Tag: Speaking

Doomsday Kit on Sale

inside doomsday yellow

C1 – Advanced

The prophecy of the Mayan Calendar became such a hype when it predicted the end of the world in 2012. Thus, a Siberian company cashed in on the panic and came up with a survival kit.

Read this article from 2012 and express your thoughts about it.

Doomsday kits go on sale in Siberia as ‘end of the world’ looms…

Discuss:

1. How did you react when you heard about the Mayan Prophecy of the world ending on the 21st of December 2012?
2. Should people preoccupy themselves with predicting when the world will end?
3. If you knew the exact date the world would end, would it change the way you live? If so, in what ways? If not, why?
4. If you had to prepare your own Doomsday kit, what would be in it?

 

Children Spend Six Hours on Screens

_81934166_babieswithtabletsC1 – Advanced

Although TV viewing has dropped, the dramatic increase of children glued to a screen has been observed. They are even using multiple screens. This phenomenon can be accounted for the availability of different media.

Read the article below to know more about the facts regarding children and their screen time.

Children spend six hours or more a day on screens

Discuss:

1. What are the popular tools being utilized by children these days?
2. Do these media post greater threat than good?
3. In your country, how are kids now different from kids then?
4. Do you have any rules for your children when using gadgets?

 

Building Self Confidence

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Confidence is knowing and implying what you’re good at, your value to other people, and acting in a way that shows that to others. Our level of self-confidence can convey in many ways: our behavior, body language, how we speak, and what we say.

Read the article below to know more on how we can be confident in ourselves.

How to Build Self-Confidence

Discuss:

1. Do you agree with what the article says about being more self-confident?
2. How do you confront your fears?
3. What do you do to make sure you’re taking good care of yourself?
4. Do you believe in pep talk?

 

Yotel – Tiny Hotel Rooms

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Whether you are on a vacation or on a business trip, one of the things that is on the top of your list is a nice play to stay at where you can relax after a long day of city tour and shopping or after an intense meeting with a client.

A new hotel has just opened in the city of New York in the U.S. Find out below what makes it different from the rest.

http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/travel/yotel-tiny-hotel-rooms-in-manhattan.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like staying at hotels when travelling?
  2. Have you experienced staying at a luxurious hotel?
  3. What are some of the excellent accomodations that you’ve stayed at in the past?
  4. Are there unique places to stay in in your city?

No Dislike Button for Facebook

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B2 – Upper intermediate

If you’re a Facebook user, you’ve probably noticed that there’s more than one reaction button to choose from. You’ve got the simple “like” button, then you’ve also got the “wow” and “sad” buttons.

Read the article below to get more information as to why Facebook decided to come up with more reaction buttons.

No dislike button for Facebook, declares Zuckerberg

Discuss:

1. Do you approve of Facebook’s decision to not add a “dislike” button? Why or why not?
2. How do you generally feel about Facebook?
3. What other social media websites do you use?
4. How is social media useful in today’s society?

* As of September 2015, Facebook has announced that it is working on the “dislike” button. Watch the video here. 

Building a ‘Halal’ Internet

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Officials in Iran are planning to build a completely separate Internet called Yooz. Its purpose is to filter objectionable information just like China’s “Great Firewall”, the largest web filtering and censorship operation in the world.

Read the article below to know more about Yooz then express your opinions.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/iran-next-step-in-building-hala-internet/2676579.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How often do you use the internet?
  2. How important is the internet to your day to day life?
  3. What is your opinion about filtered and censored internet access
  4. Do you think that Yooz will do its job in filtering and securing?

The Family That Eats Together

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Family dinner builds good and positive relationship among the members. It also helps kids do better in school. But because of hectic schedules many families seldom have the time to do this anymore.

Read the article below to discover the benefits of dining together.

https://www.vision.org/family-eats-together-1336

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree with what the article is saying about family dinners?
2. Is this something that is usually practiced in homes in your country?
3. Does your country have very strong familial relationships?

The Coldest City on Earth

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We sometimes travel to places to be able to experience a different kind of weather. Going to the beach to experience warmth during the winter. Or travelling to somewhere cold to beat the heat of summer.

The article below tells of a city about 450 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle that experiences winter for 8 months with temperatures of up to -50° C.

http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/travel/yakutsk-coldest-place-on-earth.htm

Discussion Questions:

  1. In your own words, tell me something about Yakutsk and how it was founded. How do people live there?
  2. What’s the coldest temperature you have ever experienced?
  3. How do you deal with the cold weather?
  4. Would you be interested in visiting Yakutsk?

*Here’s a site you can go to view pictures of Yakutsk: Yakutska in Russia

Organ Donation Myths

B2 – Upper Intermediate

More than 100,000 patients in the U.S. are waiting for an organ donor. However, there’s just not enough people who are interested in doing this. There’s always the fear of the risks surrounding this procedure.

What do we really need to know about organ donation?

Read the article below that might help clear up some myths about organ donation.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/in-depth/organ-donation/art-20047529?pg=1

Discussion Questions:

1. What was your notion on organ donation before reading this article?
2. What is your opinion about organ donation?
3. Would you consider organ donation?

The World’s Ageing Population

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B2 – Upper intermediate

The dilemma of an increase of elderly people is truer than we think.

The article below shows facts about the current population trend and its disadvantages. Share your thoughts and knowledge related to this issue.

The World’s Ageing Population

Discuss:

1. Are there more younger people than older individuals in your country?
2. How does your government take care of the senior citizens?
3. What are the effects of an ageing population to a country?