Tag: education

Students Face Challenges with Online Learning

C1 – Advanced

The Covid-19 has changed the lives of children and families around the world. Schools have closed in many countries thereby disrupting education. Due to the closures, many school districts with internet access are shifting into online instruction. With the adoption of online learning, many people wonder if it could replace the traditional learning in the classroom.

Watch the video and be able to answer the questions that follow:

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the challenges of students and parents in online learning?
  2. What are the the positive sides of learning online?
  3. Do you think online learning is as effective as formal, traditional learning in a classroom? Why/Why not?
  4. Do you think this kind of learning will persist after the pandemic?
  5. What do you think is the impact of online education to the worldwide education market?

Teenagers Banned From Using Mobiles In School

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The head of a prestigious boarding school said that teenagers should be stopped from using mobile phones in school because they are not mature enough to practice self-control.

Read the article below and find out more about this phone ban at a school.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/mobile-phone-ban-school-headteacher-lisa-kerr-gordonstoun-prince-charles-a9276756.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the idea?
  2. Are children in your country allowed to bring mobile phones at school?
  3. At what age do you think a person should start using mobile phones/gadgets?
  4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of letting children bring their mobile phones to school?

Homeschooling

B2 – Upper Intermediate

According to BBC, the number of children in UK being homeschooled has risen by about 40% over the past three years. Parents have some reasons why they homeschool their children, though. It has its own share of pros and cons just like conventional schools. In reality, there are students who learn better in homeschool environment rather than in a public or private school environment and vice versa. Parents just have to find the best approach for their children to learn depending on their ability, personality, and condition.

Read the article and be able to answer the questions below:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42624220

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of homeschooling?
  2. What are some reasons parents homeschool their children?
  3. What are its drawbacks?
  4. Is homeschooling gaining popularity in your country?
  5. Would you be different today if you were homeschooled? Why/Why not?

Why Do Students Drop Out of School?

B1 – Intermediate

Nowadays, a lot of American high school students have been dropping out.

Let’s see what the usual reasons for this are and some possible outcomes when students drop out of high school on the link below.

https://www.english-online.at/education/school-dropouts/school-dropouts.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the reasons students drop out of school?
  2. How can dropping out of high school affect young people’s future?
  3. How do you think can we improve our education system so students wouldn’t choose to stop studying?
  4. Talk about someone you know who is a dropout. Did this person become successful or not?
  5. What would you say to a high school student who wants to stop their studies?

We May Be Able to Learn Vocabulary While Sleeping

B1 – Intermediate

Good news to everyone who wants to expand their vocabulary! A new study in Switzerland has shown that we can learn new vocabulary while sleeping. It is also possible to learn a foreign language this way.

Check out this article below for more information.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1902/190206-learning-vocabulary.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think that this is effective?
  2. Would you like to try it?
  3. How do you expand your vocabulary?
  4. What other languages would you like to learn?
  5. What other things would you like to learn while you sleep?

Garbage Collectors Start Library with Abandoned Books

B1 – Intermediate

There’s an old saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. This phrase perfectly describes this article about garbage collectors in Turkey who recycle abandoned books. The collection grew gradually as they began saving books and has now built a library.

Learn more by reading the article on the website below.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1905/190509-library.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What can you say about the article?
  2. Do you have a lot of libraries in your city?
  3. How often do you go to libraries?
  4. How can reading affect your life?
  5. Do you think there are still a lot of people who go to libraries?

School for Tired Teens

B2 – Upper Intermediate

It is always a struggle for parents to get their teenage children out of bed in the morning to get them to school on time. An English school decided to delay the start of classes until the afternoon for older students so they can sleep in and begin school in the afternoons.

Watch the video and be able to express your thoughts by answering the questions below.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of this kind of school? What are its benefits? Are there any drawbacks?
  2. Is later school time a solution for tired teens? If not, what are some ways to avoid sleep deprivation among teenagers?
  3. In your country, how many hours of sleep do most teenagers have?
  4. Did you use to have this problem when you were a teenager? How did you cope with it?


College Admission Scandal

C1 – Advanced

Recently, there’s been news about the cheating scandals on college admission. These involved wealthy families, celebrities, and even politicians bribing their children’s way to college. The prestige of getting into elite colleges is one of their ways to gain more popularity and great awes from those people who innocently believed that these students got accepted because of their wits and efforts and not paying millions of dollars to proctors, coaches, and school administrators of their prospective elite colleges.

Watch the video about the largest college admission scams in the US.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on cheating college admission scandals?
  2. Who do you think is responsible for these crimes and how so?
  3. How does this fraud work?
  4. Do you think the students’ involved in these scams admission should be revoked?

Anti-College

C1 – Advanced

Is college fast becoming irrelevant for many or most students? A lot of students and families are taking on enormous debt with no guarantee of a well-paying job so they ask whether technical or other programs might be the smarter choice.

Let’s find out how Jeremy Rossmann, the founder of Make School program, tries to reinvent college.

Discussion Questions:

1. How different is Make School from a traditional college?
2. Is going to college still relevant?
3. Is the college tuition reasonable in your country? Is it easy to get scholarships or government grants?
4. Which is more important, the essential skills in life you’ve learned to develop on your own or the artificial structure in college about the “real world”?
5. What do you think of the higher education system in your country?

Boarding School at An Early Age is Child Abuse

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A boarding school provides education for pupils who live on the premises. Traditionally, pupils stayed at the school for the length of the term; some schools facilitate returning home every weekend and some welcome day pupils.  The United Kingdom has  a rich history of such schools.

Increasing numbers of children are being educated at boarding schools in the UK.  According to George Monbiot, who still struggles with the emotional impact of being sent away at the age of eight, we must protect children from the damage they can cause. He says if working-class parents did this, there would be an outcry. So why are upper-class parents getting away with what has become a form of acceptable cruelty?

Watch the video and be able to express your position on this topic.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you feel about the video? Do you agree with George Monbiot’s argument?
  2. What do you think about boarding schools? Do you know anyone who was boarded or boarding schooled?
  3. Cite some of the pros and cons of sending a very young child to boarding schools.