Tag: Speaking

No More Homework

B2 – Upper Intermediate

For years, schools have always given homework to students every single day. But recently, school officials, as well as parents, are saying no to more homework. A group of parents in Spain have recently gone on strike to protest their children’s school load.

Read this article to know more about this.

No More Homework! Spanish Parents Go on Strike

Children have long complained about homework, but parents in Spain are now joining in and have decided to go on strike against their children’s school workload for the entire month of November.

Called by the Spanish Alliance of Parents’ Associations (CEAPA), a network that covers around 12,000 state schools across the country, the strike targets weekend homework for primary and high school students.

Jose Luis Pazos, president of CEAPA, told AFP on Wednesday that parents had launched the unprecedented initiative due to “the absolute certainty that homework is detrimental” to children and damages their extracurricular development.

According to a 2012 PISA education report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Spain ranked fifth among the countries with the most homework, after Russia, Italy, Ireland, and Poland, out of 38 countries studied. Spanish students spent 6.5 hours a week on homework, compared to the average of 4.9 hours.

The workload does not necessarily translate into better results for Spanish students, who traditionally receive low scores in mathematics, reading, and science in the PISA report.

By contrast, in Finland and South Korea — two of the countries with the best student performance according to PISA — the average time spent on homework each week was less than three hours.

Pazos said that education in Spain still relies heavily on the traditional method of rote learning, or memorization.

Pointing to the availability of information in modern society, he said that “what we have to teach children isn’t to memorise everything, but how to manage information, think critically, and determine what is worthwhile and what is not.”

“Society has changed deeply, but the classroom environment hasn’t.”

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about the parents going on strike to protest against their children’s school workload?
  2. Are you for or against giving homework to students? Share your insight.
  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of giving homework to students?
  4. What was the most difficult homework you had to do when you were still a student?
  5. How have your opinion about homework changed from when you were a student yourself to now as an adult or a parent?

Native English Speakers are World’s Worst Communicators

C1 – Advanced

Misunderstandings between native English Speakers and ESL speakers happen more often than you think. There happens to be a certain comprehension between two ESL speakers as compared to a non-native and a native speaker.

Read the article below then express your thoughts. Share some of your experiences as well.

Native English Speakers are the World’s Worst Communicators

Discuss:

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you are in a group listening to a native English speaker and everyone is unsure of the message?
2. Do you ever nod in agreement even if you don’t understand what the person is saying?
3. Do you understand non-native English speakers easier than native English speakers?
4. Do you know any other English abbreviations like ‘OOO’ (out of the office)?
5. Which do you find easier to understand, US English or UK English?

Self-Driving Electric Delivery Trucks

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Here’s a short article about how technology in driving is getting more and more advanced. Read the article below then express your thoughts about it.

http://fortune.com/2017/12/07/anheuser-busch-tesla-semi-trucks/

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think there still should be a human passenger to monitor driver-less vehicles?
2. Do you think having driver-less vehicles will be a positive or negative thing in the long run?
3. Do you know if there have been any testing of driver-less vehicles in your country or laws passed to allow them?

Breakfast: The Power Hour for Success

coffee shop scence with London red bud behind in window. Image shot 2008. Exact date unknown.

C1 – Advanced

It is a well-known fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But to some business people, breakfast time is not just for meals. It’s also for meetings.

Read the article below to find out the benefits of having morning meetings and the right time to have after-hours meetings.

Breakfast is the real power hour for success

Discuss:

1. According to the article, what are the benefits of having meetings early in the morning?
2. Do you agree with the points mentioned in the article?
3. How often do you have meetings at work? What time do you usually have them?
4. What is the most productive time for you at work? Are you a morning person or an evening person?

Video: ‘Cute’ Cuisine is a Bitesize Art

B2 – Upper intermediate

It’s no secret that cooking has evolved over the years. We’ve experienced fine dining cuisine where a small quantity of food is artistically placed on the plate. Then we had molecular gastronomy where science meets art and gives birth to an innovative way of having a meal.

Now, a new trend called miniature food has gone viral on Youtube and viewers just can’t get enough of it. Watch the video below then express your thoughts.

‘Cute’ cuisine is a bitesize art

Discuss:

1. What were your thoughts when you were watching the video?
2. How did the trend of miniature food and cooking happen? Explain what “Kawaii” is.
3. What are some Japanese art that you find interesting?
4. Describe some of the good and fancy restaurants that you’ve been to in the past.

Discovering Your Ancestors

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Knowing your roots and discovering your history is always a fascinating idea. There’s a sense of wonder and mystery as we try to find out who we are.

Websites such as Ancestry.com have been garnering a number of clients as more and more people are getting curious in tracing their genealogy.

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

There has been a surge in genealogy websites in recent years, proving that more and more Americans want to trace their family history. Records, such as ship registries and marriage and death certificates, are digitally scanned and available online for the sleuths, too. And now there’s a new option: photo detectives.

Armed with fashion magazines and an eye for detail, photo detectives hunt for clues in old photos. Hair styles, clothes and fashion, and the objects in the pictures help detectives pinpoint dates, places, and professions. The job also requires an expert’s knowledge in social history. For example, a photo of a woman with unusually short hair in the 19th century could mean that she had scarlet fever. A person sick with the disease often had their head shaved. Or a photo of a baby carriage in the mid-1800s could be an announcement that the infant had died, instead of recording his birth. The period had a very high infant mortality rate, and death cards were often sent to family and close friends. These are only some of the facts that photo detectives must have at their fingertips.

Photography was invented in the 1830s. The earliest photos usually required a visit to the studio by the whole family, which was a lengthy and formal process. But when Kodak invented the snapshot in the 1880s, family collections grew with shots of birthdays, holidays, and everyday life. Unfortunately, most people didn’t consider labeling the pictures. The descendents now find it troublesome to identify the old pictures.

Photo detectives can help. But customers may not always like the results, as sometimes the answers disagree with family lore.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it’s important to trace your family’s history? Why/not?
2. What do you know about your grandparents? How about your great-grandparents?
3. Do you have old photos at home? If yes, are there people in the photos you can’t recognize?
4. Would you ever consider hiring a photo detective to tell you more about your family? Why/not?
5. How would you feel if you discovered one of your ancestors was a terrible person?

Have Bonus, Will Botox

B1 – Intermediate

The desire to look young as we become older is nothing new. Cosmetic brands have been releasing anti-aging creams for women and for men.

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

Bankers in London are spending their bonuses in an unusual way. They are choosing cosmetic surgery to look younger because the job market is very competitive. The bankers are choosing nose jobs, wrinkle fillers, liposuction, and botox injections to slow the effects of age.

Operations increased to more than 22,000 last year, and both men and women are getting cosmetic surgery. In fact, men make up eleven percent of this total, and the percentage has increased every year.

Mel Braham, chairman of the Harley Medical Group, said that more men realize they need to look good. He explained that older men worry about their jobs, especially if they are 50 years old but look like they are 60. That person doesn’t want a younger person to take his job. Braham also added that men should start these treatments early to look younger and healthier for a longer period of time.

Most men are asking to change the shape of their nose or get rid of their love handles. But there may soon be a remedy for baldness too. This would expand the business of cosmetic surgery for men even more.

At the moment, prices range from £200 for botox injections to £6000 for a facelift.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your feelings about cosmetic surgery?
2. What are your feelings about a job that would force you to consider cosmetic surgery?
3. Would you ever choose to have cosmetic surgery (or have you)? Why/not?
4. Do you know anyone who has ever had cosmetic surgery? What was your opinion?
5. Why do you think more people are so concerned with cosmetic surgery in general?

A Plastic Ocean

C1 – Advanced

“With plastic, man is faced with another brainchild run amok. At times it seems that technology cannot exist without it. Plastic may seem indispensable; it is also virtually undisposable. When man is through with it, he is hard put to get rid of it. The plastic that holds a six-pack of beer cans together might last anywhere from 450 to 1,000 years.” (Oceans – Precious Resource or Global Sewer?)

Watch the short video below then express your thoughts about trash polluting our oceans.

Discuss:

1. How would you describe the video?
2. What do you think will happen to our oceans in the future?
3. Is it possible to completely stop the use of plastic?
4. Does your city have its own initiative to lessen the use of plastic? Help the environment?

Ikea Shanghai Frowns on Elderly Daters Who Occupy Cafeteria

B2 – Upper Intermediate

How would you feel if you see a sign outside an establishment saying that the restaurant will only be for people who purchase their food first? An IKEA branch has reportedly posted the same sign outside their coffee shop.

Find out more by clicking the link to the article.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37686968

Discussion Questions:

  1. What should IKEA do about older people using their cafe to look for love?
  2. In your opinion, what is wrong with using a store’s café as a meeting place?
  3. Should coffee shops stop people from using seats for extended periods of time? Share your thoughts.
  4. What makes society a place where old people feel alienated?
  5. Talk about places where elderlies can find some company in your city/country.

British People Commit Micro Crimes

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Micro crimes are minor criminal offenses. Turns out, 3 out of 4 British people have, at one point in their lives, committed a micro crime.

Just what exactly is a micro crime and how serious is it?

Read the article below to discover the findings of a research done about crime. Be ready to answer discussion questions afterward.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1610/161026-micro-crime.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of micro crime?
2. How is micro crime different from the usual crimes we hear of?
3. Why do men and the middle class commit more micro crimes?
4. What crimes do you worry about in your country?
5. What should the punishment be for micro crimes?