Improve your Speaking online in our Episode 23:

This week we bring new current topics in Episode 23 so you can improve your online speaking from home.

Topic 1: Halloween

«The origins of the festivity»

Halloween hasn’t always been about trick or treating! Did you know where the tradition comes from?

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

1. Do you celebrate Halloween?
2. Have you ever gone trick-or-treating? Has anyone trick-or-treated you?
   
3. Did you know about the origins of the festivity?
4. Is Halloween popular where you live?
5. Have you ever carved a pumpkin? How did it go?

Here we leave you some vocabulary you can use during the talk: 

• Spooky: scary, frightening
  
• Thrill: a strong sense of excitement
  
• Disguise: To dress as someone or something else, imitating them
  
• Worship: Religious adoration
  
• Pastries: Food made with dough (a mix of flour, water, and sometimes other ingredients)
  
• Carving: shaping something using a knife or similar tools
  
• Night watchman: a person patrolling around town during the night, similar to a police officer
  

Topic 2: Brazilian elections and the Amazon rainforest

«Deforestation is a global problem»

Lula da Silva won after some very close elections. Will this change anything?

 We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

1. Did you know about the elections on the past October 30th?
2. Do you think «fake news» had an impact on the result of the elections?
3. Why is keeping the Amazon rainforest protected important to everyone?
4. Should other countries have a say in the actions regarding the Amazon?
5. Do you think the new president will do a good job at protecting the rainforest?

Here we leave you some vocabulary you can use during the talk:

• sue: to take legal actions against someone and bring them to court
  

• freak (someone) out: to greatly scare someone

• billion: (English speaking countries): one thousand millions / (Other countries): one million millions
  

• gutted : to massively hurt someone, leaving them helpless
  

• hall pass: permission
  
• levy: to collect money by legal authority
  
• logger: a person who cuts down trees
  

• onslaught: a massacre, an especially fierce attack
  

• have a say: to have a right to your opinion being listened to and taken into account
  

Topic 3: Work from home

«Is this the new work revolution?»

Remote work grew with the pandemic. Will it last?

 We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

1. Do you prefer working from home or in the office? Why?
2. What are some advantages of remote work over in-office work?
3. Should companies compensate workers for their daily commute?
4. Should more companies start implementing remote work?
5. Do you think remote work is a fad, or is it here to stay?

Here we leave you some vocabulary you can use during the talk:

• Shifts: changes

• Silver lining: the good side of an overall bad situation
  

• White-collar (worker): an administrative/office worker
  

• Blue collar (worker): a manual worker, such as janitors, plumbers, or factory line employees
  

• Survey: a poll, a series of questions offered to many people in order to gather data
  

• Entice: to seduce, to tempt someone
  

• Commute: The trip from home to the workplace, and from the workplace to home
  

• Spotty (connection): a bad internet connection that doesn’t always work
  

• Fad: A fashion, something that will go away after some time
  

• Leverage: negotiating power, an advantage over someone that can be used in your benefit
  

Topic 4: Free topic

Do you find these topics boring or uninteresting? Don’t worry. Dilo gives you the opportunity to choose your own topic for a conversation class.

Think of some vocabulary you would like to learn related to your topic and send us some information about it with the subject «Free topic». We are certain your ideas will be great! 😁.

This is the end of Episode 23. See you on the next one!

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