Sunday, January 31, 2010

SESSION 14: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

SESSION 14: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK

2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION

2.1 PLEASURES: Do these things make you happy? Try to think why they are pleasant to you, what you personally get with these things:

  • Computers
  • English
  • Trains
  • TV
  • Mobile phones
  • Restaurants

Think of six unpleasant things and why they don´t make you happy.

2.2 RANKING: Which of these are best for you? Why?

  • sleeping
  • catching up with old friends
  • reading books
  • popping bubble wrap
  • finding money in your pocket
  • cuddling loved ones
  • crying with laughter
  • standing in a fast-moving queue

2.3 PLEASURE DISCUSSION: Here are some questions you can try asking yourself before you come to our discussion on Wednesday:
a) What did you think when you read the headline?
b) What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘sleeping’?
c) After reading this article, what is your greatest pleasure in life?
d) Has your greatest pleasure changed since you were a child?
e) Do you think people’s common pleasures are the same all over the world?
f) How important is cuddling people to you?
g) When was the last time you cried with laughter?
h) How does catching up with old friends make you feel?
i) What goes through your mind when you have to wait a long time in a queue?
j) Why do people like popping bubble wrap?

k) Do you think people will find different things pleasurable in the future?
l) What are the little things that brighten up your life?
m) What things do you love that don’t need money?
n) What’s the best way to cheer you up if you have a bad day?
o) What pleasure do you give other people?
p) Do you like curling up on the sofa with a good book?
q) When was the last time you paid someone a compliment?

PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:


THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:
FIRST
, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.
SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.
THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT.


FINAL TASK:


HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.


Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 14, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions.Choose one of the following topics:

  • Write a composition including the words: 'Great' and 'Pleasure'
  • Express your opinion: 'Sleeping is life´s greatest pleasure.'

1 comment:

  1. Talking in a philosophical way, a very important philosopher thought pleasure is in connexion with pain, so if you feel a strong pain and this pain suddenly disappears then you feel a great pleasure. As other issues it looks there are always two opposite poles, which despite being different, need one another.

    Talking in a practical way, many of the spots that British have chosen are a pleasure for me but I am going to speak about some of my favourites:

    - Sleeping: It has two faces, the first one is good because when you feel very tired you enjoy staying in bed for hours and the second is not so good because it is a way to avoid starting a routine and hard day.

    - Eating: I love near every kind of food, but when you are eating accompanied for friends or your lover, it can be marvellous. The bad part of it is the next day when you feel heartburn and hangover.

    - Loving: Nothing give me more pleasure than that sensation that you feel when you are sure someone else is happy because of you or when you feel happy because someone else, in a physical way too.

    Sorry it is time to go to sleep, what a great pleasure!

    ReplyDelete