Talking About the News
Do you like staying up to date (informed) about current events? Here are some ways to do that in English. Your assignment is to listen to a news story (make sure you listen before reading), then come to class and tell us about it. You have many options to listen to the news. Here are two: First is the […]
Agreeing and Disagreeing
Next week we’ll talk about the important skill of agreeing and disagreeing, especially important when talking about controversial subjects. This thought-provoking video from AJ+ can start us talking about our relationship and thoughts with the Muslim world. As always, watch first without subtitles to improve your listening, then try to answer the questions below. 0:09 What did Amaryllis […]
Books!
Let’s talk about books and share a book review! For each day of class you will prepare and share a book review, about 5 minutes long, of something you read and loved – it can be any book you want! Here are some questions to think about: Who is the author? Have you read any of their other books? […]
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
This week I’d like you to know a book that has been really influential in my life, especially in my work experience. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a self-help classic. Here’s an animated summary with reading questions. As always, watch first without subtitles. It’s also a good idea to watch a little bit at a […]
Business Pitches: Grinds Coffee Pouches
Shark Tank is a TV show that has 5 Business Investors (they call “Sharks”), each episode has several entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in hopes of getting more money/funding to grow their business or build their business idea. There are a lot of financial and business terms in every episode and in this one several […]
The Presidential Debate
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in the news again. We will probably hear about them a lot until the US Presidential elections on Tuesday, November 8th. Here are Donald and Hillary interacting in the first debate – watch this video and we will discuss the relevant topics for election day. Vocabulary to review: blame, […]
Donald Trump
We’re going to hear a lot about Donald Trump this summer. Here’s a video which attempts to explain his success. It will give us some good material to start a conversation: 0:30 Why are the people on the news show laughing? 1:01 What is authoritarianism? 1:16 What kinds of leaders are attractive to authoritarians? 2:10 What […]
Bad Words!
Curse words, bad words, swear words, whatever you may call them, they’re an important part of any language! Here’s a video from Vsauce: 0:47 What is the origin of the word “bad”? 2:18 What’s the first kind of bad word according to Stephen Pinker? Give an example. 3:09 Where do swear words come from? 3:47 […]
Scientific Studies
Look at your Facebook newsfeed – how many things do you see there that talk about science or scientific studies? Do you believe them all? Here’s John Oliver to help us separate the good from the bad: 2:20 He wants to help us distinguish “bullshit currently masquerading as science.” What are some examples he gives? […]
The Difference Between Men and Women
Are men and women really different? This is a very old debate – here’s a video which gives us a new perspective. As always, watch the video without subtitles first to practice your listening. 0:15 What is the video’s main idea? 0:27 What 3 things did the research look at? 0:48 What did they find? 1:05 […]
