Stuck Together: Divorce in the Philippines (Advanced)

ESL/EFL Level: C1/C2 (Advanced)
Lesson Topics: divorce, keys to a happy marriage
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: divorce-illegal-philippines-advanced-062025.docx

  • The lesson begins with warm-up questions about marriage and divorce.
  • The featured video, at 2:30 in length, is an Australian news report describing divorce in the Philippines. The practice is still illegal despite many other nations liberalizing their marriage laws. The video provides discusses the effects of this law on women and the status of bill proposals to make divorce legal. 
  • The video is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
  • Next, students match vocabulary from the passage to definitions. They then form discussion questions with the target vocabulary. 
  • The lesson has two debate prompts related to living together happily.
  • The first speaking activity is an extended role-play. First, students review a list of relationship programs and indicate which are grounds for divorce. Second, assuming their relationship suffers from at least two of these issues, they see a marriage counsellor to get help to save their marriage.
  • Next, students brainstorm four keys to a happy marriage and share their list with the class.
  • Next, students review two famous quotations and the lesson's collocations.
  • Finally, students review vocabulary before discussing some final discussion questions.

A counsellor helping a troubled marriage

ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on Divorce & Marriage

Warm-up          

  1. What is a wedding like in your country?
  2. How have attitudes toward marriage changed in recent decades?
  3. Is the divorce rate high in your country? If so, what factors contribute to this?
  4. What do you think the Philippines and the Vatican (the place) have in common?

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This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.

 

Comprehension Question Answer Key

  1. ...
  2. Because the Philippines is about 80% Catholic, and Catholicism strongly influences laws and social values, including opposition to divorce.
  3. Catholicism spread when the Spanish colonized the country in the 16th century.
  4. Many women, especially poor or marginalized, are trapped in abusive marriages without a legal way out.
  5. Bongbong Marcos
  6. It has passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate for debate.

Vocabulary: 1-g, 2-k, 3-f, 4-h, 5-c, 6-d, 7-a, 8-e, 9-i, 10-b, 11-j

Collocations: 1-c, 2-b, 3-a, 4-d, 5-f, 6-e

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