Tag: Family

Brothers Conquer Ironmans as a Team

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The bond between siblings goes beyond consanguinity. It is forged through a lifetime of shared experiences replete with triumphs and tribulations, characterized by fraternal affection in all circumstances. The Pease brothers, each extraordinary in their own right, epitomize such indefatigable love.

Watch the short feature and be inspired by their story of inclusiveness and unfettered determination.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What activities do you enjoy doing with your siblings? What are your common hobbies, passions, or interests? If you have no siblings, you can think of other family or friends whom you think of as siblings.
  2. When was the last time you’d proven people wrong? What did they say you couldn’t accomplish, and how did you confound their expectations?
  3. How do you motivate yourself to take on challenges?
  4. How would you describe the attitudes in your country towards people with disabilities?
  5. Some people have likened life to running a race. Is this an apt comparison?

Having a Sister Makes Us More Optimistic

B1 – Lower Intermediate

Siblings play a unique role in one another’s lives. Because siblings often grow up in the same household, they have a large amount of exposure to one another. Only, people with sisters are said to be more optimistic than those with brothers or without any siblings. What’s your opinion?

People with sisters are happier and more optimistic, study shows

Discussion questions:

1. Do you agree with the study?

2. Tell me about your brother/sister. How has your relationship changed since childhood?

3. What kind of a sibling are you?

4. Who always teaches you to be positive and kinder?

5. As a parent/future parent, how can you encourage and promote a healthy sibling relationship with your children?

Successful Family Life and Career

B1 – Intermediate

When you are an adult with a family, balance is something hard to find. A balance between your work and family seems impossible to do when you work 40 hours a week not to mention the time you spend on commuting from your house to work and vice versa.

Let’s read the article below and discuss how to have a successful career and a happy family.

Successful Family Life and Career

Discussion Questions:

  1. In your opinion, out of the 10, which tip is the most important?
  2. What are your personal ways to ensure a successful career and family life?
  3. What activities do you enjoy doing with your family?

Egg Freezing Perk for Female Employees

B1 – Intermediate

Apple and Facebook are among the biggest tech firms known for giving their employees, some might call, “awesome” work perks.

Recently, some companies decided they will provide financial assistance to their female staff should they opt to go for egg-freezing in their 20s or 30s.

Read the article to know more about this egg freezing perk.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1704/170426-egg-freezing.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of this perk?
2. What are your thoughts on this statement: “When [IVF] is done purely to protect their job, I think it’s extraordinary that women think this is liberating.”?
3. What unique perks are given to employees at your company?
4. What perks do you want your company to start giving out to its employees?
5. What do you think is the best age to start having children. Tell some reasons why.

Causes & Solutions of Juvenile Delinquency

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C1 – Advanced

Juvenile crime is a crime committed by young people below a specific age – 18 in most countries. Even kids can run afoul of the law. Once a child commits a crime and enters the criminal justice system, he or she may be deemed a “juvenile delinquent.”

Causes and Solutions of Juvenile Delinquency

 Discuss:

1. What are the main reasons children become criminals?
2. What kind of crimes do young people usually commit?
3. Why do you think juvenile crime increased in the past decade?
4. Should young people go to prison if they commit serious crimes?
5. How much are parents to blame if their children become criminals?
6. What part do you think movies, the Internet and video games play in leading young people to crime?
7. Is juvenile crime a problem in your country?
8. What would you do if you discovered your children had committed criminal acts?

Speaking Activity : Adoption

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Adoption brings a child into a new family. Birth parents have a number of reasons for placing children for adoption. Overall, they want better lives for their children. Children who are eligible for adoption come from many different settings. Some are in foster care while others live in orphanages or with birth relatives until they can be adopted.

Answer the questions below with your next teacher and be ready to practice your sentence construction.

Discuss:

1. How is adoption viewed in your country?
2. How does being adopted affect a child’s view of themselves?
3. What are some of the reasons people adopt children?
4. What are some of the reasons people give children up for adoption?
5. What do you think about couples that adopt children from different countries?
6. What qualities make a couple or a person qualified to adopt a child?
7. Should the adoption process be more or less difficult than it is now?
8. Should people be able to decide what type of children they want to adopt? For example: boy or girl, hair color, age, etc.
9. How much should the government be involved in the adoption process?
10. What are orphanages like in your country?
11. Would you ever adopt a child?

12-Year Old Scores College Acceptances

B2 – Upper Intermediate

12-year old Tanishq Abraham is just like any other young boy his age. He goes on Twitter and plays video games. But what makes him different is that, by age 11, he had already received a college degree.

Read the article below to find out more about child prodigy, Tanishq Abraham.

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/tanishq-abraham-12-scores-college-acceptances-uc-davis-uc-santa-n578056

Discussion Questions:

1. If you were Tanishq’s parent, would you allow him to go to college at a very young age?
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of entering college at an early age?
3. How would you feel having a college classmate who is 12 years of age?
4. Would you give up your job to support your child when you see that they are gifted? Why or why not?
5. Would you allow your child to give up college education for a career (e.g. sports, modelling or entertainment)? Why or why not?

The Lost Boy and Japan’s Parenting Debate

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C1 – Advanced

Yamato Tanooka is 7 years old. He was left in the woods by his parents as punishment for being overly active. His father admitted to doing it and his parents were very apologetic about what happened.

Is this abuse or did his parents just lost control of the situation and didn’t know how else to discipline him?

The lost boy and Japan’s parenting debate

Discuss:

1. What is your reaction that “many parents in Japan tend to see their children as their personal possessions”?
2. What is your idea of good and bad parenting?
3. How are kids usually punished in your country when they misbehave?
4. When do we say it’s abuse and when do we say it’s discipline?
5. What do you think are effective ways to discipline children?
6. How can we keep children safe from abuse?

Time Spent Online ‘overtakes TV’

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B2 – Upper intermediate

A 2016 article shows how the youth of today have switched pastimes. Read the article below to know what young people are preoccupied with and the changes that come with it.

Time spent online ‘overtakes TV’ among youngsters

Discuss:

1. Is it common for children in your country to own a tablet or similar device?
2. How does this new trend affect the childhood of these youngsters?
3. What do you think are good ground rules children should have when it comes to using devices?
4. What were some of your hobbies when you were young?

Facebook boss to take paternity leave

C1 – Advanced

Parental leaves are enjoyed by employees to help take care of their children. In recent years, companies have recognized the importance of a father’s role during the first few weeks of a newborn. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took two months of paternity leave following the birth of his daughter. What does this mean for the rest of the working fathers out there?

Facebook boss to take paternity leave 

Discuss:

1. What do you think of the idea of paternity leave?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. What kind of message is Mark Zuckerberg sending?
4. Do fathers in your country take advantages of their paternity leaves?