Tag: video

Green Economy

B2 – Upper intermediate

Different industries in coal and oil mining and alike have been the back bone of our economy but unfortunately they leave a lot of contamination and cause environmental pollution.  Asia is one of the biggest and fastest growing continent in the world. There are hundreds of factories that are located there. Will it be possible to change from industrialization to a green economy?

The video below suggests how  they can have a “green economy” which is both sustainable for their development and environment.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is a Green Economy?
  2.  How does Green Economy differ from previous efforts to promote sustainability  –  what’s new?
  3. What are some of the concerns and tensions with the concept of a Green Economy?
  4. What are the challenges to a transition to a Green Economy, and what will make it possible?

Conversation with Colleagues

B1 – Intermediate

Business is all about good communication. While communicating with customers is important, internal communication must be given attention, too.

Communicating effectively with your colleagues minimizes misunderstandings and increases work efficiency. Active communication also produces healthy working relationships. This, in turn, creates a more pleasant and less stressful work environment.

Watch the video about a conversation with a colleague.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it easy to communicate with your colleagues? Why or why not?
  2. What do you often talk about with your colleagues?
  3. What are ways to communicate effectively with colleagues?
  4. Talk about a situation when you had a miscommunication with your colleagues. How was the problem resolved?
  5. What can be done to avoid miscommunication at work?

Oxford Word of the Year 2017

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Post-truth, ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ Emoji, vape, and selfie are just some of the words Oxford declared as Word of the Year in the past four years.

Find out last year’s Word of the Year and why Oxford chose it.

And the Word of the Year 2017 is…

Discussion Questions:

1. How did youthquake come into rise?

2. What do you think of the youth in this generation?
How do they differ to the youth in the past?

3. Explain how you can observe youthquake in Spain in the recent years.

4. What is the most significant cultural, political, or social change that arose in Spain last year? What significant cultural, political, or social change would you like to emerge in Spain?

5. If you could coin a word, what would it be?

6. What could you choose as 2017 Spanish Word of the Year?

Are Food Preservatives Bad for You?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Food preservatives are substances added to food items in order to inhibit, retard or arrest the process of fermentation, acidification, and decomposition of food items’. Or, in other words, they are a type of  food additive  which prolong shelf life and keep products from being broken down by microorganisms

But the question is, how safe are they? Watch the video and be able to discuss the questions that follow:

 

Discuss:

  1. What are the benefits of using preservatives in food?
  2. What do you think about preservatives? Are they beneficial or harmful?
  3. Do you seek out preservative-free food?
  4. What are some ways of preserving food in your country?
  5. What are some of the most popular preserved food in your country?

Steve Jobs Talks About Managing People

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Steve Jobs was one of the most famous CEO in the world. Ever wonder how he did it? How did he manage his people and build a successful multinational company?

Watch as Steve Jobs talks about managing people.

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the interview, how is the company organized?
  2. What kind of organization is set up in this company?
  3. According to Steve Jobs, why did Apple become successful? Share your thoughts on this.
  4. Explain your company’s management style. Is there anything that you would like to change?
  5. What do you think is the best way to manage people? Elaborate.

What to Expect at the World’s Biggest Tech Show

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Have you ever been to a smart city before? Can you imagine living in a city where almost everything is operated by AI and technology?

In this year’s biggest tech show, there will be variety of advanced gadgets that you can find from TV to cars. It is expected to draw more than 170,000 people and there will be 4,000 exhibitors.

If you are curious like me, let’s read the full article below and discuss it later.

https://www.voanews.com/a/ces-las-vegas/4199977.html

Discussion:
1. What are your thoughts on the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas?

2. Which of the technologies featured in the article are you most excited about? Why?

3. Why do you think voice-controlled devices are becoming increasingly popular?

4. Would you like to be able to “order around” your household appliances? Why? Why not?

5. How do you feel about the prospect of “smartening up entire cities”?

Light Pollution

B2 – Upper Intermediate

As far as history goes, night time has always been associated with darkness. Nowadays, it hasn’t been the case anymore.

We’re lighting the world up at an alarming rate and we don’t know it.

Watch the video about increasing light pollution.

https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/world/2017/11/22/were-lighting-up-earth-alarming-rate/107945254/

Discussion Questions:

1. What was mentioned about Spain’s radiance in the video?
2. What do you know about light pollution?
3. What are the pros and cons of overly brightly-lit towns/cities?
4. Talk about light pollution in your city.
5. What can you do to reduce light pollution?

Why People Join Cults

C1 – Advanced

By definition, a cult is a group or movement with a shared commitment to a usually extreme ideology that’s typically embodied in a charismatic leader.  Have you ever wondered why thousands of people join cults?

Let’s watch this video to check how cults work, how people are recruited and why they stay in these groups.

Let’s Talk:

Explain what a cult is in as much detail as possible.

Are cults dangerous?

How does a cult differ from religion? How similar are they?

Should the government try to eliminate cults and other fringe or unconventional religious groups?

Would you sacrifice your relationships or morality for the greater good?

 

Useful words:

GRISLY (adj) –  causing horror or disgust.

INDOCTRINATION (n) –  the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.   [indoctrinate -verb]

 

Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Doping means to administer drugs, known as performing-enhancement drugs (PED), to an animal or athlete in order to inhibit or enhance sporting performance. There are numerous reports of the use of PEDs in various sporting events, which led to banning of the condemned players.

Let us take a look at these incidents.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/06/us/performance-enhancing-drugs-in-sports-fast-facts/index.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some examples of performance-enhancing drugs (PED) and their effects?

2. What is your opinion about the use of PEDs?

3. Who is your favorite athlete? What would you do if s/he were found and convicted of doping?

4. Should the use of PEDs be allowed to a sick athlete who would need to perform in one sporting event? Why or why not?

Introverts vs Extroverts

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Do you get energized when in an outer world or inner world? Are you outgoing or inward? Do you prefer a wide range of friends or are you reflective? Or maybe, you could do both things and be one and the other at the same time. Watch the video to get down pat.

Discussion questions:

1. What are the differences of extroverts and introverts?

2. Do you think one personality is better than the other? Give the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of personalities.

3. Do you consider yourself an extrovert, introvert, or ambivert?
Try this personality test with the student: https://www.quietrev.com/the-introvert-test/

4. What do you think the world would be like if extroverts were the only ones living in it? Only introverts?