Author: lucelmartel

8 secrets to success…can you name them?

Ah success! I feel as though this topic has been done to death. Yet I cannot resist this TED talk by Richard St. John. So short, so simple, so predictable, yet so thought provoking.

St. John interviewed over 400 people, some famous, to succinctly summarize the ‘ingredients’  to success. Although the results are not necessarily surprising, I think they are worth reminding.

Of course we all have our  cultural capital which is to say, depending on upbringing and background, some of us start the journey with a head start.  However, in St. John’s TED talk, he looks at the more unbiased predispositions that contribute success. It is a short presentation (3 min.) and may lead to some interesting personal anecdotes.

Pre discussion

  • Tell us about some of your successes. What do you think contributed to them?
  • Do a Mind Map the elements that contribute to success.

The Video: TED 8 Secrets of Success by Richard St. John

  • List each point
  • Do you agree with St. John?
  • Do you think he forgot anything?
  • Can you share a personal anecdote on one or of the elements?

 

What is in the news today?

The news can be a challenging thing to talk about. For intermediate to advanced students, it can be motivating to talk about real world topics. CNN offers a 10 min news recap every day. You can put the close captions on so the vocabulary can be heard and read and you can scaffold the activity by discussion what they know about the news. It is also a good natural context to speak in the past tense.

Pre discussion

  • What kind of news stories do you follow?
  • What are some of the top news stories these days?
  • What newspapers, blogs, news channels do you use to get your news?

The Video: CNN in 10

  • Make a list of the news stories
  • Do a Tell Back of what is said in each story
  • Is there a story that you would like to discuss?
  • Why is this story significant for you?
  • Were there some interesting words or vocabulary?

Have a good discussion.

Mel

Are you stressed about getting calm?

Wait what? Yes, you heard me…there is so much out there to remind us to calm down, it can be positively stressful. From meditation to prioritizing, exercising, sleeping, making lists, it can be time-consuming and yes stressful to reduce stress. Why?

Thrive Global devotes an interesting article on the “Calmnivore.” It exposes the bombardment of calm-related strategies and advice. The goal is the help separate the useful from the silly.

Pre discussion

  • 8 out of 10 people report feeling stressed, why do you think this is so?
  • What do you know about the “Zen” culture?
  • Do a Mind Map of some of the stress-reducing techniques you know

The article: The Calmnivore’s Dilemma: Our Increasingly Stressful Search for Calm

  • What are some of the main points of the introduction?
  • What does Propranolol do? Why is it controversial?
  • First heading:
    • What is stress linked to?
    • What does it mean to be reactive rather than proactive?
    • What therapies and technique exist
  • Second heading:
    • What is the author’s story?
  • Third heading:
    • So what works?

Let’s get silly…Friday ice breaker questions…

Sometimes deep or thoughtful discussions are good for days when your brain juice is flowing. But today’s lesson is for the days when you just want to talk about silly stuff. Like “if you were a vegetable, which would you be.” Ok, maybe not that one, but you get the idea.

This is a site with some light hearted questions that are originally intended as ice breakers for a meeting (glad that the vegetable one never appeared in one of my meetings)…

Relax…have fun

For more like this, visit to get things going…

How do you separate fact from fiction?

Fake news is the term “du jour.” How sharp do you think you are at spotting fake news?

What if you were a journalist? If your livelihood depended on your ability to detect fact from fiction? In Markham Nolan’s TED talk “How to separate fact from fiction online” we see how the digital dimension affects this decision.

WarmUp

  • How good are you at detecting fake news?
  • What is your criteria? How can you tell?
  • Do a Mind Map of the elements/criteria that can help separate fact from fiction.

The video: TED Markham Nolan: How to separate fact from fiction

  • Watch the video and gather some of Nolan’s debunking tools.
  • Compare your list with the mind map you did previously.
  • What elements in the digital information era make fact checking easier? What makes them harder?
  • Which anecdotes in Nolan’s talk stick with you? Why?

What museums would you recommend?

Why not indulged is some culture and beauty?

I love going to museums. They are like a breath of cultural air. Something about spending time with other people’s stories that inspires me.

Pre discussion

  • What type of museum do you enjoy (if at all…you can say you don’t like them…that’s ok too)?
  • What museums or exhibits have you been to that you would recommend?

The Article

Scan through this National Geographic article on the top 10 museums in the world and flesh out what makes each extraordinary.

  • Have you visited any of the museums on the list? What was it like?
  • Which museum would you visit?
  • What are some of the main attractions of each museum?
  • What type of museums do you like? Art? History? Science?
  • Do you have any memorable experiences at museums?

If you were a car, which would you be?

For all you car lovers our there, this is the discussion for you. Business Insider presents one of the world’s largest car collection of cars, with over 45o cars, held by business man Roger Dubbing. So if you want to feast your eyes on plenitudes of  chrome and leather, hop into this discussion…

First start by Mind Mapping some of the car related words. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to review colors, descriptive adjectives (e.g. fast, smooth, powerful, etc). Then ask your students to take the quiz. Why not make it interactive by getting your students into pairs so that one asks and the other answers. Reading out lound can be a great way to practice pronounciation…if it is not too difficutl or stressful. Finally, watch the video on the 45$ car collection.

Warm Up

  • Mind Map some of the car-related words
  • What is your favorite car?
  • If you were a car, which would you be? (you can even take a quiz)

The Video: Inside a $45 Million Car Collection

  • What did you see that stuck?
  • What are some of the strangest features?
  • If you were to rent a car from Dubbing, which would it be?
  • Why does Dubbing see himself as an art collector rather than a car collector?

What books do you want to read?

I know that the prospect of reading an actual novel in a second language may be much too ambitious a goal. However, I do like to sift through book reviews and talk about what students might like to read. And hey, it might get them interested enough that they will attempt it. If they do, I would not hesitate to encourage your students to get the audio version of the book as well.

I love audio books! Not only can I read while walking the dog, they provide a fantastic model of pronunciation and rhythm. Most “readers” even offer a speed feature where you can listen slower or faster. If this is something that could interest your students, send them to Audible.com or check with your local library (it will depend on the country you are in) to see what is available for free.

Pre reading discussion:

  • What was the last good book you read?
  • What did you like about it?
  • What kind of books do you like to read?

43 Highly Anticipated Books of 2019

Scan through some of the books on this page and pick one that catches your eye

  • Which book would you like to read and why?
  • What do you think the story will be about?
  • What books have you read in the past that are similar to this one?
  • Is there a pattern or theme to the books you like?

Have a great discussion!

What is your definition of success?

Success is a looming goal that can drive us, but also plague us. It can be defined in so many ways. Money, fame, happiness, many things can be considered hallmarks of success, but are we chasing the wrong things? Also, how does our culture define success? Do you think this might be driving us unconsiously?

Without a doubt, success is important. No one strives to fail. But this drive can sometimes create unhealthy life choices and lead us to prioritize the wrong things. In Alain de Botton TED talk, he exposes his struggle with success and some of the elements that may shape our choices.

Warm up

  • Name someone you consider successful?
  • What makes them successful? Money, fame, happiness?
  • Put the following elements in order of priority: happiness, family, work, relaxing, spouse, exercise, health
  • How is our relationship with success unhealthy?

The Video: TED A Kinder, Gentler, Philosophy of Success by Alain de Botton 

  • Divide the presentation into 5 min segments and do a Tell Back
    • First 5 min: What is snobbery according to Botton?
    • 5-10 min: What is meritocracy? How might it be destructive?
    • 10-15 min: What can literary tragedy teach us? Why does nature attract us?
  • If you have time, I would suggest doing a Mind Map of the main elements that contribute to our notion of success. Perhaps group them according to those that are good and bad.

What is Brexit doing to the U.K.?

Whether you are for, against or take a neutral position of the Brexit negotiation, it is interesting to see how this deal is affecting British politics.

This New York Times video looks at some of the societal issues that prompted the need for Brexit. But now, it seems as though people are changing their minds. Why?

Warm up

  • What do you know about Brexit?
  • How do you think the people of the United Kingdom feel about it?
  • Where do you stand? For, against, neutral

The Video: New York Times-Brexit a disunited kingdom 

  • What are some of the actions you see?
  • What are the people feeling?
  • Can you do a Tell Back of some of the main points?
  • Do you think the people are changing their minds?
  • What do they hope to achieve in accepting/rejecting this deal?
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