Viewing schedule for winter term 2020

Below is the list of TED talks we are going to discuss this term. The dates tell you WHEN each talk will be discussed in class. Before the lesson do these things:

1. watch the talk, preferably without looking at the transcript

2. take notes about the content (we'll discuss them in detail)

3. put down words and phrases that are a) key to discussing the topic), b) new and/or interesting

14 Sep	Tim Urban (Feb 2016) Inside the mind of a master procrastinator https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator
21 Sep	Dan Pink (Jul 2009) The puzzle of motivation https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_the_puzzle_of_motivation
28 Sep	Amy Cuddy (Jun 2012) Your body language shapes who you are https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are
5 Oct	Barry Schwartz (Jul 2005) The paradox of choice https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice
12 Oct	Michael Shermer  (Feb 2006) Why people believe weird things https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_why_people_believe_weird_things
19 Oct	Kathryn Schulz (Mar 2011) on being wrong https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong
26 Oct	Frans De Waal (Nov 2011) Moral behaviour in animals https://www.ted.com/talks/frans_de_waal_moral_behavior_in_animals
2 Nov	Dan Gilbert (Feb 2004) The surprising science of happiness https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_the_surprising_science_of_happiness
16 Nov	Hans Rosling (Feb 2006) The best stats you’ve ever seen https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen
23 Nov	Chimananda Adichie (Oct 2009) The danger of a single story https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
30 Nov	Tony Porter (Dec 2010) A call to men https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men
14 Dec	Ben Goldacre (Jul 2011) Battling bad science https://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science
21 Dec	Megan Phelps Roper (Feb 2017)  I grew up in the Westboro Baptist  Church: here’s why I left  https://www.ted.com/talks/megan_phelps_roper_i_grew_up_in_the_westboro_baptist_church_here_s_why_i_left

Blog question for 4 May

Why do people often think that the past was better than the present or future ?

Blog question for 23 April

Write a 100-word paragraph to answer this question:

What do you expect to be the most important change or development in the world in the next ten years?

Homework for end of Monday 6 Apr

Write a 100-word paragraph on your blog answering the question:
Is studying abroad a good idea?

Remember about the rules we discussed in class: stick to the topic, use a good topic sentence and a concluding sentence, link your thoughts

Homework for 1 April - not a joke!

Here are the things we agreed you'd do for Wednesday, 1 Apr:
1. on your blogs, post three words or phrases from the video on how pandemics spread with explanations and example sentences
2. find a fake story about COVID-19 epidemic (could be a really stupid or small one) and explain how you know that it is fake
3. do this exercise on indirect questions and reporting
Reporting March 2020

How pandemics spread

Watch this video about how pandemics develop and answer the questions below.
Choose three words and/or phrases from this video that you think are worth learning. Make sure you can teach the rest of us what they mean (explain the meaning, give examples, put the phrase in context).
How pandemics develop?

Questions

1.       What can the pandemic curve look like? What does the shape of the curve depend on?

2.       Why is it so important to ‘flatten the curve’?

3.       How does the metaphor with lily pads and the pond help us understand pandemics?

4.       Why do pandemics die down?

5.       How differently did Philadelphia and St Louis respond to the Spanish flu outbreak in 1918? What were the results?

The Columbian Exchange - vocabulary

Study the words and try to recall how they were used in the video.

VERBS	NOUNS	ADJECTIVES	ADVERBS
to diminish to expose sb to sth to decrease / decrease of to conquer to succumb to to starve / starvation to grow crops to breed animals to double to vaccinate sb / vaccine to wipe sth out	variation smallpox measles mumps typhus chicken pox venereal syphilis a culprit a villain malnutrition a survivor abundance of famine extinction immunity / immune an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) an STI	susceptible to infertile revolutionary demanding impoverished	continually dramatically definitely inadvertently