Tag: audio

Noob

B1 – Intermediate

There is no exact origins of the word “noob” but this is a very popular expression online specially for gamers that means a “newbie” which most of the time is used as an insult. This word may also be used in the real world for people who are part of an activity but not yet well experienced and quite knowledgeable thus, not performing very well.

Let us hear more about the word “noob” in the audio below.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/the-english-we-speak/ep-210607

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is being a noob always necessarily a bad thing?
  2. How are usually you like as a newbie?
  3. How can we tell that someone is a noob?
  4. What activities are you a noob at?
  5. What are you good at or an expert on?

Food Superstitions

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Do you ever believe in bad or good luck? Well, perhaps most of us do and the food culture is no exception as we have different beliefs on how it brings good or bad luck, in other words, superstitions.

Listen to the podcast about food superstitions and learn more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you superstitious? Are most people in your country superstitious?
  2. What are food superstitions you know of?
  3. Can you share any food superstitions you have in your country?
  4. Do you believe in any food superstitions? Why or why not? What are examples of food superstitions do you believe?
  5. Could traditions lead to superstitions? Explain your thoughts.

Dogs Help Stop the Coronavirus

B1 – Intermediate

Detection dogs are already common at airports and some other public places. As dogs have remarkable sense of smell, they are the ones that sniff out drugs, weapons, or explosives. Nowadays, there are dogs trained to detect Covid-19 by sniffing human sweat.

Read the article to know more dogs that could detect Coronavirus on humans and be able to answer the questions that follow:

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/dogs-help-stop-the-coronavirus-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of specially trained dogs taught to detect infections and diseases, like cancer, malaria, etc.?
  2. Do you think detection dogs are reliable in detecting COVID-19? Why or why not?
  3. What are the pros and cons of using dogs to prescreen people for Covid-19 in airports, train stations, or other public places?

Holiday Traditions

B2 – Upper Intermediate

New Year and Christmas are the most celebrated holidays in the world. However, each country celebrates them differently. For example, Japan celebrates the New Year in silence while many other countries celebrate it by lighting fireworks and blowing horns. It’s the same with Christmas. In most parts of the world, we have Santa. He delivers gifts to children during Christmas. However, in Austria, an unusual figure called Krampus, comes during Christmas to punish naughty children.

Click the link and let’s listen to how every family celebrate their holidays differently.

Holiday Traditions

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do the children in the audio celebrate Christmas?
  2. Do you celebrate Christmas? If yes, how did you celebrate Christmas as a kid? How about now?
  3. What are the biggest holidays in your country? How do you celebrate them?
  4. Why are holidays important?
  5. Do you think holiday traditions will live on for the next hundreds of years to come? Why or why not?

Instagram for Children

B1 – Intermediate

Facebook is working on launching a new version of Instagram for kids under 13.

This version of Instagram will allow kids to safely use the app. The current Instagram policy prohibits children under the age of 13 from using the service.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about Instagram for children.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/instagram-for-children-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree or disagree with US politicians opinion about Instagram for children? Support your stand.
  2. What are the good and bad things about children using social networks?
  3. Are social networking sites dangerous to children? Why or why not?
  4. If you are a parent, would you let your child use this version of Instagram? Why or why not?
  5. What child-friendly features would you like to see on social networking sites?

Marriage Preparation

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Weddings are major celebrations that require a lot of time, energy, and money from the would-be couples and their families. Most of the time, people are so absorbed in the wedding preparation that they forget the more important preparation, the marriage preparation. After all the bliss and glamour of the wedding, couples have to endure the challenges of the married life. For future brides and grooms, better be ready for the marriage life too.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript on this conversation about wedding preparations.

Marriage Preparation

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on marriage prep classes?
  2. What is Randall’s big news? How does his sister find out about it?
  3. Who is Jasmine? How does his sister describe her?
  4. What pieces of advice does she have for them about the marriage preparation? Do you agree with these?
  5. How do would-be couples in your country usually prepare for marriage?

Texting and Driving

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Driving requires focus and attention. You need to pay attention to the road, to the car in front of you, and to pedestrians crossing the road. Texting while driving is not advisable and in fact, against the law. You won’t be able to focus on your surroundings and immediately react to different situations. Worse, you might get into an accident and hurt other people too.

Click the link and listen to the audio about texting while driving.

Texting and Driving

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the dangers of texting while driving?
  2. Is it against the law in your country to text and drive?
  3. Have you seen someone texting while driving? What do you think of people doing this?
  4. Have you gotten into and accident before? If yes, what happened?
  5. What are some important things to remember when you are driving?

Store Returns

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Store return policy is considered one of the most important factors in customer’s purchasing decision. Customers want the guarantee that they can return the product they bought with no hassles. Therefore, it is necessary for companies to set reasonable return policies. However, do customers really take the time to understand them?

Listen to this audio and read the transcript on store returns.

Store Returns

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is wrong with the sweater according to the customer?
  2. Why isn’t the customer allowed to return the product?
  3. Have you returned a product before? How did it go?
  4. What is the usual return policy in your country? Do you carefully read the terms and conditions in a return policy?
  5. Have you ever had any other problems returning products and getting a refund?

Car Accidents

B2 – Upper Intermediate

If you have been driving for awhile, you’ve probably already realized that not everyone drives well, although, most people think they do. Some drivers change lanes without paying much attention, some drive too fast, others drive too closely to other vehicles on the road and some make sudden turns causing road accidents.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript on car accidents.

Car Accidents

Discussion Questions:

  1. What happened to Katie? How did it happen?
  2. What’s wrong with the car? How did this accident affect Katie’s plans for the weekend?
  3. What solution does the mother provide?
  4. Have you ever been in or witnessed a car accident before?
  5. What driving safety measures do you always follow?

How False Information Spreads

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Today, almost everything we do has something to do online; may it be our pastime or our jobs. Sometimes, we feel the need to be connected online for fear of missing out on a lot of things.

As a result, different industries have adapted to this trend and have increased their online presence. This includes news media. Now, it’s more common to see people reading news articles online than in a newspaper. With so much information available at our fingertips, we need to be careful about the things we read online.

Click the link and listen to the audio to learn more about how quickly false information can be spread online.

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening/advanced-c1-listening/how-false-information-spreads

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the reasons false information spread so easily with the help of technology?
  2. How can false information be prevented from being spread on the internet?
  3. Share a hoax you have heard of before that many people believed right away.
  4. Do you read the news online? Which websites do you get your news from? Why do you get info from these websites?
  5. Do you use Wikipedia? What is your opinion about it or the information on it?