(Intermediate) Get Organised with Marie Kondo

Watch:

Ellen and Ellie Get Organized with Marie Kondo

(Advanced Documentary SPIN) Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Dieter Dengler, who was born in Germany but had moved to America as a young man, loves aeroplanes and flying more than anything else, even though this passion led to an extremely harsh, half-year-long captivity. His aeroplane was shot down over Laos in 1966. In Werner Herzog’s film, Dengler relives the amazing story of his capture and escape through the jungles.

Watch:

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

(Advanced Documentary SPIN) The Doubt Machine

The Doubt Machine: Inside The Koch Brothers' War on Climate Science​

Narrated by esteemed actor Emma Thompson, ​the documentary "The Doubt Machine: Inside the Koch Brothers' War on Climate Science" reveals how the Koch Brothers have used their vast wealth to ensure the American political system takes no action on climate change​,​ ​and are​ ​attempting​ to buy the 2016 Congressional elections.

Watch:

The Doubt Machine

(Upper-Intermediate - discussion) The Big Issues

Find some of the most controversial debate topics covering a wide variety of issues ranging from politics and religion to education and society. The controversial debate topics are arranged in a pro-con format that allows keeping our debates organized and ensuring that both sides of a particular issue get equal exposure. The topics are always presented in a non-biased, equal-coverage approach.

Link here:

Big Issues

(Advanced) The Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, humourless pod people are sucking the joy out of learning, in a monotonous march towards target grades.

Read here:

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers

(Advanced) Why we aren't more compassionate?

Link to Ted Talk:

Why we aren't more compassionate

Use these notes to discuss the talk: 

a sermon topic

the parable of the Good Samaritan?

our default wiring (we automatically empathize)

a question with the word "you" in it

the Santa Cruz strangler

They're controlled by different parts of the brain

I had to turn that part of me off

a collective blind spot

the elephant in the room

The Hidden Life of Everyday Objects

electronic tagging technology

the periphery of our vision

the subway

simple act of noticing

(Upper-Intermediate) Why you think you're right — even if you're wrong

Perspective is everything, especially when it comes to examining your beliefs. Are you a soldier, prone to defending your viewpoint at all costs — or a scout, spurred by curiosity? Julia Galef examines the motivations behind these two mindsets and how they shape the way we interpret information, interweaved with a compelling history lesson from 19th-century France.

Ted Lesson here:

Why you think you're right — even if you're wrong

(Advanced) Love is Evil

Zizek on Love and everything in between in 2 minutes.

Watch
 
Love is evil

(Upper-Intermediate) Why do we love?

Ah, romantic love; beautiful and intoxicating, heart-breaking and soul-crushing... often all at the same time! If romantic love has a purpose, neither science nor psychology has discovered it yet – but over the course of history, some of our most respected philosophers have put forward some intriguing theories. Skye C. Cleary outlines five of these philosophical perspectives on why we love.

Watch:

Why do we love?

(Advanced) What is Love?

Is love a signal winding through your neural pathways? A cliche? A cult? Love is easy to compare but difficult to define, maybe because we’re fundamentally biased; we try to define love while falling in or out of it. And love feels differently to every person who feels it, but this subjective emotion has evolutionary explanations, too. Brad Troeger takes a shot at the definition of love.

Ted Lesson:

What is Love?

Super Group

 These guys are such a cool group to teach. Goodbye Belen, Nadine and P.A.. Nice to see you again Ahmed.

(Film SPIN) The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

Set in the near future, in dystopian Melbourne, Australia, The Lost Thing is a story about Shaun who enjoys collecting bottle tops for his bottle top collection. One day, while collecting bottle tops near a beach, he discovers a strange creature. A simple story well told.

Watch:

The Lost Thing

Language notes:

working t__________ on sth
a weird l______ about sth/sb
There was no d_______ sth
ask i__ sb
physical ma_______
careful ob________
controlled ex_________
nothing l___ to do but
at l_____ until
I couldn't just l_____ it
w_______ the streets
a r____ dilemma
a pigeon h___
The Federal Department of O___ and Ends
all the w___ into the city
fill in the f_____
leaving b_____
i______ looking
from t___ to time
see sth out of the c_______ of my eye
doesn't q_____ fit
s____ noticing




_____________
Check

working tirelessly on sth
a weird look about sth/sb
There was no denying sth
ask if sb
physical manifestation
careful observation
controlled experimentation
nothing left to do but
at least until
I couldn't just leave it
wandering the streets
a real dilemma
a pigeon hole
The Federal Department of Odds and Ends
all the way into the city
fill in the forms
leaving behind
important looking
from time to time
see sth out of the corner of my eye
doesn't quite fit
stop noticing


Discussion:

1. How much of the story was told with words and how much with visual action?
2. Would you have been able to follow the story with the sound turned down?
3. What musical instruments were used in the music?
4. What other noises were used - how do you think these were created?
5. Is this a sad depressing story or a whimsical happy one?