Category: Homework

Children Spend Six Hours on Screens

_81934166_babieswithtabletsC1 – Advanced

Although TV viewing has dropped, the dramatic increase of children glued to a screen has been observed. They are even using multiple screens. This phenomenon can be accounted for the availability of different media.

Read the article below to know more about the facts regarding children and their screen time.

Children spend six hours or more a day on screens

Discuss:

1. What are the popular tools being utilized by children these days?
2. Do these media post greater threat than good?
3. In your country, how are kids now different from kids then?
4. Do you have any rules for your children when using gadgets?

 

Building Self Confidence

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Confidence is knowing and implying what you’re good at, your value to other people, and acting in a way that shows that to others. Our level of self-confidence can convey in many ways: our behavior, body language, how we speak, and what we say.

Read the article below to know more on how we can be confident in ourselves.

How to Build Self-Confidence

Discuss:

1. Do you agree with what the article says about being more self-confident?
2. How do you confront your fears?
3. What do you do to make sure you’re taking good care of yourself?
4. Do you believe in pep talk?

 

The Widening Aisle Of Interracial Marriages

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Multicultural marriages have been more popular than ever. Many reasons have been attributed in seeking partners from another country.

Let’s know more about real people’s accounts. How are they managing their relationship?

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/02/13/276516736/walking-down-the-widening-aisle-of-interracial-marriages

Discussion Questions:

1. How are interracial and multicultural marriages viewed in your country?
2. Do you have friends or know anyone who married someone of a different race or culture?
3. In your opinion, what are some of the challenges that couples of mixed marriages face?

Yotel – Tiny Hotel Rooms

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Whether you are on a vacation or on a business trip, one of the things that is on the top of your list is a nice play to stay at where you can relax after a long day of city tour and shopping or after an intense meeting with a client.

A new hotel has just opened in the city of New York in the U.S. Find out below what makes it different from the rest.

http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/travel/yotel-tiny-hotel-rooms-in-manhattan.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like staying at hotels when travelling?
  2. Have you experienced staying at a luxurious hotel?
  3. What are some of the excellent accomodations that you’ve stayed at in the past?
  4. Are there unique places to stay in in your city?

A Personal Air Vehicle

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The future is now. That is, if we go by the timeline set by the iconic sci-fi movie “Back to the Future.” So where are all the flying cars? According to Professor Missy Cummings in this BBC feature, there are only a few hurdles to the development of personal air vehicles. And technology is not one of them.

Watch the video then read the article and be ready to express your thoughts about the topic.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131031-a-flying-car-for-everyone

Discussion Questions:

1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
2. What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?

Video: How Elephants Affect Weather

C1 – Advanced

Rainforests are very important in keeping our planet healthy. We all benefit from them; they sustain life.  Did you know that the abundance of plant species are available because of the mega-gardeners of the forest, the elephants ?

Read the short introduction then watch the video to know how elephants play a big role in propagating plant species.

Jumbo-gardeners: How elephants affect weather

Discuss:

1. According to the video, how do elephants become jumbo-gardeners?
2. What was your reaction while watching the short video?
3. Have you ever volunteered to help clean and save the environment (beach clean-up, tree planting etc.)?
4. Are there NGOs in your country who are actively promoting to save the rainforests or endangered species?

Silence is Golden for New York Restaurant

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Can you imagine having dinner out with friends without engaging in conversation? That is exactly the protocol at a New York restaurant called “Eat”.

Watch the video below and be prepared to share your thoughts about “Eat”. If you can’t access the video, search for: “Silence is golden for New York restaurant” on AFP News Agency’s YouTube Channel.

Silence is Golden for NY Restaurant

Discussion Questions:

  1. Explain the concept behind “Eat”.
  2. What is your take on the silent meal?
  3. What are the good things about this kind of meal experience?
  4. Towards the end of the video, how did the diners react to their dining experience?
  5. Do you think this kind of restaurant will fare in your city/country? Why or why not?
  6. What are some of the unique restaurants that you have been to?

No Dislike Button for Facebook

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B2 – Upper intermediate

If you’re a Facebook user, you’ve probably noticed that there’s more than one reaction button to choose from. You’ve got the simple “like” button, then you’ve also got the “wow” and “sad” buttons.

Read the article below to get more information as to why Facebook decided to come up with more reaction buttons.

No dislike button for Facebook, declares Zuckerberg

Discuss:

1. Do you approve of Facebook’s decision to not add a “dislike” button? Why or why not?
2. How do you generally feel about Facebook?
3. What other social media websites do you use?
4. How is social media useful in today’s society?

* As of September 2015, Facebook has announced that it is working on the “dislike” button. Watch the video here. 

Building a ‘Halal’ Internet

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Officials in Iran are planning to build a completely separate Internet called Yooz. Its purpose is to filter objectionable information just like China’s “Great Firewall”, the largest web filtering and censorship operation in the world.

Read the article below to know more about Yooz then express your opinions.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/iran-next-step-in-building-hala-internet/2676579.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How often do you use the internet?
  2. How important is the internet to your day to day life?
  3. What is your opinion about filtered and censored internet access
  4. Do you think that Yooz will do its job in filtering and securing?

The Family That Eats Together

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Family dinner builds good and positive relationship among the members. It also helps kids do better in school. But because of hectic schedules many families seldom have the time to do this anymore.

Read the article below to discover the benefits of dining together.

https://www.vision.org/family-eats-together-1336

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree with what the article is saying about family dinners?
2. Is this something that is usually practiced in homes in your country?
3. Does your country have very strong familial relationships?