Korea’s aging population

49 ESL Conversation Games & Activities - Jackie Bolen 2020


Korea’s aging population

1. Warm-up

A. An aging population is often considered to be a negative thing. Are there any positives that you know of?

B. Do Koreans in general think of this issue as a big problem?

C. Has the government taken any steps to reduce this problem?

D. Are there other countries that you know of which are facing similar problems?

2. Read the article and think about the questions

A. What are the negative things about Korea’s aging population? Are there other things not mentioned by the article?

B. What are the positive things? Are there other things not mentioned by the article?

C. What is the current ratio of senior citizens to working age people? What is the projection for 2050?

D. When will the working age population in Korea peak? Is there a demographic reason for this that you know of?

E. Do you think that increasing the labor force participation will be helpful?

3. Let’s have a debate

Side A: An aging population is not really a big problem for Korea and the government should take no steps to reduce this problem.

Side B: An aging population is a really big problem for Korea and the government should take immediate action to reduce this problem.

Round 1: With your teammate, give a 3-4 minute introduction speech. You have 10 minutes to prepare

Round 2: Question/Answer period (5 minutes/team)

Round 3: Closing arguments (2-3 minutes/team)

4. Speech time

A. What are some possible solutions to this problem? Let’s think of 5-6.

B. Choose one and prepare a 2 minute speech about why this is the best solution.

5. Let's work on speaking quickly

You must give your speech one more time, including all the same information but you only have 90 seconds to talk. You must either speak more quickly or more concisely.