Tag: B2 – Upper intermediate

Social Distancing Through Wine Windows in Italy

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In this pandemic that we are facing, one of the crucial rules in keeping safe is social distancing. Everyone should get used to it that even companies around the world have shifted their ways of doing business.

In Italy, most of them are using “buchetta del vino” or wine windows. to serve their customers.

Let’s read more about it here:
https://www.rd.com/article/italy-wine-windows/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do people in your city follow the social distancing rule?
  2. How do you feel about social distancing when meeting your friends and family? Is it really necessary?
  3. How have businesses in your city adjusted to the new normal?
  4. What can you say about the “wine windows” in Italy?
  5. Do you have any suggestions to business owners on how they should operate in this time of pandemic?

Places That Forbid Taking of Pictures

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Let’s admit, majority of us are hooked on taking photos. From the food that we are just about to eat, Outfit Of The Day (OOTD), our activities, and most specially the instagrammable places that we’ve been to, we can’t stop ourselves from taking snaps before anything else.

However, as much as we want to capture the scenery and view, there are places that do not allow this. Let us find out what are these places and their reasons why we need to ditch in our cameras in visiting them.

rd.com/list/places-forbid-taking-pictures/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like taking pictures?
  2. What are the reasons you take photos?
  3. What are the things that you like to take pictures of?
  4. Is there a place in your country that forbids taking of pictures? What is the reason?
  5. In your own opinion, do you think the reasons mentioned in the article are valid?

Accusing Business Rival of Stealing Staff and Trade Secrets

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The world’s top electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla claims that its rival Rivian Automotive Inc. has repeatedly poached their employees and stolen some of their intellectual property.

Read more about this news on business rivalry and stealing talents and trade secrets from the link below:

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/tesla-lawsuit-accuses-rival-stealing-staff-trade-secrets-200723051819087.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to Rivian’s alleged pattern of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets from Tesla?
  2. Talk about your experience being poached by other companies. How did it happen?
  3. Do you think it is ethical to divulge information/knowledge you have acquired from your former company to your present employer?
  4. How does your company protect itself from poaching and intellectual property theft?
  5. What is your direct competitor/s like? Do you think your company has the same problem as Tesla with them?

EU Forecasts Recession of Historic Proportions

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The European Union’s economy chief Paolo Gentiloni said that Europe is going through a sharp economic downward spiral; something the continent has not experienced since the Great Depression.

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to affect member countries, the EU gears up for a recession of epic proportions.

Read more about this news on this imminent economic recession from the link below:

https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/06/eu-forecasts-recession-of-historic-proportions-this-year

Discussion Questions:

  1. What conditions and consequences might this deep recession have in different member states?
  2. What economic damages has the spread of Coronavirus done on the economy of your country?
  3. How is your government preparing for this deep recession?
  4. Talk about other times your country was in recession. How did it affect your country and you or your family directly?
  5. Explain your understanding of the V-shape and Nike swoosh recovery.

Catalan Leader Demands Probe Into Phone-Tapping Reports

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Pro-independence speaker Roger Torrent learned that his phone had been tapped. He claims the Spanish government seems complicit or negligent about this issue. 

Read more about this news on phone tapping and political espionage from the link below:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/spain-catalan-leader-demands-probe-phone-tapping-reports-200714112106903.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think Torrent had been the target of political espionage?
  2. What is your opinion on his claims about how the Spanish government is tackling this issue?
  3. In general, what are your thoughts on political espionage?
  4. Do you think that Pegasus is operated “solely by authorized government agencies to fight terror and serious crime, and protect public safety”? What is your opinion on this software?
  5. If you were one of the victims of this cyber attack, how would you react/feel?
  6. Share any kind of cyber-related problems you’ve encountered.

Spain to Get EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The European Union has reached a historic deal to provide Coronavirus recovery fund to its member countries. Spain is one of the countries to receive the biggest grants.

Read more about this news on the historic EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund.

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2020-07-21/spain-to-get-140-billion-from-historic-eu-coronavirus-recovery-fund.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is this deal historic? How do you feel about it?
  2. What are your thoughts on Spain getting the lion’s share of the money?
  3. What do you think are some of the conditions that might come with the release of funds?
  4. How should the Spanish government allocate the said funds?
  5. How do you think are you going to be affected economically by the pandemic?

Email Etiquette Rules Professionals Should Follow

B2 – Upper Intermediate

On average, most employees spend almost 1/4 of their workweek going over all their work e-mails. Even though we use e-mails all the time, many workers still have the tendency to commit embarrassing mistakes when using e-mails as a way to communicate at work. 

Read this article to know some of the most essential e-mail etiquette rules every employee must know. 

https://www.inc.com/business-insider/email-etiquette-rules.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which rules did you not know or follow before?
  2. Do you agree or disagree that “it’s better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well”?
  3. Talk about your experience when miscommunication via e-mail occurred between you and a colleague or customer/client. What do you think are other ways to avoid misunderstandings when using e-mail as a means of communication?
  4. What do you do when you receive an e-mail that wasn’t meant for you?
  5. What is your reaction to: “Every electronic message leaves a trail.”?

Is Childhood Today Over-Supervised?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Many have observed and compared how childhood evolved and embarked on changes as time goes by. It isn’t as free and wild as before when children used to venture on going to a forest with their buddies without any adult supervision. They could even enjoy some traditional games with their mates in the neighborhood not minding all the mess and stinky smell for as long as they are embracing that liberty to be closer to nature which is significantly different nowadays as we rarely see children running freely in an open space and discovering the outdoors or the world around them these days.

Read the article below for more information on over-supervised childhood.

https://lightlynews.com/2020/02/12/learning/is-childhood-today-over-supervised/

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you describe your childhood? Would you say you were free?
  2. Did your parents allow you to discover the world around you when you were young or did they supervise your every move and made sure you were alright all the time?
  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of unsupervised and supervised parenting?
  4. In your opinion, are children of today overly supervised? Why or why not?

Weirdest Phobias People Suffer From

B2 – Upper Intermediate

One of the basic human emotions is fear. It is natural to be fearful in situations we feel unsafe in. However, there is also ‘phobia’ which means an extreme or irrational fear of something. Experts say having a phobia isn’t a sign of weakness.

Let’s watch the video and find out more about phobias you probably never knew existed.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which of the phobias in the video did you find most outrageous? Why?
  2. Which of the ten phobias do you think is the least weird?
  3. Do you know anyone who has any of these phobias?
  4. Do you agree with the last statement, “all we have to fear is fear itself”?
  5. How would you feel about being without your device?

Growing Roses

B2- Upper Intermediate

Roses are beautiful and fragrant flowers but some people often think they are hard to grow. Most of these rose plants come from Asia and also seen in some parts of Africa, Europe, and the United States.

Let us read few suggestions on how to start growing beautiful roses.

https://www.esolcourses.com/content/reading/intermediate/graded-readers/growing-roses.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like roses? What are some kinds of flowers and plants do you like?
  2. Do you enjoy growing flowers or other type of plants?
  3. What do you know about planting or gardening?
  4. When is the best time to plant roses?
  5. How do flowers make you feel?