Category: Class

Rule of Personal Communication

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We all want to make a good impression when we meet people for the first time, but how?

Read the article and find out what role body language plays in communication and what gestures to use when you want to make an excellent first impression on somebody. 

https://www.rightattitudes.com/2008/10/04/7-38-55-rule-personal-communication/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “incongruent” mean, “The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude, especially when they are incongruent: if words and body language disagree, one tends to believe the body language.” Use this in a sentence.
  2. What does “substantiate” mean, “These non-verbal elements can present a listener with important clues to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings and thus substantiate or contradict the speaker’s words.”? Use this in a sentence.
  3. What does “only a fraction” mean, “In communication, a speaker’s words are only a fraction of his efforts”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this statement, “If a speaker’s words and body language differ, listeners are more likely to believe the nonverbal communication of the speaker, not his words.”?
  2. How can one be effective and persuasive in their verbal communication?
  3. What is the most crucial factor you pay attention to when you talk to someone? Is it their appearance, manners, or behavior? What about their voice and gestures?
  4. Are you surprised at the statistics? Why or why not?
  5. How do you control your voice and gestures when you talk to someone?

Spot A Vacation Rental Scam

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Short-term rentals have become more popular nowadays, especially among travelers. Most of them prefer renting Airbnb places because of their low cost, convenient location, and household amenities. Unfortunately, fraudsters have started scamming people.

Read the article to learn how to spot a vacation rental scam.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-spot-vacation-rental-scam-airbnb-vrbo_l_63bed1f6e4b0b2e1506d1838

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to get bad press” mean, “These types of accommodations have also gotten bad press, thanks to reports of fraudsters using fake listings to swindle families out of their hard-earned vacation dollars.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  2.  What does “swear by something” mean, “Many travelers swear by short-term rentals due to their space, privacy, and price options.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  3. What does “fall victim to” mean, “If you fall victim to any type of vacation rental scam, it’s important to report it immediately…”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you prefer Airbnb to hotels when on a vacation? Why/why not?
  2. How and where do you usually book accommodations?
  3. What do you look for in accommodations?
  4. Have you or anyone you know experienced getting scammed when booking on Airbnb? Share this experience.
  5. Do you think the techniques mentioned in the article are helpful? Why/why not?
  6. What are other ways to avoid falling victim to rental fraud?

Hong Kong Needs Tourists

B1 – Intermediate

Countries all over the world have been affected by the pandemic. One of the countries that suffered the consequences is Hong Kong.

Now, the government needs to think of ways to boost tourism again.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about what Hong Kong is doing to attract more tourists into their country.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/hong-kong-needs-tourists-level-3/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “lure” mean, “Hong Kong will give 500,000 air tickets to lure tourists and businesses back to the city.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”revive” mean here, ”The government is seeking to revive the economy and repair Hong Kong’s global image after 2019’s violent protests and three years of self-imposed isolation during the pandemic.”? Give at least one (1) other definition of this word and use it in a sentence.
  3. What is a “giveaway”? “The giveaway will begin at the start of March and will last six months.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why does Hong Kong have problems with low tourism?
  2. What is your opinion on their campaign to get more tourists to visit their country? Do you think it will work? Explain.
  3. What would you do if you won a free flight to Hong Kong?
  4. What does your local and/or national government do to attract tourists to visit?
  5. What are some interesting activities/events in your city/country?

Noise

B1 – Intermediate

Noise is defined as an unwanted and unpleasant sound that causes annoyance to people. A particular sound may be music to someone, but a noise to another.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about noise.

https://listenaminute.com/n/noise.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “noise pollution” mean? “It’s strange to think that in the past few decades, people have been talking about noise pollution.” Explain and give examples of it.
  2. What does “get to someone” mean here, “I live in the city, so noise is everywhere. Sometimes it gets to me.“? Use this idiom in a sentence.
  3. What does the word “surrounding” mean, “It’s stuff that makes our surroundings unpleasant.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of noise pollution?
  2. Do you ever think that some music is just noise? Why?
  3. Is there a noise that you really can’t stand? What is it and what happens when you hear it?
  4. What do you do when people are very noisy near you?
  5. What effects can too much noise have on people and the environment? Explain.

Spot a Phone Scammer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Phone scams are quite prevalent these days. Although this may seem like a little problem, it has had a large-scale impact and made the fraudsters very wealthy and their victims forever scarred.

Check out this video to learn how to spot a phone scammer.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is a “cold-call“, “Cold-call scammers pretending to be from the HMRC are targeting households threatening legal action unless you call them back.“? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does the idiom “out of the blue” mean, “The HMRC will never contact you out of the blue and threaten you with arrest.“? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  3. What does the phrase “at hand” mean, “The issue at hand is extremely time-sensitive.“? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about cold-calls?
  2. Talk about some kind of calls such as this that you have received and how you handle it.
  3. If you had the ability to help stop these scam call centers, what would you do?
  4. How can you and others close to you prevent being phone scammed?
  5. Do you believe that law enforcement could do a better job in this type of situations? How so?

The Science Behind TikTok Brain

B2 – Upper Intermediate

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create and share short-form videos with a wide range of music, filters, and other effects. Studies have shown that its usage can activate the release of dopamine in the brain, which is associated with pleasure and reward. The fast-paced, highly-engaging nature of TikTok videos can make it difficult for users to look away and can lead to addiction.

Watch the video about TikTok’s impact on the brain, behavior, and mental health.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is “dopamine hit“? “They are getting these dopamine hits that feel good, just the way it does when people sometimes use drugs or they use alcohol, or they become addicted to other things.” Explain what it does to our body.
  2. What does the phrase “spike up” mean, “We see that it gets spiked up.“? Use it in a sentence. Ex. Running up the stairs spike up my heart rate.
  3. What does the idiom “take [ the bull ] by the horns” mean, “As an adult, I can take that by the horns and just make a change.“? Make one sentence using this expression. Ex. I took the bull by the horns and confronted him about his mistreatment of the workers.

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the video, what is a “TikTok Brain”?
  2. Do you have a “TikTok” account? If so, how do you feel when you’re engaged on it? How does it affect you?
  3. What are some negative effects of it and what do you think of this?
  4. What might be the positive effects of scrolling and scrolling through TikTok?
  5. While potential harmful effects of using TikTok exist, what should be done to curb its impact on mental health?

Rage Applying

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There’s no denying that everyone gets stressed with their job one way or another. There are lots of contributing factors as to why employees get sick and tired of their jobs. On the contrary, people are using this very stress they get from work to move to greener pastures.

Read the article to learn about rage applying and how it can possibly benefit employees.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/is-rage-applying-the-new-quiet-quitting-heres-what-experts-say.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to be fed up with someone/something” mean in the sentence, “She was fed up with her job.? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “jump from the frying pan into the fire” mean here, “You have the potential to jump from the frying pan into the fire.“? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  3. What does “telltale” mean here, “A tell-tale sign of rage applying is when candidates pursue about a dozen different jobs.“? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on rage applying?
  2. In your opinion, what are the reasons some workers are rage applying?
  3. What are the pros and cons of rage applying?
  4. Do you consider your job stressful? If yes, what are your coping mechanisms?
  5. Have you done rage applying? If yes, why? If not, would you consider doing it?

Forex Trading Guide

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some people mastered a new lifestyle — living without a traditional job. Some go into trading currencies. This could be an unconventional, but good way of making money. 

Read the article and know the fundamentals of forex trading.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/11/why-trade-forex.asp

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is the meaning of “portmanteau“, “Forex (FX) is a portmanteau of foreign currency and exchange.”? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of a “triennial“, “According to a 2019 triennial report from the Bank for International Settlements (a global bank for national central banks), the daily trading volume for forex reached $6.6 trillion in 2019.”? Use it in a sentence.
  3. What is “(market) liquidity“, “It features in six of the seven currency pairs with the most liquidity in the markets.”? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Cite some of your key takeaways about forex trading from the article.
  2. What do you think are the qualities that make a good trader?
  3. How do you stay abreast with the ever-changing financial markets?
  4. Why might some people consider forex trading a scam? Have you tried forex trading?
  5. Do you think anyone is capable of forex trading? Why?
  6. Is it a good alternative to a regular job? Why?

The Pressure to Have the Perfect Birth

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Every birth story is unique and there is simply no such thing as a “perfect birth.” With that said, the more equipped we are for any major life journey or transformation, which would include acknowledging the truth of a Plan B or C, the more comfortable we will be when we are already in the situation.

Of course, when a beautiful newborn baby awaits you, it’s impossible to imagine being frustrated with the journey.

But as researchers noted in one study, individualized emotional support has been shown to empower women and increase the possibility of a positive birth experience. Women wanted to be recognized and viewed as wonderful human beings by their practitioners and their partners.

Read the article to know more about positive birth and hypnobirthing movements.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230122-positive-birth-and-hypnobirthing-movements

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “hold much weight” mean, “And for many women, approaches like these have never held much weight, if you want to give birth as painlessly as possible, why not just use every modern medical intervention and drug available?”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  2. What does “laser-focused ” mean, “Feeling like there was one right way to have a baby, it made me laser-focused on that right way.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the idiom “things started to go sideways” mean, “As a result, when things started to go sideways, it was very hard for me to adapt.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it possible to “have a ‘beautiful’ birth experience without medical intervention”? Explain.
  2. What are some benefits of natural birth?
  3. What is the meaning of a very positive birth experience?
  4. What factors contribute to a positive birthing experience for the mother?
  5. Do you believe that having contingencies, in addition to birth plans, is important? Discuss your opinion.

Voice Help Diagnose Illness

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Several studies have been conducted on and have proven how a person’s voice holds key information about their health. 

A team of 45 investigators from Europe and North America are working together to collect human voices as data. They hope to use this information to help identify a variety of medical conditions in patients just by analyzing their voices with the help of AI computer softwares.

Watch the video to know more about how one’s voice could help diagnose illnesses.

https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-could-your-voice-help-diagnose-your-next-illness/6941387.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “tackle” mean, “The study is one of four data generation projects funded by the National Institute of Health bridge to artificial intelligence program designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”gap” mean here, ”They realized that there were such a big gap between the technology that we had available and the clinical knowledge and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.”? Give two synonyms and use these words in sentences.
  3. What does the word “enroll” mean? “The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this study?
  2. In your own opinion, is our voice a good indicator of our underlying or imminent disease or condition? Explain your point.
  3. How would you like your voice to be used to diagnose an illness that you might have?
  4. What might be the good and bad things about using our voice to help diagnose some medical conditions?
  5. Would you be willing to participate in such a study? Why or why not?