Tag: Social Issues

Why Cities are Full of Uncomfortable Benches

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In cities, architects purposely design uncomfortable benches. Defensive architecture is an urban design trend in which public spaces are constructed or altered to prevent people from using them in undesirable ways. It can come in the form of spiked or sloped benches to block homeless people from using them as a place to sleep. Critics argue that such measures reinforce social divisions and create problems for all members of the public, especially seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

Is it driving people and nature out of the cities?

Watch the video and be able to discuss the questions that follow:

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Is defensive architecture visible where you live?

2. Do you think it’s hostile? What do you think about it?

3. Cite some advantages and disadvantages of defensive architecture.

4. How are homeless people treated in your country?

5.  What does your government do to help them?

 

Hidden Camera in Hotel Room

B1 – Intermediate

Nowadays, hidden cameras are a problem everywhere. A family in New Zealand had a first-hand experience with one.

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

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1904/190411-hidden-camera-1.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What was your reaction to what happened to this family? How do you think you would feel if this happened to you?
2. What do you think about how Airbnb handled the man’s complaint?
3. Have you heard of a similar story that happened in your country?
4. What should be the punishment for people caught secretly filming others?
5. How can we avoid being filmed without our consent?

Why Should You Vote?

C1 – Advanced

The 2019 Spanish general election is just around the corner. Are you thinking of not exercising your right of suffrage? Then, think again. Here’s why you should vote.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree with the video?

2. What is your guiding principle for voting and choosing a leader?

3. In Spain, are there sanctions for failing to vote?

4. Give other reasons why we should vote.

5. Can you give reasons why we should not vote?

Government-Run Healthcare

C1 – Advanced

Access to health care may vary across nations, communities and individuals. It is generally influenced by social and economic situations as well as health policies. Healthcare systems are established with the primary goal of meeting the health needs of targeted populations. Having an efficient health care system contributes to the country’s economy and development.

But, what really are the benefits and possible drawbacks of a government-run healthcare?

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about the health care system in your country?
2. What are the health care problems in your country?
3. Is your country’s health care system in need of reform?
4. Which is better, private or public health care?

School Children Strike for Climate

B1 – Intermediate

Some school children are going on strikes because they are unhappy. They think their countries are not doing so much about the problems with climate change.

Read more about student activism below:

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1902/190226-school-strike-for-climate-1.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on students going on strikes?
2. “Australia’s leader called for more learning in schools and less activism.” What is your opinion on this?
3. Have you ever joined a strike or protest? What were you fighting for?

Racial Wealth Divide

C1 – Advanced

Racial discrimination has been a problem all over the word. Some races are treated unfairly and do not feel that racial equality has been achieved in terms of wealth. This wealth gap shows that mostly white household owns more wealth more than its black and Latino counterparts in their total assets.

Watch the video to learn more about America’s racial wealth gap.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain the role banks played in minorities losing their wealth.

2. What is your opinion on this topic?

3. Do you think race is the problem of wealth division?

4. Describe the division of wealth in your country? How does inequality affect the country as a whole?

5. What can we do about racial wealth inequality?

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?

 

 

 

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?

How False News Can Spread?

B2- Upper intermediate

Fake news has become rampant not just in social media but in mass media as well. We may have unconsciously helped spread one fake news too. So what can we do to help stop it?

Let’s watch the video and find out.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What is circular reporting?

2. Explain the phrase,”A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

3. What online/mass media sources do you find reliable/credible?

 

The Progressive Income Tax

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The progressive income tax is one of those economic terms that gets bandied about, but few actually know what it means or how it works. Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society, the progressivity of taxes largely determines how that price varies among individuals. A progressive tax takes a larger percentage of income from high-income groups than from low-income groups and is based on the concept of ability to pay.

Watch the video about the progressive income tax.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘tax’?
  2. Describe your country’s tax system.
  3. What changes would you like to see in your country’s tax system?
  4.  How taxes are spent in your country?
  5. Should poor people be exempted from paying tax? Explain your stand.