Talking point: Change

This week's talking point is change. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas come to mind more easily the day you get together with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

Compare today’s lifestyles with those of the 1980’s. Think about the differences in:
Working practices
Transport and travel
The ability to be patient and wait for things to happen
Communications at home and at work
Subjects people can study at school and university

Discuss the changes the main characters have in the films below.
Can you think of any other films, books or stories where the protagonist is transformed in some way?

Do you know any real stories of transformation?
Do you think change is important?
Is change always good?
Have you made any recent changes in your life?
(You can talk about appearance, relationships, something you have bought, some decision you have made.)
What is the most difficult change you have ever had to make?
What is one thing that you think you will never change about yourself?
If you won a million dollars, what would you change about your life?

Listening test: On the move

Listen to Ely talking about the way she has spent all her life moving from country to country and complete sentences 1-7 below with up to three words. 0 is an example.



0) Ely has spent all her life living in other countries.

1) When you are young living away from your own country is great because you manage to ____________________________  .

2) Eli first went to Africa when she was ____________________________  old.

3) She lived in ____________________________  for 9 years.

4) Eli has never been able to speak the local languages because she’s always attended ____________________________.

5) When she was 8 Eli’s parents sent her to boarding school in England to receive ____________________________.

6) Eli envied her school friends because they had had their friends since ____________________________.

7) Eli thinks it's hard not to ____________________________  you can call your home.

I am totally English but I spent my whole life basically living (0) in other countries, well, my parents spent most of my life living in other countries. I've actually been at school in England for quite a while of it.
Living away from your own country is great. I guess it's really good when you're young you get to (1) see different countries. I stopped off in Africa and Nigeria. I was actually born in England, but I went there (2) fifteen days after I was born so, my first plane flight was 15 days old, and I can't really remember obviously that much of that but then we went to (3) Holland for nine years, which is great and it's, you know, I'm very lucky to have grown up in a different culture, although very embarrassingly I can't speak the language cause I always went to (4) an English school, but it's kind of difficult ‘cause you, wherever you go, you make friends. You get close to people and then suddenly you have to move, and move house, go on to somewhere else, and I found this to be the sort of hardest thing.
When I was 8, I went off to boarding school in England ‘cause my parents thought I'd get (5) a better education that way than moving around to different schools all over the world, and this was you know, it was good it was fun, but something like I always envied was the way, all the other kids at school, their school friends were just their friends in term time, but their real friends were friends that, you know, they had known since (6) they were little, since you know, since they had been born or, you know their early school friends and they still knew them and you know even when I was 18 years old, still, my friend's from school had their real friends at home who they'd known all their lives, and I've kind of always envied that because we've always been moving around and as I say, you know, I'm very lucky, we've been in Holland, Scotland, and Africa, and I've very lucky to have seen all of these places but it's kind of hard as well, not having a root, not (7) having [have] a place where you can actually call your home, somewhere to go back to at the end of the day and have all of your family and friends around you.

Talking point: Turning points in life

This week's talking point is turning points in a person's life. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

• Talk about a time when your life took a turn for the better or for the worse.
• What are the most important decisions you have made in your life?
• Have you ever made a decision that turned your life around?
• Have you ever regretted (not) doing something in your life?
• What are some of the turning points in your country’s history?
• What (bad) habit(s) would you like to get rid of?
• Describe how the habit started and developed.
• What bad habits do you find annoying in other people?

To illustrate the point you can watch this video on Heleen, who was living happily in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but decided to leave everything behind and move to a farm upstate New York.


Leaving Williamsburg from Charles Schwab on Vimeo.


My parents found a building in south Williamsburg, right under the Williamsburg Bridge in 1982. They were able to get it for a fairly good price probably because the neighbourhood was so bad. There were gangs, and drugs and it definitely wasn’t a good area.
They renovated the entire building. The backyard was really my mum’s project. They took out the cement. She made a pond. She put in plants and ivy. She really turned it into this incredible green space. Which was such a rarity in such a down-and-out gray neighbourhood and although I don’t remember it, I’ve seen so many photos of myself playing in the backyard and spending many days there in this beautiful oasis.
So in 1992 the City of New York was going to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, they needed to sandblast to get rid of all the lead paint. Unfortunately, they didn’t follow the proper precautions and all the kids in the neighbourhood got lead poisoning, including myself. My lead levels were through the roof. I needed to get out of the city as soon as possible.
She came here and she didn’t have a job, she didn’t have friends, she had a young child and she had to completely start over again. It was also difficult because my dad was still working in the city, so she was essentially alone for a lot of the time. Eventually they separated because they were living two very different lives.
Although it was really hard on my parents, I think my mom’s decision to ultimately move here was the best thing that could have happened for both of us. I had such an idyllic childhood. The countryside was my backyard. During the summer when I had time off from school, I would spend all day outside and I got to use my imagination, and I really got to be a kid a lot longer than I think I would have if I’d lived in the city.
Now that I live in LA, I just love coming back here. I come back as much as I can to see her so happy, to get fresh air and to just be in this incredible nature. Even though the garden in Williamsburg was so beautiful, what she has here is unparalleled: Giving riding lessons, breeding horses, going on trail rides, it gives her so much joy.

Always must go

Always must go is a meditation on leaving, told through the experiences of Charles Andrew Bothwell (Astronautalis), a touring musician who has been on the road playing 200+ shows a year for the last decade.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.

The activity is suitable for (strong) intermediate 2 students.


Always Must Go from Charles Schwab on Vimeo.

1 Charles dislikes his apartment.
2 Charles plays shows away from home the twelve months of the year.
3 Charles initially moved to Florida to go to school.
4 He decided to start touring after an unhappy love affair.
5 He sometimes feels lonely when surrounded by a lot of people.
6 Charles describes the states in US as the neighbourhoods in his home town.
7 Riding his bike is his form of escape because it makes him focus on just one thing.
8 Charles started touring 20 years ago.

Sometimes I feel like I’ve forgotten how to be a normal person. When I’m home in my apartment I literally just bounce off the walls. And I like my apartment. It’s really comfortable. But I sort of just… I don’t even know what to do with myself. I do enjoy being home but I’m in my most comfortable when I’m gone.
For the last ten years I’ve been on the road about eight to ten months out of the year, playing anywhere between a hundred and fifty shows  to two hundred to two hundred shows. It’s always been pretty easy for me to leave things. It may take me a couple of months to realise that it’s time to leave, when it’s time to leave, it’s time to leave.
Moved to Florida because my family brought me there and I left Florida to go to Texas because of school and I left Texas to go back to Florida because I couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. Now I left Florida to go to Seattle for a girl and I felt like it was time that I leave to go somewhere that I just wanted to go for me.
I had just been dumped by my girlfriend. My best friend got dumped by his girlfriend and shortly after that my manager got dumped by his girlfriend and so all of us decided to hit the road together and we just stayed out on the road playing as many shows as possible, never taking any days off and that was really when my career started to form and the show started to become more real, and people started to learn words of the songs and it felt more like a life choice and less like a just a permanent vacation.
It’s an odd thing when you get, you do get really lonely being surrounded by a ton of people, and generally being surrounded by a ton of people who really love you and adore you. Often times I only get to see a person for thirty minutes after a show, but the loneliness that comes when I’m out on the road compares nothing to the nervousness that comes when I’m stationary.
America’s sort of my home town and all of the different states are just sort of different neighbourhoods that I may see, you know, once a month or every four months. I’m just sort of bouncing around between different neighbourhood bars and seeing my friends that live on the north side and my friends that live on the south side of America.
It got to a point where everything I did was for my work and so I’d never get comfortable taking time off, I take two days off and then I would start to panic.
The motorcycle literally saved my life. When you get on a motorcycle you leave everything. You can’t talk on the phone, you can’t text, you can’t look at the Internet. That kept me from going crazy, it kept me from losing my mind, and just follow down a rabbit hole on music. So now it’s a weird thing when I get from touring all I want to do is get on my motorcycle and leave home. The refuge that I’ve found from music and touring, is more leaving.
It’s been over ten years since I left, about 2,000 shows since I left, four continents I’ve explored since I left, couldn’t even tell how many countries I’ve seen because I left. Every night I would leave it again. Leave to make it to the next town. Leave it all on the stage. To leave them wanting more. It’s in my blood to leave. I was born to leave and I will never stop leaving, to make sure that no matter what I’ll leave behind I will never be left with regrets.

Key:
1F 2F 3F 4T 5T 6T 7T 8F

Leaving Williamsburg

Living happily in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Heleen left everything behind and moved to a farm upstate New York. Why did she go?

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.

The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.


Leaving Williamsburg from Charles Schwab on Vimeo.

1 Why did the narrator's parents manage to find a building for a good price in Williamsburg?
2 What renovations did her parents do to the building?
3 Why is 1992 important for the girl?
4 Who moved out of the city?
5 Why did the narrator's parents separate?
6 How does the narrator describe her childhood?
7 Where does the narrator live now?
8 How does the narrator's mom make a living?

My parents found a building in south Williamsburg, right under the Williamsburg Bridge in 1982. They were able to get it for a fairly good price probably because the neighbourhood was so bad. There were gangs, and drugs and it definitely wasn’t a good area (1) .
They renovated the entire building. The backyard was really my mum’s project. They took out the cement. She made a pond. She put in plants and ivy. She really turned it into this incredible green space (2). Which was such a rarity in such a down-and-out gray neighbourhood and although I don’t remember it, I’ve seen so many photos of myself playing in the backyard and spending many days there in this beautiful oasis.
So in 1992 the City of New York was going to repair the Williamsburg Bridge, they needed to sandblast to get rid of all the lead paint. Unfortunately, they didn’t follow the proper precautions and all the kids in the neighbourhood got lead poisoning, including myself. My lead levels were through the roof. I needed to get out of the city as soon as possible (3).
She came here and she didn’t have a job, she didn’t have friends, she had a young child and she had to completely start over again. It was also difficult because my dad was still working in the city [the narrator and her mom (4)], so she was essentially alone for a lot of the time. Eventually they separated because they were living two very different lives (5).
Although it was really hard on my parents, I think my mom’s decision to ultimately move here was the best thing that could have happened for both of us. I had such an idyllic childhood. The countryside was my backyard. During the summer when I had time off from school, I would spend all day outside and I got to use my imagination, and I really got to be a kid a lot longer than I think I would have if I’d lived in the city (6).
Now that I live in LA (7), I just love coming back here. I come back as much as I can to see her so happy, to get fresh air and to just be in this incredible nature. Even though the garden in Williamsburg was so beautiful, what she has here is unparalleled: Giving riding lessons, breeding horses, going on trail rides (8), it gives her so much joy.

Everest Tourism Changed Sherpa Lives

The tourism industry around Mt. Everest has radically changed the lives of Nepal's Sherpas. National Geographic Young Explorer and photographer Max Lowe recently spent two months in Nepal's Khumbu region, documenting some of those changes.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.

The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.



1 What does the word 'sherpa' mean?
2 What happened sixty years ago?
3 What was the Sherpa lifestyle like three or four generations ago?
4 What positive changes in the Sherpa lifestyle are mentioned?
5 What's the main disadvantage all these changes have brought, according to the lamas?
6 What has the influx of tourism brought to the region?
7 What examples of 'things getting better' are mentioned at the end of the video?

You can check your answers by reading the transcript below.

The Sherpa are one of 70 ethnic groups within Nepal and they migrated over from Tibet.  Their name means Easterner (1). So, they came to the mountains and they settled the higher regions of the Himalayas. And, just by chance of living where they have, they’ve become connected to mountain climbing.
The Sherpa culture fundamentally changed in 1953, sixty years ago, when Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Everest (2).  And at this point, it went from their very rural idyllic lifestyle to one being in the twentieth century, and now the twenty-first century.
Within the span of three-to-four generations, they’ve gone from a very much agrarian, pastoral society with few things that we take for granted (3), to a society, now, that has connected with mobile phones, and the internet, and jet travel, and interaction between many more humans.

The changes that I saw just in the last ten years were pretty substantial.  As far as what people told me they had seen, as far as change, education was a big one; healthcare: there’s a dentist there; there’s medical clinics; the clothing is better (4).  Kancha Sherpa, who, was actually on the 1953 expedition, he was a really interesting guy to talk to.  He has seen pretty much the whole field of changes that have occurred.
A lot of the Lamas and people who still are practicing in the region, they really lamented the fact more than anyone else just because people are moving away from the old religious ways of life. And they told me at least that with all this endless self-gain available, people are losing focus on the purity and kind of simple life that they once had.  People are losing the ability to focus on true happiness (5).
The influx of tourism has brought a lot of money into the region (6). And, with that, a lot of people recognize that they can go much further, as far as advancement, now that they have this connection with the outside world.

I’ve heard… some people in Namche have told me that, many people from Khumjung leave to go live elsewhere in the world.  A lot of people from Khumjung go to other countries.
Yes. Many people are in the U.S.A., from Khumjung.  U.S.A., Europe and Japan.
They are not satisfied with tourism, with the small money from tourism.  They want to earn big money. And they want to change their lifestyle. Like being European and American like that.

At the same time a lot of things are getting better in the region.  The food is a lot more diverse, so people’s diets are much more healthy.  Clothing’s better. Building materials are safer. There’s electricity. There’re cell phones. You can get cell phone reception at Everest base camp now, which is a pretty crazy idea (7).

Yoga surfer

Michael Fukumura went from being a government lawyer in Washington, D.C. to a yoga instructor and surfing fanatic in San Diego. This is the story of why he left.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.

The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.


Yoga Surfer from Charles Schwab on Vimeo.

1 What sort of punishment does Michael mention?
2 Why did he really study law?
3 What items of the 'strict dress code' in ATF does he mention?
4 Who made the decision to leave Washington and ATF?
5 What was his parents' reaction at the news of his new lifestyle?
6 Why did he start doing yoga?
7 How did Michael feel the more he did yoga?

You can check your answers by reading the transcript below.


I was born in Japan, Tokyo. In Japanese culture the parents have a very strong influence on their children. Punishment was going to be by the belt (1), so I studied hard and I played the piano and I did all these things sort of conforming to what my parents set of expectations were.
I went into law almost like a default. I didn’t love the law, I looked up to my father and so a lot of it was about wanting to please him (2). After graduating from law school I went to ATF. We had a very strict dress code. It was shirt, tie, dress shoes, dress pants (3). My hair was very, very short. I looked like everyone else, very much fit in to the urban lifestyle of Washington DC.
At the same time I wasn’t fulfilled. I felt there was a big missing piece because I wasn’t in my heart of hearts feeling I was being of great service.
I resisted, but my wife (4) was really adamant about leaving. First time in my entire life where I had no plan. We literally drove cross country with all our possessions and decided hey this is going to be our new life. My parents, by the way, were shocked because I didn’t even have a job (5), I didn’t have a place. I started surfing. It turned me deeper towards where I’d not been focused on, which is spirit. I started having right shoulder issues. I hear that yoga is good for injuries (6). I started doing yoga. What had been like a whisper now became like a real deep calling. All of a sudden things clicked.
The more I did it the more I just started feeling a sense of well-being (7). It was this realization that, wow, there is something about this place that created a… awaking if you will. So now through teaching public classes, teaching one on one, teaching in many different settings, I have a way of giving back where I feel passionate about. So my students, when I see them start to make a shift, perhaps in a relationship, perhaps even they haven’t got a job that is serving them and find something that really wakes them up and they’re passionate about just like I did. That’s really satisfying to me. From that perspective I feel I’m being of service.

Talking point: An event that has influenced your life

In our weekly 'Talking point' section we continue focusing on the anecdote feature of Macmillan's Inside Out.

Today's topic is talking about an event that has influenced your life. Before getting together with your friends, go over the questions below, so that you ideas flow more easily when you meet up with the members of your conversation group and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

• What event was it? An accident? A holiday? A chance meeting? A stroke of luck? An unfortunate incident? A new job?
• How long ago was it?
• What happened exactly?
• Why was it so important?
• How did it influence you? Did it influence you for the better or for the worse? Can you give some specific examples of how the event influenced you?
• Do you wish it had never happened or are you glad that it did?
• How would your life be different if this event hadn't occurred?

To illustrate the topic you can watch photographer Jay Perry telling us the way travelling to Haiti and meeting a little girl changed him for ever.


The Girl That Changed My Life from Jay Perry on Vimeo.

Master of ceremonies

This is James Mitchell, who works as a marriage officiant at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau, where he has performed over 27,000 ceremonies in three years.

Self-study activity:
This is more of a talking activity rather than a listening activity for Intermediate 2 students.

Watch the video and answer the questions below.

How many different couples do you remember?
Who are they with?
What are they wearing?
Where are the ceremonies held?

To what extent do you feel the video shows a picture of the early 21st century?
What do the words below tell us about today’s world?
    climate change – globalisation – Google – credit crunch – Web 2.0 – carbon footprint – youth culture
What other trends, ideas, changes or factors define our times?



The video is part of The New York Times video series Vows, where couples explain the way they met and how their relationship developed.

We have posted two more Vows videos, Marguerite and Sean's love story and How we met, Erica and Matthew, both of which include listening activities for intermediate students.

You can also watch the post Wedding Season, and compare the more traditional wedding ceremonies with the Manhattan Marriage Bureau video we have posted today.

We have all types of people who come into the Marriage Bureau. They are from all aspects of life. They are from all over the world.
Welcome guys!
How are you doing today?
We are gathered here tonight to witness the exchanging of marriage vows between Claudio and Geneva…
I might be doing my 100th ceremony but for the couple in front of me is their first ceremony and so what I want to do is I want to make it as special as I possibly can. So when I close the chapel doors the people that are in front of me are the most important people that are at the office at that time.
Do you Roy solemnly declare to take Nicole to be your lawfully wedded wife?
Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and keep him for as long as you both shall live. As a symbol of your promise, please place a ring on the young lady’s finger.
In as much as you both have consented to be united in the vows of marriage and have exchanged your wedding vows in front of us here tonight and by the power invested to me by the laws of the great state of New York I now pronounce you married. And you may seal your vows…
This should be one of the happiest days of a person’s life and I may be able to be a part of that and just feeling of that energy, the energy in the room, the love in the room, is enough to help me get through each one of the ceremonies.

Talking point: Change

The topic of today's talking point is Change. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that you can get familiar with the topic and ideas flow more easily on the day when you get together with your friends.

Which of these things do you know how to change? a nappy - a tyre - a light bulb - a plug
Which, if any, of these would you like to change? Why or why not? your name - your image - your lifestyle
What changes, if any, would you make to the following? Why? your home - your school/workplace

What might the effects be if the following changes were to occur in your country?
The average temperature increases by 5ºC all year round.
The third most important political party wins a majority at the general election.
The official retirement age is increased by 5 years.
At primary and secondary school the lessons have to be taught in English.
The government introduces a four-day working week.
The minimum age for driving a car is increased by three years.
A new tourist resort opens on the coast of Morocco with very cheap prices.
Cars are banned in the city centre.
Some important industry in your area is relocated in another country.

Which changes would you like to see introduced, either regionally, nationally or globally?
What can an ordinary person do to change the world?
Do movements like The Occupy Movement - Escraches – Anonymous – Wikileaks – Peta – Femen really change society?
To what extent campaigns like My Friends is or Do you see what I see are useful?





My friend is so much fun… he is always playing tricks on people... he is so smart. In fact, he is one of the must intelligent beings on the planet. This friend can litteraly see through me and I'm not kidding. My friend races sailboats ... and always wins. My friend has no problem hitting the high note.
My friend can surf waves 25 feet high ... with no board...  I like to see you try that ... This friend can understand us...  but we can’t understand him.
He saves lives. He saves human lives. He is always smiling. But that doesn't mean that he is always happy.
My friend doesn't belong in captivity. His home is in the ocean.
But my friend is in serious trouble. In fact, he is fighting for his life right now...  off the coast of Japan dolphins and poroises are driven to a horrible fate.
The most attractive are chosen for life in captivity. The others are brutally killed. Their meat that contains toxic levels of mercury is sold as food. The majority of people in Japan don't even know that this is happpening...
Please help us end this senseless slaughter, please help us get the word out, please join us in getting the word out. Help us get the word out! To find out more go to  www.takepart.com/thecove. We are their biggest threat and their only hope...

International Women's Day

8th March is the International Women’s Day. Last year we published this video by Kronos and Xplane which I think lends itself to a nice conversation lesson on the topic of change, women’s role in society today and in the past and the use of would to express habits in the past.

Lesson idea:
Before watching the video, discuss the way women’s lives in your country have changed in the last 100 years. Give some examples of the ways life for a woman today is different/similar to the life of a woman 50 or 100 years ago.

Now you can watch the video and check if any of your ideas are mentioned. You can also note down and discuss any details that may have drawn your attention.



Note the way modal auxiliary would is used to express past habits. We can only use would  to express past habits if we are talking about actions: She would drive her children to school

whereas we can use used to to express past habits both to talk about states and actions: She used to drive her children to school; her family used to have a house in Hertfordshire.

You can read more about this grammar point on Grammaring.com or English page.

At this stage you may like to go back to what you mentioned about a woman’s life 50 or 100 years ago and rephrase some of your ideas using would to express typical actions and habits.

Now some more questions to talk about changes in today’s world. Remember to use would for past habits to refer to actions and activities if you want to practise this grammar point.

Your city
How has your town changed in your lifetime? Is it a lot bigger?
Have a lot of immigrants moved into your town?
Have a lot of new houses been built? If yes, where and what kind of houses?
Have the shops and shopping areas changed?
Can you think of any other changes?

Work, family and free time
How have people’s lifestyles changed in your country during your lifetime?
Do people still do the same kinds of jobs?
Have any new industries developed? Have any old industries disappeared?
Has family life changed?
Do people still do the same kinds of things in their free time? Do they spend their money on the same things? Are their hopes and dreams the same?
Can you think of any other changes?

If you want to do a listening activity around International Women's Day, Are we equals?, a video starred by Daniel Graig comes in handy. Here we can see James Bond's femenine side. He teams up with Judi Dench to highlight the need for gender equality.

Self-study activity:
Complete the transcript of the video with the missing facts and figures. I think Básico 2 students can give the activity a try.





We're equals, aren't we 007? Yet it is (1) ... and a man is still likely to earn more money than a woman, even one doing the same job. You have a far better chance of entering political office or becoming a company director. As a man you are less likely to be judged for promiscuous behaviour, which is just as well, frankly. And hardly any chance of falling victim to sexual assault. And unlike the (2) ... women in the UK who lose their jobs annually due to pregnancy, there would be virtually no risk to your career if you chose to become a parent ... or became one accidentally.
For someone with such a fondness for women, I wonder if you have ever considered what it might be like to be one? The world has changed, but the numbers remain stuck against us. Women are responsible for (3) ... of the work done worldwide, yet earn any (4) ... of the total income and own (5) ... of the property. It’s not just about money and power. Every year (6) ... million girls are deprived of even a basic education and a staggering (7) ... million are sexually assaulted on their way to school. We are afraid to walk the streets at night, yet some of us are even more afraid to return to our own homes. At least (8) ... are victims of domestic violence. And every week, (9) ... women in the UK are killed by a current or former partner.
So are we equals? Until the answer is yes we must never stop asking.

If you want to find out more about the topic of International Women's Day, The Guardian published the online series Top 100 Women to commemorate Women's Day on 8th March.


Key:
(1) 2011 (2) 30,000 (3) 2/3 (4) 10% (5) 1% (6) 70 (7) 60 (8) 1 in 4 (9) 2

Talking point: How much can people change?

This week's talking point comes from The New York Times Learning blog, How much can people change? 

Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, read the questions below and think of the answers, so that ideas flow more easily on the day you hold your speaking session.

To gain more insight into the topic you can also read David Brooks' article in The New York Times How people change. You may also discuss the ideas in the article with the members of your conversion group.

• In what areas do people usually want to change?
• Are there things about yourself you would like to change?
• Have you ever tried to change something about yourself -a personality trait, a bad habit or some other aspect of your life? 
• Did it work? 
• Have you ever tried to get someone else to change? 
• What happened? 
• How much, in general, do you believe people can change? Why?
• What examples, from your own life or the lives of others, can you offer to support your opinions?
• What do you think are the best ways to help others change?
• Is it advisible to resort to professional advice -counsellors or psychologists- when we find it difficult to change bad habits or negative aspects of our behaviour?
• How do you usually adapt to change that is imposed on you, ie, a new boss, a new working method, new rules?  

The plan

The plan is an award-winning film about a man who gives up his job, leaves his girlfriend and drives to Vegas to bet all his money.

Self-study activity:
Watch the film and enjoy it. What do you think of it? Did the ending surprise you?
You can read the transcript below for a full understanding.

You can use the film as a springboard for conversation:

• Retell the story in your own words.
• Tell your friends or classmates about personal stories you know of people who decided to leave everything behind to make a new start in life.
• Discuss the reasons that make people take these drastic decisions.

"The idea was simple. Quit my job. Pack the essentials needed to sustain life. Whatever happens, go through with it. Leave Claudia. For good this time. Take all of the money out of my bank account. Drive to Vegas. Walk up to a Roulette table, and put it all on red.

It's about going back to a time when life was unexpected, taking a change that would allow me to start over. Finding a new purpose, a new adventure, a new love. I will go through with it. No matter what the outcome is, at least it won’t be the life that I live now.

That’s a really good casino.
How do you know?
Because I just won 50 bucks on the nickel sludge.
Is it good?
Yeah!
You from around here?
Nope.
Thanks.
Did you just take a picture of me?
No. Yeah!
Well can I see it?
It’s not digital. It’s 35mm.
OK, then I think you should give me the film.
Why?
Because you just can’t go around stealing pictures of people. It’s rude.
How about after I get it developed I’ll send you a copy?
You know what, just forget it. Just keep it, asshole.
Hey, I just thought you are pretty!
I’d thought you’d take it as a compliment?

Hey, man, have you ever been to this place before?
Red light casino you see, you go down the 50…
Shit, you give me that back!
You should come out and play.
You gonna mess the film.

Fuck, fuck.

I will go through with it.

Ok, how much do you want on chips?
No more bets.
Black 35 no winners.

Mitch, come home. Just come home, Mitch. You there?

I guess it's about it's about going back to a time when life was unexpected. Finding a new purpose, a new adventure, a new love. And no matter what happens, at least it won’t be the life that I live now."

How we have changed

8th March was the International Women’s Day. I had meant to post some activity to commemorate the day, but everything I came across fell short of my expectations. Eventually I found this video by Kronos and Xplane which I think lends itself to a nice conversation lesson on the topic of change, women’s role in society today and in the past and the use of would to express habits in the past.

Lesson idea:
Before watching the video, discuss the way women’s lives in your country have changed in the last 100 years. Give some examples of the ways life for a woman today is different/similar to the life of a woman 50 or 100 years ago.

Now you can watch the video and check if any of your ideas are mentioned. You can also note down and discuss any details that may have drawn your attention.



Note the way modal auxiliary would is used to express past habits. We can only use would  to express past habits if we are talking about actions: She would drive her children to school

whereas we can use used to to express past habits both to talk about states and actions: She used to drive her children to school; her family used to have a house in Hertfordshire].

You can read more about this grammar point on Grammaring.com or English page.

At this stage you may like to go back to what you mentioned about a woman’s life 50 or 100 years ago and rephrase some of your ideas using would to express typical actions and habits.

Now some more questions to talk about changes in today’s world. Remember to use would for past habits to refer to actions and activities if you want to practise this grammar point.

Your city
How has your town changed in your lifetime? Is it a lot bigger?
Have a lot of immigrants moved into your town?
Have a lot of new houses been built? If yes, where and what kind of houses?
Have the shops and shopping areas changed?
Can you think of any other changes?

Work, family and free time
How have people’s lifestyles changed in your country during your lifetime?
Do people still do the same kinds of jobs?
Have any new industries developed? Have any old industries disappeared?
Has family life changed?
Do people still do the same kinds of things in their free time? Do they spend their money on the same things? Are their hopes and dreams the same?
Can you think of any other changes?

If you want to do a listening activity around International Women's Day, last year we posted the video below,  and you can do a related comprehension task by clicking here.

Less stuff, more happiness

Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.

Watch this six-minute TED talk and listen to what Mr Hill has to tell us. Also remember that the TED player allows us to activate the subtitles in the language we wish.

 

The fear to change

Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP talks about the dynamics of change and fear in this lecture to Stanford University students offered in May, 2007.

Self-study activity:
Before you watch an extract of Carly's talk, try to decide if, in your opinion, the following statements are true or false.

Everybody is afraid of something.
Some people are blocked by their fears.
Courageous people manage to defeat their fears.
The business world is about risk-taking.
Change is always difficult.
Most people are afraid of venturing into the unknown, which stops change.
People who have positions of power and influence what to keep them.
Wanting to keep one’s power and influence is human, but it also stops change.

Now watch the video and check which of the statements above are true or false.



You can read a transcript of the talk here.

Key:
All the statements are true.