Activity By Skills: Cross-Cultural Communications

How do culture systems play a role in constructing demographic processes such as family size, age of marriage and childbearing, the care of the elderly, etc. Students examine one of the following case-studies and write an essay or have a group discussion with others in the class who chose (or were assigned) the same reading.

Start the activity by showing the BBC video on China’s One Child policy. Then divide the class into multiple roles to debate the policy: 1) government official, 2) businessmen, 3) women’s activist, and 4) farmer. Students should sit in groups of four and, as their character, discuss the continuation of the One-China Policy.

Divide the students into pairs to debate the final premise of the video: as the population increases the value of life decreases. Students should take a pro/con perspective. Students should sit in pairs and debate this quote.