Tag: B2 – Upper intermediate

Generation Vacation: Holiday with Our Parents

B2 – Upper Intermediate

I bet you have heard of the word “quarter-life crisis” wherein at the age of 25, you are no longer too young to be an adult and you are already too old to be a teenager. Nowadays, it’s becoming more common to stay living with your parents because it’s too expensive to rent on your own. Sometimes, because of generation gap, we experience misunderstanding with our parents.

Here’s a unique article about a boy’s experience traveling with his mom and how this memorable trip changed how he thinks about her.

Read the interesting story below and let’s answer the questions together!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/generation-vacation-happens-millennials-like-go-holiday-parents/

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever traveled with your parents before? If yes, how was it and where did you go?
2. Can you tell me one of your most memorable trips abroad with your parents?
3. Talk about the difference between traveling with friends and family. What are the advantages and disadvantages when you travel with your family?
4. Do you prefer to travel with friends, relatives, or alone? Why?
5. What do you think it was like traveling for our parents “during their time”?

Slow Aging

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Getting older is inevitable, but our diet and lifestyle play a huge role in how we look and feel along the way. Aging doesn’t necessarily mean getting sick or feeling less than our best — if we pay attention to a few key factors and make a few important shifts, we can age healthfully and feel as optimal as possible.

Read the article and be able to answer the following questions.

Specific social behaviors and lifestyle choices affect aging. For example, if you smoke, then you will likely get dry, rough skin. There are wrinkles around the lips that come with smoking too. Or if you frequently suntan, then your skin will eventually become leathery. You’ll also develop much deeper wrinkles around the eyes. Stress can lead to dark circles beneath the eyes too. And that’s just your physical appearance, as smoking, sun, and stress affect your unseen inside. However, scientists could only guess how large the effects might be, at least until now.

Scientists have turned to identical twins. They are closely examining the lifestyles of the siblings to determine and better measure which social behaviors affect physical and mental health. These twins start as exact copies of one another, yet differences accumulate through the years. Photos show just how obvious lifestyle choices affect the outward appearance of the body. There are internal differences too. The study is currently examining 186 pairs of twins.

It should be noted that positive lifestyle choices are also being recorded. Diets with a lot of fruits and vegetables are compared to less healthy diets, for example. Scientists are also looking at the amount of exercise the twins get, the amount of stress in their lives, and if their outlook is positive or negative. Each adds or subtracts years from a person’s life, as well as their overall healthfulness.

The ultimate goal is to one day discover the fountain of youth. This would allow humankind to double or triple their lifespan. In all likelihood, the near-future breakthroughs will add a decade or two. Twins may hold an important piece to an immense and very difficult puzzle.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

  1. How concerned are you with aging? Please explain.
  2. Do members of your family live long and healthy lives? Please explain.
  3. What lifestyle choices have you made that have had negative effects?
  4. What lifestyle choices have you made that have had positive effects?
  5. If humans could double their lifespan, would it be a good idea? Why/not?

All Work and No Play

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play.

Read the article further and be able to discuss  the following questions.

According to a study released last week, children who are unruly in schools may simply work too much and play too little. The study examined more than 10,000 elementary school children between the ages of eight and nine in the US. It discovered that children behaved notably better when they played for at least fifteen minutes during the school day. More recess resulted in children who were even better behaved.

The researchers who conducted the study concluded that children use creativity and imagination when on the playground. Kids also learn how to socially interact with one another, as well as develop problem-solving skills. Therefore recess plays an important role in the education of children. Child psychiatrists agreed with the study’s findings, describing the learning environment created when children are play.

In recent years, though, recess has been cut at many schools, in part because of an increased emphasis placed on tests. More attention has been placed on academics because American children regularly score lower on international tests. Thus the Bush administration created No Child Left Behind in 2001, in an attempt to help US kids become more academically competitive with their international peers. Schools with poor test results were punished. Unfortunately, as a result to boost scores, students studied more and played less.

As a result of the study, another discovery was also made. The schools with the shortest amount of breaks tended to originate from areas with lower incomes and lower education levels. Therefore, these already disadvantaged children were harmed more with little or no playtime at school. All work and no play can thus be viewed as a path to poorer social skills, poorer behavior in the classroom, and poorer test scores.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree that children should spend most of their day studying?
  2. Some people say that children who have piano, soccer, and other activities become smart adults. What you opinion about this?
  3. What’s a good balance between study and play for children? Why do you think so?
  4. How important are tests for children? Do tests accurately measure a child’s intelligence, skills, and/or abilities.Why do you think so?
  5. What is the education system like in your home country? Please explain.
  6. How can the education system in your home country be improved? Please explain.

Forget Office Cubicles, Try ‘Co-working’

© Josh Hallett from Winter Haven, FL, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-2.0

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In a more globalized world, sharing resources hasn’t been new. Now, a new concept of a “Co-working Space” which helps small businesses and self-employed individuals to stay connected with others by renting a room or small place to work.

Let’s learn more about this and read the article below!

https://www.voanews.com/a/co-working-new-office-style/3365475.html

Discuss:

1. What does Carl Pierre think the advantages of such a workspace are?
2. What do you think about the concept of co-working spaces?
3. What does your workspace look like?
4. Do you prefer working outdoors or in an office? Why?
5. Do you think that, in the future, all business will be conducted from a co-working space? Why or why not?
6. Do you think that, in the future, offices will become obsolete because of the Internet? Why or why not?

Food Waste

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Food waste is food that is discarded or uneaten. Each year, we dispose of a third of the world’s food.

Listen to this podcast to learn more about food wastage and ways to stop it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-170511

Let’s talk:

1. Where does the biggest percentage of food waste come from?

2. What usually happens to the food we waste?

3. What are the consequences of food waste?

4. What is Selina Juul doing to stop food waste in Denmark? What are other ways to avoid wasting food?

5. What do you tend to do with your leftovers?

6. How’s not finishing your food viewed in your country?

How to Haggle: Successful Bargaining Tips

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service debate the price of a transaction.  Not all purchases are open to bargaining. Typical places where bargaining is common include markets, antique shops, and second-hand car shops.

Click the link and read a few guidelines to help us get the best bargain. Answer the discussion questions that follow:

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/how-to-haggle

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is bargaining an acceptable practice in your country?
  2. In what kinds of shops is it acceptable?
  3. Do you like to bargain?
  4. What sort of things have you bargained for?
  5. What’s the best bargain you have got?
  6. What strategies did you use?
  7. Have you ever been ripped off?
  8. What is the bargaining etiquette in your country?
  9. What other negotiating do you do in your everyday life?
  10. What are some reasons people give for wanting a price reduction?

Tesco Homeplus Virtual Subway Store

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Innovation is the development and implementation of ideas that lead to more value for whatever business you are in.

When grocery chain Tesco wanted to expand their market share in South Korea, they came up with a brilliant idea. Because the people in South Korea work long hours, Tesco thought of an efficient way to sell their products.  Why is this shop interesting to view?

Watch the video to find out. Be able to answer the questions that follow.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about Tesco’s virtual store at subway stations in South Korea?
  2. How was Tesco better than its competitor in terms of innovation?
  3. Do you think this innovative idea could be successfully applied in all countries? Explain.
  4. What are the most important innovations for you in your daily life?
  5. Have you ever worked for a company that has implemented any innovative ideas? Talk about it.
  6. Have you ever had an innovative idea? If so, did you put it into action?

Live in this Italian Village and Receive Money

© via Daily Mail UK

B2 – Upper Intermediate

How would you like to move to a picturesque town with only 394 inhabitants, rents for as low as €50 a month, and an incentive of €2,000 for relocating there?

The city government in a little Italian village offers all these things to address a problem their town is facing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4484094/Italian-village-offers-2-000-people-there.html

Let’s talk:
1. What’s the problem in this village and what is the solution to it?
2. Do you have the same problem in your country?
3. What are the reasons you would move or not relocate to this town?

Multiple Careers

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There is a new trend in some societies. It’s having more than one occupation. There is someone who is a part-time computer programmer and a part-time musician or someone who is a teacher by day and a bartender by night.

Click on the links below to listen to and read the transcript of this BBC 6 Minute English podcast about having several jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/6-minute-english/ep-170413

Discussion Questions:
1. When you were young, how did you answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up”?
2. What do you do now? Are you interested in getting another job? If so, what kind?
3. What does the term “portfolio careers” mean?
4. What might be the good and bad things about having portfolio careers?
5. Think of other reasons why having multiple jobs is becoming a trend.

Productivity Technique

B2 – Upper Intermediate

How do you get big things done? Certainly, there are several different things you can do to accomplish them. Here’s one technique you can try:

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What is the technique called and how does it work?
2. How can people improve their productivity?
3. What technology helps you to be productive?
4. Do you think smart phones increase or decrease productivity?
5. Are you a very motivated person or do you wait until the last minute to do things?