www.headsupenglish.com/index.php/better-language-teaching

www.headsupenglish.com/index.php/grammar-worksheets

The Biggest Cheaters Upper-Intermediate - Listening

Heads Up English - 1 www.headsupenglish.com

the ARTICLE (for teachers)

The Biggest Cheaters In the past year, 56% of MBA graduate students admitted to cheating, such as plagiarizing, copying the work of another student, or bringing answers into a test. This figure means that masters of business administration students cheat more than any other type of graduate student in any other field. More worrisome is the fact that many MBA students assume that cheating is okay. With the recent rise in corporate scandals in the last few years, cheating is looked at as an acceptable form of business practice. The authors of the report understand that something must be done, because ignoring the problem simply supports the belief that cheating is accepted and commonplace. The fear of lawsuits ties the hands of many professors, though; in this respect, the academic world has begun to mimic the corporate world. All you need is the threat and the muscle to sue in order to get what you want. More needs to be done to enforce ethical codes before cheating occurs. Graduate students need to be taught, and they need to understand, that ethics matter in business. Therefore, faculty should repeatedly talk with students about academic ethics that begins with recruiting, continues in orientation sessions and initiation ceremonies, and continues throughout the program. Others have suggested putting into practice a community based reward-punishment system; all the members of the community, in this case MBA students in a class, are punished in some way by a cheater. Experts say this copies the real business world, where a community of shareholders has a common interest. They are affected equally by the decisions of a company or company representative.

Teacher's Notes:

* Underlined words in red typeface are the answers.

The Biggest Cheaters Upper-Intermediate - Listening

Heads Up English - 2 www.headsupenglish.com

the Article (for students) Listen and fill in the missing sentences. Compare your answers with a partner, and

then listen once more.

The Biggest Cheaters In the past year, 56% of MBA graduate students admitted to cheating, such as a) _______________________ _________________________________. This figure means that masters of business administration students cheat more than any other type of graduate student in any other field. More worrisome is the fact that many MBA students assume that cheating is okay. With the recent rise in corporate scandals in the last few years, b) ______________________________________________________________. The authors of the report understand that something must be done, because ignoring the problem simply supports the belief that cheating is accepted and commonplace. The fear of lawsuits ties the hands of many professors, though; in this respect, the academic world has begun to mimic the corporate world. All you need is the threat and the muscle c) ____________________________________________________________. More needs to be done to enforce ethical codes before cheating occurs. Graduate students need to be taught, and they need to understand, that ethics matter in business. Therefore, faculty should repeatedly talk with students about academic ethics that begins with recruiting, continues in orientation sessions and initiation ceremonies, and continues throughout the program. Others have suggested putting into practice a community based reward-punishment system; all the members of the community, in this case MBA students in a class, are d) _________________________________________ _________________. Experts say this copies the real business world, where e) _________________________ __________________________________. They are affected equally by the decisions of a company or company representative.

Notes:

The Biggest Cheaters Upper-Intermediate - Listening

Heads Up English - 3 www.headsupenglish.com

STEP ONE Discuss: Do you agree or disagree? Why?

a. It's okay to cheat because everyone does it, at least sometimes. b. The business world is dishonest. c. If you want to get ahead and make money, you need to bend the rules a little. d. If I knew that I wouldn't get caught, I would cheat on a test. e. The biggest cheaters are businessmen.

STEP TWO Questions: Read as much of the article as you can in two minutes. Guess the answers to the questions below, then listen to your teacher read the article. Try to confirm your answers.

a. How does the article explain "cheating?" b. What happens if nothing is done about cheating in the classroom? c. Why are professors afraid to do much about the problem? d. What should faculty engage in? e. What options does the article mention to control cheating?

STEP THREE Fill in the Blanks: Listen to your teacher read the article again. Fill in the blanks with the missing words.

STEP FOUR Vocabulary: Circle any additional unknown words/phrases in the article. In pairs/groups, use your dictionaries to understand the meanings. Present to the class.

STEP FIVE Discuss: Talk about the following questions in pairs/groups. Remember to support your answers!

a. What was your general impression after reading this article? b. Have you ever cheated on a test? Why/not? When? c. What are your opinions regarding cheaters and cheating? d. What would you do if you were caught cheating?