Category: Class

What’s On Your Bucket List?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When was the last time you did something that you really wanted to do? Something that added value to your life? We tend to get so wrapped up in our day to day lives that  sometimes we forget that we need to just live and enjoy our lives. Making a bucket list will get you closer to accomplishing those things that you would hope to do.

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Self-help books abound with pleas to get off the couch, get out of the house, and make your dreams come true. A perfect (or nearly perfect) life just needs a measure of self-discipline and hard work, and is within reach for those who try. Regrets, many of these books suggest, pile up and eat away at happiness and fulfillment.

Realistically, however, a dream life is impossible. It’s something to think about in the margins of everyday life, such as during the commute to work or just before you fall asleep each night. Most people can’t write a best-seller, for example, nor achieve financial independence with some sort of start-up business. Responsibilities like family, a mortgage, and work naturally come first, creating a certain level of mundaneness, and which thereby puts the kibosh on pursuing these flights of fancy. The self-help books do get one thing right, though: the bucket list.

A bucket list serves as a “to do” list before you die, like learn a foreign language, skydive, or travel to exotic locations around the world. The list should feature acts of aspiration, which offsets the more boring facets of life. You don’t need to live each day as though it were your last on the planet before kicking the bucket, but the list instead should encourage you to plan imaginative, colorful, and even daring acts. You should plumb your imagination, for human nature requires something on the horizon other than an endless monotony of identical days. What’s more, the list doesn’t need to be hedonistic. The best lists contain items which enrich the lives of others, too.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some activities you would put on your bucket list?
2. What are some popular activities that appear on many bucket lists? Why do you think these are popular?
3. How realistic is it to write a bucket list, and then do the activities listed? Please explain.
4. Why is it important to have dreams or goals to work towards?

Unmarried Households the Norm

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Americans are getting married later than ever before, but waiting to settle down can still be nerve-wracking. Will you ever find the right person? Will you be able to have kids?

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

For the first time in US history, traditional marriage isn’t the preferred living choice in most houses. Recent data shows that 50.2 percent of American families weren’t married. That figure, 56.8 million, is a large decrease from six years ago. At that time, married couples made up 52 percent of the 105.5 million households.

Single women headed more than 14 million households, while single men ran another 5 million. There was a large number of “non-family households,” which means unmarried, gay or heterosexual couples living together.

The change could mean significant changes in every part if American life in the future. For example, there could be changes in family law or national politics. In the short term, however, it shows the failed efforts of conservatives, despite their focus on traditional marriages and families.

Douglas Beshavor, a sociologist with the American Enterprise Institute, suggested that short-term relationships and unmarried couples who live together would be more common for years to come. As a result, people will find themselves more alone than ever before. Both parents will work, so there will be fewer siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. America will move towards a society even more focused on the individual.

“Change is in the air,” Beshavor said. But will it be positive or negative?

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the marriage rates in your country? Are the rates increasing or decreasing?
2. Why do you think less people are getting married in America?
3. Do you think marriage rates all over the world will eventually go down? Why/not?
4. What do you think will happen if there are more unmarried people?
5. Would you recommend young people to live together first before getting married?

97-Year-Old ‘Sees Future’ at Google

B2 – Upper Intermediate

97-year old Olive Horrell had her wish of a lifetime to see the future when she got to visit Google in California.

Read the article and watch the video below to know more about Ms. Horell and her wish.

http://www.voanews.com/a/olive-horrell-gets-wish-and-visits-google-sergey-brin/3023295.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Who is Olive Horell and what was her wish? What do you think of her wish?
  2. If you were 90+ years old and a wish of yours would be granted by an organization like Make a Wish, what would your wish be and why?
  3. If you were to ‘see the future’, what would you like to see and why?
  4. What socio-civic activities is your company involved in?
  5. What are some of the programs that your city or region has for senior citizens?

The International Space Station

B1 – Intermediate

Scientists want to know a lot of things beyond the planet Earth we live in. That is possible only by traveling to space. That requires a lot of studies, work, and sacrifice.

Whatever man would find beyond our lovely planet, it will always be true that research is endless and that most things that man discovers are mind-boggling.

Read more about the Internation Space Station.

english-online.at/technology/international-space-station/international-space-station.htm

Discussion Questions:

1. What comes to your mind when you hear “the ISS”?

2. Would you like to stay at the ISS?

3. Why is it important to keep studying space?

Why you Should Travel Solo

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C1 – Advanced

What was the worst experience you’ve had traveling with somebody? George Washington once said, “It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company”.

If you haven’t tried traveling alone, read this BBC article that would surely leave you contemplating on going solo on your next vacation.

Why you Should Travel Solo

Discuss:

1. What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of traveling without a companion?
2. Have you ever been on a vacation trip alone? How was it like?
3. Which do you prefer: traveling by yourself or with familiar company?

Speaking Activity: Like It, Love It

This activity will practice your speaking skills by expressing your likes and preferences.

Answer the questions below. Try to add more information.

  • Do you like sports? Which sport do you love?
  • Do you like to stay up late? What time do you go to bed?
  • Do you like to wake up early? Which time do you wake up?
  • Do you like school or work? Do you love school or work?
  • Do you love a special dish from your country? What is it?
  • Who is your best friend? Why do you like (or love) him/her?
  • What movies do you like? What movies do you love?
  • What season do you like the most? Why?
  • What songs do you like? What songs do you love?
  • How do you like to relax? Please explain.

Bonus Questions:These questions are more difficult. Can you answer them?

  • What are you really crazy about?
  • What do you like to do when you hang out with your friends?
  • What do you like to do when you go on vacation?

Source: headsupenglish.com

Chicago Pizza

B1 – Intermediate

There’s thin crust, there’s thick crust. Deep dish and all-meat. With so many choices out there, what makes pizza the best pizza?

Read the article and be ready to answer the discussion questions included in this article.

Chicago pizza is a unique and famous pizza from Chicago. But how is Chicago pizza different from the pizza served in New York, London, or Italy?

First, the crust is about 2.5 inches deep, or about 6.35 cm. It is cooked like a pie in a deep, round pan. The pan has a lot of olive oil, so the crust becomes crunchy on the bottom.

For toppings, the pizza usually has about 1/4 inch of sausage, 1/4 inch of cheese, and 1/4 inch of chunky tomato sauce. Other popular ingredients include pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, and olives.

No one know exactly who made this style of pizza first, because several restaurants claim to be the creators. However, everyone from Chicago has a favorite pizza restaurant, and they feel very strongly that it is the best pizza.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you like pizza? What kind of pizza do you like?
2. Do you want to try Chicago pizza? Why/not?
3. Does your hometown or country have an unusual / unique dish?
4. Talk about some of the strange dishes that you have tried in the past.

Video: Information the Gun Industry Won’t Tell

B2 – Upper intermediate

Gun control varies around the world.  Some countries impose stringent distribution and use of guns while others don’t. How about in your country?  What information do you know about the gun industry?

Watch the video and find out some interesting facts. Click CC on the video to watch with subtitles.

Five Things the Gun Industry Won’t Tell You

Discuss:

1. Explain the information given in the video.
2. What question/s do you have about the gun industry?
3. Is gun control a controversy in your country?
4. Would you like to own a gun? Have you tried firing one before?

Ecotourism a Danger to Wildlife

C1 – Advanced

Listen to the news clip about ecotourism then be ready to answer some discussion questions.

Choose the speed that you prefer to practice your listening and comprehension. You may also listen and read along using the transcript below the audio clip.

Ecotourism a Danger to Wildlife

Discuss:

1. What is ‘ecotourism’? What do you think of it?
2. What are its benefits? How about the possible dangers?
3. How can we best help animals in the wild?
4. What parts of the world should be off limits to humans?

CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Martin Shkreli just made hundreds of people hate him by making an outrageous decision of raising the price of his company’s products.

Read the article below to know more about the effects of his detested choice.

‘Hated’ CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

Discuss:

1. Is it fair that companies have the right to hike the price of their product as much as they desire?
2. How do you think consumers should be protected from any price hike of commodities?
3. Are pharmaceutical products in Spain affordable?