Is it so political?

I watched a beginning level class which is very political. The teacher teach the "although...(but)..." structure. He used a lot of political content in his teaching.

"Is obama an Amercian" (teacher)
"Yes, he is" (student)
"Do you like him?" (teacher)
"although he is an American, I don't like him" (student)

The students are American students and class was on the day before the Presidential election. So the students are very amazed to see that they can express their political point in the target language. But can we really easily bring political things into the class? Yes maybe, but there are at least one condition.

The political issue must be related to their life. otherwise, it would be very difficult to have any discussion.
"Hey, what do you think about taiwan issue?'
Silent...
"Do you think taiwan is a part of China"
Silent...
They look confused. I don't know what they want to say. I am a Chinese. Are they concerned about my feeling? They don't want to offend me? Or maybe because my question is so intrusive and so far-away. Is it not close enought to their own lives and concerns?

There might be more conditions, I believe, to bring about political issues. Yes, it is a big issue, particularly in a language class.