Toxic bosses

Watch this video presentation by Annie McKee on Toxic Bosses.

  
After watching the video, detect phrasal verbs and discuss their meaning. Debate her ideas in class: what makes a good person a bad boss? Is that combination possible? Why?

American versus British politeness

Watch this TED video presentation where lecturer Lynne Murphy talks about what politeness means for British and Americans, and why this can create miscommunication across those cultures.

After watching the video discuss this in class:
- Try to recall idiomatic expressions Lynne Murphy uses which include the word "face". Think of other expressions with the same word.
- Which is Lynne Murphy´s conclusion about who is more polite, Americans or British? Why?
- What´s the implicit difference in meaning for "I love..." and "Thank you" for British and American people?

A job Interview

Listen, read, and do a comprehension exercise with this activity by BBC: At a job interview.

After reading and listening answer these questions:
- Which are good ways of giving a positive image in a job interview?
- Which expressions are useful in this context?

A pay rise, by BBC

How to ask for a pay rise in English, in a lesson by BBC which includes listening, reading and a comprehension exercise.

How to make great presentations... in English!

Click here to find a very good Slideshare presentation on how to plan and give presentations in English.

Polite invitations, by BBC

Click here to read, listen and practise ways of making polite invitations, by BBC.

Checking someone is not busy

Are you free on Friday? Are you busy on Friday? What are you doing on Friday?

Would you like...?
Would you like	...a chocolate bar?
	...to come to my house for dinner?

I wondered / was wondering
I wondered	...if you'd like to come to my house for dinner
I was wondering

Other expressions

I would very much like it if you could come along Shall I bring a bottle?

Can I ...? Could I ...? Asking for permission

Read the following table with ways of asking for permission. You can also listen to the lesson and download the script from the BBC by clicking here.

5 things successful people do before 8 in the morning.

Read this article which explores five things that successful people do early in the morning. Enjoy.

After reading the article:
- Do you follow any of these tips?
- Which idea is the best for you?
- Make a list with expressions which appear in the text to discuss in class.

Marilyn Monroe and cosmetic surgery

Read this short report by BBC and watch the BBC video about Marilyn Monroe´s secret plastic surgery.

 

After watching the video report by BBC:
- When and why did Marilyn Monroe contact a plastic surgeon?
- The reporter says "Marilyn Monroe was always cutting edge." What does he mean?
- What´s going to happen with the medical records? What is "to go under the hammer?"

Introductions

Listen to different people from different countries talking about themselves and their nationalities.

Free Online Course on Leadership

The free online course "Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence" by Richard Boyatzis from Case Western Reserve University will be offered on the Coursera platform. The course starts on 28th October, 2013.

There will be video lectures to watch, material to read, forums to discuss ideas with people from all over the world and assignments and evaluations to assess your progress. A very good experience; enjoy!

Crime and Police

Click here to practice vocabulary and do some listening on police and crime.

Pay attention to this listening exercise, and this one too. There are many good things on the link. Enjoy.