Cruising Away?

Last week, Venice saw an incident with a cruise ship.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• a Hollywood production - a typical Hollywood film
• residents - people who live in a particular place
• storey - a floor level of a building
• quayside - the edge of a quay (kade), near the water
• oblivious to the potential danger - not aware of the possible danger
• dockside - the area along a shore next to a dock (dok)
• tugboat- a small, powerful boat that is used for pulling and pushing ships into harbors or up rivers
• turning point - the time when a situation starts changing in an important way

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. What exactly happened with the cruise ship?
   Tell in your own words. Or write a short report about the incident.


2. How many passengers were there aboard the cruise ship?


3. Did all the people on land immediately realize what was happening?


4. Were any buildings in Venice damaged during the incident?


5. Name two or more reasons why people in Venice are protesting against cruise ships.

Extra speaking assignment
Is a ban on cruise ships in cities like Venice a good idea?
1. Split the class in two.
2. One side thinks of arguments for a ban, the other against a ban.
3. Have a class discussion.

House on Fire

Last week, world leaders and business chiefs met in Davos to talk about global issues and solutions. 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden was there too. She presented her point of view on climate action.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• lack of effective change - not enough action to make real changes
• price tag - the amount of money that something costs
• to acknowledge - to admit; to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of something
• broad public awareness - the situation that many people know that something exists or is happening
• homo sapiens - the human race; all human beings
• to gain notoriety - to become well-known for things you do or say
• mature - having the mental and emotional qualities of an adult and acting like that
• to uphold an agreement - to give support to an agreement and stick to it
• to adhere to environmental regulations - to act in the way that is required by the rules for making and keeping the world healthy
• unspoken sufferings - physical or mental pain which is understood without being directly said aloud

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. What does Greta mean when she suggests that ‘the house is on fire’?


2. What does Greta want of the world leaders?


3. Greta says: ‘Their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag.’ What is this ‘price tag’ she is talking about?


4. According to Greta, is it too late to do anything? Explain your answer.


5. Does Greta think it will be an easy task to solve the climate crisis? Explain your answer.

- Watch Greta’s full speech here.
- Also listen to Greta’s message to Davos before leaving by train from Stockholm to Switzerland.
- Children all over the world are concerned about climate change. Check out this earlier video with students in Australia.

Extra speaking assignment
Greta Thunberg started the climate strike movement, young people skipping school to draw attention to the issue of climate change.
1. How do you feel about going on a school strike because of climate change?
2. Split the class in two.
3. One side thinks of arguments for striking, the other against striking.
4. Have a class discussion.

Meeting Sophia

CES 2018 kicked off on January 9. CES is the Consumer Electronics Show, an international event that takes place every year in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s the place where you can see the most fabulous innovations. Zoe Kleinman of the BBC interviewed one of the amazing inventions on display.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• to relate with empathy - to listen to someone and respond in a way that shows that you understand what they are experiencing or feeling
• to get some flack - to get some strong criticism
• comprehension - ability to understand
• personality - attractive qualities (such as energy, friendliness, and humor) that make someone interesting or pleasant to be with
• profound - having or showing great knowledge or understanding

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Who or what is Sophia?


2. Does Zoe like her job?


3. According to Sophia, what’s the problem with the future?

Extra writing and/or speaking assignment
Think of 3 other questions to ask Sophia.
Write them down.
Alternatively, do a roleplay with a classmate. One of you is Sophia, the other one is the interviewer.
The interviewer interviews Sophia.
Switch roles.

Bonus listening assignment
You can find out more about Sophia in the following video. This is for more advanced students of English.

1. How does Steve feel about interviewing Sophia?


2. What answer does Sophia give when she doesn’t know something?


3. Has Sophia seen “Black Mirror”?

Fired Up

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was inaugurated as America's 45th President.
The day after, the Women's March on Washington took place. Why did they take to the streets?

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• call for something - say loud and clear that something is necessary or should be done
• global - involving the entire world
• rally - a public meeting to support or disapprove someone or something
• affordable - not too expensive; with a price people can pay
• under threat - in a situation that something bad or harmful could happen
• bigotry - intolerance for people who have different opinions, beliefs, etc. than oneself
• fired up - filled with enthusiasm and excitement

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. How did it all begin?


2. Explain what the video’s title means: Women's March Goes Global.


3. What was the main message of the march?

Extra writing and speaking assignment

1. Watch the video again.
2. Write down three things people say they are marching for.
3. Compare your list with those of your classmates.
4. Discuss how you feel about these things. Would you fight for them?

Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films 2016

It's that time of year again: The Oscars are coming up.
Jackson Murphy takes a look at this year’s Oscar nominated animated short films.

To help you with the video, here are the titles of the five featured shorts:

• Bear Story
• Prologue
• Sanjay's Super Team
• We Can't Live Without Cosmos
• World of Tomorrow

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Make notes to help you do the assignment.

1. What is Jackson’s overall opinion about this year’s nominated shorts?


2. Copy the titles of the shorts on five different pieces of paper. For each video write down:
   a) some general notes regarding their main story,
   b) what Jackson has to say about it, whether he liked it or not and why.


3. Form groups of 3 or 4 students or work as a class. Tell each other which one of the five nominated videos you would like to watch. Explain your choice.

Thanksgiving Holiday

On Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving will be celebrated throughout the United States. See this post for a related video and assignment.

Photo credit: Emily Mills, Flickr, Creative Commons, some rights reserved

Wake up and Smell the Coffee

Starbucks has managed to grab the headlines again. Watch the video to find out why.
Read the following words and their definitions.

• upset: angry or unhappy
• eliminate: to remove or get rid of something
• minimalist: very simple, using a small number of colours, parts, materials, etc.
• usher in: to happen at the beginning of something and help cause it
• purity: the quality or state of being smooth and clear

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.


Answer the questions in writing or in a group discussion.

1. What does “generating a lot of buzz” mean?


2. Why are some Starbucks customers upset?


3. What will happen should Donald Trump be elected president?


4. What does the white-haired lady think about all this?


5. What do you think? Does this upset you too or do you think it’s not such a big deal? Explain your answer, either in writing or in a group discussion.

Extra writing speaking assignment

1. Copy Starbucks’ statement regarding this issue.


2. Explain what it means.

How Green Is Your Closet?

Fashion is the second largest polluter behind the oil industry. Learn more about the industry behind your favourite clothes in the video.

Read the following words and their definitions.

• impact: to have a strong and often bad effect on (something or someone)
• tag: a small piece of cloth, paper, metal, etc., that is attached to something and that has information written on it
• predominant: more important, powerful, successful, or noticeable than other people or things
• sustainable: able to last or continue for a long time; able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



Answer the questions in writing or in a group discussion.

1. Name the three major impacts fashion has on the world we live in.


2. Which facts about polyester are given in the video?


3. Name the three different components of sustainability. Give examples for each component.


4. In what ways can people like you and me help change the fashion industry?


5. Try answering this one in all honesty: will you be making different fashion choices in future? Explain your answer.

Why the Sun Really Shines

Spring has finally arrived and with it: the Sun! Why does the sun actually shine? In the 1950s, the educational song Why Does the Sun Shine? was written, based on information that was then believed to be accurate. In 1983, They Might Be Giants, an original band from Brooklyn, New York, covered this song.

Many years later, in 2008, they discovered that the information in the original song was incorrect. The band then wrote an “answer song” in which they updated the outdated information about the Sun. It is called The Sun Is A Miasma Of Incandescent Plasma. The lyrics in the new song reflect our current state of knowledge regarding the Sun.

First read the definitions of the following underlined words.

• The sun is a miasma = a heavy cloud of something unpleasant or unhealthy

• incandescent = white or glowing because of great heat

• The sun is a quagmire = an area of soft, wet ground

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



Answer the questions in writing or in a group discussion.

1. Listen carefully to all the things the Sun is not. Write them down. Compare your notes to those of your classmates. 


2. Which four states of matter are repeatedly mentioned in the song?


3. What state of matter exists on the surface of the Sun?


4. Complete the following lines:
   The sun is a quagmire,
   it’s .......... ........... ........... ..........


5. “That thesis has been rendered invalid.” What does the last line mean? Explain in your own words.

Discuss the following question in smaller groups or as a class:
What does the experience of They Might Be Giants teach us about how we respond to changing facts?

Extra writing exercise
Can't get enough of the song? Listen again and write out the lyrics.

Game Theory

Yanis Varoufakis is the current Greek finance minister. One of his areas of study when he was an economics professor was game theory. It is widely speculated that he is deploying game theory in his negotiations with European Union leaders. He himself denies this.

But what is this game theory everybody is talking about? Game theory can be described as the mathematical study of decision-making, of conflict and strategy in social situations. It helps explain how we interact in key decision-making processes.

The best known game is the Prisoner’s Dilemma. In the video, Scientific American editor Michael Moyer explains how it works.

First read the assignments. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



Answer the following questions in English, either in writing or in a group discussion.

1. Describe the terms of the deal the prosecutor in the example offers both prisoners.


2. Describe what the prisoners would most probably do if they could coordinate their decision.


3. Describe the outcomes of the best and worst case scenario.


4. Which outcome (best or worst case scenario) is most probable? Explain your answer?

Extra words assignment
Watch the video once more. This time, focus on the following expressions Michael Moyer uses:

• take the fall
• here’s the catch
• get off scot-free
• mischievous pickle (put someone in a pickle)

1. Explain what these expressions mean.


2. Make one or two new sentences in which you use these expressions.

4 February

Mrs Parks was born 102 years ago, on 4 February, 1913, as Rosa Louise McCauley. In 1932, she married Raymond Parks. She became famous after an incident in Montgomery in 1955.
Several black leaders responded to the incident, among them Martin Luther King.

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



Answer the questions in writing or in a group discussion.

1. What exactly did Rosa Parks do?


2. What led up to the Rosa Parks incident?


3. What actions did Montgomery’s black citizens take after the incident?


4. What does Martin Luther King say in the last part of the clip?

Extra speaking assignment
42,000 black residents of Montgomery, Alabama, (40% of the population) responded to Martin Luthers King’s call for action. It did not have an impact immediately, but they didn’t give up and after about a year things started to change.

Work in smaller groups or as a class. Discuss the following question:
What does the Rosa Parks incident and the actions it sparked tell us about the power in numbers?


Extra writing assignment
Martin Luther King was an influential and eloquent speaker. With his gift for words he managed to reach millions, rich or poor, educated or not.
Listen to his speech in the first part of the clip. Write down his exact words.

Free Speech

Following the shocking events in France, huge crowds and some 40 world leaders gathered in Paris for a unity march. Later, Prime Minister David Cameron talked to the press about his thoughts regarding the march.

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.


Answer the following questions in English, either in writing or in a group discussion.

1. How did Cameron experience the march?


2. What does Cameron say about the freedom of speech? Are there any limitations to this freedom according to Cameron? Focus on what Cameron says regarding the role of prime ministers and politicians as opposed to the role of newspapers, magazines and television programmes.


3. What is the current threat level in Britain? Name the word Cameron uses to describe it. Also explain what this threat level actually means.


4. According to Cameron, why did people come and join in the march?


5. In which way was this demonstration different from other ones Cameron has been on?

Extra speaking assignment
Cameron refers to a famous statement to underline his point of view: ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ Work in smaller groups or as a class.

Express your own view: do you agree with this statement? Explain your view. Use the following expressions to begin your arguments:

• In my opinion / I am of the opinion that / In my view / From my point of view / To my mind
• It seems to me that …
• The way I see it …
• (Personally), I believe/think/suppose … (one can safely say that …)
• I am (not) convinced that …

Malala

It has been five years since Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai wrote an anonymous diary about life under Taliban rule in north-west Pakistan. Since then she has been shot in the head by Taliban militants, and has become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She is now 17 years old.
Malala accepted the award in Oslo on 10 December.

First read the assignment. Next watch Malala Yousafzai's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.




Answer the questions in writing (in English) or discuss the answers in class.

1. "The word Malala means grief-stricken ..." What does grief-stricken mean?


2. How did Malala's grandfather call her? Why?


3. Malala says: "This award is not just for me." Who else is it for?


4. Malala explains that different people view her differently. In which different ways do others describe her?


5. With which words does Malala describe herself?

The Future of Tech Ideas

The end of the year is a time for lists, more lists and endless lists which sum up the highs and lows of the past year. How about looking at the future instead?

The Aspen Ideas Festival is an annual event where great minds from all over the world come together to discuss ideas that shape our lives. At this year's Aspen Ideas Festival, a group of tech experts answered the question:
What tech idea seems crazy now, but will become a reality in the future?

First read the assignment. Next watch the video.



Answer the questions in writing (in English) and/or discuss the answers in class.

1. What are implantables? And what functions can they have?

2. Name two or more brain inventions we can expect.

3. What makes flying cars so special according to Hari Kondabolu?

4. Name three or more other ideas from the video. Pick a favourite. Explain your choice.

Thanksgiving month

In the United States, November is Thanksgiving month. Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621. The colonists celebrated the day in the spirit of traditional English harvest festivals. The local Wampanoag Indians were invited to take part in the celebration, as well.
Over time, different views on the events and meaning of Thanksgiving emerged. We Shall Remain is a television series which focusses on this and related topics.

First read the assignment. Next watch the series' preview. Take notes to help you do the assigment.

1. Focus on this quotation: "We were about to be obliterated culturally." Explain in your own words what it means.


2. Focus on this quotation: "It was done to them. So they did it back." Explain what it means in this context.


3. Fill in the rest of the quote: "Too remarkable, too inspiring ......." Translate the complete quote. Aim for a catchy phrase in Dutch that conveys the same message.


4. How are the origins of the series' title ("We Shall Remain") explained towards the end of the clip?

Extra reading and speaking assignment

A

1. Read the short article about the two sides of Thanksgiving history.


2. Work in a group or as a class. Discuss what the difference in Thanksgiving is for Native American Indians and other people in the United States today.

B
All discussion leads back to the myths and facts regarding the First Thanksgiving. In 1899, it inspired Jean Leon Gerome Ferris to create his now famous depiction of events, called The First Thanksgiving 1621. The painting shows common misconceptions about the event that persist to modern times: Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains.

1. What does the expression "common misconceptions" mean?


2. Name one or more common misconceptions about your own country or traditions.

This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3g04961

Kinderrechten

20 november is de Internationale Dag van de Rechten van het Kind. Alle kinderen hebben rechten. Deze rechten staan in het Kinderrechtenverdrag. Het verdrag gaat eigenlijk over alles waar je mee te maken kan krijgen, vanaf je geboorte tot aan je achttiende verjaardag.

Lees eerst de opdrachten. Bekijk dan het filmpje.

1. Hoeveel jaar geleden werd de Convention on the Rights of the Child (Het Verdrag inzake de rechten van het kind) opgesteld?


2. Noteer ten minste 3 rechten van het kind die Josh in het filmpje noemt.


3. Josh zegt over de Convention: 'It's all about things kids deserve no matter what.' Wat betekent dat precies?

Extra luister- en spreekopdracht

Lees eerst de opdrachten. Bekijk dan het gesprek met Josh op de Australische televisie.

1. Waarom zijn de rechten van het kind volgens Josh belangrijk?


2. Welk kinderrecht is bij Josh favoriet?


3. Werk met 2 klasgenoten of met de hele groep. Bespreek de verschillende kinderrechten. Vraag aan elkaar welk kinderrecht je belangrijk vindt. Geef bij je antwoord ook argumenten waarom je dat recht kiest.

Going Places Where No One Had Gone Before

Last month, Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo crashed in the Mojave Desert. It was the second disaster in less than a week suffered by a private space company.
It’s a setback, but for now, let’s focus on the huge steps that have been taken in the field of space travel and the genius minds behind it all. Meet Donald Ekhoff, one of the brilliant inventors who made progress in space travel possible, moved on to explore other frontiers and even now still invents every day.

First read the assignment. Next watch the short documentary about Donald L Ekhoff.

1. In one of the first scenes, you can see the first man walking on the moon. What are Neil Armstrong’s exact words in his message to earth?
2. What was the very first engineering project Ekhoff did as a small kid?
3. Why did his parents and he move in 1957?
4. In which respect was Ekhoff different from the rest of the group working on the Apollo project?
5. Name at least three different projects Ekhoff worked on in his long career. 

Extra discussion assignment

Work in a small group or as a class. Discuss the following questions.

1. What does Ekhoff mean when he says: ‘Invention is as much a blessing as it is a curse.’
2. In the opening shots, the film shows a quote by Thomas Edison. What does it mean? And why is it relevant in the context of this short film?