Topic: The process of decolonization

Target group

8th‑grade students of an elementary school

Core curriculum

XXXVI. World after World War II. Student:

6. determines the causes, places decolonization processes in time and space and assesses their consequences;

General aim of education

The student learns about the decolonization processes in 1946‑1975.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• tell when the process of decolonization began;

• explain the UN's position on the existence of a colony;

• tell how decolonization went on in Africa and Asia;

• exchange what colonial conflicts were;

• explain what neocolonialism is.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher plays the recording of the abstract. Every now and then he stops it, asking the students to tell in their own words what they have just heard. This way, students practice listening comprehension.

Realization

1. Reading the content of the abstract. The teacher uses the text for individual work or in pairs, according to the following steps: 1) a sketchy review of the text, 2) asking questions, 3) accurate reading, 4) a summary of individual parts of the text, 5) repeating the content or reading the entire text.

2. The teacher displays the map from Task 1. He reads out the task and, if necessary, helps student work out the answers.

3. Discussing information presented on the timeline. The teacher then divides the class into groups - as many as there are events on the axis. Each team works on one assigned issue, deepening the information contained in the abstract. Then the students present their discussions.

4. The teacher together with the students sums up the current course of classes.

5. Students analyze the illustration and execute Task 3. To answer the question, they can use Internet sources or other publications. The teacher checks the correctness of the answer and provides feedback to the students.

6. Students in pairs solve the Exercise 1. The teacher checks if the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback to students.

Summary

1. The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer?
   If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

2. The teacher asks a willing student to summarize the lesson from his point of view. He asks other students if they would like to add anything to their colleague's statements.

Homework

1. Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

2. Make at home a note from the lesson, for example using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The process of decolonization

The Decolonization, i.e., liquidation of the colonial system, gained momentum after the end of World War II. Conducive to this process were the international situation and the post‑war weakening of the mother countries, as well as the activities of the UN which supported the nations’ ideas of self‑determination and striving for independence. Decolonization may also be said to have resulted from the post‑war transformations: economic development of the colonies, independence movements, and the colonial societies becoming self‑reliant. The process happened in various ways, and the colonial states would either be given their independence or have to fight for it in armed conflicts. The process of liberation of the colonies in Asia began in 1945 (Taiwan). Its culminating point was the gaining of independence by the ‘jewel in the British crown’ – India (1947). Mahatma Gandhi – the symbol of the passive resistance policy – played an important role in this. Subsequently, independence was gained by other British (Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaya), French (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), Dutch (Indonesia), and American territories (Philippines). A few years later, a similar path was followed by African countries which, due to the natural resources located in their territories, had remained dependent on the European mother countries for a longer period of time. However, there too, the growing national identity led to the colonial system’s collapse, whose decisive moment came with the announcement in 1960 (the ‘Year of Africa’ in which 17 countries became independent), by the UN, of the declaration of giving independence to the colonial states and peoples. The births of new countries often led to conflicts some of which lasted many years. These arose both between the former colonies and mother countries (e.g. the Indochina Wars), and between the young countries (e.g. the Indo‑Pakistani wars). In addition, the expansion of communism and attempts to introduce it often ended in conflicts. One of the most famous is the Vietnam War (1964–1975) in which, after years of fighting, the US army had to end its intervention and withdraw its forces, incurring huge losses. In other places too, it very quickly turned out that the gaining of independence was the beginning of problems for the newly formed countries. The lack of political elites, the spreading corruption, and the economic difficulties caused many of the ‘young democracies’ to quickly turn into bloody dictatorships engulfed in civil wars. This was particularly evident in Africa (Uganda, Angola, and Congo). Failure of the former colonies to cope with the new reality resulted in neocolonialism, i.e., dependence and external management of a state which, in theory, is independent and has all the attributes of sovereignty.