Category: Class

Spanish Taxman Investigates Ronaldo Revelations

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some high-profile personalities have been implicated in tax-dodging activities after documents gathered by German weekly Der Spiegel were leaked. Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, is one of them.

Read the article to know more about this tax controversy involving high-profile footballers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40260517

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on this news?

2. What can be done in order to prevent high-profile personalities from committing tax fraud?

3. What changes would you like to see in your country’s tax system?

Business Suits Worn Less

B1 – Intermediate

The choice for what to wear to work is between suit or casual. Every company has a standard dress code for their office workers. As the time progressed, more professionals are seen wearing business clothes less and less. Nowadays, more companies allow their workers to dress more casually. This is to make their staff feel more relaxed and focused on their jobs.

Read the article about how business suits are worn less in offices.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1903/190322-business-suit-1.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “dress code” mean? “The latest international company to relax its dress code is Goldman Sachs.” Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  2. Define “casual“. “Some people think casual dress is not good.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. Define “sloppy“. “He added that if people dress sloppily, people will think the brand is sloppy.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of business clothes and dress codes at work?
  2. Do people in business suits look better and more professional? Explain.
  3. Is it good or bad to dress casually at work? Explain.
  4. What kind of clothes do you wear to work?
  5. Would you be able to work harder in casual clothes at work? Explain.

Apple’s New Apple TV+

B2- Upper Intermediate

Apple is introducing Apple TV+ . It will be streaming original content videos similar to biggest and successful streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon. Many people subscribe to these streaming services and Apple has predicted that it will gain a huge  number of subscribers in the future as well.

Read the article:

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/26/tech/apple-streaming/index.html

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about Apple’s  TV + ? Will the price be affordable for consumers?

2. Apple has succeeded at selling subscriptions, apps, movies and other services to iPhone customers, do you think this new service will be successful too?

3. Would you pay for another streaming company? Why or why not?

4. What kinds of streaming video contents do you think will be appealing to the public?

 

School Children Strike for Climate

B1 – Intermediate

Some school children are going on strikes because they are unhappy. They think their countries are not doing so much about the problems with climate change.

Read more about student activism below:

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1902/190226-school-strike-for-climate-1.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on students going on strikes?
2. “Australia’s leader called for more learning in schools and less activism.” What is your opinion on this?
3. Have you ever joined a strike or protest? What were you fighting for?

Satellites for Worldwide Internet

B1 – Intermediate

A company has launched satellites to make Internet accessible in more places in the world. This can change many people’s lives. However, not everyone is happy about this news.

Read on this news for more information on this satellite project.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1903/190304-worldwide-internet-4.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about this news?
2. Why are some countries not happy with this?
3. Why is it necessary to be connected to the internet?
4. What do you use the internet for?
5. Should everyone be connected to the internet? Why or why not?

Night Vision

B1 – Intermediate

Scientists have given mice the ability to see in the dark. Cells found in mice’s retinas are also found in humans. Researchers hope that one day humans may be able to see in the dark.

Let’s read the article to know how these rodents were able to see better in the dark.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1903/190306-night-vision.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What did scientists inject into the mice’s eyes?
2. How long did the effects of injections last?
3. What do you think of this research?
4. Would you like to be able to see in the dark? Why or why not?
5. What is your opinion on technologies like this that give humans abilities that are beyond what’s normal?

College Admission Scandal

C1 – Advanced

Recently, there’s been news about the cheating scandals on college admission. These involved wealthy families, celebrities, and even politicians bribing their children’s way to college. The prestige of getting into elite colleges is one of their ways to gain more popularity and great awes from those people who innocently believed that these students got accepted because of their wits and efforts and not paying millions of dollars to proctors, coaches, and school administrators of their prospective elite colleges.

Watch the video about the largest college admission scams in the US.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on cheating college admission scandals?
  2. Who do you think is responsible for these crimes and how so?
  3. How does this fraud work?
  4. Do you think the students’ involved in these scams admission should be revoked?

Viral Video

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We see it everyday; people sharing, retweeting, reposting images, videos or even just texts on social media. Most would do it for humour and entertainment. How does an online material get viral? What drives netizens to share them?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-170817

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do people share materials on social media?

2. What are high arousal emotions?

3. What kinds of videos or links do you usually share on social media?

Racial Wealth Divide

C1 – Advanced

Racial discrimination has been a problem all over the word. Some races are treated unfairly and do not feel that racial equality has been achieved in terms of wealth. This wealth gap shows that mostly white household owns more wealth more than its black and Latino counterparts in their total assets.

Watch the video to learn more about America’s racial wealth gap.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain the role banks played in minorities losing their wealth.

2. What is your opinion on this topic?

3. Do you think race is the problem of wealth division?

4. Describe the division of wealth in your country? How does inequality affect the country as a whole?

5. What can we do about racial wealth inequality?

Three-Parent Baby

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The joy of having a child is immeasurable and it is what most couples look forward to. However, there are situations when couples could not possibly have a normal and healthy offspring due to the genetic disorder of one of the would-be parents. Science has found the answer, but are parents willing to replace their genes with another person’s to conceive a healthy child?

Let’s learn more about the three-parent baby.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-150402

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the three-parent baby work?

2. Why is there a need for a three-parent baby technique?

3. What is your stand on this issue? Do you think it is morally acceptable to undergo this process?