In the wake of violent clashes between groups of protesters at a halal food festival in Ascot Vale on 3 April, 3AW’s Neil Mitchell interviewed Nick Folkes, who attended the festival to protest against halal practices. Folkes is Chairman of ‘The Party for Freedom’, a group who describe themselves on their website as a ‘patriotic party’ that wants to create a ‘viable alternative’ to ‘major treasonous political parties’ in Australia. He makes statements that some people will find deeply offensive but that are not uncommon online, on talkback radio or in the comments of mainstream news publications. No matter what your position on this issue, be aware that this isn’t comfortable listening.
The language and attempts at persuasive argument in the interview are not subtle, so this is a great text for teaching the fundamentals of analysis. It provides stimulus for discussions about tone – especially the way that words and intonation combine in spoken language to indicate changes in attitude – and for critically examining the logical development of arguments and the use of evidence, including the difference between assertions, opinions and well-formed arguments. Mitchell also provides a clear demonstration of how persuasive language can work to position two different audiences simultaneously: listeners and Folkes.
As a listening task for Year 11 EAL students, you will probably need to play the interview through in its entirety first for students to get a general feeling for the content, then play it a second time in sections to discuss the specific details. The guiding questions attached will provide both short-answer comprehension and detailed discussion ideas.
As an argument and language analysis task for Year 11 and 12 English and EAL students, stopping the recording at significant moments during a first listen will open up some great discussions about how our perceptions and preconceptions change and develop as we listen to a text. You could also listen to the whole interview straight through and ask students to note down how they feel and what they think as they listen. The attached guiding questions will also help students step through an analysis of the interview’s key features. This interview might also provide some interesting material for Exploring Issues of Identity and Belonging Context studies.
Scroll down for a content breakdown that will help you to assess if these resources are right for your school context or class, and for a free downloadable PDF of guiding questions and writing tasks. Please note that all links below and in the PDF will take you to third-party sites.
With best wishes for a productive and smooth term 2,
Sandra Duncanson
Senior Editor
Mornings with Neil Mitchell, 3AW, segment with anti-Halal protester Nick Folkes, 4
Commentary about the interview and reports about the protest violence include:
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