Category: Class

Is the Death Penalty Ever Moral?

C1 – Advanced

Capital punishment or death penalty is a practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime.

Supporters of the death penalty say it is an important tool for sustaining law and order, inhibits crime, and costs less than life imprisonment.

Detractors of capital punishment say it is not a disincentive to committing crime. They say life sentence is a more severe and less expensive punishment than death.

Are there circumstances under which a murderer deserves the death penalty? In other words, should capital punishment be abolished or not?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree with capital punishment?
  2. Which is worse, life imprisonment or the death penalty?
  3. Do you think the victim’s family should be able to choose the method of execution?
  4. Is the death penalty a deterrent to violent crime?

Binge Drinking

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Binge drinking refers to the excessive consumption of alcohol in a single setting. It is very common among people in several countries worldwide, and is somehow similar with social drinking since it is often done in groups.

Binge drinking is considered a serious public health problem, but can be prevented.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What drive people to binge drink?
  2. What health effects do overindulging in alcohol have?
  3. What can be done to prevent knocking drinks back like it’s an Olympic sport?
  4. What kinds of social problems does alcohol cause in your country?
  5. Talk about the drinking culture in your country.

Prepare Kids for the Future in the Workplace

B2- Upper Intermediate

Having successful children is what most parents aspire for. As much as we should let kids be kids, we should also think about how to raise them in order for them to be workplace-ready.

How do we prepare our children to excel in the workplace in the future?

https://www.inc.com/video/jt-odonnell/how-to-raise-kids-who-will-succeed-in-the-workplace.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What advice did the speaker share? Do you agree or disagree?

2. What are ways to raise successful children?

3. Should children be raised always thinking they should constantly strive for success?

4. How did you prepare for joining the workforce?

5. Talk about a challenge you had at work and how you overcame it.

The Art of the Business Lunch

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In the business arena, having a business lunch is important as offers can be made, partnerships can be formed and deals can be closed. How much do you know about having successful lunch meetings?

Let’s learn some tips and be ready to share what you know.

Discussion Questions:
1. What did you learn from the video?
2. Who should order and what should you order? What’s meant by “not scratch-made”?
3. What other business lunch etiquette do you know?
4. Is it good or bad idea to bring a small gift for the host/hostess?
5. Is being punctual important? Why or why not?

Test 214

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What Japanese Prison Food is Like

B2 – Upper intermediate

Prisons all over the world have dark and sinister reputations. Living the life of an inmate is very hard to envision for most people. Just imagine eating prison food every day. What a nightmare it must be.

However, in a prison in Abashiri, Japan, the surroundings and even the food is quite different from what we all know.

Take a look at the video to find out more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the video all about? Explain it in your own words.
  2. Do you know of anyone who has ever been to prison?
  3. Talk about prisons in your own country. What do you know about them?

Determiners Some and Any

The determiners Some and Any are often confused. These words are placed before count and non-count nouns. They express an indefinite number or quantity.

There are some children in the classroom.

NOTE: We aren’t talking about the exact number of children in the classroom.

I haven’t got any problems.

Tiffany has some relatives in Prague.

Uses of Determiners Some and Any

  • Both determiners some and any are used with a singular and a plural noun.

Have you got any questions?

→ Any is used with the plural noun questions.

We haven’t got any money.

→ Any is used with the singular uncountable noun money.

  • Remember to use some in an affirmative sentence with both countable and uncountable nouns.

I need some water.

There are some books on her desk.

All she needs is some time to think.

  • On the other hand, we use any in a negative and an interrogative sentence.

They haven’t got any children.

Have you got any milk?

Exceptions

  • Sometimes, some is used in making polite requests and offers.

Would you like some coffee?

→ This sentence sounds more natural than ‘Would you like any coffee?’

Could I have some salt and pepper, please?

→ This is a polite request.

Determiners Some and Any Exercise

Answer this exercise on determiners some and any.

1. Everyone makes ___ mistakes in life.

a. some

b. any


2. Could we have ___ bread?

a. some

b. any

3. Allison didn’t make ___ mistakes during her performance.

a. some

b. any


4. They have ___ money so they will buy a new computer.

a. some

b. any


5. Please go to the supermarket because we don’t have ___ milk anymore.
a. some

b. any

6. Has she got ___ questions?

a. some

b. any


7. Would he like ___ coffee?

a. some

b. any

8. They haven’t got ___ questions.

a. some

b. any

9. I don’t have ____ preference.

a. some

b. any.

10. I did not make ____ money helping my neighbor.

a. some

b. any

Find the answers to this exercise here.

See also: Quantifiers, Articles with Countable and Uncountable Nouns, and Some and Any (II).

For additional information on this topic, check out this English Club lesson.

For other English grammar lessons, go to this page.

Is This the Safest Place in the World?

C1 – Advanced

Climate change is a hotly debated topic in many nations across the world. For some, the impact of this phenomenon is something to be seriously dealt with. This is why a group of concerned individuals built a special vault in order to prepare for climate change and it’s consequences.

Watch the video below to find out more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is this special vault for? Describe what it looks like.
  2. Do you think that this vault is necessary? Why or why not?
  3. Can you think of other extreme measures that people are trying to do in order to battle climate change?

What If You Never Ate Meat?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Steak, burgers, chicken, hot dogs… These are just some types of meat to name a few. The question is, is eating meat good or bad? Meat is a staple in many diet and is a great source of protein and other important nutrients needed by our body. However, It’s a highly controversial food because some people believe that eating meat is unhealthy, unnecessary and it may even kill us.

Watch the video and take a look at the health benefits and potential risks of eating meat.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree with the video? Explain your position.
  2. Cite the benefits and consequences of meat on our bodies or health.
  3. Can you live without ever eating meat? Why or why not?
  4. What kinds of meat do you enjoy eating? Do you think it’s healthy? Share.
  5. What do you think of processed meat?

The Gender Pay Gap

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Data show that the majority of medium and large companies pay higher wage rates to men than to women. In spite of all these records, skeptics still do not believe in the existence of the idea. See how the video debunks myths about the gender pay gap.

Discussion Questions:

1. Discuss the six myths about the gender pay gap.
2. Do you experience the pay gap in your company?
3. How can we resolve issues about the pay gap?
4. In what other phenomena are men considered to be more privileged than women?
5. In what events are women thought to be more advantaged than men?