Tag: video

Your Other Half

B1 – Intermediate

Every person has their own important person in their lives, like someone they are romantically involved and a special person whom they share intimacy with. The term “other half” can mean a partner, spouse (husband or wife), boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover. It is used when you don’t want to be too specific.

Watch the short video to learn more about the expression ‘your other half’ and be able to answer the questions that follow.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you have a significant other? If yes, how did you meet? If no, what qualities do you look for in a partner?
  2. Tell us something about your other half.
  3. What are the things that you have in common and those that you differ from?
  4. What are the pros and cons of having your better half in your life?
  5. How would you compare the times you were/are with and without a partner/spouse?

Reading Might Help You Live Longer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

It’s undeniable that screens compete daily for our attention. Work and entertainment all play out to some extent on these digital displays, so much so that our days are consumed in activities that require their use. This includes reading.

Some argue that reading off anything other than a screen should be relegated to the past. However, some studies suggest that the act of assimilating ideas from the printed page may be just what the doctor ordered.

In this video, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how reading (or listening to a good read) can help add years to your lifespan.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What benefits of reading are mentioned by Dr. Gupta?
  2. How do you like your books? On the printed page, as an audiobook, or scrollable on a portable screen?
  3. What do you think can be done to encourage people to read more?

Ways to Kill Your Dreams

They say that dreams are only for children or for people who have the means to reach it. In reality, dreams are lifelong goals that we can achieve through discipline, hardwork, and believing in ourselves.

Brazillian entrepreneur Bel Pesce enumerate the ways of discouraging thoughts when we try to achieve our dreams and on how to keep ourselves going.

Watch the video below and learn more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the five ways how not to follow your dreams?
  2. What does overnight success mean? Share a related story.
  3. What are your first thoughts about the video?
  4. What are your childhood dreams that came true?
  5. In the video, what is meant by “believe the fault is someone else’s?”
  6. From the five tips mentioned in the video, what is one tip that can be most helpful to you?

Fashion Upcycling

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When upcycling clothes, waste is looked at creatively and transformed into something new. A Swedish company found an alternative way to give old clothes new life and make them wearable again. In turn, this reduces wastes and contributes to making the world a more sustainable place.

Watch the video and be able to answer the questions that follow:

https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/sustainable-future?vpid=p06yvh4k

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about upcycling clothes?
  2. How often do you go shopping for clothes?
  3. What are the advantages of textile upcycling?
  4. What do you usually do with your old, damaged, or worn-out clothes?
  5. Is fast fashion and textile waste an issue in your country?

The Unexpected Items Deemed Essential

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, many countries locked down and pretty much the world seems to be put on a stop. It has been necessary for “essential” services to be business as usual though.

Watch this video and find out about some countries’ culture based on what they think is considered indispensable for the whole duration of the stay-at-home policy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52272652/coronavirus-the-unexpected-items-deemed-essential

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the essential services mentioned in the video?
  2. Do you agree that those shops/services are essential?
  3. If you would be asked this question, what items/services or businesses do you deem are absolutely necessary?
  4. What are the “essential” services that has remained open in your country during the quarantine? Why are these services/businesses very important?

Trump’s ‘Disinfectant Injection’ Suggestion

C1 – Advanced

President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of an “injection” of disinfectant into a person infected with the coronavirus as a deterrent to the virus during his daily briefing. Following heavy criticism from medical professionals, Pres. Trump said his remarks were made sarcastically.

Watch the video to know more about the news and be able to express your opinion.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you feel about the news? Do you think President Trump’s briefings are actively endangering the public’s health?
  2. How powerful are the words of political leaders to their people?
  3. What do you think about disinfectants? Do you use them at home? If so, why and how often?
  4. What do you do in order to protect yourself and your family from the Coronavirus?

Improve Your Critical Thinking

C1 – Advanced

The world is overwhelmingly shocked with a pandemic that no one had ever foreseen. Critical thinking is defined by the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary as the process of analyzing information in order to make a logical decision about the extent to which you believe something to be true or false. It is perceived to be essentially needed, especially to those who are holding an important role in the society. As we face adversities of different forms, we are bombarded by how to make a right decision or which is the right thing to do during a crucial time. Critical thinking helps us to carefully deal with the complexity of the situation.

Let’s take a look of the video below and learn more.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the video describe critical thinking?
  2. Talk about the 5-step process that helps solve any problem.
  3. How is it essential to the crises faced by the world today?
  4. Could you think of a situation in which you had to use critical thinking? How did it help you?
  5. Why is critical thinking important?
  6. What are the benefits and downsides of critical thinking?
  7. Talk about the hardest decision you ever had to make. Explain the process that lead to that decision.

How to Embrace Emotions at Work

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Workplace is a challenging place and managing your emotions at work is very important. Do you feel weak or are you able to manage your emotions pretty well to have a healthy work environment?

Let us watch the video to learn some tips on how we can overcome overwhelming or sometimes unnecessary emotions at work.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to let sth/sb run wild” mean, “If you suddenly let your feelings run wild at work and give people far more information than they bargained for, you make everyone around you uncomfortable and you also undermine yourself.”? Use this expression in a sentence.
  2. What does “lurid” mean, “[ It’s ] great to say you weren’t feeling well last night — you don’t need to go into every lurid detail about how you got reacquainted with your half-digested dinner.”? Use this word in a sentence.
  3. What does “read the room” mean, “And finally, read the room and provide a path forward.”? Use this expression in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is selective vulnerability? Talk about the four ways on how to practice this.
  2. Do you agree or disagree that “emotions don’t belong at work”?
  3. Are you an under-emoter or an over-emoter? Cite reasons why.
  4. Talk about some relatable stories about when your emotions (both good and bad) got the best of you at work.

How the Progress Bars Keep You Sane?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Progress bars started out as something that provided an update on a given task, to know where you stand, and what exactly you are doing. Does its presence on the screen make people feel better or worse during long-running tasks?

Let’s watch the video to learn more about it.

Discussion Questions:

1. Are progress bars a good way to measure the amount of work that is being done? Do we need it? Why or Why not?

2. Can software influence your emotions?

3. Do progress bars cause anxiety on people?

4. In a daily workday, do you constantly need the validation of your tasks to know your progress?

5. What devices or applications do you use which makes you feel that they are driving you towards a goal?

6. The speaker says, “The progress bar gives you the vision of a beginning and an end and that you’re working towards a goal and in some ways, mitigates the fear of death”. What are your thoughts on this statement?

Harambe, Gorilla Killed at Cincinnati Zoo

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Harambe the Gorilla was a 17-year-old Western lowland silverback gorilla that was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a child fell into his enclosure in late May 2016. The incident was wildly criticized by many who blamed the child’s parents for the gorilla’s untimely death. Despite outrage from the public, some experts and activists believe the Cincinnati Zoo did the right thing to fatally shoot an endangered gorilla after a toddler fell into the animal’s enclosure.

Watch the video and read the article from the link below to learn more and be able to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36414813

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you feel about this news?
  2. Do you think it was right to kill the gorilla? Justify your answer.
  3. Do you think there was negligence from the child’s parents end?
  4. How active are the animal rights group in your country?
  5. In your own opinion, what rights do animals have?