Tag: First Certificate FCE

Chocolate Child Slaves

B2 – Upper Intermediate

For the most of us, chocolate is a guilty pleasure. We probably think  we shouldn’t have it but why not reward ourselves after a long, tiring day?  Yet for thousands of children in the cocoa fields of West Africa, chocolate is not a source of pleasure but of a hard and hazardous work. Children working in the cocoa farm are victims of trafficking or slavery. They are kept out of school because their families need their help in the farms and 12-hour workdays make it impossible for them to attend school.

Watch the short video clip to know the bitter truth behind chocolate production.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What was your reaction to the film? What did you learn?
  2. How do you see child labor?
  3. How might this problem be addressed?
  4. What do you know about child labor laws and regulations in your country?

 

 

 

Water Scarcity

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water.

Watch the video to know more why the taps run dry.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is there/Has there ever been water crisis in your region / country?
  2. Why are there severe water shortages around the world?
  3. What are the causes of water scarcity?
  4. What are some solutions to  global water crisis?

 

Investment Scam Targets Instagram Users

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Scams that start on the internet are becoming more and more common nowadays. Sometimes, you’ll encounter fake websites tricking you into installing software that look legitimate but that is really just a virus or scams that are designed to lure people into investing money.

Please read the article to find out more about this new scam.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47358892

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is this new online scam?
  2. How does it lure people into investing money?
  3. How can getting scammed online be avoided?
  4. Why do you think some people get easily tricked by online scams?

Extinction Crisis Threatening Global Food Supply

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests, and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. The decrease in the global diversity of plants and animals puts food security at risk. The report identified that changes to how land and water are used and managed, pollution, climate change, overharvesting, population growth, and urbanization caused the declining biodiversity which could have disastrous effects on our planet.

Read more about this  the article below:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/22/health/food-biodiversity-report-intl/index.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What can be done to increase food production?

2. How can we preserve plants and animals’ natural habitats?

3. What environmental effects will this cause?

4. How can changing our diets save plants and animals from extinction? Should we rethink how we grow, share, and consume food?

5. What are your thoughts on the fact that we hold the extraordinary burden of responsibility to avert much of the damage we have done to the environment?

6. What is your reaction that just in the past 50 years, we have seen the destruction of 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations?

7. Would you know if this is an issue in your country as well? Do you think that this issue is attracting increasing attention in your country?

 

The Trolley Problem

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We are put in a situation where we must make a moral decision; and what if between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. It’s moral dilemma at its finest.
Here’s a scenario:
How would you decide if the two options you had would cost someone’s life? Could your action be justified?

Watch the video below and find out more about the trolley problem.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is trolley problem?

2. What do you consider in making a moral decision?

3. If you were the one to press the switch, would you let the trolley barrel down the track that would kill five workers or divert the trolley onto a second track with one? Or could there be a more ethical solution to the problem?

4. What are some real world applications of trolley problem? (Note: This is not always about sacrificing people’s life.)

The Placebo Effect

B2 – Upper Intermediate

One doctor made up a fake drug and used every skill he had to convince a group of people it was a cure for their fears, phobias, addictions and insecurities. He was able to get some remarkable results, but in fact the drug was nothing more than a sugar pill.

Can a “fake” treatment really cure an ailment?

Watch the video below to learn more about the placebo effect.

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain the placebo effect. How is it used in a medical research?

2. What are the positive and negative effects of the placebo effect?

3. What conditions do you think can a placebo produce results even when people know they are taking a placebo?

4. Talk about your own experience of a placebo effect.

5. What if all medicines were placebo all along?

Graphic Warning on Cigarettes

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Graphic warnings  are used in order to grab the attention of consumers, forcing them to think about the risks involved in the products, and prompting them to consider their negative health consequences.

In cigarettes for example, highlighting the risks of smoking ought to make people think twice about consuming the product. However, is putting these graphic labels really effective?

Click the link below to read the article and be able to discuss the questions that follow:

https://www.rand.org/blog/2014/09/graphic-warning-labels-on-cigarettes-are-scary-but.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about graphic warning labels?
  2. Does it decrease the product’s appeal in customers?
  3. Other than cigarettes, what products have graphic warning labels in your country?
  4. What do you think are the possible effects of these labels on businesses?

 

Objectification

B2 – Upper Intermediate

For some people, there is a hairline distinction between appreciation and objectification. When we appreciate, we recognize one’s good looks as a part of that person and not reduce them to it, which is the latter. Some may claim that objectifying someone is natural, others may take it as a compliment.

Let’s listen and find out more about it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-181101

Discussion Questions:

1. What is objectification? Is it inherently bad?

2. Please give some examples of objectification evident nowadays. What could it lead to?

4. According to the podcast, “Women are more likely to be objectified than men”, why do you think that is the case?

Male Models Earn 75% Less Than Female Models

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally paid less than men.Though gender pay gap for women won’t close until 2069, it seems like there’s an opposite problem in the modeling industry, with the boys taking home fairly less than the ladies.

Read the article below about gender pay gap issue in the modeling industry.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1609/160930-models.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of models and modeling?
  2. What do you think a model’s life is like?
  3. Is modeling a big thing in your country?
  4. What other professions pay women more than men?
  5. What do you think is the reason between this gender pay gap?

Uber Suspends Services in Barcelona

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There have been some protests in Barcelona against Uber staged by taxi drivers. Cab drivers feel that their business is being dragged through the mud.

Uber has decided to suspend its services in Barcelona after new regulations were implemented. The Catalan government imposed that Uber make a 15-minute delay before picking up passengers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47071710

Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think of Uber’s decision to suspend its services in Barcelona?
2. What’s your stand on the rivalry between ride-hailing companies and traditional taxi companies?
3. Do you think Uber should continue its operations in Barcelona and in all of Spain?
4. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the existence of businesses with the same business model as Uber?
5. What do you like and dislike about Uber’s services?