Tag: economy

Spain’s Unfinished Cities

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Valdeluz, an unfinished development housing project near Guadalajara was constructed to house aspiring middle-class homeowners. It has become a paragon of the consequences of the housing bubble burst and the country’s confounded economic decline.

Read more about this ghost town, its implications on Spain’s housing and economic state.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/spain-empty-cities_n_56ba6221e4b0b40245c47dff

Discussion Questions:

  1. Talk about the construction boom in Spain, the current situation and your thoughts on this issue.
  2. Do you know any urbanization development projects that were abandoned midway? What do you think of when you see such sights?
  3. Has the housing crisis waned in your country now?
  4. What do you think went wrong with these housing projects?
  5. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of living in urbanizations?

Venezuelans Adopt Recycling to Make Ends Meet

B2 – Upper Intermediate

This man sits at a marketplace stall in Caracas and repairs broken light bulbs for people who do not have money to buy new ones. Venezuela’s severe economic crisis has led to food and other basic commodities shortages. Hyperinflation has left people’s salaries almost with no value at all anymore in this country.

Watch the video and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your opinion about the topic in the video?

2. What can be the solution to Venezuela’s problem?

3. Is recycling truly beneficial for people and the environment?

4. What are the most common items that you can put into recycling?

5. Do you recycle or not? Is recycling commonly done in your city or country?

Sharing Economy

C1 – Advanced

Sharing economy is basically an economic system in which assets and services are shared between private individuals either for free or for a fee. It has become a global economic phenomenon because of the expansion of platforms to other countries, and because the idea of sharing has caught on around the world. We are familiar with Uber, Airbnb or even other ways of sharing all sorts of things. The sharing economy has shown explosive growth, which, in turn, has led to regulatory and political battles as more and more people want to connect with one another.

Watch the video about sharing economy and what’s next for it.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of sharing economy?
  2. What does “hockey stick growth” mean?
  3. How do you feel about sharing? What do you regularly share with other people?
  4. What benefits do the sharing economy hold for communities/society?
  5. How is this market regulated for security?
  6. In normal business transactions, the government also extracts value by way of taxes, but with the sharing economy often the same taxes don’t apply; what do you think about this?

Tariffs and Trade War

B1 – Intermediate

A tariff is a tax on imported goods and services from foreign countries. US plans to add tariffs on Chinese products. If this happens, China will answer by doing the same on US goods.

Read the article below and find out about trade wars.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1803/180325-trade-war-1.html

Discussion Questions:
1. What are the effects of US’s plans to put trade tariffs on Chinese goods?
2. How will this affect trade in the whole world?
3. Which countries does your country buy goods from and which countries buy goods from your country?

Open-Plan Offices

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In recent years, companies have opted for open-plan offices to encourage employee interaction and collaboration. In a new study, however, having an open floor plan may in fact have the opposite effect and be counterproductive.

Read the article to find out more.

https://theconversation.com/a-new-study-should-be-the-final-nail-for-open-plan-offices-99756

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the article all about? Explain in your own words.
  2. What are the pros and cons of having an open floor plan? What about a closed one?
  3. Talk about the layout or floor plan of your own company/office. How do you think can communication and teamwork be improved in your company?

Speaking Activity: It’s a Smaller World, After All

What pops in your head when you hear the the term “globalization”? Does it give out a positive vibe or more of a negative connotation?

Express your thoughts about globalization and other topics related to it. Be ready to practice your sentence construction during the activity. Be ready to support your answers with an explanation.

  • Would you support a one-world government? Why/not?
  • Would you support English as the official language of Earth? Why/not?
  • Would you support an international standard of laws with only one system of courts?
  • Will humankind be better off because of globalization? If yes, how so? What negatives might result?
  • What does “globalization” mean to you? Please explain.
  • How does globalization affect the different cultures of the world? Why do you think so?
  • How will globalization affect different cultures of the world in the future? Please explain.
  • How will globalization affect your country in 25 years? 50 years? 100 years? Please explain.
  • What will happen to the tribes in Africa and the Amazon, as well as other indigenous people around the world, in the next 25 year? 50 years? 100 years? Why?
  • Some people say that the world is getting smaller and smaller. What do you think this actually suggests, and is it true? Why/not?
  • What would happen if the world had one government, one language, and one culture?
  • How will globalization affect business and economics in the future? Please explain.
  • Because of globalization, will the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Why/not?
  • Many of the world’s economies are tied together, so that any financial problems in one country affect the people elsewhere. Is this a good or bad thing? Why do you think so?
  • Should young people live abroad for a year as part of their education? Why/not?
  • At present, English is the world’s lingua franca. What will be the common language in 25 years? How about in 50 years? Why do you think so?
  • With English as the lingua franca now, how does it affect globalization? Why do you think so?
  • What events or disasters could halt globalization? Do you think any of these disasters/events could happen? Why/not?
  • Which invention of the 20th century has had the greatest impact on humankind? Is it the airplane, the automobile, or the Internet? Why do you think so?
  • How will the Internet and instant access to information affect the lives of our children? Please explain.

Source: headsupenglish.com

India to be a Cashless Society

B2 – Upper intermediate

“A cashless economy is secure.” This is according to India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Below is an interesting article on how India is working on becoming  a cashless country. Read the article then answer some discussion questions.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1611/161129-cashless-society.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about a cashless society?
2. What are the pros and cons of cash?
3. Is having a cashless society an assurance that one country’s economy will be stable?
4. What are the effects of the digital world in your society?

UK Leaving Europe is Bad for Science

B2 – Upper intermediate

One of the main principles of EU membership is “free movement”. Which means you don’t need to get a visa to go and live in another EU country. But, some British citizens don’t agree with this idea.

On the other hand, there are those campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, as it makes selling things to other EU countries easier. And the flow of immigrants fuel economic growth and help pay for public services.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1606/160614-brexit.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you know about Brexit?
2. Do you think it is better for the UK to leave or stay in the EU?
3. What are the good things about being in the European Union?
4. Is it better for a country to be part of a union or be totally independent?
5. How important is the European Union?

Swiss Vote No to Free Monthly Income for All

B2 – Upper Intermediate

These days it seems that every country has problems regarding its economy, employment rate and social welfare. Swiss nationals made a life-changing decision regarding it’s social welfare policy.

Read the article below and express your opinions about it.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1606/160608-basic-income.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think voters rejected the proposal?
2. Is a guaranteed monthly state income a good idea? How happy would you be at getting a $2,500 monthly salary for free?
3. Is it better to give people a salary or give them welfare payments?
4. What’s the best way to deal with income inequality?

Food Theft ‘Not a Crime’

B2 – Upper Intermediate

An Italian court has ruled that stealing a small amount of food due to starvation is not a crime. A man’s sentence was overturned because his lawyer argued that he only committed the crime out of desperation.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36190557

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree with this Italian court ruling? Why or why not?
  2. What are the good things and consequences of the said ruling?
  3. What should be done with people who are caught stealing food?
  4. What do people in your country do when they are starving and don’t have any money to buy food?