Tag: Reading

Tackling Remote Work Challenges

© Trello

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The world is changing along with the way we live and work. Working remotely is one work styles that is becoming a trend in the workplace nowadays. With teleworking becoming more and more popular these days, it is important to note the good and bad things about it and to know how to deal with them so telecommuting becomes advantageous and satisfying to a person who works from home.

Lift the lid on the joys and struggles of being a home-based worker.

https://blog.trello.com/tips-for-tackling-remote-work-challenges

Let’s talk:

1. What are some challenges that teleworkers face and what are ways to cope with them?

2. How do you view telecommuting?

3. How would you feel about working remotely on a regular basis?

4. Do you think everyone should be given the option to telework?

5. What other workplace trends are becoming popular in your country?

Being Frugal vs. Being Cheap

B1 – Intermediate

Being frugal and being cheap are two very similar words. How can we tell the difference?

Being frugal is being mindful about and ingenious on how you spend your money. On the other hand, being cheap is trying to economize at yourself and/or others’ expense just so you can do some penny-pinching.

Click the link to find out the difference between being frugal and being cheap and be able to answer the questions that follow:

http://www.wisebread.com/12-ways-to-tell-the-difference-between-being-frugal-and-being-cheap

Discussion Questions:

  1. Can you manage your money until the end of each month? How do you do it?
  2. Why is it important to save money?
  3. When was the last time you spent money on something you didn’t really need? Why did you do so?
  4. What are the things you do in order to save money?
  5. Do you spend like a sailor or are you a cheapskate? How about other people in your family?

Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diets

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The single most important thing an individual can do for their health, for the environment, and for the sake of the innocent animals is to adopt a vegetarian diet.

Read the article about the health benefits of vegetarian diets.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11311397

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. Explain the term “lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet“. “To this large basis of plant foods, small amounts of animal foods, both indirect (i.e., milk and eggs, such as in the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet), and direct (i.e., any kind of flesh, such as in the original Mediterranean diet) can be added, or not.” Use the term in a sentence.
  2. Explain the term “meta-analysis“. “We found a meta-analysis on bone health with uncertain unfavorable effects, but it was unique, which led us to exclude bone health from the review.” Use the term in a sentence.
  3. Explain the term “paradigm shift“. “As early as 2003, Prof. Sabaté proposed a “paradigm shift” to suggest why more people following a vegetarian diet could achieve optimal health.” Use the term in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some reasons that people choose to be vegetarian?
  2. Share your insights on this, “The trend of following a vegetarian diet is increasing among citizens of developed countries.”
  3. Have you or any you know ever been a vegetarian? Talk about this diet and lifestyle.
  4. Is it good to be a vegetarian for some periods of time for the sake of our health?
  5. What’s your opinion about being a strict vegetarian? Is it healthy generally speaking?

Instant Gratification as a Marketing Tactic

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Humans are naturally inclined to have desires for things. In the business setting, whoever provides these desires in the best way and timely manner possible, gets ahead of the competition.

With this in mind, instant gratification can offer a wide array of benefits for digital marketers.

Get a deeper understanding of instant gratification, how it works to a company’s advantage in marketing, and ways to provide it to customers.

Leveraging Instant Gratification as a Winning Marketing Tactic

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain why people expect immediate responses now.

2. What are your thoughts on the ideas presented in this article?

3. What are some other ways to handle customer’s desire for instant gratification?

4. Does the company you work for use instant gratification? In what ways?

5. Do you agree that instant gratification provides benefits for businesses?

Bank of England Staff Go on Strike

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Employees are going on a strike. They have decided to demand a pay increase from the Bank of England. Getting very little to no rise in their salary means workers have to constantly make ends meet.

Find out more about the current situation that the bank’s staff have to face and what led them to make the said decision.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1707/170705-bank-of-england.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think are the good and bad things about being a bank worker?

2. Do you think good pay is the most important requirement in a job? Cite a few reasons why.

3. Talk about what you know about the pay rise system in your country.

4. What are the usual reasons workers’ union go on strike in your country?

5. Do you believe strikes should be forbidden? Explain.

Clearing Up Confusions

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Rumors in the workplace can lead to hurt feelings and may mean employees have to work in a hostile environment. Whether a rumor is true or not, the outcome of spreading it can be damaging. Employers have a responsibility to try to control the spread of workplace rumors to ensure that the work environment is a positive place for all employees.

Watch the video and read the transcript about clearing up confusions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/english-at-work/47-language-to-clear-up-confusion

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you and your colleagues chit chat with each other? Why or why not?
  2. Talk about a situation where it was necessary for you to clear up a confusion at work.
  3. What are some common topics do coworkers speak about?
  4. What are things employees shouldn’t be talking about among themselves in the office?
  5. How damaging is it to spread rumors in the workplace? Explain and cite examples as well.

Tips from Spain’s Centenarians

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Everyone would like to know the secret to a long life and a healthy body. Why not learn from Centenarians who have lived for more than 100 years?

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-centenarians-idUSKBN14J128

Discussion Questions:

  1. What tips did the elderly Spanish people offer to those wishing to live long lives?
  2. How old is the oldest person that you have ever met? How would you describe him/her?
  3. Would you like to live for more or less 100 years? How do you imagine living this part of your life?

Music Makes Us Happy

B1 – Intermediate

A brain chemical called ‘dopamine’ is said to be released when we listen to music, eat, and do other rewarding activities.

Read the article below to know how exactly music affect our mood and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Music has been a part of human history and culture for a very long time. Perhaps it has always been a part of our history and culture. And scientists now know the reason. Music makes us feel good.

It doesn’t matter what kind of music people listen to. When we listen to music, our brains produce a chemical. The chemical increases our heart rate. It makes us breathe faster. We even get chills with some exciting music. The same chemical makes us happy when we eat delicious food, laugh with friends, or win at something difficult.

Almost everyone feels the same way about music. In fact, even babies reacted to music!

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. Does music make you feel good?
2. What kind of music gives you the chills?
3. What other things make you feel good?

Banning Smartphones for Children Under 13

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© User: 3dman_eu / pixabay / CC0

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Kids born in the late 1990s and early 2000s are born in the digital age. Some kids as young as 2 years old already knows how to turn on a phone and use some apps. Young children learn how to use devices or gadgets such as mobile phones very easily these days but is it beneficial for them to start using cell phones at a young age?

Let us read the article below first and then answer the questions that follow.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/colorado-moves-to-ban-smartphones-for-children-under-13/3906933.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about the proposal?
2. Why do you think the proposal only targets phones with internet access?
3. What “mental effects” might constant smartphone use have on children?
4. Would you agree that a child’s smartphone usage is a “family matter?” Why? Why not?
5. Do you agree that children under the age of 6 should only watch an hour of videos a day? Why? Why not?
6. Do you think that the children of today will be completely dependent on digital devices by the time they grow up? Why? Why not?

Pakistani Farmers Get Tips via Text

B2 – Upper Intermediate

One problem farmers face is overwatering. It would help them a lot if they could get an advice regarding the proper amount of irrigation water to prevent them from overwatering their fields.

Farmers are now getting tips via text messages in Pakistan to make sure they get access to information for their irrigation needs in the quickest time possible.

Click on the article for more information on this way of disseminating information to farmers:

https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-farmers-get-tips-via-text/3917603.html?src=voa-editor-picks

Discussion Questions:

1. How does this new program help the farmers?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the said program?

3. Should farmers rely on this technology?

4. What are other ways to help farmers better?