Participant materials B2.

2 Module 6

Module 6
World Health
READING: You're Getting Too Much Healthcare

SPEAKING: ¨So much/many¨ and ¨too much/many¨ to talk about healthcare

SPEAKING: Vocabulary to talk about healthcare decisions

LISTENING: CVS To Offer In-Store Mental Health Counseling

WRITING: Email to your local pharmacy

READING: Healthcare Systems Around the World

SPEAKING: “So + adjective + that” and “too + adjective + to” to describe healthcare systems

WRITING: Opinion column about healthcare in Ecuador

LISTENING: India Aims For The World's Biggest Health Care Overhaul

READING: Healthcare Systems Around the World

LISTENING: He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing Breakthrough Stopped

It

Writing: Paragraph about our risks

SPEAKING: Intensifiers to talk about major medical advances

SPEAKING: Vocabulary to talk about trends with diseases

READING: The 10 Most Important Health Breakthroughs You Missed During the Pandemic

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

READING: You're Getting Too Much Healthcare

Read at:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/youre-getting-too-much-healthcare/281896
Santa Cruz, J. (December 13, 2013.)You're Getting Too Much Healthcare . The Atlantic.

List the reasons the author gives that explain why Americans are getting ´too much´ healthcare:
1.
2.
…

Now rank the reasons from most to least harmful.

SPEAKING: ¨So much/many¨ and ¨too much/many¨ to talk about healthcare

It is common to use “so much” and “so many” to indicate large quantities:

Nowadays, there are so many different cancer treatments.

We still have so much to learn about the causes of dementia.

These are sometimes confused with “too much” or “two many.” These expressions with “too”
also indicate a large quantity, but additionally imply that the quantity is problematic. Note
the different implications:

He works so much. (He works 60 hours a week, and brings work home on weekends.)
He works too much. (He never spends time with his children, and it’s bad for his health.)

They have so much money. (They’re rich.)

They have too much money. (They fight about money, their money provokes conflict.)

Doctors in the U.S. prescribe so many medications. (Many medications are available, and used.)
Doctors in the U.S. prescribe too many medications. (They prescribe more than they should.)

Note that “so/too many” is used with countable nouns, and “so/too much” is used with
uncountable nouns and with actions.

The previous reading discusses the use and overuse of various health interventions in the U.S.
healthcare system. What about the Ecuadorian healthcare system? What interventions are used,
over-used, or under-used? Does the problem described in the previous reading occur in Ecuador?

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

SPEAKING: Vocabulary to talk about healthcare decisions

intervention - an action taken to investigate, improve, or modify a situation or problem

genuinely - truly, authentically
outweigh - to be more significant or more important than something else
incentivize - to motivate someone to do something by giving a reward or benefit
liability - legal responsibility
steer toward - to suggest, guide, or push someone to take some action or choose a certain
option

Think about some of the medical or healthcare decisions you’ve made in your life. What factors
influenced you, and how? What people influenced you, and how?

LISTENING: CVS To Offer In-Store Mental Health Counseling

Listen at:
https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2021/04/20210427_me_cvs_trial_would_provide
_access_to_mental_health_services.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1029&d=270&story=990899374&dl=
1&sc=siteplayer&siteplayer=true&size=4321325&dl=1
Noguchi, Y. (April 29, 2021.) CVS To Offer In-Store Mental Health Counseling. NPR.

How would you explain CVS´s plan to a friend of colleague? Take notes about the reasons behind
this plan, in order to explain why CVS is taking this initiative:
A.
a. …
b. …
c. ...
B. …
C. ...

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

WRITING: Email to your local pharmacy

Write an email to the manager of a local pharmacy making suggestions for a new service that you
think the pharmacy should provide. Edit it for correct use of so much/many, too much/many.

READING: Healthcare Systems Around the World

Read at: https://www.news-medical.net/health/Healthcare-Systems-Around-the-World.aspx

Thomas, L. (April 6, 2021.) Healthcare Systems Around the World. News Medical.

Focus on one country or region described in the article. Take notes summarizing the key
characteristics, strengths, and limitations of the healthcare system in that place. Then explain
what you learned about healthcare in that part of the world to your group.

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

SPEAKING: “So + adjective + that” and “too + adjective + to” to describe healthcare
systems

We can use the phrases “so + adjective + that” and “too + adjective + to” to indicate
relationships between situations, showing that the amount or degree of something leads to
some result:

Healthcare is so expensive that many people go bankrupt.

This indicates that the amount of expense causes people to go bankrupt. ¨So + adjective +
that” shows that the amount or degree of something causes an action.

She was absent so often that she lost her job.

The treatment was so effective that she had no further symptoms.

We use “too + adjective + to” to show that the amount or degree of something prevents or
impedes an action.

He was too sick to work.

This indicates that he did not work, because his degree of sickness prevented it.

It was too late to start treatment.

The treatment was too dangerous to use.
They were too poor to go to the hospital.

One of the big differences between healthcare systems is public versus private systems. What
strengths and limitations does each type of system have? What type of system do you think
would be ideal?

WRITING: Opinion column about healthcare in Ecuador

Write an opinion column about the healthcare system in Ecuador and edit it for correct use of “so
+ adjective + that” and “too + adjective + to”.

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

LISTENING: India Aims For The World's Biggest Health Care Overhaul

Listen to the complete audio at:

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/08/14/638187029/india-aims-for-the-worlds-b
iggest-health-care-overhaul
Frayer, L. (August 14, 2018.) India Aims For The World's Biggest Health Care Overhaul. NPR.

Make a list of the changes that India plans to implement:

1.
2.
…

Now rank the changes from the best to the worst ideas, in your opinion.

READING: Healthcare Systems Around the World

Return to the article “Healthcare systems around the world” and read a different section (in
addition to the section you read during class this week) and make a Venn Diagram
comparing/contrasting the healthcare systems in these two places.

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

LISTENING: He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing

Breakthrough Stopped It

Listen at:
https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2021/06/20210626_atc_crispr_infusion.mp3?orgI
d=1&topicId=1128&d=236&p=3&story=1009817539&dl=1&sc=siteplayer&siteplayer=true&size
=3787173&dl=1
He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing Breakthrough Stopped It. (June 26, 2021.) NPR.

How would you define CRISPR? Take notes about CRISPR as you listen, and prepare your own
definition based on what you heard.

Writing: Paragraph about our risks

Some people are excited about the possibilities of CRISPR technology, and some people are
concerned. (For examples of this debate, see this article.)

Write a paragraph giving your own opinion about CRISPR technology, and edit it to include more
examples.

SPEAKING: Intensifiers to talk about major medical advances

We often use intensifiers with adjectives to make them stronger and add emphasis. The most
common intensifier is “very”:
CRISPR is a very innovative technology.

Some adjectives already have a strong meaning: “enormous,” for example, means “very big”
and “tiny” means “very small.” We cannot use “very” with this kind of adjective, but we can use
other intensifiers such as “really,” “truly,” “extremely,” ”incredibly,” “especially,” “terribly,” and
many more. These other intensifiers can be used with strong adjectives, and also with ordinary
adjectives.
The impact of this breakthrough has been truly enormous.
The evidence seemed incredibly tiny in the beginning.
It was terribly difficult to understand all the causes of this situation.

Think about some medical advances that have impacted your life. What made these advances
especially significant for you?

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU
 Participant materials B2.2 Module 6

SPEAKING: Vocabulary to talk about trends with diseases

conduct (v) - to execute (as in, to execute a project, activity, experiment, etc.)
trigger - to cause, start, or provoke something
placebo - something that seems to be a medical treatment, but really has no effect
transplant - surgery to replace an organ
mechanism - the specific process that produces some effect
endemic - common or often found in a specific region or population
incidence - the probability of having a specific condition (often used to describe the rates at
which people contract a disease)
breakthrough - a discovery or invention that is important, dramatic, and sudden

Think of a disease that is endemic to your province. How prevalent is it today, and why? How is it
being treated and/or prevented?

READING: The 10 Most Important Health Breakthroughs You Missed During the
Pandemic

Read at: https://time.com/6071578/health-breakthroughs-covid-19/

Kluger, J. (June 10, 2021.) The 10 Most Important Health Breakthroughs You Missed During the Pandemic. Time.

Rank the 10 breakthroughs mentioned, from most significant to least significant. Explain your
ranking, based on what you read and your own ideas.

Material creado por EIL Ecuador para el proyecto Ecuador Habla Inglés,
con auspicio de la Embajada EEUU