Module:	Study, School Life and Work
Unit:		Part-time Work?
Task 1:	Career Week

Description
The Career Master/Mistress of your school is organizing a “Career Week” for the students in which aspects like students’ spending habits, past students’ experience in working part-time, pros and cons of doing part-time jobs are looked at.

In Part 1, learners are given a questionnaire to fill in. After completion of that, they form groups to share their views. A representative then summarizes the findings of the group and gives an oral report to the class.

In Part 2, three past students are invited by the President of the Student Association (S.A.) to speak on their experience of working part-time. Learners are encouraged by the Career Master/Mistress to take notes of what the speakers say and summarize the main ideas. The information collected will be used as reference for discussion later in the week and for the leaflet.

In Part 3, the Career Master/Mistress gives a talk on the pros and cons of working part-time. Teachers can either play the tape for learners to listen or hand out the speech for learners to read. The information collected will be used to produce a leaflet to advise students on the issue of part-time work later on. 

In Part 4, learners make use of the survey, the information gathered from the interviews and the speech to prepare the first draft of the leaflet.

5 Fundamental Intertwining Ways of Learning and Using Knowledge
	Communicating	(Learners discuss among themselves their spending 
				 habits and views on doing part-time jobs)
	Conceptualizing	(Learners organize their knowledge about the nature of 
				 different part-time jobs.)
	Inquiring		(Learners learn to look at an issue from different 
				 perspectives.)
	Reasoning		(Learners review the pros and cons of working part-
				 time.)
	Problem-solving	(Learners give suggestions on what a student who 
                                                 overspends can do.)
						
Learning Targets (KS4) (Only relevant parts of the Learning Targets in the syllabus are presented below.)
To develop an ever-improving capability to use English
�h	to converse and justify points of view about feelings, ideas, experiences and plans (IDb)
�h	to identify and discuss ideas in spoken and written texts, make connections, generate ideas and express them (KDc)
�h	to give expression to one’s experience through oral and written descriptions of feelings and events (EDd)

Learning Objectives
�\	Text-types
	survey
           	interviews
           	speech
           	leaflet
           
�\	Vocabulary
	Items of expenditure: transportation, entertainment, stationery, reference 
			           materials
Names of part-time jobs: fashion shop assistant, fashion designer, private tutor, programmer  
Adjectives describing job nature: tough, challenging, dangerous, tiring
Adjectives describing good character: confident, independent, responsible

�\	Language Items & Communicative Functions  (KS4)
	e.g. Use past tense (passive and active, affirmative and negative) to talk about 
	       events in the past.
	       I needed the money.
	       My family income was greatly reduced.
	       I didn’t plan to do any part-time work.
	e.g. Use present participles to give suggestions.
	       Cutting down expenses

�\	Language Skills
1.	Listening (KS4)
Listen for intended meaning, feelings and attitude
- identify main ideas in an interview and a speech
- identify causes and effects of events
- understand different kinds of texts to take notes and fill in tables
- extract information and ideas in spoken texts
- distinguish between facts and opinions in spoken texts

2.	Speaking (KS4)
	Participate effectively in an oral interaction
	- develop one’s views and give response to others
	Present information, ideas and feelings clearly and coherently
	- convey ideas and information in conversations
	- use correct pronunciation, intonation and register for different purposes
	- present views with suitable reasoning and suggestions

3.	Reading (KS4)
Understand, interpret and analyze different written texts
- follow the development of a point of view
-  use linguistic and contextual clues and general knowledge to determine
 	          the meaning of a written text

4.	Writing (KS4)
	       Present information and ideas clearly and coherently 
	       - gather all the information given and organize it to produce a leaflet

�\	Language Development Strategies (KS3)
	- Develop thinking skills
		reasoning skills (analyze for a particular purpose, make inferences, 
		conclusion, etc.)
	- Develop reference skills
		identify relation between contents of materials and interpretation of 
		ideas
	- Work with others
		communicate to the point

�h	Attitudes
- Keenness to participate in activities leading to improvement of knowledge
  and skills in the language (KS1)
	- Confidence in using English (KS1)
	- A critical attitude towards ideas in spoken texts (KS4)

Task 1 Part 1

A.  My Views

The Career Master/Mistress wants to conduct a survey to find out students’ spending habits and their views on working part-time. Please complete the survey form below.

1. How much pocket money do you get every month?
    ________________________________________

2. Below are the main items of expenditure. Write the approximate amount you spend 
    on each of them every month.

meals	$	
snacks	$	
transportation	$	
entertainment	$	
stationery	$	
books and reference materials	$	
school club fees	$	
newspaper and magazines	$	

		
                                      Total expenses	$	

3. Circle the number of the picture which best describes your financial situation.

INCOME

INCOME

    1			             2			                        3

INCOME

4.	What suggestions do you have for a student who spends more than he/she has?

�h		Cutting down expenses, e.g. taking a bus to school instead of the MTR	
�h			
�h			
�h			

5. Are you doing any part-time job at the moment?

    Yes / No       (Circle the answer)

a. If your answer is “Yes”,
    i) what part-time job is it? _________________________________
    ii) reason(s) for doing it: __________________________________

b. If your answer is “No”,
    i) reason(s) for not doing any part-time job:
       ____________________________________________________
    ii) any plan to work part-time?
       _________________________ (Go to iii) if your answer is “Yes”)
    iii) what part-time job will you do?
       ____________________________________________________

6. What part-time jobs can an S4 student do?
    ______________________                   ______________________
    ______________________                   ______________________
    ______________________                   ______________________
    ______________________                   ______________________

7. Do you think it is good for secondary school students to work part-time?

    Yes / No (Circle the answer)

     Reason(s) for your answer:
     ___________________________________________________________
     ___________________________________________________________
     ___________________________________________________________

B.  Our views

     In groups of 6, discuss among yourselves answers you have put down in the 
     questionnaire.  Choose one representative to summarize your findings and report to 
     the class.

Task 1 Part 2

Their Experience

Complete the table as you listen to the President of the Student Association (S.A.) interviewing the three past students on their experience of working part-time.

Name of 
graduate	Kind of part-time job	Reasons for working part-time	Experience	
Peter	working in a 
_________________	- father was injured at work 
   and ___________________
   greatly reduced	- no time to rest     
  feel ______________

- a tough job; got scolded
  when customers 
  _________________

- dangerous work; 
   could get _________
   if careless
	
Winnie	shop assistant	- interested in looking at
  ________________________

- earned money to buy things
   such as _________________
   _______________________	- discovered interest in
   __________________

- health suffered;
   sometimes rushed to 
   work on an _______
   stomach
	
David	private tutor	- peer influence

- more _________ over
   working hours	- required patience to 
   _____________ things
   clearly

- applied what had been learnt

- felt rewarded when
  students made 
  _____________

Task 1 Part 3

Learners either listen to the tape of the speech given by the Career Master/Mistress or read the speech. They then complete the blanks of the notes made. The information will later be used to produce a leaflet to advise students on the issue of part-time work.

Advantages of doing part-time jobs

buy things we like,                                                                    support ourselves
e.g. clothes, music                     __________________             and family
CDs, computer games,
books, etc.
                                                  
                                                                                         go to pop concerts

                                                                                           develop
                                                                               __________ skills

       gain _________
          experience

                                                             through meeting and interacting with
                                                             people from ___________________
help us to decide on our
___________________

                              learn to work ___________

                                                                           learn to work with __________
       become more
         responsible                        personal growth

  become more _________________
  as we learn to take care of ourselves           become more confident as we can
  and manage our time                                   handle ___________ effectively

Disadvantages of doing part-time jobs

                                                                       feel ______________ and lose
                                                                       concentration in class and 
    if we fail to ___________                            _____________ in studying
    time well

                                          affect our studies

                                         no time to spend with families

    no time to chat with                                                           no time to take part in
    ________ and _________       a lot of __________            __________________
                                                    to make                                __________________

        knocked down 
        by cars                                                  __________________________
                                                                     resulted as we eat late at night
 
                               health can be affected
                               and life endangered

                                                                                      working in ___________
                                                                                      got burnt by hot boiling oil
                                        work can be
                                        ___________

                                                                          working in factories 
                                                                          __________ blocked if 
                                                                         there is a fire

Task 1 Part 4

As a round-up activity for the Career Week, learners make use of the survey, the information gathered from the interview and the speech to prepare the first draft of the leaflet.

Tapescript

Students working part-time: An interview

Extract 1

SA President: I’m sure our audience would be interested in knowing why you people worked part-time. Can you tell us your reasons, Peter?

Peter: My reason was simple. I needed the money. What happened was that my father got injured at work and he had to take a long rest. This meant that our family income was greatly reduced, with only my mom working. So I worked part-time to help support the family.

SA President: Thanks, Peter. So you worked part-time because you needed to support your family. What about you, Winnie? Why did you take up a part-time job?

Winnie: Frankly I didn’t plan to do any part-time work. It so happened that one day I saw an ad in the newspaper for a part-time fashion shop assistant. I didn’t think I would have much chance of getting the job, but I applied anyway. I thought it would be fun and I’ve always been interested in fashion. And much to my surprise, I got the job! 

SA President: Lucky you! It must be great to do a part-time job which matches your interest. How about you, David? Why did you become a part-timer?

David: Most of my classmates had part-time jobs, so I thought it would be good to have one. I chose to work as a private tutor because I thought I could have more control over my working hours than I could in other part-time jobs. I could always work out a timetable which suited both me and my student. And it would be quite easy to make changes to the agreed timetable if either of us thought necessary.

SA President: So you worked as a part-time private tutor because you could have more control over your working hours.

David: Yes, and I also wanted to get some work experience to prepare for my future.

SA President: I see. So all of you had different reasons for working part-time. Now, if we can turn to another question...  (fade out)

Students working part-time: An interview

Extract 2

SA President: Did you enjoy working part-time, Winnie?

Winnie: Oh, absolutely. It always gives me pleasure to look at beautiful clothes. Working as a part-time fashion shop assistant at Jorsinni, I had plenty of opportunities to do just that. What’s more, the pay wasn’t bad at all. With the money I earned, I bought myself more nice dresses and shoes than I actually needed. I even saved enough to buy a computer, which turned out to be very useful for my school work later on.

Peter: If you really had such a great time, why didn’t you continue working part-time in Form 6?

Winnie: Because I had another plan. While I was working in the fashion shop, I made up my mind to become a fashion designer. So I decided to concentrate on my studies in Form 6 and Form 7, just so that I could get good marks to further my studies in Fashion Design.

Peter: Are you sure that your job was all fun, and didn’t give you any hard time at all?

SA President: Sorry, may I interrupt, Peter?  Sounds like you’re really doubtful about part-time work. Didn’t you enjoy it? Can you tell us your experience?

Peter: Well, let me put it this way: I wasn’t as lucky as Winnie. I worked 3 days a week. I worked from 6 to 9 in the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9 to 5 on Saturdays. You can imagine how tiring it was for me. I didn’t really have a chance to rest.  

SA President: You had long working hours indeed. But apart from the working hours, what did you think of the job itself?

Peter: It was a tough job. If there were any complaints from customers, we got scolded.   Besides, it’s a dangerous job. You see, I had to cook French fries in hot boiling oil. I was careless a couple of times, and my hands got burnt.

SA President: Oh dear. I think we must be very careful not to hurt ourselves while doing any part-time work. Did anyone else get injured at work?

David:  I didn’t, fortunately. Actually, my experience is a lot more positive than Peter’s.

SA President: Yes, David. Can you tell us about it?

David: I was a private tutor and I didn’t work very long hours. Last year, I worked on Thursdays and Fridays, from 5 to 7 in the afternoon. To me, private tutoring is a challenging job. Because my students were only junior form students, I had to be very patient and explain things clearly. If not, they’d just look at me with a blank face. That was exactly what I got the first day I taught my student, Kim.

Winnie: I guess you got better and better after that.

David: Yes, that’s true. And now, I really enjoy tutoring junior form students. There are two reasons. Firstly, it allows me to apply what I learnt in class. I feel so happy when I’m able to explain clearly ideas which aren’t easy to a 13 or 14 year old. Secondly, I feel rewarded when I see my students make progress in their work.

SA President: Winnie, you want to say something?

Winnie: Yes. I just wish to answer Peter’s earlier question. That is, whether being a shop assistant was entirely fun. My answer is: Not completely. Just now I forgot to tell you that I worked two days a week, Fridays from 5 to 10 and Saturdays from 1 to 6. Friday was usually a busy day for me. As soon as school finished at 4, I had to rush from Kwun Tong to Tsim Sha Tsui where Jorsinni was located. Sometimes I was lucky enough to find time for a quick snack. At other times, I just had to start work on an empty stomach. So I frequently had stomach upsets and indigestion. 

SA President: So what did you do? Did you go to see a doctor? Or...  (fade out)

“ Should secondary school students take part-time jobs? ” -
a talk by the School Career Mistress

I am very pleased to have the opportunity of speaking on the topic “Should secondary school students take part-time jobs?” Before I attempt to answer this question, it is necessary to consider the advantages and disadvantages of doing part-time jobs.

First of all, the advantages.  

For many students, one great attraction of working part-time is that they can earn some money. With their earnings, students can do a number of things. Some use the money to help support themselves or their families. More often, though, students spend it on things they like - going to pop concerts, buying clothes, music CDs, computer games, books, etc. 

Through doing part-time jobs, students gain work experience, and this can be useful when they look for full-time jobs later on. Some students also said that working part-time helps them decide on their future career. For example, a few years ago a student of mine took up a part-time job in a computer firm. Now he is working as a programmer in a software company.

Another benefit is that by working part-time students get to meet and interact with people from different walks of life. This enriches their life experience and develops their social skills.

They also become more independent and confident. Many of today’s students are not given chores at home because they have mothers or even domestic helpers to take care of the housework. Some of them don’t even know how to iron clothes or boil water. By doing part-time jobs, students learn to work hard. They may become more independent and responsible, and they may also learn how to work with others. Their confidence grows as they see that they can effectively handle their duties at work. They also become less dependent on their parents, as they learn how to take care of themselves and manage their time over work and study.
 
But as I said, there are disadvantages as well.

One obvious disadvantage is that working part-time can affect one's studies, particularly if one fails to organize one’s time well. Some students tend to spend far too much time working. They work after school, and they work on weekends. As a result, they constantly feel tired, because they don't have enough rest. They lose concentration in class, they lose interest in studying, and their grades drop.  

Working part-time causes students to make a lot of sacrifices. Many students often have to rush off to work after school. They could hardly find time to stay behind school to participate in extra-curricular activities or chat with their friends and teachers. There are losses for those who work on weekends as well. They have to sacrifice the chance of being with their families and the chance of going out with their friends.

As said, students who work part-time are always in a great hurry. It is a common scene that they madly chase after buses in the streets. They are not just endangering their own lives, but that of other road users. Very often, their health suffers. Many students who work part-time have one kind or other stomach problem as they usually eat late at night.     

Some part-time jobs could be dangerous too, for example kitchen and factory jobs. I once had a student who did assembling work in a toy factory. A fire broke out but the exit was blocked by boxes of goods. Had the firemen not come in time, he would have been burnt to death.  Employers very often disregard safety at work. What’s more, part-time workers are seldom insured and if accidents happen, they get no compensation at all.  

I guess that’s about all I have to say about the pros and cons of working part-time. Now let us consider another important issue regarding part-time jobs...