Teaching English with a twist of controversy

Ok, so I have two different classes to whom I teach English. One has a mix of ages (as young as nine to as old as seventeen) called "Class of the Boarder," which basically is a bad translation for "The Boarding Students' Class." The other is the Senior 2 class who are mostly 17-18 year olds.

My senior 2 class has turned out to be an enjoyable challenge. Most of the students already know basic English, and they become bored with simply learning grammar or composition. So whenever I can, I try to present philosophical/social problems for the class to talk about in English. This way they have to exercise their ability to make coherent English sentences and also think about, what they call, "controversial" subjects. (Of course, their idea of controversy is much tamer than in the United States, where even the most sensitive issue is open for discussion.)

In my first class, I brought up the subject of love and divorce; comparing the situation in the United States to that of China. I asked them, if love and romance are so important to a relationship, why is the divorce rate in America (where couples so often claim to be "in love" before marriage) so much higher than in China?

Some of the class's opinions included the fact that "Americans have more passion," are more easily familiar with each other, and also that Americans prioritize romance between the couple before the unity/happiness of the (extended) family. One student said, in China it is very important to keep your parents-in-law (not to mention your own parents) happy.

The next day, we talked about life after death and the existence of the soul. We left this subject rather quickly, because it seemed as though everyone bought into the Marxist doctrine of rejecting the possibility of all spiritual phenomenon. One student said that a group of scientists found that the body loses weight when a human dies, which she said they attributed to the weight of the soul. It was obvious that my students hadn't put much previous thought into this subject. I had to laugh at the citing of that experiment, and the class also thought it was funny (the girl laughed too). In any case, I asked them to write a few sentences about the existence of the soul after death. Some of the students actually defended the possibility of a soul, but most of them thought that the soul dies with the body. (They seem to think that the soul is as dependent on the body as the body is on the soul.)

Anyway, I have to prepare for that class now. I have to think of something exciting to talk about. Godspeed.

Blessings and MSG,
Mavaddat