UNIT 3: GLOBALIZATION

Defining Globalization
Globalization is the process that makes economies and societies from all around the world
become more and more connected. This means that people, ideas, technology, money,
services, and many other things are moving between countries and changing the way people
think and act.
Good or Bad?
Not everyone thinks the same way about globalization. Some people think it is good, some
people think it is bad. Some believe that globalization helps rich people get richer and makes
poor people poorer. These people say that globalization helps big companies like Coca-Cola
and McDonald's destroy local businesses. The people who think globalization is a good thing
argue that globalization helps poorer people to become richer. They also think
that it doesn't damage local cultures. These people also believe globalization helps
prevent conflicts like wars. This is because countries that have economic connections will try
hard to maintain good relationships with each other so their economies aren't damaged.
Effects
Despite whether you think globalization is good or bad, it effects the world in two important
areas: jobs and culture.
Globalization has had a very strong effect on employment and jobs throughout the world. For
some workers, such as engineers, lawyers, and bankers, globalization has been a good
development. These workers are able to successfully compete globally and have seen an
increase in their salaries. But for those who work in factories or in the service industry (at
hotels, shops and restaurants), it has not been good. These types of jobs have been exposed to
increasing competition from workers from poorer countries. A worker from a poorer country
will do the same job for less money. This decreases the salaries for that job, so people get paid
less to do it.
Cultures have also been effected by globalization. Foods such as Japanese noodles, Indian
curry and French cheeses have spread around the world. We can also see an increase in the use
of Chinese characters in tattoos. Some people get these tattoos without actually knowing what
the characters mean. Another area effected by globalization is the film industry. Most people
have seen American movies. But due to globalization, Korean, Indian and Japanese movies
have become more popular worldwide.

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No one knows the future of globalization. Most experts agree that it will continue to grow and
have an increasingly larger impact on people's lives in the future.
QUESTIONS

What is the main idea of this text?

1- While it isn't agreed on whether globalism good or bad, there are some observable
effects.
2- The effects of globalization are all around us and effect every part of our lives.
3- The effects of globalization are most felt in the world economy, especially with
regards to jobs.

Coca-Cola and McDonald's are examples of what?

1- Companies that help poor people make money.

2- Companies that damage local business.
3- Companies that cause globalization.

Why is globalization good for workers such as engineers, lawyers, and bankers.

1- In the increasingly competitive international job market, their skills and education
allow them to be successful in getting well-paying.
2- Globalization has caused a decrease in the number of people with these skills and
education. Therefore, they have become more valuable and are able to demand higher
salaries.
3- Being able to have a wide range of skills and abilities better prepares them for the
competitive international job market.

Why did the author mention different foods, Chinese writing and Asian films?

1- To explain why there has been an increase in popularity of movies from different
countries.
2- To demonstrate that people sometimes use things from other cultures, but don't
understand them.
3- To show that cultures are changing as a result of globalization.

The word it refers to:

1- People
2- Globalization
3- Thing
4-  Think

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 VOCABULARY

Globalization has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways. These aspects
include:

 Industrial globalization –development of worldwide production markets and

broader access to a range of foreign products for consumers and companies
involving particularly movement of material and goods between and within
national boundaries.

 Financial globalization – development of worldwide financial markets

and better access to external financing for borrowers.
 Economic globalization – establishment of a global common market,
based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital.
 Political globalization - creation of international organizations to regulate
the relationships among governments and to guarantee the rights arising
from social and economic globalization.
 Informational globalization – increase in information flows between
geographically remote locations. (This can also be seen as a technological
change related to the advent of fibre optic communications, satellites, and
increased availability of telephone and Internet.)
 Cultural globalization - sharing of ideas, attitudes and values across national
borders. This sharing generally leads to an interconnectedness and
interaction between peoples of diverse cultures and ways of life. Mass media
and communication technologies are the primary instruments for cultural
globalization.

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Activity 1

What are the driving forces behind the process of globalization?

mass media international economic technological sociocultural

political politicians distances

The driving forces behind the process of globalization

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1. _______________ forces:
2. _______________ forces: the
planning by ________ to break
integration of national economies
down borders hampering trade so
into the _____________ economy
as to increase prosperity and
through trade, foreign direct
interdependence among nations
investment and capital flows

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Globalization

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4. _______________ forces: the
development and growth of 3. _______________ forces: the

international transport and worldwide export of western

telecommunication shorten the culture through the __________

________ in the world and promote such as film, radio, television and

close connection between people. the Internet

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.

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Activity 2

Study the 7 events in the table and decide which of the following aspects of globalization
the event illustrates: economic, informational, cultural or political. The first one has been
done for you as an example. You may work in pairs and discuss the exercise with your
partner. In your discussion, please agree on the reasons for your decisions.

Events Aspect of
globalization

1 Disneyland, the American theme park, has been set up in Hong Kong, economic
Japan and France.

2 The parts of a car come from all over the world: Germany, Japan,
Korea etc. and the car is assembled in the U.S.

3 Businesses are operated with many satellite locations or call centres in

other parts of the world to answer questions in another: for example,
someone in India answering a call from the U.S. about a product or
service.

4 The creation of regional forums such as the European Union

, Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC)
and international organization such as the World Trade Organization
and the World Health Organization .
These international forums and organizations have new rules and
agreements for participating countries to follow.

5 The spread of language, products, and customs as people are closely

connected.

6 Franchises for McDonald's hamburgers, Pizza Hut,

Burger King, KFC and others carrying U.S. trade names are operating
throughout the world

7 Cable News Network (CNN), based in the United States, produces

24-hour news broadcasts that can be seen by people around the world.

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 LISTENING

Videos on extracts on different subjects

Video 1: Globalization of Baosteel Group: Lessons and Experiences.mpg

Video 2: BBC Hard Talk - Discussion on effect of globalization on developing.

Video 3: Globalization: What Does It Really Mean?

SPEAKING

DISCUSSIONS

1."Cultural differences cause problems. It is better for people to stay in their own countries
rather than to migrate to other ones." Do you agree?

2. Is it better to marry someone of the same cultural background?

GRAMMAR

PAST TENSE AND PAST CONTINUOUS

I- PAST TENSE

See the chart for more explanation

 Structure  Examples  We use the Past Simple Tense:

 The past simple tense of the 1. We arrived at 9:00 o'clock. To describe actions and situations
most english verbs (regular 2. This morning I went to the that happened in the past. These
verbs) is formed by adding supermarket. actions and situations were
"-ed"/"-d" to their base 3. The teacher went to the desk. started and finished in the past.
form. (If the verb ends in "- 4. He didn't hear the telephone.
e", we add "-d" to form the 5. Susan bought her little sister a doll.  The sentence often contains an
past simple.). 6. We came here in 1980. adverb or adverb phrase of time,
Formula 7. I worked at Johnson & Co. from 1990 such as yesterday, the other day,
Verb(infinitive form) +ed or d to 1995. last night, last week, three days

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 There are also some verbs 8. My brother lived in London for six ago, a few minutes ago, in
called irregular verbs that years. (he doesn't live there anymore) (year), from (year) to (year), etc.
have special past tense forms.  To talk about habitual or repeated
1. When she was young, she danced
(See list of irregular verbs) actions that took place in the past
beautifully.
2. He played the violin when he was a
  Affirmative form Note: This use is also often
child.
expressed with used to:
3. We often went there.
 Regular verbs: Bob used to smoke 20 cigarettes a
4. I saw her every day.
base form + "-ed" or "-d": day.
work + "-ed" = worked
1. It happened one night in the winter.  to tell a story and to express
live + "-d" = lived
2. She opened her bag, took out the key actions which follow each other in
and unlocked the door. a story
I/you/he/she/it/we/they
 to refer to the historical past or to
worked 1. World War II ended in 1945.
events that have happened in the
I/you/he/she/it/we/they lived 2. Romans built strong bridges.
distant past relative to the speaker

1. David said that he was tired.  for reporting what someone said
 Irregular verbs: past form
2. The doctor told me that I would have (converting from direct to
only
to stay in the hospital for a week. reported speech)
I/you/he/she/it/we/they saw
1. When Peter arrived, I was reading a
 to talk about action in the past
 To form the negative and book.
that take place in the middle of
interrogative sentences we use 2. I was having a bath when the phone
another action
the past form of auxiliary rang.
verb do --> did:  For making second conditional
sentences (also called conditional
1. If I won the lottery, I would travel
 Negative form type 2) when we talk about an
the world.
imaginary or unlikely situation
2. If I were you, I wouldn't marry him.
I and to describe its result. (If +
you             DID + NOT past simple, would + infinitive)
he/she/it     /DIDN'T/ Spelling rules for the past simple of regular verbs:
we              + WORK
they  - if a regular verb ends in consonant + y change y to i and add -ed:
  carry - carried,    study - studied,    fry - fried,    try – tried
He didn't work yesterday.
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 -if a one syllable regular verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant
double the final consonant and add -ed -- > stop - stopped,  plan - planned,
rob - robbed,   beg – begged
 - if a regular verb has more than one syllable and ends in consonant + vowel
She didn't see him last night. + consonant, we double the final consonant only if the final syllable is
stressed -- >  preFER - preferred,    regRET - regretted
 Interrogative form Exception: In British English verbs ending in -l have -ll before -ed whether
the final syllable is stressed or not -- > travel - travelled
                 I
               you
DID       he/she/it        WORK
?
 
Was he at the office the other  .
day?  
 
 Questions and short  
answers:  

Did you go to the cinema last

night?
Yes, I did.
No, I didn't.

Did he speak with Kate

yesterday?
Yes, he did.
No, he didn't.

 Pronunciation of final "-ed" (regular verbs):

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 - after an unvoiced consonant sound (sh/ s / ch / p / k / f ) we
pronounce /t/: wash (/sh/) - washed (/t/); kiss (/s/) - kissed (/t/); work
(/k/) worked (/t/); hope (/p/) - hoped (/t/); laugh (/f/) - laughed (/t/)
- after a vowel and voiced consonant sounds we pronounce /d/: phone
(/n/) - phoned (/d/); judge (/dg/) - judged (/d/); turn (/n/) - turned (/d/);
play (/ei/) - played (/d/); follow (/ou/) - followed (/d/)
-  after /t/ and /d/ sounds we pronounce /-id/: visit (/t/) - visited (/id/);
start (/t/) - started (/id/); need (/d/) - needed (/id/)

II-PAST CONTINUOUS

1-Structure

Subject     +      Was/Were      +      Verb      +      ING

Examples: I was sleeping.

They were dancing.

2-The use

Past continuous is used to show an action that was continuing in the past until another
action interrupted it.  

The continuing action is past continuous and the interrupting action is simple past.

Example: I was sleeping when you called me.       

(The action of sleeping was continuing over time until the telephone call interrupted the
sleeping.)

Here are some more examples:

She was playing in the park when it started to rain.

While they were talking, the pizza arrived.

The car crashed when we were walking across the street.

An expression of time can be used as an interruption as well.

Examples: We were eating dinner at 4 o’clock.

At 6 o’clock we were still studying for our test.

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Past continuous is used to show two actions happening at the same time in the past.

Examples: I was reading and he was watching TV.

While she was sleeping, Jack was doing his homework.

Notice the word "while" is often used in these situations:

While I was cleaning, she was watching television.

 He was talking while she was studying.

Past Continuous can also be used to show actions that happened many times in the past.

Examples:

He was always breaking something when he was a child.

I couldn't enjoy the movie because the people behind me were talking the whole time.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1

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You have to fill each space with the past continuous, past perfect simple or past perfect
continuous

1. I was exhausted at the end of the exam. I………………. (Write) for over two hours.

2. When thieves stole my favourite leather jacket, I was really upset. I…….. (Have) it for over
ten years.

3. Please step out of the car, Mr. Jones. Do you realise you………….. (Drive) at over 90mph?

4. We didn't really want to go and see the musical again. We………. (Already see) it twice -
so we said "no" and we went to a restaurant instead!

5. I arrived over an hour late to the office and everyone was working. Actually, they……….

(Work) for over two hours on the new project and I felt really guilty.

6. The kitchen was full of steam when we arrived. Joan was in the kitchen and she………….

(Cook) a huge meal for everyone at the party.

7. It was a bit embarrassing to arrive at their house and find Mary looking so sad. I think
she……….. (Cry) before we got there.

8. No-one even noticed when I got home. They……………(all watch) the big game on TV.

Exercise 2

Fill each gap with a verb in either the past simple or past continuous tense.

1. Helen………….. (Do) her weekly shopping when she…………. (Meet) her old friend,
June.

2. The sun……… (Shine) when I……… (Get) up this morning. I……… (Feel) so tired!

3. Jim…….. (Wait) at one airport while Max…….. (Wait) at the other. What a disaster!

4. It…………. (Rain) very hard, so the referee……….. (Decide) not to play the match.

5. When the police………….. (Arrive) at the party, the music…….. (Play) very loud and
everybody………… (Shout).

6. The mail………….. (Arrive) very late today. It………. (Come) after eleven o'clock.
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7. Joan………. (Become) very angry this morning. She……….. (Speak) to an important
client and someone……………. (Enter) the room without knocking.

8. Hank………….. (Cook) in the kitchen. His sister………. (Offer) to help but hank……….

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