Tag: People

Laughter

B1 – Intermediate

Laughing is contagious. It brings happiness, lifts spirits, and brings about good judgment.

Laughter has very good benefits to our body. Laughter and jokes help boost the immune system, improve your quality of life, promote healing, and protect you from the negative outcomes of stress. Best of all, this medicine is totally organic, fascinating, unlimited, and not to mention, free.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about laughter.

https://listenaminute.com/l/laughter.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What usually makes you laugh?
  2. Do you consider it necessary for people to laugh? Why or why not?
  3. Do you like making other people laugh? Why or why not?
  4. Why do some people seem to laugh more frequently than others?
  5. Is laughing synonymous to happiness, contentment, or joy? Explain. 
  6. What is the funniest moment of your life and why?

Night

B1 – Intermediate

Are you a night owl?

The night should be the most peaceful period of the day. It is a great time to look at the stars because they’re beautiful,  lay out on the beach or any other place, and just talk and hang out with friends.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript about nighttime.

https://listenaminute.com/n/night.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you do at night that is different from during the day?
  2. Do you feel different at night than you do during the day? Explain.
  3. What’s the best night out you’ve ever had?
  4. What would life and the world be like if humans were nocturnal – we slept during the day and were active at night?
  5. Talk about an interesting night in your life. What made it special?

Patience

B1 – Intermediate

In today’s modern world, life has become a constant pursuit of distraction. Being more patient can do wonders to our mental health, career, and personal relationships. Patience makes us better people.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about patience.

https://listenaminute.com/p/patience.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you patient? Is it difficult for you to be as such? Explain your answer.
  2. How can you improve the quality of patience in yourself? What techniques can you think of?
  3. When was the last time you lost your patience?
  4. Who/what requires the most patience in your life?
  5. Do you think you’re getting more patient or impatient as you get older? Explain.

The 15-Minute City

B2 – Upper Intermediate

To improve the quality of people’s lives, an urban planning design and policies were conceived by a French-Colombian professor, Carlos Moreno. It is what is known as the“15-Minute City”. The idea is to create cities where everything is within a 15-minute radius.

The aim is to build sustainable cities where residents can live locally, with everything they need within just a short walk or a bike ride away.

Read the article to learn more about decentralization of services, otherwise known as, the 15-minute city and be able to answer the questions below.

https://www.treehugger.com/the-15-minute-city-is-having-a-moment-5071739

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the idea of a “The 15-Minute City”?
  2. Would you like to live in this kind of city? Why or why not?
  3. What are the positive and negative impact of such urban planning design to people and society?
  4. Describe the city you live in. What are the best things about it and what aspects can be improved?
  5. How important is urban planning?

Opera Singer by Day, Janitor by Night

B2 – Upper Intermediate

What if part-time jobs hide some information about the people who are doing them? A janitor who is actually an opera singer during the day? Do you think it’s possible? Well, for Keanon Kyles, it is.

Watch the video about Keanon Kyles, the internationally touring opera singer and janitor.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your reaction to this video?
  2. Have you ever had an unusual job? What about your friends or relatives? What are your thoughts on these odd jobs?
  3. How do you explain to others what your job is about?
  4. If you could take on an odd job, what would it be and why?
  5. Why do you think people tend to be so judgemental about what others do for a living?

Burn the Candle at Both Ends

B1 – Intermediate

There are times when we have to do more than what our body and mind can handle. It could be working long hours everyday in order to pay the bills or to stay up late every night to study so that we pass an exam. Whatever our reason may be, this is not a good practice and doing so will eventually affect our health.

Watch the video and listen to what Randall has to share about an idiom that describes this attitude.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does burn the candle at both ends mean? Have you burned the candle at both ends before? What happened?
  2. What was the most exhausting moment of your life?
  3. What are some reasons people burn the candle at both ends?
  4. Can someone be so stressed out without having to burn the candle at both ends? How?
  5. How do you manage mental and/or physical exhaustion?

Friends

B1 – Intermediate

Friends are people who understands you, and if they don’t, they try to. They are always there for you when you need them. They care for you, love you, and respect you for who and what you are.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about friends.

https://listenaminute.com/f/friends.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do friends mean to you?
  2. Do you stay in touch with all of the friends you’ve made? How?
  3. What makes a friend a best friend?
  4. What would life be like without friends?
  5. What is the most valuable thing you have to offer as a friend?

Clothes

B1 – Intermediate

Clothes are important because it protects us from the weather and provide us with warmth and cover. They also make us desirable in others’ eyes; making us wanted and even disliked.

Because clothes are important, do you buy too many of them?

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about clothes.

https://listenaminute.com/c/clothes.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. About how much money do you spend on clothes a year?
  2. Can you be fashionable without spending money?
  3. Do you have clothes in your closet that you’ve never worn? Why haven’t you worn them?
  4. Do you always recycle your old clothes or give them to charity?
  5. What’s your favorite piece of clothing? Why?
  6. Do you buy clothes online? Why or why not?
  7. Is fashion a kind of art? Elaborate.

Beauty

B1 – Intermediate

Perfect hair, perfect teeth and a perfect smile is ones definition of beauty. Beauty is solely dependent on how a person looks in the outside. However, inner beauty is more important for others because it’s the beauty within which makes a person beautiful.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about beauty.

https://listenaminute.com/b/beauty.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What makes a person beautiful?
  2. What is better, to be physically attractive or intelligent? Why?
  3. Do you think beauty affects your self-confidence? Why or why not?
  4. Does beauty affect a person’s success in personal/ professional life? How?
  5. Do people spend too much money and time on their beauty? In what ways?
  6. “There should be equal rights for most of us “non-beautiful” people.” Do you agree or disagree with this? Why or why not?

Town Has Strange Records

B1 – Intermediate

Every town is known for something. This small Czech town are famous for having some of the most unusual world records.

Setting new records is a way to make your town well-known. It is also something that can make everyone come together.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about the Czech town with some strange records.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/town-has-strange-records-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of this town and their unusual records?
  2. Why are such records so important to some people or for some cities/countries?
  3. What records does your city hold?
  4. Would you participate in an event to set a record for your city/country? Why or why not?
  5. If you could set a record for doing something, what would it be?