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New Netflix Subscribers Surge During Pandemic

B1 – Intermediate

Netflix is quite popular all over the world nowadays. It is a video streaming service that allows members to watch popular movies, TV shows, and documentaries on different devices. More and more people are now subscribing to Netflix since most of us are staying at home because of the pandemic.

Read this lesson on the increase in Netflix subscribers.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2004/200425-netflix.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is Netflix? Do you have a subscription? Why or why not?
  2. Do you like this kind of app? Why or why not?
  3. Why is there a big increase in the number of new Netflix subscribers recently?
  4. What TV shows or movies do you watch on Netflix?
  5. Do you think people will not continue with their subscription to Netflix after the pandemic? Why or why not?
  6. What are other activities you can do at home apart from watching on Netflix?

French Health Workers’ Pay Rise

B1 – Intermediate

They are clearly the heroes during this extremely difficult times. They are the health workers including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. With all the work that they do for us, how do we repay them?

There will be an increase in its health workers’ salary in France. The pay rise is a reward for the hard work of health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read this lesson on health workers’ salary.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2007/200716-health-workers-1.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “applaud” mean here, “During the outbreak, millions of French people applauded nurses and doctors.“? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “protest” mean, “Unions asked them to stay away as a protest.” Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does the word “staff” mean, “The unions said the government had to do more to protect staff and keep them safe.“? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think health workers deserved this pay rise? Why or why not?
  2. Talk about salaries and benefits of health workers in your country. Do you think they are properly compensated?
  3. How were health workers’ hard work recognized or how were they rewarded during the pandemic in your country? 

Basic Income for Poor Could Slow COVID-19 Spread

B1 – Intermediate

The United Nations has thought of a way to slow the spread of COVID-19 down. It is to give poor people a temporary basic income. They said that if about 3 billion people would receive this help, they would not need to go out of their homes anymore. It would decrease the possibility of them spreading the virus even further. 

Read this lesson on temporary basic salary for poor people during the pandemic.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2007/200724-basic-income-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How can this help to poor people help slow the spread of Covid-19?
  2. Do you agree to giving the money to poor people? Why or why not?
  3. What other plans does your country/government have to  slow the spread of COVID-19?

Accusing Business Rival of Stealing Staff and Trade Secrets

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The world’s top electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla claims that its rival Rivian Automotive Inc. has repeatedly poached their employees and stolen some of their intellectual property.

Read more about this news on business rivalry and stealing talents and trade secrets from the link below:

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/tesla-lawsuit-accuses-rival-stealing-staff-trade-secrets-200723051819087.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to Rivian’s alleged pattern of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets from Tesla?
  2. Talk about your experience being poached by other companies. How did it happen?
  3. Do you think it is ethical to divulge information/knowledge you have acquired from your former company to your present employer?
  4. How does your company protect itself from poaching and intellectual property theft?
  5. What is your direct competitor/s like? Do you think your company has the same problem as Tesla with them?

EU Forecasts Recession of Historic Proportions

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The European Union’s economy chief Paolo Gentiloni said that Europe is going through a sharp economic downward spiral; something the continent has not experienced since the Great Depression.

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to affect member countries, the EU gears up for a recession of epic proportions.

Read more about this news on this imminent economic recession from the link below:

https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/06/eu-forecasts-recession-of-historic-proportions-this-year

Discussion Questions:

  1. What conditions and consequences might this deep recession have in different member states?
  2. What economic damages has the spread of Coronavirus done on the economy of your country?
  3. How is your government preparing for this deep recession?
  4. Talk about other times your country was in recession. How did it affect your country and you or your family directly?
  5. Explain your understanding of the V-shape and Nike swoosh recovery.

Catalan Leader Demands Probe Into Phone-Tapping Reports

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Pro-independence speaker Roger Torrent learned that his phone had been tapped. He claims the Spanish government seems complicit or negligent about this issue. 

Read more about this news on phone tapping and political espionage from the link below:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/spain-catalan-leader-demands-probe-phone-tapping-reports-200714112106903.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think Torrent had been the target of political espionage?
  2. What is your opinion on his claims about how the Spanish government is tackling this issue?
  3. In general, what are your thoughts on political espionage?
  4. Do you think that Pegasus is operated “solely by authorized government agencies to fight terror and serious crime, and protect public safety”? What is your opinion on this software?
  5. If you were one of the victims of this cyber attack, how would you react/feel?
  6. Share any kind of cyber-related problems you’ve encountered.

Spain to Get EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The European Union has reached a historic deal to provide Coronavirus recovery fund to its member countries. Spain is one of the countries to receive the biggest grants.

Read more about this news on the historic EU Coronavirus Recovery Fund.

https://english.elpais.com/politics/2020-07-21/spain-to-get-140-billion-from-historic-eu-coronavirus-recovery-fund.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is this deal historic? How do you feel about it?
  2. What are your thoughts on Spain getting the lion’s share of the money?
  3. What do you think are some of the conditions that might come with the release of funds?
  4. How should the Spanish government allocate the said funds?
  5. How do you think are you going to be affected economically by the pandemic?

Email Etiquette Rules Professionals Should Follow

B2 – Upper Intermediate

On average, most employees spend almost 1/4 of their workweek going over all their work e-mails. Even though we use e-mails all the time, many workers still have the tendency to commit embarrassing mistakes when using e-mails as a way to communicate at work. 

Read this article to know some of the most essential e-mail etiquette rules every employee must know. 

https://www.inc.com/business-insider/email-etiquette-rules.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which rules did you not know or follow before?
  2. Do you agree or disagree that “it’s better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well”?
  3. Talk about your experience when miscommunication via e-mail occurred between you and a colleague or customer/client. What do you think are other ways to avoid misunderstandings when using e-mail as a means of communication?
  4. What do you do when you receive an e-mail that wasn’t meant for you?
  5. What is your reaction to: “Every electronic message leaves a trail.”?

Is Childhood Today Over-Supervised?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Many have observed and compared how childhood evolved and embarked on changes as time goes by. It isn’t as free and wild as before when children used to venture on going to a forest with their buddies without any adult supervision. They could even enjoy some traditional games with their mates in the neighborhood not minding all the mess and stinky smell for as long as they are embracing that liberty to be closer to nature which is significantly different nowadays as we rarely see children running freely in an open space and discovering the outdoors or the world around them these days.

Read the article below for more information on over-supervised childhood.

https://lightlynews.com/2020/02/12/learning/is-childhood-today-over-supervised/

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you describe your childhood? Would you say you were free?
  2. Did your parents allow you to discover the world around you when you were young or did they supervise your every move and made sure you were alright all the time?
  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of unsupervised and supervised parenting?
  4. In your opinion, are children of today overly supervised? Why or why not?

11-year-old’s Ballet Video Goes Viral

B1 – Intermediate

Dancing is the art of moving the body to the rhythm of music. It is both an art and a form of recreation. Most people dance to have fun or to entertain others but dancing can also be used for communicating. Dancers express feelings of joy without saying a word.

Let’s read the article below and learn more about an 11-year-old boy whose video went viral.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2007/200714-ballet-dancer-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How important is dance and what is your favorite form of dance?
  2. What do you think of male ballet dancers?
  3. What do you like to create? What things do you find joy in doing?
  4. What do you have a passion for?
  5. How do you deal with obstacles in front of you?