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Unit 13 Lesson 6
Citizens and their rights
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• discussed the rights of citizens and foreigners
• read an extract from a journal and answered questions based on it
• written an informal letter
A Work in pairs. Tick the activities in the following list that you think a foreigner in another country (who is not a citizen) is allowed to do.
stay for as long as he wants, do a permanent job, buy a house, marry and live there with his family, study in an educational institution, go anywhere he wishes, go to the cinema, start a business, vote, go sightseeing
B When a person becomes a citizen of a country s/he gains the right to do certain things. Read the following list of the rights of a citizen and explain what they mean.
Rights of the citizen
• to marry and have a family
• to reside permanently and move about freely
• to have own property
• claim nationality and the right to vote
• to peaceful congregation and socialization
• to demand no interference in private life, family life, residence or exchage of letters
• to equal rights in government jobs
• to equal rights in government jobs
• to have freedom of thought
C Read the following extract from a German journal. This article was published in October 1999, so It is written in the future tense. Rewrite the first paragraph in the past tense to make it suitable for the present year. Do you need to change the rest of the article also into the past tense?
Approximately 100,000 children who do not hold German citizenship are born in the Federal Republic of Germany every year. This situation will change on 1st January 2000, when a now citizenship law comes into force. From that day on, children born in Germany to non-German parents will receive German citizenship at birth. The citizenship reform consists of the following points. The children of non-German parents will receive German citizenship at birth in Germany if the father or mother has been legally resident in Germany for eight years. The parent must hold a permanent residence certificate or have held an unlimited residence permit for three years. If these children also acquire the citizenship of another country at birth they must choose between their German and non-German citizenship within a period of five years following their eighteenth birthday. If they wish to keep their German passport, they must prove that they have given up or withdrawn the citizenship of another country. If they do not do so, their German citizenship will be taken away.
Foreigners will thus be able to apply for naturalisation after only eight years rather than the present period of fifteen years. Those seeking naturalisation must be able to support themselves and their families without the help of social security payments, must not have committed crimes and must also prove to possess adequate knowledge of German.
The Federal Government considers the reform an important contribution towards the integration of the foreign population. The acquisition of German citizenship entails not only rights, but also duties, for example the obligation to do military service for a short period, which is compulsory in Germany.
Answer in brief.
1 Can all non-German children residing in Germany apply for citizenship?
2 What must non-German citizens decide after they are 18 years old?
3 What is the age limit by which they must let the authorities know of their
decision?
4 What criteria must adult non-Germans fulfil if they want to apply for
citizenship?
5 What do you think is "naturalisation"?
6 What is compulsory for getting German citizenship?
D Imagine you have an uncle living in Germany with his son, who is sixteen years old. He can speak Bengali but cannot read it. He is also a Bangladeshi citizen by birthright. You are very friendly with your cousin. Write a letter to him in English expressing your reactions to the article on German citizenship and what you think he should do.
Focus:
Skills.
Speaking, intensive reading,, writing. Functions.
Interpreting information, expressing obligation.
Grammar/Structure.
Present perfect tense, obligation-must, should, have to.
Vocabulary.
integration,
acquisition, naturalisation, adequate.
This text will be replaced
Unit 13 Lesson 6
Citizens and their rights
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• discussed the rights of citizens and foreigners
• read an extract from a journal and answered questions based on it
• written an informal letter
A Work in pairs. Tick the activities in the following list that you think a foreigner in another country (who is not a citizen) is allowed to do.
stay for as long as he wants, do a permanent job, buy a house, marry and live there with his family, study in an educational institution, go anywhere he wishes, go to the cinema, start a business, vote, go sightseeing
B When a person becomes a citizen of a country s/he gains the right to do certain things. Read the following list of the rights of a citizen and explain what they mean.
Rights of the citizen
• to marry and have a family
• to reside permanently and move about freely
• to have own property
• claim nationality and the right to vote
• to peaceful congregation and socialization
• to demand no interference in private life, family life, residence or exchage of letters
• to equal rights in government jobs
• to equal rights in government jobs
• to have freedom of thought
C Read the following extract from a German journal. This article was published in October 1999, so It is written in the future tense. Rewrite the first paragraph in the past tense to make it suitable for the present year. Do you need to change the rest of the article also into the past tense?
Approximately 100,000 children who do not hold German citizenship are born in the Federal Republic of Germany every year. This situation will change on 1st January 2000, when a now citizenship law comes into force. From that day on, children born in Germany to non-German parents will receive German citizenship at birth. The citizenship reform consists of the following points. The children of non-German parents will receive German citizenship at birth in Germany if the father or mother has been legally resident in Germany for eight years. The parent must hold a permanent residence certificate or have held an unlimited residence permit for three years. If these children also acquire the citizenship of another country at birth they must choose between their German and non-German citizenship within a period of five years following their eighteenth birthday. If they wish to keep their German passport, they must prove that they have given up or withdrawn the citizenship of another country. If they do not do so, their German citizenship will be taken away.
Foreigners will thus be able to apply for naturalisation after only eight years rather than the present period of fifteen years. Those seeking naturalisation must be able to support themselves and their families without the help of social security payments, must not have committed crimes and must also prove to possess adequate knowledge of German.
The Federal Government considers the reform an important contribution towards the integration of the foreign population. The acquisition of German citizenship entails not only rights, but also duties, for example the obligation to do military service for a short period, which is compulsory in Germany.
Answer in brief.
1 Can all non-German children residing in Germany apply for citizenship?
2 What must non-German citizens decide after they are 18 years old?
3 What is the age limit by which they must let the authorities know of their
decision?
4 What criteria must adult non-Germans fulfil if they want to apply for
citizenship?
5 What do you think is "naturalisation"?
6 What is compulsory for getting German citizenship?
D Imagine you have an uncle living in Germany with his son, who is sixteen years old. He can speak Bengali but cannot read it. He is also a Bangladeshi citizen by birthright. You are very friendly with your cousin. Write a letter to him in English expressing your reactions to the article on German citizenship and what you think he should do.
Focus:
Skills.
Speaking, intensive reading,, writing. Functions.
Interpreting information, expressing obligation.
Grammar/Structure.
Present perfect tense, obligation-must, should, have to.
Vocabulary.
integration,
acquisition, naturalisation, adequate.