Category: Homework

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.

Angola’s Tightly Contested Presidential Election

B2 – Upper Intermediate

After the civil war in 2002, Angola has remained politically stable. Recently, they have concluded their elections giving the country’s ruling party a wafer-thin victory. However, the opposition party believes there are irregularities in the election result.

Let’s watch the video know more about the 2022 Angola elections and the controversies surrounding it.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is the Angola elections being contested?
  2. What do you think of one-party system of government?
  3. What is the form of government in your country? What are the good and bad things about this form of government?
  4. What kind of voting system do you have?
  5. What elections-related controversies have you had in your country?

Emotions of Dogs

B1 – Intermediate

Dogs are highly social animals. They have emotions just like people do. They experience feelings such as happiness, anger, fear, joy, and anxiety. It is also known that part of a dog’s ability to understand human emotions comes from the long-established relationship between humans and canines.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below to know more about the emotions of dogs.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/emotions-of-dogs-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you have or have you ever had a dog for a pet? Talk about your experience being a dog owner.
  2. What are the good and bad things about having a dog?
  3. Do you agree that dogs have emotions? Why or why not?
  4. In what ways are dogs helpful to humans?
  5. What do you think of dog hotels, dog cafes, and poodle parlors?

Yellow School Bus

B1 – Intermediate

In the US, the school bus is believed to be the safest vehicle on the road. Parents feel safe when their children take this yellow bus to school. They have safety features that not all vehicles have. It is easy to notice them on the road because they are yellow in color.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript and find out why school buses are yellow.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/reasons-for-yellow-us-school-buses-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why are school buses in yellow?
  2. Why do you think school buses are safer than most vehicles?
  3. Are school buses common in your country? Are they also painted yellow?
  4. Do you have children or young family members who go to school? How do they usually get there?
  5. What other protective measures should be included in yellow buses or school transport?

The Dangers of Being Over-Confident

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Possessing self-confidence is generally a positive trait. Individuals with higher level of confidence often have greater success across a wide range of fields.

While self esteem, superior to any other characteristic, is typically perceived as a strength in many scenarios, having too much of it can be extremely negative to both success and well-being.

But can you ever have too much confidence? Is it possible to have a good thing in excess?

Let us go through the entire article to discover more about the pitfalls of overconfidence.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220901-the-dangers-of-being-over-confident

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it possible to have too much self-belief? Explain.
  2. What drawbacks might overconfidence cause?
  3. Can overconfidence be handled? How?
  4. How do you deal with someone who is overconfident?
  5. Share a situation where being overconfident helped you.