This lesson deals with sensitive topics of the recruitment of underage soldiers, the situation of contemporary war veterans and the ambiguous role of the miliary forces. From the sweetly innocent-sounding theme of childhood toys it drifts towards the most bitter aspects of contemporary military conflicts and images which will be disturbing to some, and unsuitable for sensitive adults and young learners.

Minimal language level: C1

Ingredients:

• video commercials of action figure toys
• photos of action figure toys
• information published by the anti-war charity – Veterans for Peace
• the Guardian video documentary [follow-up]

Theme:

• childhood, war, military service, truth and lies

Language aims:

• speaking: negotiating opinions, expressing strong emotions
• reading: facts vs opinions, attitudes of authors
• reading&listening: understanding the gist and details
• language: adjectives to express anger

 

 

Attribution:

• Information (articles and inforgraphics) and images (videos and photographs) from Veterans for Peace`s project Battlefield Casualties
• YouTube video commercial for H.M. Armed Forces action figure toys
• the Guardian`s documentary video: British army criticised for recruiting 16-year-olds
• Photos: Pixabay.com