Finding Your Mission

B2 – Upper Intermediate 

Every day, lots of people struggle to find their calling in life and not all of them succeed as it takes a lot of effort, patience, and know-how.

Watch the video and you’ll learn how to make the search for one’s calling easier. 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think is your mission in life? How did you find out about it?
  2. What is a calling? Why do many people struggle to find their calling?
  3. How can you understand that you’ve finally found a calling in life?
  4. Which of your childhood dreams would you like to live out?
  5. Would you change your career to find something more interesting and suitable for you? Why or why not?
  6. What would you do if your loved ones were against your passion?

Woman Lives Every Day Like It’s 1958

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The idea of time travel is fun as it lets you see how people lived before. For some, it is scary because they have no idea what to expect. What if I tell you that today there is a woman who lives her life exactly like she is in the 1950s?

Watch the video and meet Laci Fay, the vintage girl next door.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Looking at Laci Fay, describe the vibe that she gives off.
  2. When people choose to live differently than others, what do you think are some challenges that they might face?
  3. Do you know anything about the 1950s? Discuss your ideas.
  4. How do you think the 1950s is different from today?
  5. If you could travel back in time, which era would you choose? And why?

Why Great Businesses Fail

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Experts believe that when a successful company fails to deal with disruption, it might collapse. On the other hand, what sets companies like Amazon and Walmart apart from those that fail, is their ability to decide quickly. They do not let the slow process of decision-making kill innovation.

Watch the entire video that explains why great businesses fail.

Discussion Questions:

  1. The video talks about the term ”ideation”. How do you define it in your own words?
  2. Think of a successful company in the past that failed and went bankrupt. What were the reasons for it going under?
  3. According to the speaker, some companies are good at the incubation period. Why do you think these companies fail when they decide to scale up?
  4. What lessons can companies in the world learn from Amazon?
  5. The video teaches companies about ideation and scaling up. How can these concepts be applied in your personal and professional life?

The Life of Nelson Mandela

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Nelson Mandela never supported discrimination on the grounds of race. If truth be told, he fought against it. He was an activist, a politician, and a philanthropist. Learn more about this Nobel prize awardee who was also the first black president of South Africa.

Watch this video to know more about the life of Nelson Mandela.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your understanding of the term ”white-only authority”?
  2. Describe Nelson Mandela as an activist.
  3. Do you think he was an ideal politician? Explain your answer.
  4. Many considered Mandela a freedom fighter. Do you agree or disagree? And why?
  5. In the 90s, Mandela became president and pushed for equal rights. Has it been achieved today? Provide specific points to support your answer.

How Adidas Turns Plastic Bottles Into Shoes

B2 – Upper Intermediate

According to studies, there will be more plastic bottles in the seas than fish in thirty years. This prediction could spell trouble for both humans and animals. By turning plastic bottles into shoes, Adidas, a multinational corporation, helps prevent such plastics from getting to the ocean.

Watch this video to learn how Adidas uses plastic bottles to manufacture shoes.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think Adidas is successful in reducing marine pollution? Explain your answer.
  2. Recycling is one of the topics covered in the video. Talk about some recycling ideas that you see in your community.
  3. Aside from Adidas, do you know any other companies that have exerted effort to help the environment? Talk about these companies.
  4. Have you ever tried purchasing any Adidas sportswear? If so, what can you say about its quality?
  5. What recommendations do you have for Adidas relative to sustainability initiatives?

What Did Dinosaurs look like?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Although humans have lived on Earth for a long, long time, there are still many species of animals that go undiscovered and may be lurking in the shadows for long.

Therefore, consider how many myths from the past still exist now. For instance, how did dinosaurs actually look like?

As a result of movies like Jurassic Park, people have compared dinosaurs to lizards, crocodiles, and other animals, which has shaped our concept of these prehistoric creatures.

Recently, scientists have discovered that dinosaurs are actually more feathery than reptilians, and although this information has been spread a lot more recently, many still think dinosaurs are scaly beasts.

What other aspects of the past are unknown to us if many people are mistaken about what they believe dinosaurs to be?

To find out more, let’s watch this video.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How many animals or species do you think we’ll never discover?
  2. Based on the information from this video, would we know if humans were to go extinct?
  3. What other animals do you think would disappear from history if they went extinct?
  4. How do you imagine the world would be like if we shared one environment with these extinct animals?

Opera Singer by Day, Janitor by Night

B2 – Upper Intermediate

What if part-time jobs hide some information about the people who are doing them? A janitor who is actually an opera singer during the day? Do you think it’s possible? Well, for Keanon Kyles, it is.

Watch the video about Keanon Kyles, the internationally touring opera singer and janitor.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your reaction to this video?
  2. Have you ever had an unusual job? What about your friends or relatives? What are your thoughts on these odd jobs?
  3. How do you explain to others what your job is about?
  4. If you could take on an odd job, what would it be and why?
  5. Why do you think people tend to be so judgemental about what others do for a living?

Burn the Candle at Both Ends

B1 – Intermediate

There are times when we have to do more than what our body and mind can handle. It could be working long hours everyday in order to pay the bills or to stay up late every night to study so that we pass an exam. Whatever our reason may be, this is not a good practice and doing so will eventually affect our health.

Watch the video and listen to what Randall has to share about an idiom that describes this attitude.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does burn the candle at both ends mean? Have you burned the candle at both ends before? What happened?
  2. What was the most exhausting moment of your life?
  3. What are some reasons people burn the candle at both ends?
  4. Can someone be so stressed out without having to burn the candle at both ends? How?
  5. How do you manage mental and/or physical exhaustion?

Japanese Man Gets Paid to ‘Do Nothing’

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Imagine getting paid to do nothing. Sounds like the perfect job, right? Shoji Morimoto, a 38-year-old Tokyo resident, gets paid 10,000 yen ($70) by simply meeting up with clients who hire him just to be with them.

Let’s read the article below to know how this man made a career out of doing absolutely nothing.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/dream-job-japanese-man-gets-011509342.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your reaction to this video?
  2. Do you know people who gets paid to do absolutely nothing at their jobs?
  3. Would you like to get paid to do nothing? Why or why not?
  4. Do you enjoy spending time alone or with friends?
  5. Would you take a less-paying job with far less stress and live paycheck to paycheck or high-paying but high-stress job? Explain your answer.

Angola’s Tightly Contested Presidential Election

B2 – Upper Intermediate

After the civil war in 2002, Angola has remained politically stable. Recently, they have concluded their elections giving the country’s ruling party a wafer-thin victory. However, the opposition party believes there are irregularities in the election result.

Let’s watch the video know more about the 2022 Angola elections and the controversies surrounding it.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is the Angola elections being contested?
  2. What do you think of one-party system of government?
  3. What is the form of government in your country? What are the good and bad things about this form of government?
  4. What kind of voting system do you have?
  5. What elections-related controversies have you had in your country?