Category: Homework

What Did Dinosaurs look like?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Although humans have lived on Earth for a long, long time, there are still many species of animals that go undiscovered and may be lurking in the shadows for long.

Therefore, consider how many myths from the past still exist now. For instance, how did dinosaurs actually look like?

As a result of movies like Jurassic Park, people have compared dinosaurs to lizards, crocodiles, and other animals, which has shaped our concept of these prehistoric creatures.

Recently, scientists have discovered that dinosaurs are actually more feathery than reptilians, and although this information has been spread a lot more recently, many still think dinosaurs are scaly beasts.

What other aspects of the past are unknown to us if many people are mistaken about what they believe dinosaurs to be?

To find out more, let’s watch this video.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How many animals or species do you think we’ll never discover?
  2. Based on the information from this video, would we know if humans were to go extinct?
  3. What other animals do you think would disappear from history if they went extinct?
  4. How do you imagine the world would be like if we shared one environment with these extinct animals?

The 15-Minute City

B2 – Upper Intermediate

To improve the quality of people’s lives, an urban planning design and policies were conceived by a French-Colombian professor, Carlos Moreno. It is what is known as the“15-Minute City”. The idea is to create cities where everything is within a 15-minute radius.

The aim is to build sustainable cities where residents can live locally, with everything they need within just a short walk or a bike ride away.

Read the article to learn more about decentralization of services, otherwise known as, the 15-minute city and be able to answer the questions below.

https://www.treehugger.com/the-15-minute-city-is-having-a-moment-5071739

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the idea of a “The 15-Minute City”?
  2. Would you like to live in this kind of city? Why or why not?
  3. What are the positive and negative impact of such urban planning design to people and society?
  4. Describe the city you live in. What are the best things about it and what aspects can be improved?
  5. How important is urban planning?

Opera Singer by Day, Janitor by Night

B2 – Upper Intermediate

What if part-time jobs hide some information about the people who are doing them? A janitor who is actually an opera singer during the day? Do you think it’s possible? Well, for Keanon Kyles, it is.

Watch the video about Keanon Kyles, the internationally touring opera singer and janitor.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your reaction to this video?
  2. Have you ever had an unusual job? What about your friends or relatives? What are your thoughts on these odd jobs?
  3. How do you explain to others what your job is about?
  4. If you could take on an odd job, what would it be and why?
  5. Why do you think people tend to be so judgemental about what others do for a living?

Coca-Cola’s Returnable Bottles

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Coca-Cola believes that reusable packaging is among the most effective way to reduce waste, use fewer resources, and lower the carbon footprint in support of a circular economy. Consequently, they aim to have at least 25% of all their beverages sold globally in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles or in refillable containers by 2030.

Read the article to know more about Coca Cola’s returnable bottles and be able to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.treehugger.com/coca-cola-returnable-bottles-5219470

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of Coca-Cola company using returnable bottles? Is it probably greenwashing? Explain your stand.
  2. What would be the impact of its change in packaging?
  3. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using reusable packaging?
  4. What are some practices that you do in order to reduce your carbon footprint?

Burn the Candle at Both Ends

B1 – Intermediate

There are times when we have to do more than what our body and mind can handle. It could be working long hours everyday in order to pay the bills or to stay up late every night to study so that we pass an exam. Whatever our reason may be, this is not a good practice and doing so will eventually affect our health.

Watch the video and listen to what Randall has to share about an idiom that describes this attitude.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does burn the candle at both ends mean? Have you burned the candle at both ends before? What happened?
  2. What was the most exhausting moment of your life?
  3. What are some reasons people burn the candle at both ends?
  4. Can someone be so stressed out without having to burn the candle at both ends? How?
  5. How do you manage mental and/or physical exhaustion?

Friends

B1 – Intermediate

Friends are people who understands you, and if they don’t, they try to. They are always there for you when you need them. They care for you, love you, and respect you for who and what you are.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about friends.

https://listenaminute.com/f/friends.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do friends mean to you?
  2. Do you stay in touch with all of the friends you’ve made? How?
  3. What makes a friend a best friend?
  4. What would life be like without friends?
  5. What is the most valuable thing you have to offer as a friend?

Fast Food

B1 – Intermediate

Fast-food restaurants are in almost every country of the world now. They are popular because they are served quickly, convenient to find, and relatively cheap.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about fast food.

https://listenaminute.com/f/fast_food.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Compare and contrast fast food and real restaurants.
  2. What is your least favorite fast food restaurant and why?
  3. How often do you eat fast food? What do you usually eat?
  4. Which fast food is the most unhealthy? Why do you think so?
  5. Are there any healthy fast foods? What are they?

Advertising

B1 – Intermediate

Advertising is the way to sell products or goods to customers. It’s a creative way to communicate and to publicly promote products, brands, and services with potential buyers.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about advertising.

https://listenaminute.com/a/advertising.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you define advertising?
  2. Do you think advertising is an art? Explain.
  3. What do you think of the ads in other countries?
  4. Is advertising a good or bad thing? Explain.
  5. What would the world be like without advertising?
  6. Do you think you are easily persuaded to buy things after seeing or hearing an ad? Why / Why not?

Apple AirTag a Gift to Stalkers

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Apple Airtag is a very small device that was developed in order to help us find things that we commonly misplace. It was never meant to be a gadget for unwanted tracking of people.

Read the article about how some abusers are using Airtag to stalk their victims. Be ready to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/05/i-didnt-want-it-anywhere-near-me-how-the-apple-airtag-became-a-gift-to-stalkers

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on Apple Airtag? Are you interested to have one?
  2. What is your opinion on it being used maliciously?
  3. What can Apple do in order to address this problem with their product?
  4. How do you make sure your privacy is protected despite all of your online activities?
  5. What other gadgets do you think are dangerous and why?

Japanese Man Gets Paid to ‘Do Nothing’

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Imagine getting paid to do nothing. Sounds like the perfect job, right? Shoji Morimoto, a 38-year-old Tokyo resident, gets paid 10,000 yen ($70) by simply meeting up with clients who hire him just to be with them.

Let’s read the article below to know how this man made a career out of doing absolutely nothing.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/dream-job-japanese-man-gets-011509342.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your reaction to this video?
  2. Do you know people who gets paid to do absolutely nothing at their jobs?
  3. Would you like to get paid to do nothing? Why or why not?
  4. Do you enjoy spending time alone or with friends?
  5. Would you take a less-paying job with far less stress and live paycheck to paycheck or high-paying but high-stress job? Explain your answer.