Solution to Problems
Problems abound in life and many concerned people are constantly looking for
solutions to these problems. You may find yourself in a very serious discussion
about some the more pressing problems facing the world today. Many times in
these kinds of discussions, the answers proposed are just possibilities or
suggestions. There are certain structures that can be used when talking in
possibilities. Look at these examples.
English
Expressions- Solution to Problems
Asking about solutions
Expression: What should we do about
(… high rate of absenteeism in public schools)?
Response: Maybe we should
( … hire truant officers to visit the
student’s home or contact the parents
when students are absent).
Expression: What can be done to (… get more people to vote during national elections)?
Response: How about (…passing a law that taxes them if they don’t vote).
Expression: What is a solution for ( … reducing the hearing lose of employees at this plant?
The machines are so loud they are effecting peoples hearing).
Response: Why don’t we ( … make it mandatory that all employees wear ear
plugs).
Expression: How do we ( … get traffic to slow down on 5th Street? There have been
7 accidents on that
street in the last month because drivers are going to fast).
Response: The city needs to ( … install speed bumps along that stretch
of road. That will slow people down).
Dialogue-
Solution to Problems
Professor: One of the biggest problems facing this country today is
illegal drug use. What are some of your suggestions for solving this grave
social plight?
Student A: Put all the drug users in jail. If they are in jail, they
can’t get or use the drugs.
Professor: That’s a little naive. Illegal drugs are fairly easy to get
in prison, if you know the right people. Another solution.
Student B: I think rehabilitating drug users is the best solution.
Professor: Possible, for some individuals it would work, but, I suspect,
not all.
Student C: The schools need better education programs to warn and
instruct kids about the dangers and consequences of drugs. If kids never start
taking drugs, there is no problem.
Professor: That’s true, but children get much of their education of life
on the streets, not in the classroom.
Student D: Attack it at its source. Bust all the dealers and suppliers
of drugs.
Professor: That might work, if it weren’t impossible to do. I think that
we would all agree, that arresting all dealers and suppliers would be virtually
impossible and prohibitively expensive in terms of money and manpower.
Student E: In my opinion, one of the reasons that drug use is so
attractive to kids is because of its mystique. Their parents say they can’t or
shouldn’t use them, which of course tempts kids to want to try it even more. People always want what they can’t have.
If you eliminate the mystique, you eliminate the problem.
Professor: I’m sure that’s true of a small percentage of people, but not
all.
Student F: How about monetary incentives. The government could give
people money- cash, not tax breaks or other such things, but cold hard cash,
for not taking drugs.
Professor: Now that is a solution I have never heard of or contemplated
before. It might have merit, but it would be very, very expensive.
Student G: I don’t think there is any one solution. All the suggestions
offered so far have merits and faults. It seems to me that using a combination
of all those solutions could be effective.
Professor: I think you’re right. There are no easy answers and it will take
multifaceted approach to eliminate the problem.
Conversation
Activities- Solution to Problems
1. Group or Pair Work- debate
Get into two groups of four or six each for a debate.
One group take the pro side and the other group the con side. If working in
pairs one person take the pro side and the other the con side.
The teams will be debating the
merits and faults of the given solutions to the problems
below. Use the suggestions listed, in addition to your own thoughts, for
possible
points to cover in the debate.
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1. Problem: Littering
Solution:Moderate
fines for people that litter
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Pro
? will act as a deterrent
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Con
? difficult to enforce consistently
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? will generate income for the government
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? doesn’t educate people about the problem
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? will focus peoples attention to the problem
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? cost more to implement than income it would
generate
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? it will serve as just punishment
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? could create ill will among the populace
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2. Problem: Pollution caused by
power plants using fossil fuels
Solution: Replacing those plants with atomic power plant
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Pro
? eliminates major source of pollution
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Con
? too expensive to replace existing fossil fuel plants
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? generates more electricity for less cost
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? would have world wide economic
impact (if fossil
fuel demand decreases substantially)
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? benefits non-oil producing countries
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? fear and danger of nuclear accident
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? conserves natural resources
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? fear and danger of terrorist attacks
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? creates higher educated and
technologically advanced workers
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? is relatively safe
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? there are less health related concerns
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3. Problem: Use of hand guns in
crimes
Solution: Mandatory
20 year prison sentence for any violation, 30 years prison if the weapon
is fired
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Pro
? will act as a strong deterrent
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Con
? it is not just, too severe a punishment
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? is easy to verify and implement
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? would increase already unmanageable prison populations
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? offers greater assurance to potential victims
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? would not really act as a deterrent
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2.
Group or Pair Work- discussion
Get into
groups of three or four people. You are members of the U. N. addressing world
wide issues. Select one of the topics below (or choose your own) and discuss
and present your solutions to them. Cover each of the areas under the identification
and solution of the problem.
Identify
why it is a problem
the people who it is a problem for
its effect on those people
Problem
Illiteracy Water pollution
Population explosion World hungry
Drug use AIDS epidemic
Nuclear proliferation Terrorist groups
Fair and equal access to medical treatment and medicine
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