Tag: B2 – Upper intermediate

Stay Calm Under Pressure

B2 – Upper intermediate

Choking under pressure happens everywhere – be it sports, school, auditions or other places and situations. It occurs even in the workplace of hardworking and career-driven individuals. So why do competent people choke under pressure?

Watch the video and find out how to stay calm despite being in a high-pressure situation.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. According to the video, what is choking?

2. What are the two theories on why being nervous undermine expert performance?

3. What are the tips on how to stay calm under pressure? Which do you find most helpful?

Recovering from Micromanaging

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Micromanaging is a management style whereby the manager closely  observes or controls the work of his employees. Is micromanagement really effective? Some says it’s not but why do we do it?

Let us watch as Chieh Huang confesses and shares the cure for micromanagement madness and how to foster innovation and happiness at work.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your opinion of micromanagement?

2. What management style do you follow at work?

3. How effective do you do your job with or without a manager around you?

 

 

The Progressive Income Tax

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The progressive income tax is one of those economic terms that gets bandied about, but few actually know what it means or how it works. Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society, the progressivity of taxes largely determines how that price varies among individuals. A progressive tax takes a larger percentage of income from high-income groups than from low-income groups and is based on the concept of ability to pay.

Watch the video about the progressive income tax.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘tax’?
  2. Describe your country’s tax system.
  3. What changes would you like to see in your country’s tax system?
  4.  How taxes are spent in your country?
  5. Should poor people be exempted from paying tax? Explain your stand.

How Resilient Are You?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Have you ever been in a situation where everything has been prepared under thorough planning for weeks yet for whatever reason you bumble through all your numbers, everything seems to fall flat and against you?

Watch the video to learn more about resilience.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is resilience?
2. How do we learn it?
3. When was the last time you ever faced rejection, failure or adversity?
4. How did you handle it?
5. Are you resilient?
6. How resilient are you in dealing with challenges or setbacks?

Stop Procrastinating and Maximize Productivity

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks. It is a challenge we have all faced at one point. As humans, we have been struggling with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that matter to us.

Click the link below to watch the video on how to beat procrastination and learn some useful strategies that will make it easier for us to start working on our tasks ahead.

Discussion Questions:
  1. What are some reasons why people procrastinate?
  2. What kinds of things do you usually put off doing?
  3. What are the negative effects of procrastination?
  4. When is it good to procrastinate?
  5. According to the video, how can one kick the habit of procrastination?

Safety of Doctors

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Doctors treat our illnesses and at times, even save our lives when we are confronted with a life-threatening medical condition. An increasing number of Korean doctors are growing more worried about their safety while at work.

Read the article below and find out one of the reasons why a huge number of doctors in Korea want to work abroad.

http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=261424

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the reason Korean doctors worry about their safety?
  2. State ways on how to solve this problem.
  3. What other work-related perils do doctors face?
  4. What challenges do doctors in your country have to deal with?

Geopolitical Analysis of Europe

B2 – Upper Intermediate

As countries become more and more interconnected, disputes are looming among nations. The same can be said for Europe following new elections, treaties, and events that will reorganize the region.

Watch the video and find out what to seek out for this year in Europe.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Based on this video, talk about some things that we need to keep an eye out for in 2019 in Europe. Do you know of any others that were not mentioned in this video?
2. Which among these issues concerns you the most?
3. What are things that we need to look out for in Spain this year?

Don’t Follow Your Passion

B2 – Upper intermediate

Young people often feel pressured to make decisions about how they want to spend the rest of their lives. Should we follow our passion wherever it may take us? Which is better—do what you love or learn to love what you do? How can you know which course to take or avoid?

Watch the video and listen to Mike Rowe talk about his opinion on “following one’s passion”.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your opinion about the statement “Don’t follow your passion”?
2. What do you really want?
3. Do you like what you are now?
4. What do you think will happen if you had followed your passion?
5. Would you be willing to work for free just to follow your passion?

Historic Landing on the Dark Side of the Moon

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The first country to successfully launch a probe on the dark side of the moon that is never visible from the earth is China. The moon has been one of the subjects of human research and explorations for centuries. How will this great technological feat impact our space explorations in the future?

Read on to find out more about China’s successful moon mission.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1901/190107-dark-side-of-the-moon.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the things that you know about the moon?
  2. How big of an achievement do you think this is?
  3. What are the pros and cons of creating settlements on the moon?
  4. What do you think the future of space exploration will be?
  5. How interesting is the idea of settling in outer space for you?

Solutions to Deforestation

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Deforestation is considered to be one of the contributing factors to global climate change. Ending it is our best chance to conserve wildlife and defend the rights of forest communities. Many believe that to counter deforestation, people simply need to plant more trees. Though a massive replanting effort would help alleviate the problems deforestation causes, it would not entirely solve them. Nowadays, many people are campaigning for a deforestation-free future.

Read some of the solutions to deforestation and be able to answer the discussion questions that follow:

Solutions to Deforestation

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is deforestation and why does it exist?
  2. What are the damaging effects of deforestation?
  3. Are there any benefits? Cite some advantages if there are any.
  4. What do you think about the solutions mentioned in the article?