unit11

Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
• In politics, polls are used to obtain information about people’s (voters’) attitudes toward issues and candidates / help politicians make decisions / help analysts predict the result of an election, a political campaign, etc. • In business, polls are used to find out what potential customers want / what customers like or dislike about a product or service. • Factors that affect the accuracy of opinion polls include sample size, question wording, order of questions, interviewing skills, etc.
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
Here are some sentences and structures that you might find useful in discussing the above questions. • An opinion poll is a survey of public opinion on a certain subject / a study in which people are asked for their opinion about a certain subject or a certain person / a snapshot of the opinions of a group of people at a particular time. • When conducting a survey, pollsters ask a representative sample of their opinions and then generalize their findings to the larger population.
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
• In order to ensure the accuracy of poll results, interview questions must be properly worded and tested before use, the sample scientifically selected, and the data from the poll correctly analyzed. • Many people doubt the reliability of opinion polls / are not convinced that the opinions of a small sample of the population are a reliable representation of the opinions of the whole / think poll results are not objective.
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
7. Do you think opinion polls are true reflections of public opinion? Why or why not? No, I don't think opinion polls are true reflections of public opinion. Sometimes, polling organizations try to use polls to influence rather than to reflect public opinion. For example, early in 1945 the Gallup Poll released results of a survey which showed that a majority of voters favored a "work or fight" bill rather than attempts to get people into war jobs by voluntary methods. The division of opinion was reported that "Favor keeping voluntary methods"
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
5. What is the use and value of opinion polls? 6. What factors affect the accuracy of opinion polls? 7. Do you think opinion polls are true reflections of public opinion? Why or why not?
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
6. What factors affect the accuracy of opinion polls? The accuracy of opinion polls is the extent to which they accurately reflect the true population opinions that they are intended to measure. Various factors may affect public opinion poll results' accuracy, including the sampling frames and the procedures used to select individuals from these, the questions asked and the response mechanisms employed, the interviewer's characteristics, the timing of polls, the identification of likely voters, and the treatment of undecided respondents. These
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
• If the sample of a poll is well selected, it represents a near replica of the entire population. • Some polls are unreliable / biased / not accurate. They are based on samples that are too small or badly chosen. / The questions they ask are confusing and can actually distort public opinion. • Polls sponsored by interest groups should always be taken with caution. Poll questions can be framed and samples chosen to produce answers favorable to the interest group.
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
• In general, the larger the size of the sample, the more reliable the results. • The sample of a poll must be representative of the whole population. • A biased sample, no matter how large, cannot be trusted. • Inappropriately phrased questions may affect poll results and reduce the reliability of a poll.
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Listening Tasks
Word Bank
Speaking Tasks
Exercise 1 Exercise 2
ห้องสมุดไป่ตู้
Language and Cultural Notes
percentage absurd nominal
penalize prohibitive
n. a rate, number, or amount in each hundred 百分比 a. ridiculous or unreasonable 荒谬的，荒唐的 a. (of a price or sum of money) very small (价格或 金额) 微不足道的 v. to punish 予以处罚 a. (of a price or charge) excessively high （价格或 收费）使人望而却步的
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
• Public opinion surveys are conducted by telephone / by mail or email / in person / online. • Polling topics can be as diverse as public policies, controversial social issues, elections, consumer preferences, and academic research projects. • Opinion polls provide the best direct source of information about public opinion. • Polls give people an opportunity to express their views on issues that affect their lives.
UNIT 11
Opinion Polls
Unit 11 Opinion Polls
Pre-listening Task Language Focus
Questions for Discussion 1. What is an opinion poll? 2. How are opinion polls conducted? 3. What topics are usually surveyed in opinion polls? 4. Have you ever been asked to participate in an opinion poll? If yes, what was it about?