Breaking the Bank - The US Financial Meltdown of 2008

Level: Upper Intermediate to Advanced students

Well, it's been one year since the financial meltdown. If you have banking students as I do, I think it's really worth presenting them with an activity on the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

I'm a bit of a news junkie so I tend to follow links to new and varied sources. The PBS documentary news series - Frontline - is certainly among the best and one of my favorites. They have 83 full-hour documentaries available online. (I've watched at least 20 of them already) The episode regarding the meltdown is called Breaking the Bank which you can find here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/breakingthebank/view/


You can get the PBS teacher's guide with discussion questions here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/meltdown/meltdown.pdf

Tip: I will sometimes ask students to watch videos for homework and sometimes show them videos in class. You need to gauge whether you think they will actually do the homework or not. Many of my business students are very busy people so it is understandable if they don't manage the time outside of class. However, without putting too much of a point on it, you should always try to encourage them to do more outside of class to expand their contact time with the second language. (And then again, it's often a nice change of pace for students to get to watch the occasional video in class.)

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Lottery Winners and Sound Financial Advice

Ok, I admit I have been known to play the lottery on occasion. I don't think I ever really expect to win but it's a nice distraction to dream about what you might do with that kind of money. After reading this article, I'm not so sure I would like to win.

This article discusses the real life difficulties that some Americans have had after winning the big one. One cultural point to understand about the article is that in many states in the US, lottery winnings are paid out on an annual basis rather than a lump sum. Consequently, a $1,000,000 lottery win is actually a promise to be paid $50,000 per year over 20 years.


You can find the article here:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx

The discussion activity is here:

8 Lottery Winners

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Weird Hotel Signs

I adapted this activity from a very funny book called "Broken English Spoken Perfectly" by Stewart Clark. (Edda UK, 2005) The book is a collection of very humorous, often embarassing, English mistakes found in public spaces.  Students will have a good laugh trying to understand and correct these.

You will need to explain some words such as cock (In this case, it should be faucet (AE) or tap (BE). Cock (aka stopcock or stopper) is a precise word used by scientists or chemists for the valve to control liquid flow in lab equipment.)

Weird Hotel Signs


Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,

Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Gene Simmons Talks Business with Michael Eisner

Okay, you might be thinking this is an odd post for a Business English blog. What does Gene Simmons or KISS have to do with business? Well, think music industry. This is in fact a fantastic interview between Eisner and Simmons on business, the KISS business empire, Simmons' personal projects and Simmons' views on success, life, and love. And Simmons' self-promotion is very funny.

I usually pair this with a vocabulary activity on music. (It is always good to broaden your student's vocabulary.)

The video is available for free on iTunes or you can watch it here.




The discussion activity is here. You will need to brainstorm music genres (rock, classical, jazz, pop, hip hop, country, world music, reggae, heavy metal, etc.) when you fill in the chart.

01.09.2009 Interview With Gene Simmons

Listening Comprehension answers: 80 million albums; Beatles on steroids; Music Trade Magazines (Record World, Cash Box, Billboard), Wall Street Journal; his mother survived the Holocaust; 5000 women; Cher, Diana Ross; If you don't take care of business, it will take care of you; Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, the Apprentice, My Dad the Rock Star (cartoon); for Simmons to get married.

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Little Sweetie's Fortune - Hong Kong Billionaire and Inheritance Law

Article Discussion: The Fight for Little Sweetie's Billions Is Getting More Than a Little Weird

You can find the article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124217178156212899.html#

The Discussion Activity Sheet is here:
28.09.2009 the Fight for Little Sweeties Fortune
Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Using Business Articles for Discussion in Class

Like most Business English teachers I rely on current news from leading newspapers and magazines to stimulate discussion in class. Here's some general tips for using articles in the Business English classroom.

Tip 1: To avoid getting in trouble over copyright, it is best to send your students a link to the article for the following week's class and let them print their own copy. You are allowed to print for personal use. Otherwise, newspapers and magazines expect payment for reprints.

Tip 2: I get students to take turns reading paragraphs from the article aloud in class. You can correct pronunciation as you go. And by alternating students, they will understand the article more. I've noticed that when people read aloud, they are actually too focused on their pronunciation that they do not actually catch or follow what they are saying.

Tip 3: It is better for students to try to understand the meaning of the words in context. That is why I often wait to explain difficult words after we have read the text.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Classic TV Ads to discuss Advertising

Requirements: A laptop (& projector) to show the videoclips in class.

This is one activity which I love to use in my Business English classes. Since the commercials are short, often entertaining, and use fairly simple language, you can use them with pre-intermediate to advanced.

It has been a hit with every class I have used it in. Everyone loves to see how different the ads were in the 1950s. Since most companies have meeting rooms with projectors nowadays, I usually show it from there--but I've shown them direct from my laptop as well.

First, you need to download the classic TV commercials from the Prelinger Archive.

Get the videos here:
http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger_commercials

It's free to use (big plus) and may be downloaded and shown in public for educational purposes. Choose an assortment -- the Newport cigarette ads are particularly entertaining.

Next, download the PDF activity. I think it's fairly self-explanatory. You should explain to the students what they should look for with each point.

Get the PDF here:
28.08.2009 Classic TV Commercials

Enjoy the lesson!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi