12/24/2013

Meat for thought...


 Discuss before you watch

             Look at the title of this video session. What do you make of it? Does the expression ring a bell?
             Are you a vegetarian or a vegan? When/ Why did you choose to go veggie? If not, do you know 
               somebody who is? When/ Why did they choose to go veggie?

             Read the following quotations and say if you agree, disagree or somewhat agree. Account for your 
               answers.

"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.  I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body." (Gandhi)

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian." (Paul Mac Cartney)
               
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. (Albert Einstein)

“I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.” ( Leonardo da Vinci)

             What’s people’s attitude toward vegetarians or vegans in your country?

             Do you think the world would be different if everybody was vegetarian? Or a vegan?

             How would you feel if you were told that you could no longer eat meat?

             Do you think that vegetarians are more or less healthy than meat eaters?

             Have you ever visited a vegetarian restaurant? What was the food like?

             Is it true that humans are naturally omnivores or are we meant to eat meat?

FOCUS ON LANGUAGE

 These are some collocations which will be used in the video. Match them up.


GROUP 1

1.            environmental                 a. poisoning
2.            water                              b. pollution
3.            air and water                   c. gases/ effect
4.            food                                d. shortages
5.            greenhouse                      e. issues

GROUP 2

1.            Endure                              a. animals into a cage
2.            Sound                               b. birth
3.            Give                                  c. insane
4.            Raise/ breed                      d. suffering/ chronic pain
5.            Cram                                 e. the alarm
6.            Go                                     f. an animal
                              
GROUP 3

1.            Entire/ miserable                a. conditions
2.            Deadly                               b. sheds
3.            Dismal/ appalling                c. paid
4.            Common                            d. abilities
5.            Cognitive                            e. life/ existence
6.            Poorly                                g. bacteria
7.            Crowded/ Filthy                 h. practice

Fill in the blanks with a suitable preposition


1.            Be_________ (constant) pain
2.            Leave something _________ good
3.            Be prone __________ a disease.
4.            Figure_____________the solution to a problem
5.            Be dumped back____________ the ocean.
6.            Be confined____________ a tiny cage
7.            Cut something ____________ of our diet
8.            Lack _____________mental stimulation

FORMING WORDS with the PREPOSITIONS OUT, OFF and IN.


1.            Pigs are more intelligent than dogs, even _____________________some primates on a variety of tasks, such as operating interactive video games.                                                                       PERFORM
2.            Female cows produce milk for their___________________, not for human beings.   SPRING
3.            Cattle used for meat and milk are fed an unnatural diet to maximize growth and milk_____________________ that causes them to be constantly bloated and in pain.                PUT
4.            During the winter, they are crowded into filthy congested sheds, in much the same way as pigs and chickens, and in some cases they are even kept ________________all year round.                    DOOR
5.            Modern meat production is responsible for recent _____________________of Mad Cow Disease, SARS, bird flu, and other diseases.                                                                                                                                    BREAK

LET’S WATCH


You’re about to watch a documentary in which Paul McCartney explains many important reasons for not eating meat— showing the horrible suffering that poultry, pigs, cows and fish are routinely subjected to in order to create meat that is eaten by people.
I’ve chosen it because I find it extremely effective in documenting the appalling conditions which factory farmed animals face in factory farms AKA “slaughterghouses” as well as other associated problems such as health issues and toxic pollution created as a byproduct of meat production.
The official website for this video is located here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4TON3BxTxg
 

Watch the video and complete the information related to each animal trying to use the vocabulary seen above. Then share your findings with a classmate.




AFTER YOU WATCH

What’s your take on what you have just seen? Do you think that a video like this one manages to raise awareness of the suffering farm animals have to endure? Do you think somebody can go vegetarian after watching this video? Why?

FOLLOW UP


Do a little research on any of the following topics and be ready to present it.

  
-              VEGANISM vs VEGETARIANISM
-              MEAT  & ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS SUBSTITUTES
-              INDIANS & COWS
-              MUSLIMS & PIGS
-              A VEGGIE RECIPE
-              A VEGAN RECIPE

11/27/2013

Try something new for 30 days!

Activity contributed by Prof. Natalia Ghiglione. Thanks for sharing, Naty!!!

DISCUSS BEFORE YOU WATCH



·        What are the most common bad habits people have?

·        Do you have any of those?  If so, have you ever tried to change it? What did you do? Did you succeed?

·        Is there any good habit or activity you would like to develop? How would you do it?

LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING POSTER BEFORE YOU PLAY THE VIDEO, PREDICT WHAT MATT CUTTS WILL TALK ABOUT.  

 

NOW, WATCH AND WRITE DOWN THE CHALLENGES MATT CUTTS TOOK UP.







·        What things did he learn from doing these challenges?

FOCUS ON LANGUAGE

 

·      Match the phrases and idioms with their meanings.
 

     1.   To be (stuck) in a rut               a.   to attempt to do something.

  2.   To follow in the footsteps        b.   To start from the very beginning.
  3.   To stick                                  c.    to be bored in one’s routine.

     4.   Start from scratch                   d.   not having enough sleep.


     5.   To be sleep­-deprived              e.   to follow someone's example.

     6.   Give it a shot                         f.     to remain for a long time.


·      Complete the extracts with the phrasal verbs:


ended up     turns out   -  figured out   -   gave up


1.   The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you’ve always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It ________________, 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit.


2.   Even last year, I ______________ hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would NEVER have been that adventurous before I started my challenges.


3.   I also _______________ that if you really want something badly enough, you can do ANYTHING for 30 days.


4.   When I ___________ sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.





·      Check your answers watching the video again. How would you translate those phrasal verbs into your own language?



 FOCUS ON ….YOURSELF!



·      Do you have any challenge in mind?    What would that be?


· Remember Albert Einstein’s saying:

        “A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”

       In Matt’s words, “What are you waiting for?! GIVE IT A SHOT!!”

10/16/2013

Happy Birthday?


 

Discuss before you watch


  • How do you feel on your birthday? How do you like to celebrate it? Is there anything you'd rather not do?
  • How did you celebrate your last birthday?
  • What is your best and worst birthday memory?
  • Do you like surprise parties? Have you ever had one?
  • What’s the best/ worst gift you’ve ever received? What’s the best/ worst gift you’ve ever given?
  • Do you think getting older (40, 50, 60) is depressing for people, or a happy occasion?
  • How do people celebrate turning 15 and 40 in your country?
  • Is there anybody whose birthday you always remember?
  • Have you ever forgotten an important birthday? Has anybody who’s important for you ever forgotten yours?
  • What are the most typical bad signs of age?


Match up the collocations

1.            Have/ throw                   a. 20
2.            To turn                          b. an old watch
3.            Wish                              c. in your early/mid/ late 20’s/ 30’s
4.            Reconnect                      d. a party
5.            Make                             e. the pages in your telephone and address book

6.            Come across                  f. somebody a happy birthday
7.            Flip                               g. a loose wire

8.            Be                                h. the invitations
9.            Blow out                       i. the candles

10.          Send out                       j. a wish/ a fool of yourself
 

Watch and answer

 

1. Does Andy like the phrase “Happy Birthday”? Why? Why not?

2. What are some of the things that remind Andy that he’s getting on a bit?  




Focusing on language: WISHES


After watching the video twice, think of some of  Andy's wishes.


Use WISH + Simple Past (Present Wishes)
Use WISH  + WOULD (to express annoyance)
Use WISH + Past Perfect (to express regret)

The following prompts might help!

  • Getting back on his feet easily.
  • People making fools of themselves.
  • Having to look in the bathroom mirror when he first gets up
  • Having to remove names from his telephone and address book.
  • Having to wear the same shoes every day.
  • His shoes looking terrible!
  • Younger people accepting the use of 4-letter f-words as normal conversation.
  • Needing more light to read the newspaper.
  • Having seen it all before.

What about your wishes? Provide examples that are meaninful to you.
 

Follow up


Choose one of the following points, find out about it and prepare a short presentation to share with the class. You can work with the aid of PPT or Prezi.

  • Some birthday traditions from other countries.
  • A/ some big event(s) that happened the year you were born.
  • The origins of the song "Happy Birthday to You"
  • The lyrics of the song "Happy Birthday to You" in another language


Transcript:

9/27/2013

Zhang Xin: China's real estate mogul

To my dear and highly committed student Gaby M.

Before you watch

Look at the woman in the picture. Do you know who she is? Make assumptions about her age- nationality- job- etc using MIGHT- MUST- CAN’T

  


Before you watch, focus on some language that will appear in the video. It will help you undertand the video better and see the expressions in use!

COLLOCATIONS

ADJECTIVES

1.      Real Estate                              business
2.      Assembly                                line
3.      Sweatshop                              corruption
4.      Uncertain                                billionaire
5.      Thriving                                   people
6.      self-made                                developer/ bubble
7.      cutting edge/ futuristic              future
8.      a one way                                skyscraper
9.      Funny looking                         girl
10.  Widespread                            ticket (to London)


VERBS

1.      Go back                                 duties
2.      Split                                       for democracy/ food/
3.      Earn                                       a scholarship/ a masters in economics
4.      look down                              home
5.      crave                                      on the poor
 

Watch

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/zhang-xin-chinas-real-estate-mogul-11-08-2013/


Watch the introduction.What is said about the woman in the picture above? Check ()  the statement which are right.

Her name is Zhang Xin           She’s 30 years old        
She’s a real estate developer.                     She’s a communist                   
                  She’s now in Wall Street                               
  She’s a  mogul                        She’s come into a fortune

Watch the rest of the video, pause it every 3 minutes and make connections with the help of the following collage.



Watch the video again and put the following events in order:


·         At age 14 she was forced to slave away on assembly-lines as a sweat shop girl in Hong Kong.

·         She was born during the Cultural Revolution, when Mao Zedong brutally purged all the capitalists and intellectuals ("running dogs.")

·         She came back to China and met Pan Shiyi (her future husband), who worked in real estate

·         She decided to get married in 4 days.

·         She earned a scholarship to the University of Sussex

·         She ended up working at a fish and chips stand

·         She got a masters in economics from Cambridge

·         She got hired by Goldman Sachs and sent to the US  to work in the field of investment banking.(competitive and cutthroat)

·         Her parents were sent to countryside (re-education camp)

·         She quit the job at Goldman Sachs and started working with Pan in RE with no money or backing

·         She bought a one way ticket to London - packed up her bags, and left.

·         She went back to England but changed her mind after a short while.

      ·         She got pregnant with the first of their two sons, while Pan was making a success of       
              the company.  (SOHO China)


REVISITING CONDITIONAL 3

Think of Zhang’s life. What would have happened if…?


1.      She hadn’t worked in a sweatshop?

2.      She hadn’t moved  to London?

3.      She hadn’t learned English?

4.      She hadn’t studied economics?

5.      She hadn’t worked in Goldman Sachs?

6.      She hadn’t met her husband Pan?

7.      She and Pan had had some backing at the outset?
8.      She hadn’t changed her mind about leaving China?
9.      She hadn’t been such a gifted designer?
10.  She hadn’t got pregnant?
  
DISCUSS

·         What strikes you about Zhang Xin’s life and career? Do you think she might be a source of inspiration for women in China? Why? Why not?

Transcript
Key to exercises  


FOLLOW UP

 ·         The following are some terms/ names the video makes reference to. How much do you know about them? Pick one or two, do research and be ready to present it/them.

COMMUNIST SOCIALIST CHINA                THE AMERICAN DREAM 

                              THE GREAT WALL                    THE CITY OF BEIJING
                
                        WALL STREET

SELF-MADE BILLIONAIRE WOMEN IN THE WORLD                 

SWEATSHOPS IN CHINA                     FISH & CHIPS STANDS

Dickensian