phone english blogB1 – Intermediate
A school in New York built a new meditation room and hired a meditation consultant to help its students and staff relax and perform better.
Watch the video to find out more about this unique approach.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is mindfulness meditation?
2. Have you ever tried any form of meditation?
3. In your opinion, what mental health issues can be addressed by meditation?
C1 – Advanced
With the global temperatures going higher and higher by the year, we might be putting our health at risk when we continue exercising.
Now, just because it is summer doesn’t mean we have to put our exercise routines on a halt. There are ways to keep being active – and not having to worry about suffering from a heatstroke.
Read the article about some ways to keep exercising even in the middle of a heatwave.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/jun/15/10-ways-to-keep-exercising-in-a-heatwave
Discussion Questions:
B2 – Upper Intermediate
Bargaining or haggling is a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service debate the price of a transaction. Not all purchases are open to bargaining. Typical places where bargaining is common include markets, antique shops, and second-hand car shops.
Click the link and read a few guidelines to help us get the best bargain. Answer the discussion questions that follow:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/how-to-haggle
Discussion Questions:
B1 – Intermediate
Email is much older than ARPANet or the Internet. It was never invented; it evolved from very simple beginnings.
Early email was just a small advancement from what we know these days as a file directory – it just put a message in another user’s directory in a spot where they could see it when they logged in. As simple as that. Just like leaving a note on someone’s desk.
Read more on the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mails.
http://www.english-online.at/media/emails/advantages-disadvantages-of-electronic-mail.htm
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you agree with the all the advantages and disadvantages of emails as stated in the article?
2. How does email messaging improve your communication with others especially in the field of business?
3. How do you think you can protect yourself from phishing?
B1 – Intermediate
Almost exactly nine months after World War II ended, “the cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend. More babies were born in 1946 than ever before: 3.4 million, 20 percent more than in 1945. This was the beginning of the so-called “baby boom.” In 1947, another 3.8 million babies were born; 3.9 million were born in 1952; and more than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964, when the boom finally tapered off. By then, there were 76.4 million “baby boomers” in the United States. They made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population.
Read the full article about baby boomers here:
http://www.english-online.at/geography/baby-boomers/baby-boomers-golden-generation.htm
Let’s talk:
1. Who are baby boomers?
2. Are boomers prepared for the challenges of aging?
3. What is your opinion on some baby boomers who can’t retire because they haven’t saved enough money to take it easy? Is the situation in your country the same?
B2 – Upper Intermediate
How would you like to move to a picturesque town with only 394 inhabitants, rents for as low as €50 a month, and an incentive of €2,000 for relocating there?
The city government in a little Italian village offers all these things to address a problem their town is facing.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4484094/Italian-village-offers-2-000-people-there.html
Let’s talk:
1. What’s the problem in this village and what is the solution to it?
2. Do you have the same problem in your country?
3. What are the reasons you would move or not relocate to this town?
B1 – Intermediate
Driving under the influence, or driving while impaired, is the crime or offense of operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or other drugs (including recreational drugs and those prescribed by physicians), to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely.
Linda Hunt
In 1994, in the town of Barrie in central Canada, Linda Hunt, a part-time receptionist at Incentive Realty, got drunk at an office Christmas party. Her boss noticed what had happened and told her if she was going to drink any more she had to call her husband and ask him to come and pick her up. The boss had also told all the employees before the party began that, if they felt they were too drunk to drive home safely, the company would pay for a taxi.
But Linda ignored her boss’s warning. She felt all right. After the party, Linda and some of her co-workers went to P.J.’s pub in Barrie and continued drinking. By the time Linda left the pub and headed home, it was snowing—and Linda had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in her blood. Several of her friends offered her a ride but she refused. On the road she lost control of her car and hit a truck. She received serious head injuries, including brain damage. She was in hospital for several months and needed both physiotherapy and speech therapy. Seven years later, she was still suffering from pain and mild amnesia.
On February 6, 2001 an Ontario Superior Court judge announced that Linda’s company and P.J.’s pub had to pay Linda a large part of the money she had lost because she was not able to work after the accident. Together they were ordered to pay more that $300,000, but, because the pub was not in business anymore, the realty company where Linda worked had to pay the whole amount.
There have been at least two other cases in Canada where an employer was held partly responsible for an accident caused by a employee drinking on the job, but this decision was important because it was the first time in Canada that an employer of a drunken driver has been found partly responsible for an accident even though they had warned their employee not to drive.
Linda Hunt’s lawyer was interviewed after the decision was announced. He said that, because of this case, there is now a possibility that people who allow their friends to get drunk in their homes, and then allow them to drive home will be held responsible for an accident.
– information from: Globe and Mail (Toronto), 01.02.06, and Toronto Star, 01.02.06
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think about drunk driving?
2. What are the penalties for drunk driving in your country?
3. Should the passengers/friends of a drunk driver also be punished?
4. Is drunk driving one of the biggest causes of road accidents in your country?
5. Is it fair to hold the employer responsible for an accident caused by a drunk employee?
B1 – Intermediate
Every job has its pros and cons so before diving into something, we want to know everything about it – from pretty cool benefits that come with being an airline pilot to its pitfalls.
Read the article below to find out more about being a commercial airline pilot.
http://www.english-online.at/travel/airline-pilot/commercial-airline-pilot.htm
Discuss questions:
B1 – Intermediate
It is often said that tourism can either be a boon or bane to a city or country.
Seems as though this little old Dutch town’s villagers have had enough of how touristic their village is.
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1704/170414-tourism.html
Discussion Questions:
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.