Tag: Advanced English CAE

Why Starbucks Failed in Australia

C1 – Advanced

It’s easy to find a Starbucks cafe almost anywhere in the world. However, in Australia, there aren’t that many. That’s because in 2008, the company closed more than 70 percent of its under-performing locations, leaving only 23 Starbucks stores throughout the entire continent. Starbucks has failed to make an impression in the Australian marketplace but where did it go wrong?

Watch the video and be able to answer the questions that follow:

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the video, why did Starbucks fail in Australia?
  2. Do you enjoy Starbucks coffee? How often do you have it?
  3. Is Starbucks popular in your country?
  4. What do you think made Starbucks popular all over the world?

Climate Change Will Crush Real Estate Values

C1 – Advanced

Key players in the real estate industry are spending huge amount of resources into estimating climate risk and its possible consequences on property portfolios. This process might cost investors large amounts of money if they aren’t prepared. But for those who are, there’s a big chance to profit more.

Read the article to find out more about climate risk and its probable effect on property investments.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/08/climate-change-will-crush-real-estate-values-for-unprepared-investors-report.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think properties are good investment? Why or why not?
  2. How much damage do you think natural disasters have affected residential and commercial real estate in your country in the past years? Cite some incidents.
  3. Explain what this statement means, “This process will be painful for investors who are caught off guard, but those who are prepared have the potential to outperform”.
  4. How do real estate investment companies in your country gauge climate change risks? What mitigation strategies have they developed?

The ‘Deadly’ Food

C1 – Advanced

Palm oil is found in most products such as bread, chocolate, soup and other processed food, as well as some cosmetics. Why is palm oil the most controversial cooking oil in the market?

Let’s find out why the production of palm oil is problematic:

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p074jwbm/the-deadly-food-we-all-eat?ocid=ww.social.link.facebook&fbclid=IwAR2xL94FxG7BdqMuDdRGxG_5_TbHsLo9TM5LaMoKiH0hegXlXcvfD7oCc44

Discussion Questions:

1. What’s the problem discussed in the video?

2. What are your thoughts on this?

3. Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil?

4. What kind of oil do you use for cooking? Would you consider using palm oil?

5. Have you heard of other news about palm oil?

Why Should You Vote?

C1 – Advanced

The 2019 Spanish general election is just around the corner. Are you thinking of not exercising your right of suffrage? Then, think again. Here’s why you should vote.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree with the video?

2. What is your guiding principle for voting and choosing a leader?

3. In Spain, are there sanctions for failing to vote?

4. Give other reasons why we should vote.

5. Can you give reasons why we should not vote?

Government-Run Healthcare

C1 – Advanced

Access to health care may vary across nations, communities and individuals. It is generally influenced by social and economic situations as well as health policies. Healthcare systems are established with the primary goal of meeting the health needs of targeted populations. Having an efficient health care system contributes to the country’s economy and development.

But, what really are the benefits and possible drawbacks of a government-run healthcare?

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about the health care system in your country?
2. What are the health care problems in your country?
3. Is your country’s health care system in need of reform?
4. Which is better, private or public health care?

College Admission Scandal

C1 – Advanced

Recently, there’s been news about the cheating scandals on college admission. These involved wealthy families, celebrities, and even politicians bribing their children’s way to college. The prestige of getting into elite colleges is one of their ways to gain more popularity and great awes from those people who innocently believed that these students got accepted because of their wits and efforts and not paying millions of dollars to proctors, coaches, and school administrators of their prospective elite colleges.

Watch the video about the largest college admission scams in the US.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on cheating college admission scandals?
  2. Who do you think is responsible for these crimes and how so?
  3. How does this fraud work?
  4. Do you think the students’ involved in these scams admission should be revoked?

Racial Wealth Divide

C1 – Advanced

Racial discrimination has been a problem all over the word. Some races are treated unfairly and do not feel that racial equality has been achieved in terms of wealth. This wealth gap shows that mostly white household owns more wealth more than its black and Latino counterparts in their total assets.

Watch the video to learn more about America’s racial wealth gap.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain the role banks played in minorities losing their wealth.

2. What is your opinion on this topic?

3. Do you think race is the problem of wealth division?

4. Describe the division of wealth in your country? How does inequality affect the country as a whole?

5. What can we do about racial wealth inequality?

Anti-College

C1 – Advanced

Is college fast becoming irrelevant for many or most students? A lot of students and families are taking on enormous debt with no guarantee of a well-paying job so they ask whether technical or other programs might be the smarter choice.

Let’s find out how Jeremy Rossmann, the founder of Make School program, tries to reinvent college.

Discussion Questions:

1. How different is Make School from a traditional college?
2. Is going to college still relevant?
3. Is the college tuition reasonable in your country? Is it easy to get scholarships or government grants?
4. Which is more important, the essential skills in life you’ve learned to develop on your own or the artificial structure in college about the “real world”?
5. What do you think of the higher education system in your country?

Social and Political Bots

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Social media is an important tool for learning about current events and information. However, fake social media accounts called ‘bots’ have been used to try to influence public opinion even politics—and it is not always for the better.

We have been deceived by a computer-generated bot at one point or another. How do bots play a role in influencing public opinion to help spread awareness about a particular issue the person/group who created them cares about.

Watch the video to know more about how bots are affecting social activism and politics.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are political and activist bots?
  2. What is your take on using big data technology to help manipulate election results?
  3. What are ways to know you are engaged in a discourse with a bot?
  4. How can bots be of benefit to and risk for us?
  5. Anyone can easily create a Twitter bot nowadays. Ainsley O’Connell believes this is a great and empowering thing for the electorate in enabling them to magnify their voices. What are your thoughts on this?

Investing in Water

C1 – Advanced

Access to clean freshwater is a basic human right but an on going challenge in some parts of the world. With limited water source, it becomes challenging to put up with the increasing demand to develop and maintain our limited supply thus affecting everyone including the business sector.

Let’s find out how businesses get affected and what possible approaches are available to combat water scarcity.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways are companies being affected by the increasing water shortage?
2. What solutions are provided for water scarcity and what do you think about them?
3. How do multinational companies approach the issue?
4. Do you conserve water?
5. How would life change if your town rationed water?