Gen X vs. Millennials: a conversation lesson

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Technology is a topic that I like talking about and that my students generally enjoy too. A couple of weeks ago I came across this article that said Generation Xers use more social media than Millennials. I found that quite surprising and thought it would be a good starting point for a conversation lesson.

Because I work mostly with adults, I tried to steer the conversation to work. If you decide to use this lesson with younger students, you may want to change the context a bit. I’d recommend this lesson to students who are  B2/C1, but you can also use it with B1 students. The video has no dialogues, but you will need to pre-teach some words in the text to make things easier.

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Starbucks vs. Trump’s immigrant ban: a conversation lesson

/ Ricardo Barros / 2 Comments

So, I’m finally back posting a conversation lesson since December. The reason I didn’t post any lessons in January is twofold. I was busy with an intensive CELTA course (my first time as a Main Course tutor, no less), but more than that, I just didn’t teach that many lessons.

Trump is someone I imagine will provide fodder for many classes in the next few years, and his first few actions as president are a good example of that. My Facebook timeline was full of articles and opinions on the ban. In addition to that, there were some really nice Super Bowlo commercials that motivated me to create this lesson.

As it is almost always the case, this is aimed at adult students but can be used with adolescents in the 15-17 range too, as they are likely interested in world news and may be able to discuss it. I’d recommend this to B1 and B2 students, as the vocabulary from the text is not too complex and the video has very good subtitles.

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Cambridge CELTA: a webinar

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I have been busy in January with running an intensive CELTA course for the first time as a Main Course Tutor. However, I found the time to give a webinar last Sunday as a part of BRELT‘s ‘Certified in 2017’ series of webinars, which I’ll share with you, along with the links I mention in it.

This was a series of 30-minute webinars followed by a 15-minute Q&A. I thought it was very informative if you are considering taking the CELTA.

If you have missed my regular conversations lessons, they’ll be back next week.

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Communication at work: a business conversation lesson

/ Ricardo Barros / 2 Comments

If you are still teaching this week, as I am, it likely means you have business students. At least in Brazil most regular classes have wrapped up in preparation for the holidays.

Because fo that, I have decided to post a business lesson I’m using with my last few students this week. I personally hate talking on the phone, so I saw myself in the article and thought it made for some great discussions of business practices. This is aimed at adult students who are B1 or B2.

As a side note, this will be the last lesson posted this year, so thanks everyone for stopping by and spreading the word about the blog.

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Like my Addiction: a conversation lesson

/ Ricardo Barros / 2 Comments

Some of my friends who also post lessons online have tackled some difficult topics recently. Beatriz Solino posted a lesson about abortion and Cecilia Nobre had one about rape. Although I must admit I’m not brave enough to discuss those topics with my own students, talking about these lessons with them and also with my dear friend Natália Guerreiro motivated me to work on today’s lesson.

A couple of months ago a popular Instagram account revealed itself to be a publicity stunt to raise awareness of alcoholism in social media. This, in turn, was covered by many newspapers and TV channels and the news went viral. You can find a link to the Instagram account that started things here.

This is aimed at adolescents (16-18) and adults who are B2 or C1, but it can also be used with B1 students if you include pre-teaching stages before the video and the text. The topic may be controversial in some cultures (it is a PARSNIP topic, after all), so be mindful of your own students and their backgrounds.

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Word of the Year: a conversation lesson

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I’m a big word nerd and I usually pay attention to dictionary news. About a year ago I posted a lesson on the topic of new words that had been added to the Oxford Online Dictionary. I’m also interested in which words different dictionaries pick as their ‘word of the year’ and a couple of weeks ago my friend Debora Schisler shared an article on Facebook on this topic. And thus a lesson was born. 🙂

Now, this one is aimed at advanced students, both because of the length of the text and because some of the words mentioned in the article are very abstract, which may cause difficulties for lower level students. Age-wise, I have used it with both adults and teenagers and both had a lot to say about post-truth, which is definitely relevant about the political moment in Brazil.

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Tobleronegate: a conversation lesson

/ Ricardo Barros / 7 Comments

To Brazilians, the strategy of reducing the weight of a product while continuing to charge the same price is nothing new. So I was a bit shocked to see how Brits reacted to what happened to Toblerone in England. What do I know, maybe they are right to complain and we’re the fools for letting these kinds of things slide.

I first came across this news in a Brazilian magazine and only then did I go online to find out how big a deal this was in the UK and that #tobleronegate was trending on Twitter. I wanted to hear what my students had to say about this matter, so I went looking for an article and video and came up with this lesson.

This can be used with students who are adults or adolescents. Their level should be B2 or above, but it can also be used with B1 students with some pre-teaching.

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Thanksgiving: a conversation lesson

/ Ricardo Barros / 10 Comments

Many of the lessons I post on the blog are things I come across during the previous week, reacting to things that are happening in the world or to things I read or watch. This one, however, had been waiting in the wings for a while.

Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Brazil, most people who study English know about it, because of how often it is depicted in American films and TV series. I thought this text, which focuses on family, would be an ideal way to talk about it.

This lesson is aimed at adult students who are B1 and above. I haven’t tried using it with adolescents, but if you do, make sure you change the questions in the last slide.

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