Child Labour

Let's focus on the /ɪə/ sound. Listen carefully — it's the sound you hear in 'tear' when you cry. Sawa? Here are some words with the /ɪə/ sound. Repeat after me: tear, appear, rear, clear, severe. Take it pole pole — feel the glide from 'ih' to 'uh'. Minimal pairs. 'Tear' vs 'tare' — one is crying, the other is a weight. 'Clear' vs 'Clare' — one means easy to see, 'Clare' is a name. Can you hear the tiny difference? A full sentence: 'The severe labour conditions made the orphan appear sad.' Say it slowly, and make sure the /ɪə/ sound stretches nicely. Done, everyone!

The title of our passage is 'Children Have Rights'. This is a very important topic, and we are going to read about it together. First, look at these three key rights listed here: the right to safety, the right to education, and the right to play. Every child in the world deserves these things. Keep these three ideas in mind as we read. Let's read the first sentence together: 'Every child has the right to education and protection from exploitation.' Can you say 'exploitation' with me? It means when someone uses you unfairly, like making you work for very little pay. That is why we need these rights. We have a worked example. See how we can use these words to explain our ideas. Finally, I want you to look at the bottom instruction. Please highlight any determiners — words like 'the', 'a', 'every' — and also look for words with the /ɪə/ sound, like 'career' or 'here'. This will help you with your pronunciation and grammar.

Today let's focus on determiners — those little words that come before nouns. We'll look at some, enough, each, and a lot of. A determiner is a word placed before a noun to add meaning — like telling us how many or how much. For example, 'some' can mean an unspecified number, and 'enough' means as much as needed. 'Some chores are safe' — the word 'some' tells us an indefinite number. 'Each child deserves enough food' — here 'each' points to every individual child, and 'enough' shows the right amount. 'A lot of children work as domestic servants' — 'a lot of' means a large number. Notice how each determiner changes the meaning of the noun it comes before. At the first blank: '_____ children are orphans.' Which determiners fit? 'Some' and 'a lot of' both work because 'children' is a countable noun. For the next one, '_____ child needs love' — you'd use 'each' because it talks about every single child. For 'There isn't _____ food for everyone', 'enough' fits because food is uncountable. Good job, everyone! Remember: determiners like some, enough, each, and a lot of help us be more precise when we talk about nouns. Notice whether the noun is countable or uncountable — that'll guide your choice. Sawa, let's move on.

We'll use a real-life example: filling out a report form for the Children's Department. Here is our worked example. Imagine a 12-year-old orphan who is working as a house help. We need to fill out a report form to help this child. Pay attention to the details in the scenario. This is the form we need to fill. It has sections for the child's name, age, guardian, school, and the reason for the report. Every section must be completed accurately. Remember: neat handwriting, correct spelling, and completeness are very important. These forms are official, so they must be done properly. If the case is serious, it may be referred to the Children's Court. That means a judge will decide what is best for the child. Let's think about this — why do you think some cases go to court? I'd like us to discuss.

These phrases are used every day by native speakers, and they are really fun to learn. Let's jump right in! First up is 'work like a dog'. This means to work very hard. Imagine a sheepdog running all day to herd sheep — that's working like a dog! When someone says 'I've been working like a dog', they mean they've been putting in a lot of effort. Have you ever seen a dog work hard? Next is 'donkey work'. A donkey is often used to carry heavy loads or do the same boring job over and over. 'donkey work' means dull, repetitive tasks that nobody enjoys. For example, copying the same words many times can feel like donkey work. A famous proverb: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'. This means if you only work and never take time to rest or have fun, you become boring and unhappy. That's why we have breaks, games, and holidays — to keep us sharp and happy! Balance is key. This connects to a serious issue: child labour. Some children have to work long hours instead of going to school or playing. As the proverb says, children need play and rest to grow well. They need to learn, play, and be kids. We must remember that every child deserves time to play, not just work.