Tag: video

The Economics of IKEA 

B2 – Upper Intermediate

IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer with a unique business model. They have designed a minimalist flat-pack furniture and customers have to assemble it. One of the secrets of IKEA’s success has been identified as “The IKEA Effect”. It simply states that when you help build something, you are more attached to it.

Watch the video to learn more and be able to answer the questions that follow.

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the video, what is The IKEA Effect? What do you think of it?
  2. Do you agree that people tend to love an item more when they have put effort into creating it? Explain.
  3. Is flat-packing an effective retail strategy? Why or why not?
  4. How do you feel about IKEA? Share some of your shopping experiences.
  5. What things have you built on your own and are attached to?

Developing a Growth Mindset

B2 – Upper Intermediate

People have polar opposite reactions when they are confronted with a difficult challenge.

Some tend to react to it in a positive way and think it’s a great opportunity to learn. And then, there are those who instantly think that it is nothing but a test to shake their core intelligence.

Watch the video about the difference between the growth mindset and the fixed mindset perspective.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you normally react to a challenge? How do you take on difficult challenges?
  2. What are the benefits of growth mindsets?
  3. What are ways to develop a growth mindset?
  4. How does growth mindset affect people?
  5. What else do you want to learn at this point?

Grit: Passion and Perseverance

B2 – Upper Intermediate

If one is put in a situation where they have to go after an impossible dream, how do they keep pushing through?

In the face of very challenging situations, how can one say they are successful? What might have been the key factors to this success? Is it their stamina to keep going or their innate talent?

Watch the video about grit or the power of passion and perseverance.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Share your thoughts on this statement, “Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
  2. What is your opinion on this, “Grit is unrelated to talent.”?
  3. Talk about your biggest professional challenge. What did you learn from the experience?
  4. Share about a goal that you’ve worked toward, personally or professionally and how you got there/you’re getting there?
  5. How do you decide if and when to stop pursuing a goal?

Draw Electrical Wires with Conductive Paint

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Liquids and electricity are probably the last thing you’d think you could pair up. 

Bare Conducive has created a paint that conducts electricity.

Watch the video about conductive paint.

https://mashable.com/video/conductive-paint-studio-london

Discussion Questions:

  1. Describe the conductive paint. What are its good and bad points?
  2. What are your thoughts on this 
  3. Which groups do you think could benefit the most with these bare conductives?
  4. Would you be interested to use this paint? Why or why not?

Effort Matters More than Talent

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Effort involves hard-work and perseverance, while talent comprises of abilities and skills.

One can say that talent beats hard work. People who persevere in reaching their dreams are overpowered by those who have the innate skills already.

However, as time passes by, effort can be more powerful than talent.

Watch this video on why effort matters more than talent from the link below.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Does effort really matter more than talent?
  2. What can you say with “talent counts but effort counts twice”?
  3. How were you able to get your job? Is it through effort or talent? Explain further.
  4. At this moment, which do you think matters more? Effort or talent? Why?

Brain is Wired for Negative Thoughts

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Have you ever noticed that whenever you do something, you tend to focus a lot more on the negative things?

Although this is useful in helping us solve problems, it can also be a burden.

As an example, if you got a new shirt and wore it, if one person were to say something bad about it, you would probably focus more on that negative instead of the positive feedback.

This is called the negativity bias, but why does it happen? And what is the extent of this bias?

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

Discussion Questions:

  1. How has negativity bias affected your life?
  2. What are other ways to lessen the effects of negativity bias?
  3. What do you think of negativity bias? Is it mostly good or is it mostly bad?

Mental Health Benefits of Indoor Plants

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Evidence shows that spending time with nature can improve our mental and physical well-being. It has also been proven to help lift our mood and reduce stress level. However, for those who live in cities, have hectic and busy lives, it’s quite a challenge to find time to get outside with nature.

So why not bring the outside in by introducing plants to your home? Not only it spruces up your home, but also allows you to reap the benefits of indoor plants and nature.

Watch the video to learn more and be able to answer the questions below.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the benefits of indoor plants mentioned in the video? Do you agree with them? Why or why not?
  2. Do you have greenery at home? If so, why do you have them? How do you feel about having plants inside the house?
  3. What are some things you do to maintain or improve your mental health?

Everything Wrong With Woke Feminism

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In this day and age, woke culture has spread far, but what does “woke” even mean? It means that one is aware of the injustices in today’s society.

And although this may seem good on paper, in practice, it has become a blight on culture and has become very troubling. Video games, movies, and culture in general has been influenced with toxic ideals.

As an example, woke feminism has shown that all men are toxic and only women are powerful while normal feminism shows that even women can be powerful.

Despite it being only a minor threat and although having a lot of representation, it is still heavily mocked. However, a concerning number of people now believe these ideas.

So if woke feminism is continuously upheld, things may change for the worse.

Let’s watch this video on everything wrong with woke feminism.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on woke feminism?
  2. Critics misunderstand the goals of woke feminism. Do you agree?
  3. Woke feminism has strengthened the fight for equality. Do you agree or disagree?
  4. Do you think that there is a way to improve the way we imbibe woke feminism? Explain.
  5. Cite some examples where woke feminism has successfully addressed important issues.
  6. What should be the primary goals of feminism today?
  7. What issues do women face in your country these days?

Small Talk

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A psychologist named Susan Pinker says that small talks can help us live longer. It enables people to find common ground and interest. That’s why it is not surprising how small chitchats improve our social interactions.

Watch a short clip below and see how Joseph learns a lesson from a second-grader.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How was Joseph’s first encounter with Adam? How did Adam try to make a small talk with Joseph?
  2. What are your thoughts on this conversation?
  3. Do you like making small talks? Why or why not?
  4. What questions can we ask when attempting to make a small talk? What questions shouldn’t we ask when we make a small talk? Explain your answer.
  5. What are some of the most memorable small talks you’ve ever had with a total stranger?

Safety: Nothing is Routine

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We can be a victim of our own complacency. It happens when the task becomes too familiar, and our brain goes on autopilot. Ideally, we should always be mindful of everything, but because we have done a specific activity so many times, we tend to start getting complacent.

Here’s a video clip that will remind us how dangerous it can be to start being complacent about safety when it comes to our most mundane tasks.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Retell the scenes that you saw in the video.
  2. Do you agree that nothing is routine when it comes to our safety? Express your thoughts.
  3. How can we be more mindful even if we have already done a task multiple times?
  4. Share one experience you had when you didn’t pay no mind to something you were doing which led to an accident or put you in danger.
  5. What safety practices at home and work should we never be complacent about?