English For Today chapter 9: Adolescence

Unit Nine : Adolescence

Lesson 1

Storms and Stresses of Adolescence

A. Warm up activity

Figure

Description: Several young people stand together outdoors, some holding books or notebooks.

Discuss the questions in pair.

❑ What age group do you belong to? (16-17, 18-21, 22-23).

❑ Do you think you are old enough to face the world? Why?

❑ Do you ever feel that people do not pay you much attention because of your age? Why?

B. Read the text below and answer the questions that follow:

i. Children must pass through several stages in their lives to become adults. For most people, there are four or five such stages of growth where they learn certain things: infancy (birth to age 2), early childhood (3 to 8 years), later childhood (9 to 12 years) and adolescence (13 to 18 years). Persons 18 and over are considered adults in our society. Of course, there are some who will try to act older than their years. But, for the most part, most individuals have to go through these stages irrespective of their economic or social status.

ii. World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies adolescence as the period in human growth and development that occurs after childhood and before adulthood. This phase represents one of the critical transitions in one's life span and is characterised by fast paced growth and change which are second only to those at infancy. Biological processes drive many aspects of this growth and development with the onset of puberty marking the passage from childhood to adolescence. The biological determinants of adolescence are fairly universal; however, the duration and defining characteristics of this period may vary across time, cultures, and socio-economic situations. This period has seen many changes over the past century— puberty for example, comes earlier than before, people marry late, and their attitudes and

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behaviours are different from their grandparents, or even parents. Among the factors responsible for the change are education, urbanization and spread of global communication.

iii. The time of adolescence is a period of preparation for adulthood during which one experiens several key developments. Besides physical and sexual maturation, these experiences include movement toward social and economic independence, development of identity, the acquisition of skills needed to carry out adult relationships and roles and the capacity for abstract reasoning. While adolescence is a time of tremendous growth and potential, it is also a time of considerable risks during which social contexts exert powerful influences.

Figure: source: internet

iv. Many adolescents face pressure to use alcohol, cigarettes, or other drugs and to initiate sexual relationships putting themselves at high risk for intentional and unintentional injuries, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many also experience a wide range of adjustment and mental health problems. Behaviour patterns that are established during this period such as the use or avoidance of drugs and taking or abstaining from sexual risk can have long-lasting negative and positive effects on future health and well-being. As a result, adults have unique opportunities to influence adolescents.

v. Adolescents are different both from young children and adults. Specifically, adolescents are not fully capable of understanding complex concepts, or the relationship between behaviour and consequences, or the degree of control they have or can have over health decision-making, including that related to sexual behaviour. This inability may make them particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and high-risk behaviours. Laws, customs, and practices may also affect

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adolescents differently than adults. For example, laws and policies often restrict adolescents' access to reproductive health information and services, especially when they are unmarried. In addition, even when services do exist, provider attitudes about adolescents often pose a significant barrier to the use of those services.

vi. Adolescents depend on their families, their communities, schools, health services and their workplaces to learn a wide range of skills that can help them to cope with the pressures they face and make a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. Parents, members of the community, service providers, and social institutions have the responsibility to both promote adolescent development and adjustment and to intervene effectively when problems arise.

[Source: http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/dev/en/ http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/teens_stages]

C. The passage above has six paragraphs (i-vi). Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs (i-vi) from the list given below. There are more headings in the box than the number of paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

List of headings

a. A journey towards adulthood

b. Adolescence and education

c. Stages of human life

d. Need for collective efforts

e. An observation by World Health Organisation

f. A transition period

g. The adverse effects of taking drugs

h. Influence of culture on adolescents

i. Potential health hazards

j. A vulnerable age

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D. Match the words in Column A with the meanings in Column B in the table below:

E. Answer the following questions:

a. What changes are experienced by adolescents?

b. What are some of the potential health risks faced by adolescents?

c. How are adolescents different from children and adults?

d. What role can society and community play in helping adolescents?

e. Do you think you are getting enough support from your family, school and community? What do you expect them to do for your proper development?

F. Suppose you are going to give a presentation on the possible health problems that adolescents may face. What problems will you highlight and what solutions would you offer? Write a paragraph (about 150 words) on the topic.

G. What do the following words and terms mean?

a. infancy

b. puberty

c. transition

d. defining characteristic

e. provider attitude

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Lesson 2

Adolescence and Some (Related) Problems in Bangladesh

A. Warm up activity

❏ Look at the pictures and discuss the following questions in pairs.

Figure: a

Description: A girl in a sleeveless blue top stands with both arms wrapped around a wooden pole, in front of a corrugated tin wall.

Figure: b

Description: Outline drawing of a person sitting with head in hands, surrounded by icons: a mobile phone, a cigarette, a syringe, a cannabis leaf, a pill capsule, a game controller, a beer mug, a bottle with a red label, and a small packet with a drop of blood.

Figure: c

Description: A girl in a red dress and red headscarf sits on the ground with her legs stretched out.

Figure: d

Description: A young woman in a patterned shawl holds a thin baby against her chest; the baby has a dark mark on its forehead.

source: internet

a. What does each of these photographs show? b. What are some typical health problems affecting adolescent boys and girls? c. Who, do you think, are more vulnerable to adolescent health problems–boys or girls? Why? d. Why should all of us say 'No' to habit-forming drugs of every kind?

B. Now read about some typical health problems experienced by adolescent girls and boys in Bangladesh.

i. Adolescents constitute a nation's core resource for national renewal and growth. Adolescence is a period in life when transition from childhood to adulthood takes place and behaviours and life styles are shaped. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescence is the period which shapes the future of girls' and boys' lives. There are more then 31 million adolescents in Bangladesh; 13.7 million of them are girls and 14.3 million boys.

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ii. The situation of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is characterised by inequality and subordination within the family and society. This inequality leads to widespread practice of child marriage, marginalisation or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse.

Figure

Labels: What are the consequences? ; Teen and unplanned pregnancies of young adults are at the root of many health & social issues. Description: Black-and-white close-up photo of a young girl's face, with a caption printed across the top and a caption band across the bottom of the picture.

Photo: http://smartteens.cfsites.org/files/sadgirl2.jpg

iii. In Bangladesh, the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. However, 33 percent of adolescent girls are married before the age of 15 and 60 percent become mothers by the age of 19. Research finds that adolescents with higher level of education and from more affluent families tend to marry at a later age. Boys, however, become ready for marriage only after several years of adolescence and young adulthood.

iv. When a girl gets married, she usually drops out of school and begins full-time work in her in-laws' household. In the in-laws' house, she is marginalized. She becomes vulnerable to all forms of abuse, including dowry-related violence. In Bangladesh, it is still common for a bride's family to pay dowry, despite the practice being illegal. Dowry demands can also continue after the wedding. For an adolescent bride, even if her in-laws are supportive, there are significant health risks in terms of pregnancy and child birth. The majority of adolescent brides and their families are uninformed or insufficiently informed about reproductive health and contraception. The maternal mortality rate for adolescents is double the national rate.

Figure

Labels: I DONT WANT TO LOSE MY DREAMS; [unclear] Description: Several girls in white headscarves stand close together outdoors; two of them hold up handwritten placards. The front placard reads "I DONT WANT TO LOSE MY DREAMS", and the other placard has handwriting that is [unclear].

Source: Internet

v. When adolescent girls are pulled out of school, either for marriage or work, they often lose their mobility, their friends and social status. The lack of mobility among adolescent girls also curtails their economic and non-formal educational

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opportunities. Moreover, they lack information about health issues. According to a study, only about three in five adolescents have even heard of HIV. It is also reported that more than 50 percent of adolescent girls are undernourished and suffer from anaemia. Adolescent fertility is also high in Bangladesh. The contribution of the adolescent fertility rate to the total fertility rate increased from 20.3% in 1993 to 24.4% in 2007. Moreover, neonatal mortality is another concern for younger mothers.

vi. While the situation for adolescent boys is somewhat better, many are vulnerable and lack the power to make decisions about their own lives. Many boys who are unable to go to school, or are unemployed, remain unaware of social or health issues. They are at considerable risk of being drawn into criminal activities. They are also more likely to get exposed to drugs and alcohol.

Figure

Description: A group of young men and women stand close together outdoors in front of a green plant background; a young man in a checked shirt stands in front, folding his arms.

source: The Internet

Sources:

1. Health Profile of Adolescents and Youth in Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh, 2007, available at: http://ban.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Publication_Health_Profile_of_Adolescents_and_Youth_in_Bangladesh.pdf.
2. Unite for Children, UNICEF, Adolescent Empowerment Project in Bangladesh, 2009, available at http://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/Adolescent_Empowerment_%28KA%29.pdf

C. Read the following statements and decide if they are true or false. If a statement is false, correct it.

a. In Bangladesh there are more adolescent boys than adolescent girls. b. Many girls in Bangladesh get married before they reach the legal age for marriage. c. A bride's family has to pay dowry only before the wedding. d. More than half of Bangladeshi adolescent girls cannot meet their dietary needs. e. Many adolescent boys in Bangladesh are likely to be involved in various forms of criminal offence.

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D. Column A of the following table lists some causes while Column B lists the effects. Match the causes with the effects and join them to make sentences using 'as', 'since' or 'because'.

E. Find the meanings of the words given below and then make sentences with them.

a. dowry b. mobility c. contraception d. undernourished e. vulnerable

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F. The text in Activity B has six paragraphs (i-vi). Choose the most suitable headings for the paragraphs from the list of headings below. There are more headings in the box than the paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

List of headings

1. Reasons for adolescent fertility
2. Concerted efforts to address adolescents' needs
3. Importance of adolescent population
4. A process of disempowerment of women
5. The curse of early marriage
6. Consequences of taking drugs
7. Unfortunate state of adolescent girls
8. Boys are not free from certain risks
9. Violence within the family

G. One of your cousins living in a different city is a teen now. Write an email to her/him suggesting what to do during this transitional period of life.

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