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Improve your Speaking online Episode 2, Introduction:

This week we bring new current topics in Episode 2 so you can improve your online speaking from home.

 

Topic 1: Self defense 👊

«Keeping women safe: Self defense classes and firearm courses available and necessary»

Women’s interest for self defense increases.

Episode 2
Article

Keeping women safe: Self defense classes and firearm courses available and necessary

Every day women fear for their life whether they are in a life-threatening altercation or not.

A mugging, home-invasion, potential assault or domestic violence event are only a speck of the situations where self defense training could come into play as a weapon.

«More of my self defense is going to the range,» said Talina Massey, information technology administrator at Brain Tap Technologies, Marine veteran and involved leader/activist in the New Bern surrounding area. «I actually am a concealed carry owner.»

Close to half, 42.2%, of females own firearms in the nation, according to the 2021 National Firearms Survey. A switch from the male-dominated ownership of guns.

More women are also interested or taking self defense classes for several reasons, which sometimes are not even from personal experiences.

«I do have more women taking self defense classes,» said Nicholas Walters, owner of Walters Jiu Jitsu who teaches Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and self defense. «I have some that do it for anxiety and others for better awareness and to learn how to defend themselves if issues do arise.»

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More: 52 Faces of Community: Talina Massey

Massey said she goes to the shooting range because not only is it her right to bear arms, but with being known for community activism, not everyone agrees with her beliefs.

«It’s scary nowadays to even share your ideals whether it’s politics or religion with people,» she said. «You just don’t know how people are going to react or how they’re going to judge you.»

Massey said people who are involved in the same interest as her receive threats online which sometimes escalate to death threats.

«You feel like a target when you’re in your community or you’re advocating for something that you believe in, which you shouldn’t feel that way,» she said. «You have to protect yourself and you have to be prepared for almost every instance.»

Often times, Massey goes to people’s homes or businesses for work when it is dark and she does not feel comforted, especially being a female.

«I no longer feel safe just by myself as a woman to go do a consultation,» Massey said. «First because of COVID, but second because of the looks, the stares, the sundown town (all-white community) atmosphere that I feel when I’m there.»

Walters said he’s seen a huge increase in women interested in self-defense classes after COVID first broke out. He has about 10 females that train with him on a regular basis and up to four new students a week.

Why do women feel unsafe?

Massey said there are three common stories women come to her about when asking for advice about taking a form of self defense.

The first is political affiliation. People in the public eye are sometimes scared to express how they feel openly without having a target on their backs.

Second, is bullying, specifically cyberbullying. Though this is a not a situation where physical defense has to be used, if they see the person in public, some sort of negative exchange will happen, Massey said.

Last, domestic violence. Often times women could be in a situation with their parent or significant other at home and not feel safe.

«COVID definitely has exacerbated some of those problems,» Massey said. «Especially with us staying home more often. I never felt the need to feel more secure… than I have right now.»

What is taught in self-defense classes?

Walters said self defense classes with jiu-jitsu incorporated are better for smaller, weaker people to take advantage.

«We do sparring (fighting) after every class and it’s always great to see the smaller person or females escape bigger, stronger men,» he said. «Something that is actually helping and benefiting them in real-life situations.»

Women also learn how to get out of a situation if someone is in their guard, or may be wrapped around their leg. They even have to get out of movements where someone is on top of them and try to escape.

«A lot of the self defense I do is private lessons and we do a lot of stand ups,» Walter said. «Say someone tries to grab you from behind, we have the female make themselves heavy and try to escape from that.»

Massey and Walters both agree that feeling more secure by taking some form of self defense is good for people mentally.

«I think everybody should take self defense classes,» Walters said. «It’s better awareness of their body and mind and helps them in day to day life situations.»

«It (feeling secure) is definitely a slice of our mental health pie,» Massey said. «The more secure we feel to go about our day and live out our freedoms that we feel we have on being American citizens, I think that definitely leads to a peace of mind.»

 

 

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1. Do you think everyone should learn self-defense?
  2. Would you say that self defense is equally important for men and women?
  3. Do you sometimes feel unsafe, too? Why?
  4. Let’s say somebody is teasing you. Would you confront that person or would you ignore him/her?
  5. And now imagine you are an expert on self-defense and a person with a knive wants to steal your wallet. Would you risk your life for your wallet?

 

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

  • To advocate: To promote an idea.
  • To ravish: To have forced sex.
  • To flee: To escape.
  • Hold: A wrestling technique to immobilize your oponent.
  • Mugging: A robbery.
  • Hot-headed: A person who gets angry easily.
  • To exacerbate: To make things worse
  • To turn a blind eye to sth: To pretend something bad has not happened.

Topic 2: Sign language 🙌

«Top 5 reasons everyone should learn sign language»

Sign language is more and more popular nowadays, and this article gives you 5 reasons to learn it.

Episode 2
Article
  1. To Communicate with Millions of People. The most obvious reason to learn Sign Language and the reason that motivates millions of people worldwide is that it is the best way to communicate with the deaf and hearing impaired. But did you realize, just how many people worldwide are hearing impaired? Over 5% of the world’s population or 466 million people has disabling hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children). It is estimated that by 2050 over 900 million people – or one in every ten people – will have disabling hearing loss. Currently, in the USA, American Sign Language is the 4th most used language.
  2. It Makes You Smarter. Learning Sign Language provides all the same benefits of learning a foreign language. Bilingualism of any languages (whether signed or spoken) is a great brain booster. It strengthens cognitive function and reasoning, increases memory, attention span, creativity and communication skills. Studies show that bilingual students score higher on standardized tests than monolingual students and secondary language immersion contributes to increased IQ in students.Furthermore, Sign Language can be easier to learn than other spoken languages not only for the hearing impaired but also for people with autism, dyslexia and other learning differences.
  3. It Gives You A Superpower: Expanded Vision. Sign language provides all the benefits of bilingualism but also bimodalism as well. Bimodal, that is using visual-spatial medium, expands your visual-perceptual skills: spatial awareness, mental rotation skill, visual sensitivity, and more! Sign language helps to develop small motor skills because of the dexterity required for communicating with hand gestures. Relying on a different sense to communicate exercises your peripheral vision and trains you to become more aware of your environment.
  4. It Makes Children Smarter And Better Behaved Sign language is a great way to bond and communicate with pre-verbal children and it benefits impact children of all ages. Recent research confirms that signing boosts babies vocabulary and mental development, and helps to reduce childhood tantrums while deepening the parent-child relationship. Children that learn to sign gain all the benefits of being bilingual and a few extras including being better spellers and readers. Research shows that children who learn basic sign language skills (such as American Sign Language – ASL) have improved spelling skills. Signing helps to give kids another tool for remembering spelling words and leaves a larger imprint on the brain. Our muscles have their own mini-memories, so when we add signing a word to orally spelling the word, it makes it easier to remember.
  5. Because It’s Beautiful and Fascinating. Sign language is, in fact, not one universal language but many different languages — as many as 300 worldwide. The exact number of sign languages is not known as different countries have different forms of sign language which are still developing and changing over time. Interestingly enough, there are even different dialects and accents within a specific country. In the USA for example, we all know that people in Philadelphia speak with a distinctive Philly accent but did you know Philadelphians converse in their own sign language dialect? Philadelphia is known for having one of the most distinctive regional sign language accents and it resembles French Sign Language roots more closely than American Sign Language (ASL).

Sign Language– and all its variations worldwide are filled with a fascinating and rich history. It is a beautiful language that is unique, graceful and filled with expression. Whatever version or specific sign language you want to learn, Eurekly is here to match you with your perfect tutor.

Start learning today and book a trial lesson with our fantastic Sign Language tutors!

 

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1.  Is there another reason why people should learn Sign Language?
  2. If you lost your hearing, how would you feel?
  3. Are you interested in learning Sign Language? Why or why not?
  4. What do you think when you see someone speaking Sign Language?
  5. Sometimes deafs can’t follow hearers’ conversation. What would you do to avoid this situation?

 

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

  • Dexterity: Skill in using the hands.
  • Hearing impaired: Partially deaf
  • Hearing aid: A device that allows someone to hear.
  • Tokenism: A useless symbolic effort.
  • Thoughtful: Kind
  • To alienate sb: To marginalize somebody.
  • Deaf: Someone who has lost partially or completely the capacity of hearing.
  • To put yourself in someone’s shoes: To imagine yourself in another person’s circumstances.

Topic 3: Podcast 🎧  🎙

«A Joyful Noise»

This podcast discusses about how music releases our stress.

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1. What type of music do you listen to release your stress?
  2. Is there any genre or artist that causes the opposite effect?
  3. What other methods to release stress do you practice?
  4. What is your favourite way of relaxing?
  5. What methods supposedly effective don’t work on you?

 

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

  • Stereo: A piece of equipment for producing sound.
  • Carefree: With no worries.
  • To ponder: To meditate
  • To lie down: To recline.
  • Nap: A brief period of sleep.
  • Jogging: Running
  • Hiking: A long walk.
  • To let your hair down: To relax and enjoy yourself.

Topic 4: Video 🎥

«Marketing Strategy VS Marketing Tactics (What’s The Difference?)»

Adam Erhart explains the difference between marketing strategy and marketing tactics so we can understand why a particular company succeeds or fails.

 

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1.  According to the speaker, strategy is what really marks the success of a company and things like blogs or social media are just tools. Would you say that «tools» are equally important as strategy or do you agree with him?
  2. Can you think of one example of an effective marketing strategy? Please, try to describe it along with the marketing tactics the company used.
  3. Nowadays some programming production companies like Netflix use inclusiveness to attract clients. What is your opinion about this strategy?
  4. Do you think that using social media is essential to sell a product?
  5. What do you think it is essential to succeed in the market?

 

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

  • Investment: The spending of money to get profits
  • To forecast sth: To predict something.
  • To enhance: To improve.
  • False advertising: A promotion containing false features of products to sale.
  • Bankruptcy: The state of a company when it is ruined.
  • Sponsor: A person who supports the cost of an organization.
  • Bait: Something tempting to attract people or animals
  • To put sth on the map: To make something popular.

Topic 5: Memes 🤣

«Why do people love memes so much?»

These are the 3 main reasons why memes are so important in our culture.

Article

Why Do People Love Memes So Much?
Content may be the fuel that powers the internet, but memes send it into overdrive. Memes are so pervasive that getting through the day without encountering one is almost unthinkable, and their appeal is global. Of course, memes existed before the internet, as the word simply refers to a piece of culture that is transferred from person to person, but online memes have come to dominate the definition. So, why do memes resonate so universally, and why can’t you resist clicking on them? It’s all about being in the know.

Memes are the digital versions of inside jokes.
Being part of an inside joke is a confirmation of social acceptance. Your knowledge of a shared joke makes you part of a specific community and ties you together with the other people who are in on it. Memes are the digital version of that feeling. When you see and share a meme, you’re taking part in an inside joke on a much larger scale. When the meme you share gets shared again and again among your social group, it’s a reconfirmation of your place within your community. Memes offer a little bit of human connection in the digital realm, which can otherwise feel cold and isolating, just like an inside joke can in offline world.

Memes tap into your cultural knowledge.
Not everyone understands every meme that crosses their social media pages. Understanding a meme requires you to have a certain amount of cultural knowledge, and often, it requires you to have knowledge of obscure pop culture references. When people understand a meme, it confirms that they’re hip to the references. There is an in-crowd appeal to memes that boosts people’s confidence in their cool factor when they get the joke.

Memes let people ease the tension.
Memes frequently address topics that are difficult to discuss. Political disagreements, social pressures, and major societal changes can be tackled in memes in a way that makes a point while still eliciting a laugh. People revel in memes that put into words the way they feel about things and that challenge them to think about issues in new ways.

Harnessing the power of social media can help your company connect with customers in new ways that resonate with your market and that set you apart. Let Pennington Creative craft an industry-specific social media marketing plan for your business that speaks in your voice and connects you to community influencers. Visit our website today to learn more about our digital content creation services and how we can take your online presence to the next level.

 

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1.  Some people discovered memes because of friends, others came across them while surfing. How about you?
  2. The article explains that memes gain access to a person’s cultural knowledge. Do you think they give people cultural knowledge, too? Why?
  3. Tell me about some of your favourite memes.
  4. Is there a meme channel you follow? Tell me about it.
  5. Can you see memes as a funny way to learn English?

 

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

  • To go viral: To become increasingly popular
  • Hillarious: Very funny
  • To surf: To navigate through Internet.
  • Inside joke: A private joke.
  • Naughty joke: A sexual joke.
  • To tap into: To gain access.
  • To splilt your sides: To laugh so hard that your body is shaking
  • To jump on the bandwagon: To do something because it is in fashion.

Topic 6: Sport ⚽️

«Ronald Koeman Fired As Barcelona Manager After Less than 2 Seasons»

Koeman fired after the worst beginning of Barcelona in years.

Episode 2
Article
Barcelona announced the firing of manager Ronald Koeman on Wednesday following a 1-0 loss to Rayo Vallecano, a result that dropped them to ninth on La Liga’s table with just 15 points from 10 matches.

Per the club’s statement, «Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva. FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the Club and wishes him all the best in his professional career.»

Barcelona’s struggles this season has extended beyond La Liga play. The team is also third in its Champions League group, with just three points in three games, behind Bayern Munich (nine points) and Benfica (four points).

Last season was a disappointment as well. Barcelona finished third in La Liga behind rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid and was eliminated from the Champions League in the Round of 16, though they did win the Copa del Rey.

But major changes to Barcelona’s roster—most notably the exit of superstar Lionel Messi—left the proud Catalan giants in something of a disarray. Koeman was unable to steer that wayward ship into calmer waters.

The 58-year-old should land on his feet, however, after an extensive managerial career that has included stops at Ajax (2001–05), Benfica (2005-06), Valencia (2007-08), Southampton (2014-16), Everton (2016-17) and the Dutch national team (2018-20), among others.

With his sacking, the next major question will be who Barcelona hires as his replacement. Amongst the candidates appear to be River Plate’s Marcelo Gallardo, former Barcelona superstar and current Al Sadd manager Xavi and Belgium national team manager Roberto Martinez.
Getting this hire right is crucial for a Barcelona club that has continued to move in the wrong direction in recent years. Nobody expected a post-Messi world to be an easy adjustment. It takes a village to replace the GOAT.

But Barcelona have fallen on harder times than expectations at the club will allow. Koeman bears the brunt of that responsibility for now, but if an incoming manager struggles to move this current group of players in the right direction, the gaze of accountability may focus higher up the food chain.

 

We will focus the conversation on the following questions:

  1. Would you say that everything is Koeman’s fault? Why?
  2. Do you think that it would have been different if Messi had stayed in Barcelona?
  3. Why does everyone usually blame the trainer when the team goes bad?
  4. Do you remember another case where a football trainer was fired in a few months?
  5. What future do you expect for Barcelona?

 

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

  • In disarray: In chaos.
  • Ultra: An extreme fan of a football team.
  • Workout: A session of practice to improve one’s physical ability.
  • Roster: A list of people.
  • Former: ancient, earlier.
  • To suspend: To temporarily keep a person or a group out of a team, school, organization, competition, etc.
  • Bungling: Someone lacking qualification to do sth.
  • To suck at sth: To be very bad at doing something.

Topic 7: Free topic

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

Think about 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 sure your ideas will be very good 😁