more equally distributed between the three sectors.
There are a low percentage of primary workers in Spain because on
the one hand many jobs are now done by machines so fewer workers
are needed and on the other hand many people prefer to work in jobs
that are easier to do and pay better than primary jobs such as fishing
and mining.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Ending lesson
o Three minutes review. Stop any time during the lesson in this case at the end
and give teams three minutes to review what has been discussed or has been
done.
5TH HOUR
This fifth hour is dedicated to summing up through an activity concerning the employment
structure in Catalonia, an activity called mastermind and finally a student-generated
puzzle.
Activity 14
Students work in pairs. Ask students to answer the following questions:
CATALONIA 2009
Types of work Male Female Total % Total
Primary 45,500 12,400 57,900 2 %
Industry and construction 722,100 228,300 950.400 30 %
Tertiary 978,100 1,202,500 2.180.600 68 %
TOTAL 1.745.700 1.443.200 3.188.900 100 %
Source: Catalan statistics website www.idescat.cat from the Labour Force Survey
It might be difficult for secondary industry to develop in a poor country
because on the one hand people don’t have enough money to buy
manufactured goods and on the other hand there is a low level of
education and training in industrial skills.
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a) Complete the table of statistics with the missing Information. (Total workers and the
% Totals). You can round the figures in the % Total column to the nearest whole
number.
b) Which of these statements are true and which are false?
The lowest % of workers work in the primary sector. TRUE
More males than females work in tertiary jobs. FALSE
Most people work in the secondary sector. FALSE
About three quarters of all jobs are in the tertiary sector. FALSE
c) Explain why in Catalonia so few people work in the primary sector.
Look back at your previous work. Start the sentence with because.
Activity 15. STUDENT-GENERATED WORD PUZZLE2
Students work in groups of four. Give half the groups use Puzzle A’ and the other
groups use ‘Puzzle B’. Ask them to write a clue for each of the words in their puzzle.
Stress, that they all need to write the clues, because they will work alone in the next
step. Go round the groups checking their work. Put students into A and B pairs. Tell
them not to let their partner see their chart. Students take it in turns to ask their partner
for a clue for any of their blanks, for example, please give me the clue for number 5.
Then they write the answers in their chart.
2 Adapted from, Deller S. and Price C. ‘Teaching Other Subjects Through English’ (CLIL), 2007
There are a low percentage of primary workers in Catalonia because
on the one hand many jobs are now done by machines so fewer
workers are needed and on the other hand many people prefer to work
in jobs that are easier to do and pay better than primary jobs such as
fishing and mining.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
1 F O R E S T R Y
2 G O O D
3 R A W M A T E R I A L S
4 C O N S T R U C T I O N
5 R E S E A R C H
6 C O M M E R C E
7 D A I R Y P R O D U C T S
8 T E X T I L
9 F A R M I N G
10 S E R V I C E
11 S T O C K E X C H A N G E S
12 F A C T O R Y
13 M U L T I N A T I O N A L
14 L O G G I N G
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Activity 16. MASTERMIND3
o Write a list of about eight questions related to a previously taught topic. They
should be questions which elicit fairly short answers.
o Example:
1. What is the most important economic sector in a rich country?
2. List three inputs in the production of a car.
3. What is the other name for the service sector?
4. What is the most important economic sector in a poor country?
5. What is the name of the economic sector which extracts raw materials from
the Earth?
6. Write down an example of a secondary job.
7. What kind of activities does the quaternary sector include?
8. Where are More Economically Developed Countries located?
o Ask two students to come to the front of the class. These could be volunteers, or
you may want to choose them. Explain that they are going to be ‘the experts’.
They will have to work together to tell the class the answers to your questions.
o Get the rest of the class to write the numbers 1 – 8 down the side of a page.
o Tell the class you are going to ask ‘the experts’ eight questions. The class have
to listen to their answers and decide if they are right or wrong. They put a tick or
a cross next to the matching question number in their side of the page. You
3 Adapted from, Deller S. and Price C. ‘Teaching Other Subjects Through English’ (CLIL), 2007
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need to do the same.
o Ask the experts the questions, and check that the class are marking the experts’
answers right or wrong. Then let the experts sit down and relax.
o Write the numbers 1 – 8 on the board. Go through the questions and count the
number of ticks and crosses from the class for each one. In this way you will get
feedback about how much understanding or misunderstanding there is. It also
gives feedback to the students as to the areas they need to revise.
o Repeat the questions which ‘the experts’ answered correctly and get different
students to write on the board the correct answers that they heard from ‘the
experts’.
o Now repeat the questions which were answered incorrectly and invite students
to tell you the right answer. They write these on the board.
o Ask the class to copy all the answers into their notebooks, leaving a line after
each one.
o Ask the students to re-write in their notebooks the questions to the answers.
This could be done for homework.
6TH HOUR
In this sixth hour a jigsaw is done.
Activity 17
Explain what a jigsaw is following these instructions.
o Jigsaw Instructions
In this activity students are divided into home groups of three and given
an agenda (final task) which poses a series of eight questions on the
three economic sectors in the European Union. Give every student a
copy of the final task.
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The Home groups are asked to discuss these for about ten minutes and
share their initial thoughts.
Then the teacher suggests that the best way to handle the task is to
share responsibility for discovering specific information relating to the
different areas covered by the questions.
After that, each home group is subsequently split up, with members from
each going to one of three expert groups. There could be more than three
expert groups depending on the number of students.
The expert groups are each given a specific aspect to explore related to
each economic sector in the European Union. Give every student of the
expert group a copy of the text.
Approximately thirty minutes are allowed for this. Tell each expert to take
some notes because in the following step he or she will work alone
because she or he will be the only expert of a specific economic sector in
the home group.
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GROUP 1
Europe has some of the world’s richest farmland. Farming, except in parts of eastern and
southern Europe, is highly mechanised and efficient. Only 5% of the labour force works in
this sector because many jobs are now done by machines and many people prefer to work
in jobs that are easier to do and pay better than primary jobs.
On high mountains and in the far north of Europe (Scandinavian countries) farming is
impossible because it is too cold for crops to grow. But evergreen trees such as pines and
firs can survive cold winters.
Further south, in the centre of Europe, most of the land is suitable for farming. It produces
a wide variety of crops including cereals, sugar beet, potatoes and all sorts of fruit and
vegetables. In the United Kingdom, cereals, sugar beet, potatoes are produced.
In the Mediterranean countries, farmers can grow fruit such as oranges and lemons,
grapes and olives. Farmers also grow other fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes,
lettuces, cucumbers.
Grass grows easily where there is enough rain. Many European farmers in the United
Kingdom, Ireland and Nordic countries keep animals that eat grass such as cows, sheep
or goats. France, Germany, Poland are Europe's greatest producers of dairy products
(milk, butter, cheese). Leaders in the production of beef and veal include Belgium,
Germany and Italy. Farmers also keep pigs especially in Spain, Denmark, Germany and
Lithuania or poultry such as chickens in France, Spain, Czech Republic and Latvia.
Reindeer are typical in Scandinavian countries.
Forestry centres largely in northern Europe particularly in Finland, Austria, Germany and
Sweden. Parts of France, Romania and Poland also produce timber.
Fishing has always been important for people in Europe. It is an important activity
especially in northern Europe. Modern fishing boats, such as factory trawlers can catch
large numbers of fish. To make sure that enough fish are left in the sea, European
countries have agreed rules about how many fish can be caught and about using nets that
let young fish escape.
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There are some definitions and images to help your students understand the text:
WORD DEFINITION
Crop: A cultivated plant that is grown on a large scale
commercially, especially a cereal, fruit, or vegetable.
Evergreen: A tree or bush that has green leaves all through the year.
Fir: Tree that grows in cold countries and has leaves that are
like needles.
Scandinavian countries: Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Timber: Wood prepared for use in building and carpentry
Trawler:
A fishing boat that uses large nets that it drags through the
sea behind it.
Rule: A statement of what must be or must not be done in a
particular situation or when playing a game.
Ask students 1 to read the text about the primary sector in the European Union and
answer the following questions.
1. Ask students to place the flashcards in the correct location on the map. Make
enough copies of each one.
Dairy products Cereals Grapes & Wine Olives & Olive oil
Timber Potatoes Sugar beet Fish
Pigs Sheep Cows Beef
Poultry/eggs Vegetables Reindeer
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2. Why is farming not possible in the north of Europe and on high mountains?
Farming is not possible in the north of Europe and on high mountains because it is
too cold for crops to grow.
3. What is the wood used for?
The wood is used to make many things from houses and furniture to paper and
cardboard packaging.
4. What percentage of people work in the primary sector?
5 %
5. Name some farming products found in Segrià. Search on the Internet if necessary.
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GROUP 2
The European Union is together with the United States and Japan one of the major
industrial world powers. Moreover, some of the world’s leading multinational companies
(Nokia Corporation, L'Oréal Group, Bayer, British Petrol, etc.) have their headquarters in
EU member states.
By employment, 28 per cent of the labour force is employed in this sector. Although the
labour force is expensive, it is highly skilled. As a whole, Western Europe is industrially
and technologically more advanced than Eastern Europe.
The most important industries in the European Union are: iron and steel, automobiles,
aeronautics and aerospace, electromechanics, textile, wood and paper, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals and food manufacturing.
Concerning aeronautics, some of the world’s best planes are built in the European Union –
for example, the ‘Airbus’. Different European countries make different parts of an Airbus,
and then a team of engineers puts the whole plane together. In addition, the fastest ever
passenger plane, the Concorde, was designed by a team of French and British engineers.
Concorde could fly at 2,160 km/h –twice the speed of sound – and could cross the Atlantic
in less than three hours! Concorde took its final flight in 2003. Ariane – a joint project
between several European countries is also important. The Ariane rocket is used to launch
satellites, which are needed for TV and mobile phone networks, and for scientific research.
Shipbuilding centres largely in the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Poland, Spain and
the Baltic states. Paper and other wood products are manufactured mainly in Scandinavia
and Germany.
Industry in the EU is basically concentrated in specific regions, particularly in a NW - SE
divide running from the UK through to the north of Italy including France, Belgium, Holland
and Germany. Also important is the northern European strip running from southern
Sweden through Denmark and down to the English Channel. These areas are called
industrial belts or axes.
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Here are some definitions to help your students understand the text:
WORD DEFINITION
Headquarters: A place from which an organization is controlled; the
people who work there.
Labour force: All the people in a particular country who are of the right
age to work.
Skilled: Having enough ability, experience and knowledge to be
able to do something.
Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Rocket:
A vehicle designed to travel through space.
Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Strip:
Like a belt.
Ask students to read the text and answer the following questions:
1. What percentage of people work in the secondary sector?
28 %
2. Where is EU industry concentrated?
The EU industry is concentrated in specific regions, particularly in a NW - SE divide
running from the UK through to the north of Italy including France, Belgium, Holland
and Germany. Also important is the northern European strip running from southern
Sweden through Denmark and down to the English Channel.
3. What are the most important types of industry? Name six.
Aeronautics, shipbuilding, textile, wood and paper, chemical and pharmaceutical.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
4. Complete the table below. Search the internet if necessary. Add your own example.
MULTINATIONAL COMPANY COUNTRY
Nokia Corporation Finland
L’Oréal Group France
Bayer Germany
British Petrol Great Britain
My example
Ikea Sweden
5. Locate the main important industrial belts or industrial axis on the following map of
Europe.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
GROUP 3
The tertiary sector is the sector of the economy that concerns services. Services generate
67 % of the employment.
The tertiary sector in the European Union is concentrated in four major activities: tourism,
transport, trade and business.
The European Union is a major tourist destination fortified by its rich culture and heritage,
attracting visitors from outside of the Union and citizens travelling inside it. France is the
world’s number one tourist destination for international visitors, followed by Spain, Italy and
the United Kingdom.
The European Union has developed transportation networks, especially in Western
Europe which has excellent rail, road, air and water transportation systems providing
efficient systems for the movement of people and goods. Most capital cities are linked by
highways. The EU has some of the world’s busiest airports such as London, Paris, Madrid,
Frankfurt and Amsterdam. It also has active ports.
Europe has a leading role in international finance. Europeans are the most important
investors in such countries as India and China. The European Union is the world’s largest
exporter of manufactured goods, designer goods and high-tech goods. It is the second
biggest exporter of textiles. The EU also includes some of the major stock exchanges such
as London, Paris and Frankfurt. Some of the world’s largest banks, which receive much
foreign investment because they offer security and high rates of return, have their
headquarters in France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Here are some definitions to help your students understand the text:
WORD DEFINITION
Concern: Synonym: involve
Trade: The activity of buying and selling goods or services
between people or countries.
Business: The activity of making, buying, selling or supplying goods
or services for money.
Road: A main route for travelling long distances, especially one
connecting and going through cities and towns.
Investor: A person or an organisation that invests money in
something.
Stock exchanges: A place where shares in companies are bought and sold.
Wall Street is one of the most famous and important stock
exchange in the world.
High-tech: Using the most modern methods and machines, especially
electronic ones.
Headquarters: A place from which an organization is controlled
Read the text and answer the following questions:
1. What percentage of people work in the tertiary sector?
67 %
2. What’s the world’s most popular tourist destination?
Paris
3. Why are transportation networks so important?
Use ‘because’
Transportation networks are so important because they provide an efficient system
for the movement of goods and people.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
4. Name the four stock exchanges located in Spain. Check on the internet if
necessary.
Madrid
Barcelona
Bilbao
Valencia
5. What kind of products does the European Union export?
The European Union exports manufactured goods, designer goods and high-tech
goods and textiles.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
7TH HOUR
In this seventh hour
Continue the previous activity.
o Jigsaw instructions
Students go back to their Home Group and answer the final questions for
about fifteen minutes.
Depending on the time, students in their home groups can be asked to
prepare a presentation of what they have learnt. Give some time to
prepare the presentation.
Group presentation.
FINAL TASK
Ask students to answer the following questions
1. Complete the following table with the information given.
THE EUROPEAN UNION
SECTOR % LABOUR FORCE BY OCCUPATION
Primary 5
Industry and construction 28
Services 67
2. Design a pie chart with the information included in the above table.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
3. Based on employment, is the European Union a rich or a poor region? Justify your
answer.
Look back at your previous work to answer the question.
4. Why do you think Western Europe industries have spread to Eastern Europe and
Asia?
Use the underlined sentence to start your answer + because + reasons
5. What kind of activities does the primary sector include?
6. Why is the Ariane rocket so important?
Western Europe industries have spread to Eastern Europe and Asia
because labour is cheaper and environmental policies and health and
safety regulations are less strict.
The European Union is a rich region because most people work in the
tertiary and quaternary sectors.
The primary sector includes farming, fishing, forestry and mining.
The Ariane rocket is so important because it is used to launch satellites,
which are needed for TV and mobile phone networks, for scientific
research.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
7. Name three examples of tertiary activities.
8. Find some World Heritage cities or villages in Catalonia on the internet. Then complete
the table. The first example has been done for you.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/
Barcelona Works of Antonio Gaudí such as La Pedrera, la Sagrada
Familia…
Poblet Poblet Monastery
Barcelona Palau de la Música Catalana
Barcelona Hospital de Sant Pau
Tarragona Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco
Vall de Boí Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
Ulldecona Pietat d’Ulldecona
Pyrénées Mont Perdu
Tourism, transport and trade.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
UNIT 1: THE EUROPEAN UNION’S ECONOMY
LESSON 2: THE ECONOMIC INDICATORS TIMING: 5 hours
CONTENT
The most important economic indicators.
How to interpret the data collected.
PROCEDURE
1st HOUR
In this first hour, the key ideas concerning the economic indicators are introduced to the
students. The language tips needed are provided in the students’ worksheets.
Brainstorming
o Ask students some questions such as: what do you know about economic
indicators? What is an economic indicator? What are the most important
economic indicators? Can you tell me the name of an economic indicator? Why
are the economic indicators so important?
PowerPoint
o Show and explain the PowerPoint. (Slides 1-12)
o Ask students to take some notes while viewing the presentation.
Activity 18
Tell the students to fill in the definitions of different economic indicators with the names
given below. They have to be careful because there are more words than definitions.
Interest rate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) inflation
the unemployment rate employment structure euribor
GDP per capita PPS4 exchange rate HICP5
4 GDP per capita in PPS = Gross Domestic Product per capita in Purchasing Power Standards
5 HICP = Harmonised and Indices of Consumer Prices
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
The solution is as follows:
1) The Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the value of goods and services
produced in a country in a year.
2) Inflation measures how much the prices of goods, services and wages are increasing
each year.
3) The employment structure shows how a country’s economy is divided between
primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary industries.
4) The unemployment rate is the percentage of the total workforce that does not have a
job and is looking for paid work.
5) The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Purchasing Power Standards is the ratio
between the level of gross domestic product (GDP), expressed in purchasing power
standards, and total population.
Activity 19
Ask students to complete the following mind map with the words given below. When
they have finished ask them to complete the definitions with the words given above.
active population total population employed unemployed inactive population
employees self-employed
Total population
Active population
Employed
Self employed
Employees
Unemployed
Inactive population
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Complete the following definitions with the words given above.
1. Self employed Working for yourself and not employed by a
company.
2. Total population All the people who live in a particular area, city or
country.
3. Employee Is a person who is paid to work for somebody.
4. Unemployed Without a job although able to work.
5. Inactive population Consists of persons who are not employed or
unemployed during the survey week such as
pensioners, housekeeper, students…
Ending the lesson
o PIGEOMETRE from Mary Chopey. Ask students to answer the following
questions
What have you learnt today?
What did you find easy?
What did you find difficult?
What do you most like doing?
What do least like doing?
Any suggestions.
2ND HOUR
In this second hour some activities are introduced to students in order to recap what we
did the previous lesson.
Let’s recap on what we did last lesson6.
6 Adapted from, Deller S. and Price C. ‘Teaching Other Subjects Through English’ (CLIL), 2007
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
KEY WORDS
active population total population employee unemployed person
inactive population self-employed person
1. ____________________ is somebody who is working for himself or herself and not
employed by a company.
2. ____________________ is all the people who live in a particular area, city or country.
3. ____________________ is a person who is paid to work for somebody.
4. ____________________ are those who are either employed or unemployed
5. ____________________ is somebody without a job although is able to work.
6. ____________________ consists of persons who are not employed or unemployed
during the survey week such as pensioners, housekeeper, students…
o Give out the definitions and ask the students to fill in the gaps.
o Check the answers with the whole class.
o Write the key words on the board, check students have the right pronunciation
and then ask them to give you the translation of each key word in their
language.
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
o Go round the class giving each student a slip of paper and one of the key words.
o Tell the students they must write the key word you gave them on one side of the
paper and the translation in their language on the other side. They must ask you
if they need help. Check their translations.
o Get the student to stand with a partner. Student A of each pair reads out their
word in either English or their language, and waits for students B to give them
the translation. If student B doesn’t know the translation student A tells them and
makes them repeat it three times. Then student B reads their word and follows
the same process.
o When they have finished, they exchange papers and go and find another
partner. They repeat the process. Each time they are with a new partner they
can choose whether to start with the key word in English or in L1.
o Continue like this until they have had a chance to hear most of the words.
o Ask them to write down from memory all the words they heard plus the
translations.
Activity 20
Students work in pairs. Ask students to classify each item into its category.
The solution is as follows:
INACTIVE POPULATION
ACTIVE PERSON WHO IS EMPLOYED
ACTIVE PERSON WHO IS UNEMPLOYED
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Jan has just retired after working 35 years in the same company
INACTIVE POPULATION
Laia is studying Engineering at the University of Cambridge and she earns some
money doing support classes
INACTIVE POPULATION
Pol works as a ski instructor at the weekends
ACTIVE PERSON WHO IS EMPLOYED
Nil has just finished his studies in marketing and now he is looking for his first job
ACTIVE PERSON WHO IS UNEMPLOYED
Anna who is twelve years old is studying 1st of compulsory secondary education
INACTIVE POPULATION
Joan decided to stop working in order to take care of his family
INACTIVE POPULATION
Jana has been working as a teacher for 17 years in the same school
ACTIVE PERSON WHO IS EMPLOYED
Xenia won the lottery and she decided to stop working and take a trip around the world
INACTIVE POPULATION
Ona was working as a lawyer when she decided to take a sabbatical year in order to go
to India to take part in a humanitarian program
INACTIVE POPULATION
Arnau had an industrial accident and as a result is permanently disabled
INACTIVE POPULATION
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Activity 21. FIND SOMEONE WHO7
o Write a worksheet and make copies, one for each student (see the example
below). Write an answer key.
o Example: FIND SOMEONE WHO…
1. can name the four economic sectors in the European Union.
__________________________________________________________________
2. can give you the name of two economic indicators.
__________________________________________________________________
3. can give you the name of two economic activities related to quaternary sector.
_________________________________________________________________
4. can name one of the candidates to join the European Union.
__________________________________________________________
5. can give you the name of an economic indicator that measures how much the prices of
goods, services and wages are increasing each year.
_________________________________________________________________
6. knows the name of the European rocket.
__________________________________________________________________
7. can give the name of an economic activity related to the primary sector.
__________________________________________________________________
8. can name an example of an inactive person.
__________________________________________________________________
9. knows the most important economic sector in More Economically Developed Countries
(MEDC).
__________________________________________________________________
10. can name one of the Scandinavian countries.
__________________________________________________________________
7 Adapted from, Deller S. and Price C. ‘Teaching Other Subjects Through English’ (CLIL), 2007
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
o Give each student a copy of the worksheet. Set a time limit for example 15
minutes. Ask students to walk round the class and interview as many other
students as possible. Tell them to try to find answers for at least eight of the
questions before you stop them.
o On the dotted lines the students make notes of the answers they get and the
names of the students who gave them.
o When they have finished, choose a student to read out the information they
collected for question 1. Choose a different student to answer for question 2.
Continue through the worksheet.
o Follow-up 1
In later lessons students could work in groups to make their own ‘Find
someone who…’ sheets to be used in the class.
Ending the lesson
o One minute papers. At the end of a CLIL lesson tell students that you are going
to ask them some questions related to what they have been doing in this
session: what was the most important thing you learnt today? What remains
unclear? What two important questions do you still have? What would you like
to know more about? This technique provides feedback to the teacher.
3rd HOUR
In this third hour the interpretation of some economic indicators is introduced to students.
Let’s recap on what we did last session. Students work in groups of three to make
their own ‘Find someone who…’
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Activity 22
Look at the graph below and answer the questions:
Source Eurostat http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/
a) What does the unemployment rate represent? The unemployment rate represents
the percentage of total workforce who is unemployed and is looking for a paid job.
b) Which European member state has the lowest unemployment rate? Austria and the
Netherlands
c) Which European member state has the highest unemployment rate? Spain
8,6
10
7,1
7,3
6,9
18,6
13,7
12,2
20,2
9,9
8,3
7,1
19,4
18,2
4,9
11,2
6,5
4,5
4,5
9,5
11
7,1
14,4
8,5
8,5
8,1
7,7
0 5 10 15 20 25
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom
%
HARMONISED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 2010/06
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Activity 23
Tell students to look at the graph below and interpret it following the example given.
Source Eurostat http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/
These figures for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant expressed in
Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) are published by Eurostat the Statistical Office of
the European Union. They cover the 27 EU Member States.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant expressed in Purchasing Power
Standards (PPS) varied from 41% to 271% of the EU27 average across the Member
States.
271
130
128
122
120
117
116
116
116
111
108
104
102
100
98
93
87
80
79
78
71
63
63
61
53
49
45
41
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Ireland
Austria
Sweden
Denmark
Belgium
Germany
United Kingdom
Finland
France
Spain
Italy
European Union 27
Cyprus
Greece
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Portugal
Malta
Slovakia
Estonia
Hungary
Poland
Lithuania
Latvia
Romania
Bulgaria
%
Gross Domestic Product per capita in Purchasing Power Standards 2009
AB
OV
E
B
EL
OW
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Interpretation of graph 1
In France, Spain and Italy GDP per inhabitant in PPS was between 1% and 10% above
the EU27 average. Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Denmark,
Sweden, Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands were between 10% and 30% above the
average, while the highest level of GDP per inhabitant in the EU27 was recorded in
Luxembourg.
Using the identical structure given above, do the same with the EU member states
which are below the EU27 average (100).
Activity 24
Tell students to look at the graph below and interpret it
Source Eurostat http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/
Interpretation of graph 2 In Cyprus and Greece GDP per inhabitant in PPS was between 1% and 10% below
the EU27 average. Slovenia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta and Slovakia were
between 10% and 30% below the average. Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia and Romania were between 30% and 55% below the average, while the
lowest level of GDP per inhabitant in the EU27 was recorded in Bulgaria.
0
2,5
0,6 1,1
0,2 0,2
-1,7
1,3
-0,2
0,1
0,8
0,2
3,3
4,2
0
4
1,8
1
0,4
4
-0,9
5,6
0,9 0,9
1,6 1,9
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
BE BG CZ
DK
DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY
LV LT LU HU
MT
NL
AT PL
PT
RO SI SK FI SE UK
%
HARMONISED INDEX OF CONSUMER PRICES (HICP) 2009
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
Interpretation of graph 3
These figures are about the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices published by
Eurostat the statistical office of the European Union. They cover the 27 European
Member states.
In this graph, we have and x and y axes. The x-axis refers to the European member
states and the y-axis shows a percentage scale.
The highest annual rates were observed in Romania (5,6%), Lithuania (4,2%), Hungary
(4%) and Poland (4%).
Using the model given above, do the same with the lowest annual rates observed in
the graph.
4TH – 5TH HOURS
These fourth and fifth hours are dedicated to summing up through writing an economic
report about an EU member state.
Activity 25 JIGSAW GROUP PROJECTS
o Divide the whole class into groups of four. Each member is given a number
between 1 and 4.
o Ask students to choose an EU member state or a candidate to join the European
Union.
o Each member of the group is asked to complete a part of an assignment.
o Give every student a copy of each task called student 1, student 2, student 3
Interpretation of graph 4
The lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-1,7%), Portugal (-0,9%) and
Spain (-0,2%)
THE ECONOMY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Esther Gonzàlez Jové INS Escola del Treball
and student 4.
o Give the Excel file to students 1, 2 and 3.
o When every member has completed his or her assigned task, the pieces can be
joined together to form the final project (economic report)
o Give every student a copy of the final task.