Tag: Work and Workplace

Line Management

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Managers are the ones responsible for controlling damages, creating new tactics, trainings, and administering new procedures to make sure the company runs smoothly.

Most of the time, the manager is the go-to person of old and new employees when they need assistance at work.

Listen to the audio and let’s see how managers handle different staff.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/business-english/podcasts-for-professionals/line-management#

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever managed staff? Talk about your experience.
  2. Explain why line management matters.
  3. What makes a good line manager?
  4. What are some management strategies you know of?
  5. What are the aspects of managing that could be difficult?
  6. What are the positive things about managing staff?

Job Hunter Puts CV on Billboard

B1 – Intermediate

Not having a job is a very difficult situation for anyone. A French man was having problems finding a job. He tried everything but nothing worked until he had a unique idea.

Read the lesson for more details on this story and be read to answer the questions that follow.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1401/140109-job-hunting-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on Laurent Le Bret’s idea?
  2. What do you think about what the billboard company did for Laurent Le Bret?
  3. How easy/hard is it to find a job in your country? 
  4. How do you find a job in your country?
  5. Talk about how you found your current job.

Four Signs You’re Not Cut Out For Freelance Work

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There are enormous advantages to freelancing that is why a lot of people are considering shifting from a traditional job to a freelance work. Freelance work offers flexibility and the notion of being your own boss. Although there are a lot of benefits to this alternative way of working, at some point, going freelance may not suit everyone.

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

https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/articles/9253-four-signs-you-re-not-cut-out-for-freelance-work-and-what-to-do-about-it

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is freelancing becoming more popular in your country?
  2. What are the most in-demand industries for freelancers?
  3. What are the benefits of having a freelance work?
  4. Do you agree with the disadvantages mentioned in the article?
  5. Have you done freelance work before? Do you think you are cut out for it?

Actors

B1 – Intermediate

It must be great to be famous, paid a lot of money, and do what you love doing. Welcome to the life of an actor!

Listen to the audio and read the transcript of this lesson about actors.

https://listenaminute.com/a/actors.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about being an actor?
  2. What are the good and bad things about being an actor?
  3. Who are some of your favorite movie stars and theatre actors?
  4. Do you like watching movies and theatre plays? Why or why not?
  5. Have you ever performed in front of many people? Talk about that moment.

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.

Working From Home

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Just a month ago, working from home was was a far-fetched work setup for most of the global workforce. With the current health crisis the world is facing, however, it has become the norm. As we continue to navigate through the uncertainties and acclimatize to new living conditions, many will have to translate their skill set for use in home-based work through online technologies.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to weigh in on this matter.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/new-reality-of-working-from-home/5347353.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the differences between office-based and home-based work?
  2. Which professions can easily be done from home? Which will require more effort to relocate?
  3. What are some of the challenging aspects of working from home?
  4. Talk about your thoughts on and/or experience working remotely.

Songwriting Pages on Spotify

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The popular music streaming platform Spotify is launching a new feature for songwriters. These pages would have a list of songs that composers have written. This will help musicians showcase their music and for users to discover more songs they may enjoy.

Spotify is giving songwriters their own pages and playlists

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you know about Spotify?

2. How can this new feature help songwriters in the future?

3.  Are streaming music services harming piracy more than they’re harming music sales?

4.What is the most unique feature that Spotify has?

5. What other music streaming applications do you enjoy using?

Babysitting

B1 – Intermediate

A babysitter is a person who takes care of children temporarily with the parents’ approval. There are different terms used for babysitters such as nannies and mother’s helpers. What do you think of a babysitter’s job?

Listen to the audio below and be ready to answer the discussion questions.

https://listenaminute.com/b/babysitting.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is babysitting a common job in your country?
  2. Do you think a babysitter should have training for child care too?
  3. In Spain, do babysitters receive good salary?
  4. Do you agree that babysitting is an easy way to make money?
  5. Is getting a babysitter to take care of your children part of the culture in your country?

The Most Stressful Jobs

B1 – Intermediate

Job stress is something that every employee can relate to, but not all jobs are created equal.

Listen to the audio about stressful jobs below.

https://www.allthingstopics.com/uploads/2/3/2/9/23290220/uk-stressfuljobs.mp3

Transcript:

“Recently, my nine-year-old son proudly announced to me that he wanted to become a commercial airline pilot when he grows up. I’m happy for him because he spends hours reading books about airplanes, and he loves to play airplane game apps. It’s great to know what career you want at such a young age. As well, the average annual salary for an airline pilot is quite good: US$105,270. Also, being an airline pilot means that you might travel to many exotic locations around the world places that most people might never get a
chance to see. However, I wonder if his choice of career is one that I should encourage. You see, this morning I googled “most stressful jobs” and I discovered that my son’s dream career is actually the third most stressful job on a list of top ten most stressful jobs. This makes sense because as a pilot you are responsible for the lives of hundreds of people, you are away from home for many days at a time, and you may have to fly through many different time zones which can be very difficult to adjust to. Number one on the list was “military personnel” (soldier) and number two was “firefighter”. Of course, jobs like these are very dangerous – you must put your life in danger almost daily. Interestingly, however, “taxi driver” was also on the list (at number ten). “

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think is the most stressful job?
  2. What do you think is the least stressful job?
  3. What do you think of your job?
  4. If a job gets too stressful, what would you do?
  5. Would you support your children no matter what career they choose?

Headteacher Has to Clean School Toilets

B1 – Intermediate

The UK government has cut school budgets. Schools have little money to spend and have to reduce cost on many things. Thousands of headteachers have made difficult decisions about how to spend their school’s money.

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

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1903/190326-head-teacher-0.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about the decision made by the headteacher in the article?
  2. What can you say about your country’s education system?
  3. Does your government pay more attention to issues in the education sector?
  4. Do schools in your country get enough funds?
  5. What other problems related to the education system do you have in your country and how can these issues be addressed?