Tag: B2 – Upper intermediate

Payday Loans

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Life is tough and it is even tougher for people who are short of cash.

Payday loans are a form of cash advance to help people cover their expenses until their next paycheck comes in. For some, it is an easy way to have a temporary solution to their money problems.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about payday loans.

Payday loans

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the idiom “Give it to me straight.” mean? “What do you mean complicated? Give it to me straight. Where did you get a loan?” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.
  2. What does “to run someone dry” mean? “Exactly, because they can run you dry.” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.
  3. What does “quicksand” mean here? “And then people like you get locked into a vicious loan cycle that is almost impossible to escape. Like quicksand.” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym or similar expression.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you react/feel when someone tries to borrow money from you?
  2. Are payday loans a help to people or not? Explain your thoughts about it.
  3. Are payday loans common in your country? What is your opinion about their high interest rates?

Should Kids Financially Support Their Parents?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Watching your parents age can be a scary prospect, especially as they approach the point when they need more help from you more than ever.

If your parents have money troubles, they may come to you for financial help. It can be difficult to help your parents financially while you are also struggling with student loans, credit card debts, or providing for your own family. 

Read this article about turning of tables when children are the ones supporting their parents.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201203-should-kids-financially-support-their-parents

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do/Would you help your parents financially? Why or why not?
  2. In your opinion, should children be financially responsible for their parents when they’re old?
  3. How can you help your parents manage their finances?
  4. At what age should you stop asking your parents for money?
  5. Should parents support their child financially until they’re grown?

Bitcoin Explained and Made Simple

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular. There are a few widely accepted cryptocurrencies and the number keeps growing. Just like stocks, they are even widely traded across trading platforms.

Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency. As of writing, it is valued at around $58 000. But what is Bitcoin?

Let’s watch the video and learn more about the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is “the double-spending problem” and what was the solution to it?
  2. What are your thoughts on Bitcoin?
  3. What are the good and bad things about such currency system?
  4. Do you agree that Bitcoin is the future of finance? Why or why not?

Anti-Asian Violence in America

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There has been a series of attacks in the US, particularly targeting Asian-Americans recently. It alarmed, set anguish and fear among the people who were subject of this unimaginable violence or crime amidst the pandemic. Although racism isn’t new to most of the people with Asian decent it has been rising with the pandemic as a propaganda of the supremacist indulged more to the hate as they put emphases on China as the source of the virus that had affected the country.

Watch the video and read the transcript on this report on Anti-Asian Violence in America.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/17/opinions/asian-hate-crimes-us-avlon/index.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why the hate toward specific race? How do some people justify such crimes or violence?
  2. What exactly trigger these crimes against Asians? How could we stop this violence?
  3. How are Asians or people from other races treated in your country?

How Vulnerability Makes You a Better Leader

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Being a good leader doesn’t always mean appearing bold and strong. Sometimes, being a good leader means letting your team know the struggles and business strifes and not being afraid to ask them for a solution.

Watch this video and be inspired by this amazing woman who is not afraid to embrace her womanhood while vying to get funding for her company.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Talk about your thoughts on Tracy Young’s story.
  2. What are the qualities of a good leader?
  3. Do you think leaders who aren’t afraid to show their vulnerability would gain the same level of respect from their colleagues than those who always appear to be perfect? Why or why not?
  4. Describe the leader that you admire and how has he/she influenced you?
  5. Do you think gender is still an issue in the world of business? Share an experience when you felt like there’s an inequality in your workplace.
  6. Do you think people trust men more than women when it comes to making decisions for the company? Why do you think that is the case?

Boost Your Financial Health

B2 – Upper Intermediate

It says that spending more money on experiences rather than material things could boost your happiness. This video mentions why having a financial day could save you and how you can use it to your advantage.

Watch this video to learn how to evaluate your fixed expenses and how can cutting back your expenses could help you build more happiness.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is it important to take a financial day?
  2. What do you think about devoting a day for financial matters?
  3. Are the tips mentioned helpful? Are you doing some/most of them?
  4. Do you like spending money on things or experiences? Why or why not?
  5. Do you make it a point to track and evaluate your expenses? Why or why not?

Why We Procrastinate On the Tiniest of Tasks

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinare — to put off until tomorrow. Procrastination is a challenge we all have faced at one point or another.

For as long as humans have been around, we have been struggling with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that mean little or matter greatly to us alike.

Let’s read the article below to find out why we procrastinate even on the most simple tasks and explore strategies for managing and prioritizing our tasks more effectively.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210310-why-we-procrastinate-on-the-tiniest-of-tasks

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why do people procrastinate?
  2. Do you prefer getting things done soon or just any time you want to? Why?
  3. What are the things that you normally forget to do or procrastinate on? Do you think your mind does it on purpose?
  4. How do you feel when other people put off something you want to be done immediately?
  5. Do you want to accomplish many things in your life or do you want to take it easy? Explain.
  6. In what ways can procrastination be a good thing?

Comfort Food

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When someone is emotionally stressed, they often turn to comfort food. Although most of the food are not good for our health since these are high-calorie, high-fat, salt or sugar food, we still eat it because they are delicious and they give us pleasure.

They also say that these comfort food are sentimental since they remind us of our childhood; that sweet, sweet time when we were taken care of by our parents. In some cultures, comfort food are nuanced since they believe that all food give comfort.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to learn more about comfort food.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-210107

Discussion Questions:

  1. Does eating comfort food take your stress away? Why or why not?
  2. What are your comfort food? How often do you eat them?
  3. What food make you feel a bit nostalgic? Why do you think they bring such emotion for you?
  4. Do you feel guilty after eating too much of your comfort food?
  5. Are there any comfort food that are actually healthy?
  6. What are other things that calm your nerves during your stressful or difficult situations?

Private and Personal Information

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When we wake up in the morning, the first thing most of us do is to check our phones for notifications. Then, we get ourselves ready for the day by eating breakfast. But before taking the first bite, we first take the phone out and snap a photo of our food and post it on social media. This behavior of constantly being on our phones continues throughout the day. This may not be true for everyone, but we see this pattern of behavior around us.

People tend to have the urge to share everything about themselves on social media. This may sound harmless, but we should be very careful about the things we post and share on the internet. We must distinguish which information is okay to share online and which ones should be kept in private.

Let’s watch the video and find out what information may be okay to share online and those that should be kept from all the world to see.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is private information? What is personal information? Give examples of each.
  2. Do you use social media? If yes, how often do you use it? What sort of information do you share on your social media account/s?
  3. What are your thoughts on this statement: “Think before you share.”?
  4. Why is it dangerous to share private information online?
  5. How do you make sure not to jeopardize your private info when navigating through the internet?

Life Expectancy – What Makes the Difference?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Life expectancy is the estimation of the number of years an individual can expect to live. It is the key measure to evaluate population health. Countries differ in life expectancy depending on different factors.

Find out more about life expectancy and the factors affecting its trends.

https://www.english-online.at/geography/life-expectancy/life-expectancy-where-people-live-longer.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the article, what factors affect the life expectancy of a nation? Can you add some more?
  2. What is the life expectancy in your country? Why do you think it’s like that?
  3. Why do you think men and women have different life expectancy?
  4. Do you agree with the saying ‘It’s not how long you live, it’s how well you live.’?
  5. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages when people live for so long?