みなさんは「児童労働」と言う言葉を聞いたことがありますか？世界各国には、様々な形態で強制的に働かされている子供達がたくさんおり、労働に従事する5~17歳の子供は世界中の子供の10人に1人と言われています。親の収入が不十分で働きに出かけざるを得ない子供達もいれば、人身売買や、兵士として徴用される子供達もいます。大きな問題とされ、近年状況は少しずつ改善されているものの、新型コロナウィルスの影響により、児童労働に従事する子供たちの数は再び増加傾向にあるとも言われています。こういった児童労働は子供達から教育の機会を奪い、彼/彼女らの未来を奪っているとも言えます。以下のリーディングを読み、児童労働、特に最悪の形態の児童労働を減らすために私たちは何ができるでしょうか？考えてみましょう。

次の語句に最も適切な定義や同義語を選んで記号で答えましょう。

1. toiling (a) a person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act

2. firm (b) the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work.

3. Eritrea (c) of considerable importance, size, or worth.

4. prevalent (d) work extremely hard or incessantly.

5. enforce (e)company 

6. trafficking (f) widespread in a particular area or at a particular time.

7. exploitation (g) factory

8. substantial (h) an organized plan for doing something

9. vocational (i) relating to an occupation or employment.

10. scheme (j)　エリトリア (アフリカ東部の国)

11. plant (k) deal or trade in something illegal.

12. perpetrators (l) cause (something) to happen by necessity or force

Reading Page:

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/15/world/child-labor-index-2014/index.html

(1) According to paragraph 1, what problems do the ten countries have in common?

(a) They rank high on the list of economically poor countries.

(b) Because crops are being forced into crop failure, all rank as top ten poor. countries. 

(c) These are the 10 countries with the most problems regarding child labor.

(d) None of the above

(2) Why do problems related to child labor arise in economically important countries like China, India, Russia and Brazil?

(a) Because there are no laws regarding child labor.

(b) This is because those countries do not have adequate laws regarding child labor.

(c) Because there are many Children in those countries who eager to work because they need to help their family income.  

(d) None of the above 

(3) Which of the following is NOT true? 

(a) In China, problems related to child labor are becoming more serious.

(b) In China, various measures are being taken to improve the situation of child labor.

(c) Many children are still forced to work in China's domestic manufacturing. industry.

(d) The example of child interns in China illustrates a significant current supply chain risk for companies. 

(4) Choose the best answer from the following.  

(a) In South America, problems related to child labor have become more serious in recent years. 

(b) According to the report by the International Labor Organization, the child labor rate rose by 3% in four years.  

(c) Between 2008 and 2012, the working conditions of many children have not changed. 

(d) Overall, there has been a gradual improvement in children's labor issues. 

(5) In the last paragraph, the author mentions the ranking held by the International　Labor Organization. Choose the wrong answer from the following.  

(a) The ranking has been developed taking into account the frequency and severity of child labor problems.  

(b) Ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable is one factor to consider when creating rankings. 

(c) One of the purposes of this ranking is to encourage companies to hire older workers rather than children.  

(d) One of the purposes of this ranking is because they believe that companies need to know the risks of hiring children.

Video やReadingで紹介されている事象に対して、どのように思うか自分なりに考えて意見を発表してみよう。

(1) 日本語で意見を言ってみよう。

(2) 英語で意見を言ってみよう。

　詳細な説明や理由を付け加える時

Let me elaborate. ~~~~~~~~~.

I mean, ~~~~~.

What I mean is that ~~~~~~~.

In fact, ~~~~~~.

As a matter of fact, ~~~~~~.

Another reason is that ~~~~~~.

(3) 英語で意見を聞いてみよう

Q. 発展途上国の工場で児童労働があるとして、そこから部品や製品を買っている先進国の企業の側はそのような強制的な労働をなくすためにできることがあるのでしょうか？When an organizations like ILO finds child labor in factories in developing countries, is there anything that companies in developed countries which purchase parts and products from them can do to eliminate such forced labor?

回答例As a matter of fact, some developed countries including France and the U.S. now require major corporations to investigate their supply chains for forced labor vulnerabilities.