Five new Speaking Lessons for your Upper Intermediate students

Many students who reach higher levels of proficiency are often heading toward a standardized test such as IELTS or TOEFL. All major standardized tests consist of a speaking component.

As such, it’s vital that Upper Intermediate students learn to talk on a wide variety of issues.

When choosing topics for Off2Class Speaking Lessons, we include topics that may appear on these speaking exams. In this release for your Upper Intermediate students, we have included two topics that are of general interest to anyone living and working the 21^st century:

S416 – Working Remotely and Online

Almost everyone in the world has come into contact with computers. More and more of us use a computer on a daily basis. It is now assumed that a good education requires a young person to have excellent computer skills. The Internet has changed many industries irrevocably. More and more people are now working almost entirely online, and in growing numbers. Working remotely offers the possibility of a rewarding life away from the rat race and in casual clothing… Of course, as long as you know how to troubleshoot basic IT issues!

S417 – Working as an Expat

Expats are everywhere… living the dream. Wherever a city offers a good standard of living and high wages, you can find expats in ever-increasing numbers. Some cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai rely almost entirely on an expat population to advance the nation. London and New York attract young guns in search of money and a dynamic lifestyle. Others will choose Sydney for its laid-back outdoor lifestyle or Bangkok for its chaotic vibrancy. Since many ESL students are motivated to improve their work opportunities, this is sure to be an interesting topic for them.

Along with the general interest lessons, we’ve added three more lessons of a more controversial nature. These lessons are designed to provoke opinions and promote discussion.
As with all lessons that express divergent opinions, we remind you to be culturally sensitive and to reflect a little before launching into these lessons with your Upper Intermediate students.

S415 – Poverty

These days, all the statistics point towards a decreasing level of abject poverty in the world. As the world has become ever richer, a smaller proportion of people now live below the poverty line. However, in sheer numbers, hundreds of millions still don’t have access to adequate food or housing. Even in wealthy nations, poverty persists. This lesson looks at the causes of poverty around the world and discusses possible solutions to alleviate poverty.

S418 – Generation X

We already have lessons on the larger and noisier generations that sit either side – Baby Boomers and Millennials – so here’s a lesson on the generation between the two. Generation X, the apathetic slackers who distrusted and rejected authority, are now the entrepreneurs of the world. A generation squashed between the selfish and the narcissistic, Generation X has grown up, bringing us Google, Amazon, and Wikipedia.

S419 – Animal Rights

As the most numerous and dangerous species on the planet, humans often forget that we are just one of millions of animals that roam the planet. As more and more research appears showing that other species possess different types of intelligence to our own, animal rights is again a topic of discussion. How can it be right to keep some animals as pets, yet raise and slaughter hundreds of millions each year for our consumption? Or as superior beings, should we be allowed to act as we wish?
We hope that you enjoy using these lessons with your Upper Intermediate students, and that they help to promote lively discussions and increase fluency.

Recently we have received a number of requests from teachers for lessons on particular topics; expect to see these released in June.

As always, get in touch if you have feedback!