Tag: video

Huggable Robots

C1 – Advanced

For kids, going to the hospital can be a terrifying and sometimes boring experience. An interesting innovation from researchers and roboticists may be a good solution- a robot companion.  This robot’s creators aim to know if it can can have therapeutic value for hospitalized children. Can it really alleviate sick children’s anxiety, pain, and isolation?

Let’s meet this blue bear who’s making sick kids less blue.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of “Huggable”? How does a child respond to it?
2. What suggestions did one of the kids give to make it a better robot companion?
3. How else can we make a doctor’s visit less dreadful for children?
4. Did you enjoy hospital visits when you were a kid? How about now?

Women Try Manspreading for a Week

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There are some things we do that we are probably not very aware that they could be a nuisance to others. One example is manspreading.

Watch the video below about manspreading and how three women decided to conduct an experiment related to gender differences. Express your thoughts afterwards.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How did the women feel about this experiment?
  2. What is manspreading? What is your viewpoint on this?
  3. Is this behaviour natural or is it just an I-can-do-what-I-want attitude
  4. How do you react when a woman beside you spreads her legs when sitting? How about if it’s a man? What’s the difference?
  5. Is there such thing as gender-based accepted behavior?

Working Abroad

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Migrating to another country would be a breeze if we all spoke one language and had similar cultures. However, once you leave your home country, you start to realize that things are actually very different.

There are many differences among various cultures across the globe. Your ability and willingness to cope with these differences determine how your experience will be like living and working in a foreign country.

Watch the video below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you agree with the speaker that the best way to compete and succeed in today’s economy is to move to other countries?
2. What are the main reasons people move abroad?
3. What are some of the benefits of working in another country?
4. What do you think are the main challenges people face when working abroad?
5. When is the best time and What’s the ideal amount of time to work abroad? Why?

Facebook Plans to Combat Fake News

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Facebook has been under a lot of criticism for being a portal for posting and spreading fake news particularly on the altered results of the recently concluded US elections.

Read the article on Facebook’s plans on fighting against fake news on their website.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38039506

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the measures that Facebook is taking in order to stop the spread of fake news on their site?
2. What do you think Dave Lee meant when he said, “we’re in completely uncharted territory”?
3. Why is addressing this issue crucial?
4. How can we spot fake news?
5. Tell us about fake news you read or heard of recently.

Less Stuff, More Happiness

C1 – Advanced

Can having less material things in a room lead to more happiness?
Watch this 5-minute video to get the answer and tips on how you can edit your life.

Discuss:
1. Fill in the blank: In 2013, American homes were about ________ bigger than they were in the 1950’s and 60’s.
2. To which has the accumulation of “stuff” led to in the past 50 years?
3. Discuss the 3 rules mentioned in the video.
4. In your personal life, how can you practice “less is more”?
5.  What is the most important reason to edit your life?

Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Almost everyone in the world is on the world wide web nowadays. Doing business online has never been more important for businesses in offering their products and services and for reaching out to their target markets.

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

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2017/04/10/23-proven-ways-to-drive-traffic-to-your-website/?sh=668d84ec2654

Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think of Jeff’s idea to compete against yourself? Do you think this would work?
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks for a business to go online?
3. Does your company do business over the internet?
4. What features do you look for in a website when doing some transactions?
5. How do online businesses make the market competitive?

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.

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?

What Is Branding

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The businessdictionary.com defines “branding” as “the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind, mainly through advertising campaigns”.

Watch this video explaining what branding is in a nutshell.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What did you learn about branding from the video?
  2. What are ways to build a strong corporate identity?
  3. How do you think branding has changed because of social media and the internet?
  4. What is your company’s branding like? How can it be improved?
  5. Name some companies you think has the best and the worst branding. Describe their brand and explain why you find it impressive or otherwise.

A Pakistani Chef Shows Her Chops in New York

B1 – Intermediate

New York city a place filled with people from different parts of the world. Fatima Ali is one of them. Watch the video below to discover her story and what she would like to do in the future.

Write down any words that you would like to discuss during the lesson.

Discuss:

1. What is the story of Fatima Ali?
2. What is Fatima’s job and what is the name of the restaurant she works for?
3. What does Fatima want to do when she goes back to Pakistan?
4. Do you enjoy cooking? What do you like to cook?