This lesson introduces key vocabulary related to Human Rights, the central theme of Unit 9. You will learn ten essential words and expressions used to discuss rights, freedoms, and social justice, and you will practise using them accurately in context.
Key Vocabulary
| Word | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| dignity | noun | the state of being worthy of respect | Every human being deserves to be treated with dignity. |
| equality | noun | the state of being equal in rights and opportunities | The charter promotes equality between men and women. |
| oppression | noun | unjust treatment or control of a group of people | The novel describes decades of political oppression. |
| advocate | noun / verb | a person who supports a cause; to publicly support something | She is a well-known advocate for children’s rights. |
| discrimination | noun | unfair treatment based on race, gender, religion, etc. | The law bans discrimination in the workplace. |
| freedom of speech | phrase | the right to express opinions without censorship | Freedom of speech is protected by the constitution. |
| violation | noun | an action that breaks a law, right, or rule | Human rights groups reported serious violations. |
| justice | noun | fair treatment according to the law | The victims are still waiting for justice. |
| refugee | noun | a person forced to leave their country to escape danger | The camp shelters thousands of refugees. |
| tolerance | noun | willingness to accept beliefs or behaviour different from one’s own | Schools should teach tolerance and respect for diversity. |
Word Family Focus
Many human rights words belong to word families that change form depending on their grammatical role. For example, the adjective equal gives the noun equality, the adverb equally, and the negative adjective unequal. Similarly, the verb oppress produces the noun oppression, the adjective oppressive, and the past participle adjective oppressed, used to describe people. The verb discriminate gives the noun discrimination and the adjective discriminatory. Recognising these patterns helps you build vocabulary quickly: once you know one form of a word, you can often guess the others simply by changing the suffix.
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1 — Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box: dignity, equality, discrimination, refugee, tolerance. 1) The organisation fights against racial ___ in schools. 2) After the war, she became a ___ in a neighbouring country. 3) The teacher encourages ___ towards students of different backgrounds.
Exercise 2 — Match each word to its correct definition: 1) advocate 2) oppression 3) violation 4) justice — a) an action that breaks a right or law, b) fair treatment under the law, c) a person who supports a cause, d) unjust control of a group of people.
Exercise 3 — Choose the correct word form to complete each sentence: 1) The government’s policy was clearly (discriminate / discriminatory) against minority groups. 2) Citizens have the right to live in (equal / equality) under the law. 3) The prisoners were treated in an (oppress / oppressive) manner.
Exercise 4 — Rewrite each sentence using a word from the Key Vocabulary table instead of the underlined phrase: 1) The right to say what you think freely is protected by law. 2) The soldiers showed no respect for the prisoners’ basic human worth.
Exercise 5 — Decide if each statement is True or False: 1) A refugee is someone who chooses to move abroad for a better job. 2) Discrimination means treating everyone the same way. 3) An advocate supports a cause publicly.
Exercise 6 — Write two original sentences about human rights using at least three words from the Key Vocabulary table.
Answer Key
Answer 1 — 1) discrimination 2) refugee 3) tolerance
Answer 2 — 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b
Answer 3 — 1) discriminatory 2) equality 3) oppressive
Answer 4 — 1) Freedom of speech is protected by law. 2) The soldiers showed no respect for the prisoners’ dignity.
Answer 5 — 1) False 2) False 3) True
Answer 6 — Answers will vary. Example: Every citizen deserves equality and dignity, and any form of discrimination should be punished by law.
