Extensive listening -Why I keep speaking up even when people mock my accent

Artist Safwat Saleem grew up with a stutter — but as an independent animator, he decided to do his own voiceovers to give life to his characters.

When YouTube commenters started mocking his Pakistani accent, it crushed him, and his voice began to leave his work. Hear how this TED Fellow reclaimed his voice and confidence in this charming, thoughtful talk.

You can read the full transcript here.

Talking point: Bullying

This week's talking point is bullying. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

What is the relationship of this picture with school life?
What recent (news) stories have you heard about it?

DISCUSSION
1. What different types of bullying are there?
2. What kind of person is a bully?
3. What kind of person is bullied?
4. Why do people bully other people?
5. Is bullying a big problem in Spain?
6. Was bullying a problem when you were at school?
7. What advice would you give to someone who is being bullied?
8. What can be done to prevent bullying?
9. What do you know about cyber-bullying?
10.What advice would you give to someone who is being bullied online?

What are the PROS and CONS of the solutions below?
•All classrooms should have web cameras so children could be monitored at all times.
•Bullies should be put in special children’s schools away from normal children.
•Parents of bullied children can sue the school.
•Parents of bullies should be held legally responsible for their children’s behaviour.
•Teachers should receive better training to understand bullies and stop them.
•Teachers who cannot control their classrooms should be declared unfit for the job.

To illustrate the topic, you can watch the short film New Boy about a young African boy who starts school in Ireland, and finds out quickly exactly what it means to be the new kid.You can download the transcript here.

Julia Roberts on bullying

This is an ABC clip featuring Julia Roberts talking about bullying.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it. The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.



1 What happened 25 years ago?
2 What abbreviation is spelled out of members in US schools?
3 Which one adjective does each person sitting around the table use to describe the way they felt when being bullied?
4 Why does most of the bullying happen, according to one of the children?
5 What do '3' and '2' refer to?
6 What is the most disturbing aspect of bullying for Julia?
7 In Julia's opinion, what is as bad as being a bully?


It is National Bullying Prevention Month and superstar Julia Roberts and her husband Danny Moder were honored over the weekend for the work they've done to fight bullying. I join Julia and some passionate young people to talk about how bullying has touched all of their lives, including Julia’s.
(1) Twenty-five years ago she filmed Pretty Woman in this very hotel.
Julia Roberts
Yes, that's Julia Roberts back at the Regent Beverly Wiltshire, accepting the humanitarian award from G.L.S.E.N., an organization which aims to prevent bullying against members of the (2) L.G.B.T. community in our schools.
What is the point if not to be kind and unconditional in our love and generosity towards one another?
We had a chance to sit down with Julia before hand with five young G.L.S.E.N. ambassadors Emery…
Hi
Hi, how are you?
Mark, Ben, Peter and Arianna to talk about the issues so many face these days, bullying. Why is this such an important issue for you and for your family?
For my family, because these are the heroes that are leading the way so that my children can go to school unencumbered by this conversation. The future is really riding on people like this.
I'd like you all to go around, if you can think about how bullying has made you feel. If you can sum it up in one word.
I'm gonna start with my own experience and say that bullying... when I have been bullied when I was younger it made me feel (3) insignificant.
That's good.
I would say it has made me feel silenced.
Dehumanized.
I wanna say alone.
Devaluing.
I would say ignored.
If you could change one thing in your school, what would it be?
(4) A majority of just the bullying that happens, mainly occurs from just ignorance, it's not people intentionally trying to be discriminatory. It's just, they don't know.
(5) I know you're a mom of three. I'm a mom of two. Our kids are growing up in such a different world. Bullying takes on so many different forms. What are your concerns as a mother?
The thing that's the most disturbing to me is that this, (6) and it's the anonymous aspect of it that I think gives this sort of courage to people, to be hateful as a sport. It's become like a game, and it's not a game. It's not funny. There is nothing brave or courageous about anonymously writing unkind things. That's what gives power to so much of this hatred. And, I mean,  and I wish we could go back to when I was in middle school and high school and all you wanted to change was the pizza.
Yeah.
You know.
What do you teach your children in terms of tolerance?
We have different versions of this conversation. I do always say to them, you know, remember who you are, be impeccable in every way that you represent our entire family in the day. (7) Because, even to be passive, to be a bystander is to be absolutely as wrong as the person who is standing in the front of the line of cruelty. Even if this isn't your friend, even if this isn't your cause, we're still all humankind. Just everybody's trying to get through the day the best they can.
It's a message these five kids can relate to, and this, a conversation they won't soon forget. And how amazing is it that Ms. Julia Roberts is here, also, throwing out the welcome mat?
Don't even get me started on that.
Yeah, everyone at school, look who you're sitting with now. Right here.
This is our lunch table. This is the cool kids' lunch table.
The cool kids right here.
And of course the chance to take some of the most epic selfies, ever.

Talking point: Bullying

What is a bully?
Describe a bully from your school days.
What are some different types of bullying?
Why do bullies behave this way?
When does bullying become criminal behavior?
What personality traits do bullies typically have?
Have you ever witnessed or taken part in bullying? What did you do? Do you wish you had acted differently?
What type of bullying is worse, online bullying or bullying that is face-to-face?

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?
Bullies are typically people who have more confidence than others.
Banning social media networks on school campuses will help prevent bullying in schools.
Students who are bullied need more help from teachers than their bullies do.
Gossiping is one of the worst forms of bullying in schools.
If a victim commits suicide, the bully should be charged with murder.

Today's conversation topic is about bullying. Get together with the members of your talking group and discuss the questions above.

In preparation for your talking session, you can read the article from The New York Times Behind Every Harassed Child? A Whole Lot of Clueless Adults, which reviews Bully, a documentary by Lee Hirsch released in the US in late March. Here's the trailer of the film.



Here's the transcript for the trailer.

The last couple days, we had heard that Tyler had his head shoved into a wall locker.
They said he's a geek.
My concern is that you are making someone feel so uncomfortable, that they didn't want to be in school.
I feel kinda nervous on school days. I like learning, but I have trouble with making friends.
They said he's a geek, and some kids told him that he's worthless, to go hang himself.
And I think he got to this point to where, enough was enough.
Tonight a tragic situation... A Perkins boy, just 11 years old, believed to have been desperate enough to take his own life.
This is an awfully complicated and difficult issue.
Kids will be kids, boys will be boys.
They're just cruel at this age.
Here, what we get, is "nothing's wrong"? We didn't do anything? Everything's fine.
They punch me, strangle me.
Take things from me. Sit on me.
Give it to him hard!
He's not safe on that bus.
I've been on that bus. They are just as good as gold.
My voice is not going to fall silent.
I will go to my grave, until a difference is made.
I reached out to parent's who've lost kids, parents of kids being bullied all over the world, and it took off like wildfire.
All it takes is for one person to stand up.
Be the difference. Go out and find that one child, that new kid, standing over there by himself. Be willing to stand up for him.
Everything starts with one, and builds up. Eventually, we have an army.
If we all do it together, we will change the world.