Category: Class

What is the Point of College?

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Nowadays, people with college degrees are going through a tough time finding a job they like. Is getting a degree worth it? Or is it becoming to be a waste of time?

Read the article to know the benefits of getting a college education. Prepare to express your thoughts.

What’s the Point of College, Really?

Discuss:

1. According to the article, explain the benefits of going to college or university.
2. What is your general opinion of the article?
3. Is your current career related to the degree that you took in college/university?
4. In your country, is it important to get a university education to land a good job?
5. If given the chance, what other fields of education would you study or take up?

 

Boot Camps for Internet Addicts

B1 – Intermediate

Internet addiction is one very common problem among teenagers these days. In China, one way to combat this addiction is to take children to a boot camp.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript on a boot camp for internet addicts.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/can-boot-camp-cure-internet-addiction/2442322.html

Discussion Questions:

1. How many hours do you usually spend surfing the internet?
2. At work, are you highly dependent on the internet?
3. Would you consider internet addiction as a disease?
4. What are the ways you can prevent internet addiction?

Thousands Wake Up During Surgery

B1 – Intermediate

A report in England states that thousands of patients a year wake up during an
operation. One doctor said it happens one in every 19,000 operations. They are now trying to find areas that could be improved during an operation to prevent this from happening.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1409/140914-surgery.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think the case of waking up during a surgery is considered carelessness on the doctor’s side? Why or why not?
  2. Do you know someone who experienced the same situation? Talk about it.
  3. Have you had a surgery or any major medical procedure in the past? How did it go?
  4. How do you think you would feel if you woke up in the middle of your operation?
  5. Would you say that doctors in your country are highly-qualified?

Hunger in America

B2 – Upper intermediate

One in seven American families suffer from food insecurity. Inflation is low but the population’s ability to get healthy food is decreasing. Eating unhealthy food can cause illness such us diabetes and hypertension and food insecurity can lead people to committing crimes such us robbery and stealing.

Hunger Threatens One in Seven Americans

Discuss:

1. What do you think people can do to address this issue in their own little ways?
2. Can you think of alternative ways to get healthy food in cheaper cost?
3. Has your country experienced such difficulty? Do you see this happening in the future?
4. How secure are the citizens of your country when it comes to their employment?

How to Survive the Heat

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B1 – Intermediate

There are common health problems which are caused by high temperatures that, in the worst scenario, can lead to death.

Read the article to know more about the dangers of heat and how to be protected from it.

How to Survive the Heat

Discuss:

1. Do you love soaking yourself in the summer sun? Are you aware of its danger?
2. Have you experienced health related issues due to high temperature?
3. What activities do you enjoy doing during the summer?
4. How do you keep cool when the weather gets too hot?

 

Ozone Layer Recovering

B1 – Intermediate

According to a panel of scientists, the ozone layer is starting to repair itself. It’s a good thing that the use of aerosol cans were banned during the 1980s.

Read the lesson about the ozone layer recovering and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2014/09/140912_witn_ozone.shtml

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this?
  2. Share your ideas on how you can contribute in protecting the environment.
  3. Have you ever done any volunteer works to help save the environment?
  4. Do you reduce, reuse, and recycle? Why or why not?

Make Your Happy Hour

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Happiness- the quality or state of being happy. We each have our own definition of happiness depending on situations we are in.

Read the article below and know more about the pursuit of happiness.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/20/opinion/alston-happiness-day/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

Discussion Questions:

1. What makes you happy?
2. What are the components of happiness?
3. Will you consider happiness as a luxury item?

How to Detect Lies

B2 – Upper intermediate

Lies are part of human nature. Cliché, but true. It can be inevitable in some instances especially when you have personal reasons. How would you detect if someone is lying to you? Watch this interesting video.

Click on CC on the video to watch the clip with subtitles.

Discuss:

1. How about you? How can you tell when your colleagues or friends are being dishonest to you?
2. Were there times when you told a lie to impress someone? Or maybe lied to avoid hurting someone’s feelings?
3. Share some of your funny experiences about lying.

Gender Stereotyping

B2 – Upper intermediate

People usually have preconceived ideas of men’s or women’s characteristics, traits, habits or roles in general.  Have you ever wondered what causes gender stereotypes and how it all started? Watch this video to see our history.

Discuss:

1. Can you name a few stereotypes of men and women?
2. Have you been a victim of a stereotype?
3. Do you witness gender discrimination in your workplace?

PepsiCo CEO Indra K. Nooyi Women Can’t Have It All

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Being a women and a CEO of one of the world’s top companies might not be a walk in the park for anybody. But we’ve watch a lot of boss ladies successfully conquer both family and work life.

Watch the interview of Indra K. Nooyi and why she said, “Women can’t have it all.”

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you react to your mother if you were Indra?
  2. Do you agree or disagree that women can’t have it all? Explain.
  3. If you are/were a working parent, what do you think would be your coping mechanisms in being a good parent and at the same time, the best employee/boss at your company?
  4. Share your thoughts on this statement, “The biological clock and the career clock are in total conflict with each other.“