Welcome to

Language Arts
Year 3
Topic for the year
Man and
the Future

Man and the

World

Man and
Society

Man and
Identity
Texts
2019

LA Reader (Poems,
Short Stories/Articles)
Available from Zap
Curriculum Overview
Skills
Writing
• Paper 1: Argumentative essay
- 2 question choices, attempt 1 question

Comprehension
• Paper 2: Comprehension passage
• Short answer questions on a single passage with a summary question
• More expository and argumentative passages → newspaper articles, opinion
pieces, non-fiction articles
• Summary Question & Summary skills (10m)

Speaking and Listening

- Individual and group speech presentations
Assessment
• 30% Coursework
• 20% MYA (In Term 2, P2 Compre)
• 10% Learning Disposition
• 40% EOY
LA Files
• LA FILE: Orange HARDCOVER ring file
• For filing all your notes, slides, handouts, worksheets,
articles/readings, and any other materials your receive in LA lessons

• LA PORTFOLIO: Orange SOFTCOVER file

• For filing ALL graded assignments throughout the year
• Eg. all essays, Reading & Understanding assignments,
Speaking task rubrics & marks, etc.
• Download & print out the content page for the LA Portfolio from the
Matrix. This will be your cover page.
• Ensure that your file is clearly and neatly labelled with your full name
and class
• Your teachers will be checking BOTH files during the course
of the year. It is your responsibility to ensure that
everything is properly filed and up to date.
 In short, this year you can look forward to …

• Reading different genres of texts e.g. poetry, short stories, opinion pieces,
investigative articles, excerpts from philosophy journals etc.
• Keeping up to date with current affairs and increasing your general knowledge
• Honing your argumentation skills and learning how to make convincing arguments
• Speaking and expressing your views in a confident manner
• Learning how to summarise what you’ve read and to express it in your own words
• Listening to people’s stories and finding out about their interaction with global issues
and how it has changed their lives
Expectations
• Be punctual
• Be attentive
• Be respectful
• Ask questions
• Listen and respond
• Be open minded
• Take pride in your work
 Admin Matters
• Buy your Yr 3 Reader from Zap ($4.00) by your next lesson
• Electing an LA Rep
• Tutor’s contact details:

Miss Caroline Sng

Sng_ming_hui_caroline@moe.edu.sg
Letter slot: 140
Staffroom Lvl 2, Ext 135
A Short Introduction
Globalisation is the process by which the world is becoming
increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade
and cultural exchange. Globalisation has increased the production of
goods and services. The biggest companies are no longer national firms
but multinational corporations with subsidiaries in many countries.
• There are several key factors which have influenced the process of globalisation:
• Improvements in transportation - larger cargo ships mean that the cost of transporting
goods between countries has decreased. Economies of scale mean the cost per item can
reduce when operating on a larger scale. Transport improvements also mean that goods
and people can travel more quickly.
• Freedom of trade - organisations like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) promote free
trade between countries, which help to remove barriers between countries.
• Improvements of communications - the internet and mobile technology has allowed
greater communication between people in different countries.
• Labour availability and skills - countries such as India have lower labour costs (about a
third of that of the UK) and also high skill levels. Labour intensive industries such as the
fast fashion industry can take advantage of cheaper labour costs and reduced legal
restrictions in Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs).
• Globalisation has been taking place for hundreds of years, but has
sped up enormously over the last half-century.
• Globalisation has resulted in:
• increased international trade
• a company operating in more than one country
• greater dependence on the global economy
• freer movement of capital, goods, and services
• recognition of transnational companies (TNCs) such as McDonalds and
Starbucks in Less economically developed countries (LEDCs)
 T1: T2: T3:
Culture Economy Environment
What comes to
mind when you
think about
culture?
• Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher of culture, defines culture as
“the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the
members of one group or category of people from another”

• We need to look at culture from an evolutionary perspective,

meaning to say that culture is not something static

• It has many areas of influence and is constantly changing

What is our ‘Singapore culture’?
What about the ‘TJ culture’?
• What are some of the possible positive and negative impacts of
globalisation?
Positive Impacts Negative Impacts
• Globalisation is having a dramatic effect - for good or ill - on world economies and on people's
lives.
• Some of the positive impacts are:
• Inward investment by TNCs helps countries by providing new jobs and skills for local people.
• TNCs bring wealth and foreign currency to local economies when they buy local resources,
products and services. The extra money created by this investment can be spent on education,
health and infrastructure.
• The sharing of ideas, experiences and lifestyles of people and cultures. People can experience
foods and other products not previously available in their countries.
• Globalisation increases awareness of events in far-away parts of the world. For example, the UK
was quickly made aware of the 2004 tsunami tidal wave and sent help rapidly in response.
• Globalisation may help to make people more aware of global issues such
as deforestation and global warming - and alert them to the need for sustainable development.
Critics include groups such as environmentalists, anti-poverty campaigners
and trade unionists.
• Some of the negative impacts include:
• Globalisation operates mostly in the interests of the richest countries,
which continue to dominate world trade at the expense of developing
countries. The role of LEDCs in the world market is mostly to provide the
North and West with cheap labour and raw materials.
• There are no guarantees that the wealth from inward investment will
benefit the local community. Often, profits are sent back to the MEDC
where the TNC is based. Transnational companies, with their massive
economies of scale, may drive local companies out of business. If it
becomes cheaper to operate in another country, the TNC might close down
the factory and make local people redundant.
• Industry may begin to thrive in LEDCs at the expense of jobs in
manufacturing in the UK and other MEDCs, especially in textiles.
• Anti-globalisation campaigners sometimes try to draw people's
attention to these points by demonstrating against the World Trade
Organisation. The World Trade Organisation is an inter-government
organisation that promotes the free flow of trade around the world.
• Although globalisation is probably helping to create more wealth in
developing countries - it is not helping to close the gap between the
world's poorest countries and the world's richest.
• Click the link to see global distribution of wealth on the world map
• An absence of strictly enforced international laws means that TNCs may operate
in LEDCs in a way that would not be allowed in an MEDC. They may pollute the
environment, run risks with safety or impose poor working conditions and low
wages on local workers.
• Globalisation is viewed by many as a threat to the world's cultural diversity. It is
feared it might drown out local economies, traditions and languages and simply
re-cast the whole world in the mould of the capitalist North and West. An
example of this is that a Hollywood film is far more likely to be successful
worldwide than one made in India or China, which also have thriving film
industries.
Other possible questions:
• ‘The costs of globalisation outweighs the benefits.’ Discuss.
• ‘Culture unites rather than divides us.’ How far do you agree?
• Globalisation is more a blessing than a curse. How far do you agree?
• ‘The benefits of globalisation are overrated.’ To what extent do you
agree?
• We will uncover and dig deeper into cultural issues with the upcoming
lessons as we look at the short stories in your LA Reader.

• Homework: Read The Paper Menagerie before your next class and
note down your emotional reactions to the characters in the story.
Some guiding questions to help you:
• Do you sympathise with any one character? Why?
• How do you feel at the end of the story?
• Why do you think you felt that way?