Who is Watching the Watchers?

In this C1 ESL lesson, students talk about oversight and accountability, learn vocabulary related to fraud and watchdogs, and use modal perfects to speculate and criticize.

Warm-up:

Students answer a few questions about the topic of the lesson. Then they match different watchdogs with what each one does.

Video:

Students learn some key legal terms and then watch a video titled “Former CIA officer pleads guilty to stealing nearly $200M in gold bar case.” After watching the video, they answer a few questions and discuss how the fraud went unnoticed.

Vocabulary:

The students complete sentences with expressions about oversight failing, such as “turn a blind eye” and “blow the whistle.” After that, they choose the correct words to complete a set of collocations.

Grammar:

Learners study modal perfects for speculating and criticizing, including passive and continuous forms. 

Exercises:

The students decide whether sentences express speculation or criticism. After that, they correct mistakes in a set of sentences and rewrite sentences using a modal perfect. In the last section, they react to a few real-life situations using the new grammar.

Reading:

Learners read a short text about the Wirecard scandal, in which Germany’s financial regulator went after the journalists instead of the company. They then answer questions about the text and find words in it that match a set of definitions.

Discussion:

The students discuss whether intelligence agencies should follow the same transparency rules as other government bodies. Finally, they discuss a few questions about whistleblowers, the free press, and whether oversight can ever be truly independent.