Using Diverse Source Materials as a Springboard for Efficient Acquisition of Election Vocabulary

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1 Using Diverse Source Materials as a Springboard for Efficient Acquisition of Election Vocabulary Saša Bjelobaba, University College of International Relations and Diplomacy Mirela Landsman Vinković Faculty of Political Science, Zagreb, Croatia Dag Hammerskjöld, Zagreb, Croatia 20 and 21 September 2012 Celje, Slovenia

2 Why e l e c t i o n s and election vocabulary? Omnipresence of elections: 115 elections in 2011 and 70 elections in 2012 (International Foundation for Electoral Systems) Importance of elections: The heart of the political process. Nothing less than democracy in practice. (Heywood 1997: 147)

3 Elections and ESP To-day, of all the weary year, A king of men am I. To-day alike are great and small, The nameless and the known, My palace is the people s hall, The ballot-box my throne! The Poor Voter on Election Day by John Greenleaf Whittier (1852) Journalists, political scientists and diplomats = mediators between poor voters and the political elite

4 Election vocabulary and ESP Denotative meaning Culturally specific connotative meanings Scientific Texts Newspaper articles Audiovisual materials Easy-tounderstand dictionary definitions Poetry Literary texts Songs

5 Poetry (literary texts) and songs as source materials POEMS: The Poor Voter on Election Day by John Greenleaf Whittier (1852) Election Day, November 1884 by Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass (1892) Selecting Presidents by Guy Kettelhack (2008) SONGS: Won't Get Fooled Again, The Who, written by Pete Townshend (1971) The Times They Are A-Changin by Bob Dylan (1964)

6 Denotative meaning of election vocabulary Političke analize - English-Croatian Dictionary of Political Science (prepared by Mirjana Kasapović) Scientific and theoretical texts as source materials Multiple choice exercise: There are single-candidate CONSTITUTIONS / CONSTITUENCIES / CONSTITUENTS and single-choice voting, as in the first-past-the-post / PLACE/ POLE (FPTP) system. To win on the first ballot, a candidate needs an ALL OVER / OVERALL / ALL majority of the votes THROWN /GIVEN / CAST. If no candidate WILL GAIN / WOULD GAIN / GAINS a first-ballot majority, a second, run-off ballot IS HELD / IS BEING HELD / HOLDS between the leading two candidates. (Heywood)

7 2. a) A POLL is a survey in which people are asked their opinions about something, usually in order to find out how popular something is or what people intend to do in the future. 2. b) The POLLS means an election for a country s government, or the place where people go to vote in an election. Polysemy in election vocabulary Easy-to-understand dictionary definitions Matching exercise DEFINITIONS: 1. a) A BALLOT is a secret vote in which people select a candidate in an election, or express their opinion about something. 1. b) A BALLOT is a piece of paper on which you indicate your choice or opinion in a ballot.

8 an authentic context from the press a fill-in exercise with hints in the mother tongue: e.g. Smirnov is one of several activists who infiltrated and followed a group of what he said were "c " v ( carousel voters) (VIŠESTRUKI GLASAČI; GLASAČI S VRTULJKA ), as Russians call people who cast several ballots at different polling stations using documents reserved for a v (absentee voters) (GLASAČE U ODSUTNOSTI).

9 Culturally specific connotative meanings Canvassing = political agitation (politička agitacija) canvassing Political agitation (politička agitacija) Returning officer = the president of an electoral commission (predsjednik izbornog povjerenstva) Why is he/she called returning? What is his or her duty? How many electoral commissions are there? What type of electoral system is used in Great Britain?

10 Crazy parties and crazy candidates =? to avoid misleading interpretaion and misinformation authentic audio-visual materials or some famous television serials such as Monty Python, Yes, (Prime) Minister or The New Statesman besides normal parties, (the Conservatives, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats,the Green Party and the UKIP etc.) or independent candidates - the category of crazy candidates/parties

11 BBC NEWS David Cameron re-elected as MP (07May10) A possible follow-up activity to authentic audio-visual materials: fill-in exercise based on the transcription of an excerpt from the BBC 2010 general election coverage improving students listening and writing skills as well as reinforcing specific vocabulary acquisition Cameron

12 Learning with laughter: Television serials - Monty Python's Flying Circus ELECTION NIGHT SPECIAL election

Final Results 2016 GLA ELECTIONS ELECTION OF THE LONDON ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

Final Results 2016 GLA ELECTIONS ELECTION OF THE LONDON ASSEMBLY MEMBERS ELECTION OF THE LONDON ASSEMBLY MEMBERS Declaration of Results of Poll I hereby give notice as Greater London Returning Officer at the election of the London Wide Assembly held on 5th May 2016 that the