about stock and shares

[sallyhoudongmei]

I will give a lesson(to college students) titled "stock and share", this passage is about some concept of capital, share, dividends, government stock. I have to design a lead-in part, though stock market is very hot in china now, I still don't know how to make this topic alive to students' taste. You know they are non english majors, they only need to learn some practical english.
what I want is a lead in part, use simple english words to start this topic, or some good activities that can make the students warm up, I need the opening up, the ending and marterials related to this process of teaching, the more detailed, the better!
help me! there will be inspectors from school authority to listen to my class, it is really important for me.
I had thought, first, give the students a video clip of news relating to china stock market then let the student tell me what it is about, and lead in, what do you think? I want you advice, even the classroom language, give me plan, thousands of thanks!

[Stilo]

This is such a wide and involved subject. I could go on for hours but as fun and punchy lead in


How about starting with a Bull and a Bear and ask "What is the connection between these animals and the Stock Market?" or "What part do these animals play in the stock market?" Kicks off student involvement?

Stilo

By the way it is normally referred to as plural Stocks and Shares.

[sallyhoudongmei]

Stilo:
I really grateful for your advice. Can you help me more, how to explain the concept stocks and shares in a simple way?
can you design some interactive questions between i and my students? You know it is not a topic of daily life, so give me more,thank you!!!

[Stilo]

Originally Posted by sallyhoudongmei

Stilo:
I really grateful for your advice. Can you help me more, how to explain the concept stocks and shares in a simple way?
can you design some interactive questions between i and my students? You know it is not a topic of daily life, so give me more,thank you!!!

Sally It is difficult not knowing how much you know yourself, about stocks and shares and I do not know your teaching style or the stage your students are at..
I am not a teacher other than I have gained a TEFL qualification and a business English qualification, for future use. I have, as yet, not put it to use.

I worked for a bank for many years, and dealt in stocks and shares, securities etc but it is not easy for me to marry the two in this forum.
Regards
Stilo

[Stilo]

1. Businesses must have money to purchase or rent premises, to buy machinery, stock and to pay their workforce. The owners maybe able to cover the setup costs, but often the business requires additional monetary support. The cash and assets of a company are referred to as Capital. People investing in the company, by purchasing shares in the company, are called shareholders.

2. The company financial stockholding is usually divided into shares in units of either 25p, 50p, or ￡1, but it never distributes shares in a combination of values.
Initially the owners may have invested £1000.00 in £1.00 shares at a cost of £1.00 per share. When the company has grown and repaid the set up costs, it may wish to raise addition funds by way of a further injection of capital. At this stage the company approaches the Stock Market and asks for its shares to be 'floated' on the market.

3. The Stock Market will value the shares and offer them for sale at the market price on the day of the launch. Investors purchase the shares by using the services of a stockbroker or bank. The more successful a company, the higher the price of its shares. If a company is not performing or a worldwide event hits the price of all Stock Exchange quoted shares, the price may fall and maybe less than the original purchase value. Any financial institution will always give a 'Health Warning' on the price of shares, warning that prices may fall as well as rise.

4 When money is invested in shares, the Shareholders, of course, hope the business will make a profit. When the company does begin to make a profit, the Company Board, which are elected by the Shareholders, may decide to distribute some of the profits, to the Shareholders. This distribution takes place once a year after the end of the company's financial year and the company's profits are announced. If the company is doing well it may pay a dividend of, say, 10p for every ￡1 share. This is often expressed not in pence per pound but as a percentage – in this case it would be 10%.

5 The government also has a requirement to borrow money from the public. Government stocks are known as “gilt-edged securities”. This originated from the certificate, on which the loan was recorded, had a gold edge similar to those found on the pages of old books. Later the term “gilt-edged” came to have a wider meaning, standing for safety and security. The government is an institution that should never fail to pay its debts. Normally the government promises to repay the money borrowed within or at a certain specified time.

Sally

I would use this as a handout, look at my changes, only you can decide if the change in language still makes it appropriate for a handout which your class will understand.

I would use your words i.e. the scenario of a factory, man, Mr Smith etc in the class situation, as you can personalise it more, by drawing the individual items on the board.
I would start off with the Stock Market video as you suggested and from this find out what the class already know about the subject.
I will supply some questions and come back to you by mail with regard to other ideas you may wish to use, but it does depend on how long the lesson has been allocated.
Hope this helps but if you have any comments or queries do come back to me.
Regards
Stilo

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Stilo

People investing in the company, by purchasing shares in the company, are called shareholders.

And they are, in fact, the owners of the company. Also, stock and shares are the same thing.

[RonBee]

Try:

Businesses must have money to purchase or rent premises, to buy equipment and to pay their workers.

[RonBee]

We buy stock in a company or we buy shares of stock.

~R

[RonBee]

You cannot buy stock in the government, but you can buy bonds from the government.

~R

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by sallyhoudongmei

I I have to design a lead-in part, though stock market is very hot in china now

The stock market is very hot in China right now.