How strong are you?

 Which picture represents you best?

Are there any surprises in tyour VIA questionnaire?

Which strengths are you happy with?

Which would you like to develop and who is a person at the workplace you admire for them?

Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What is the main purpose of the video?

A. To argue that personal change is impossible

B. To explain the science behind developing character strengths

C. To promote specific religious virtues

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2. According to the video, character strengths are:

A. Fixed traits we inherit and can’t change

B. Psychological ingredients for virtues and goodness

C. Solely academic skills

3. How many VIA character strengths are presented?

A. 12

B. 24

C. 50

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4. What distinguishes "signature strengths" from "phasic strengths"?

A. Signature strengths are innate; phasic are learned at school

B. Signature strengths are natural, phasic appear situationally

C. There is no distinction made in the video

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5. Which premise supports the idea that character can develop over time?

A. Neural networks can grow with use and effort

B. All strengths are genetically determined

C. Once established, strengths never change

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6. The driving message behind focusing on strengths, not weaknesses, is that:

A. Deficits define our capacity for good

B. Strengths help people flourish across life situations

C. Weaknesses are more important than strengths

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7. What is a real-world implication of the video’s message?

A. We should focus exclusively on fixing faults

B. We can teach others to recognize and use their strengths

C. There's no practical application beyond theory.

LYRICS

Divergent thinking - Part 2

 Discuss with a partner

What do you do when you want to focus on smth?
How do you tune out noise when you want to concentrate?
What is somnething you find annoying?
What are some of your special or unusaul talents? Explain them to your partner.

Watch the discovery of the Microwave oven.

What do you think serendipity has to do with Percy Spencer and the microwave oven?
Do you think inventors like him think differently than other people?
Read the article to find out more

Look at the graphic and discuss with a partner
1. What happens as we get older?
2. What might be the consequences of this change, especially for the invention and discovery?
3. Do you think there is a way to increase the percentage of adults who are capable of divergent thinking?

Divergent thinking

 How do you think  the title relates to the photo (look at the capion)?

What are some things that people discover? 

How do they make this kind of discoveries?

A tourist looking out of one of the famous Gaudi Buildings in Barcelona, Spain

What do you know about the invention of the objects that you use on a daily basis?

What skills /qualities do you think an inventor and this artist have in common?

Sculpture made entirely of paper clips (Pierro d' Angelo)

Discover vocabulary

Walking to reach a high performance state!

 Have you ever counted how long you sit during the day? Milofer Merchant has! And she offers an alternative to conducting your meetings sitting down.

If you sit on your _________ all day you get to suffer.
What do you think can be the consequenses of sitting too long?

Write a habits that you would like to change. Exchange papers with a partner and ask him for three 

possible  options.

Do you agree? What expressions can you use?

Do you disagree? What expressions can you use?

PRACTICE Talking about the present 

Sort out your vocabulary

So, do you have a suggestion fot the company? Offer it now!

Leadership gender

Does leadership have a gender?

Let's start by playing  a game.

Watch the video to check your answers.

This is an interesting article

Language: Discourse markers V. U4

The Power of Introverts

Have you always sought out quiet places where you can experience the joy of deep conversation or study and focus. Have you also benefited from the buzz of conferences and family gatherings, though you seek time alone afterward to recover. If yes, you might be wondering whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.

In recent decades, a great deal of research has validated the five-factor model of personality. Often referred to as the Big Five, it breaks human personality into five broad traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Larsen et al., 2017; Cooper, 2021).

Studies have shown extraversion (also spelled extroversion) to be incredibly impactful, influencing how we handle various situations, particularly social ones. 

Recognising the characteristics

Play the game 

1. Each of the 2 teams takes up a role: Introverts, Extroverts

2. Collect the strips of paper with the characteristics that match your role

3.  Now collaborate with the other team to create pairs of opposites

4. Together, match the pairs with the situations they apply 

Are people only the one or the other?

You have 3 minutes to find the answer in this website.

Then play the game with the following Vocabulary

Stand back to back. Raise one finger if the definition you hear is right, 2 if its wrong. Turn around. If both have a correct answer, dance the "Silly Dance". If only one or no one has dance the "Yes, I'm learning dance".

Personality Traits

1. Lone wolf

2. Social butterfly

3. Wallflower

4. Life and soul of the party

5. Cold fish

6. Chatterbox

7. Go-getter

8. Tough cookie

9. Happy camper

10. Party animal

Can an introvert be a good leader?

What is your opinion?  What factors can an introvert bring to the table that are favourable to leading people?

Here is a video with Simon Sinec on this:

Now, another game to practice grammar

1. Decide whether for this game you will be an I or and E

2. Tell a story that happerned to you incorporating the characteristics that match with that role.

3. Others have to decide whether this is a Truth or a Lie.

Use Past Tenses. Start with Present PerfectQ. Others reply asking details in S. Past/ Past Perfect, etc. 

I have spoken to a Romanian person although I do not speak Romanian.

When did you meet this person?

4. You can ask up to 7 questions before you guess. The person who fools most people is the winner and gets free coffee!

Column B – Definitions

A. Someone who enjoys being with others and is very outgoing
B. A person who is quiet or shy, especially in social gatherings
C. A person who prefers to spend time alone
D. Someone who is always cheerful and content
E. A person who is emotionally distant or not very expressive
F. Someone who talks a lot
G. A highly energetic and goal-oriented person
H. The most lively and sociable person in a group
I. A person who enjoys parties and nightlife
J. Someone mentally strong and not easily discouraged

Mental Health tips in a stressed world

 How often do you feel stressed at work compared to when you are relaxed?

What do you think are your personal triggers? 

What are the effects of stress at work? 

What are some mental health tips? 

Grammar Practice

Vocabulary Practice

GAME - The desert island

Imagine you are on a cruise in the Caribbean sea and the boat has started to sink. You can only save 6 items. Be careful! The island has fresh water and coconuts but it can take weeks before another vessel comes by to rescue you!

1. Chose 6 items. Think why they are important

2. In groups, Agree on six. Discuss with arguments using some of the vocabulary in the previous activity.

3. Present to the class

Brain rot, a funky term or a real threat?

Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year is brain rot—a term once used humorously, now backed by real science.

Mindless scrolling, doomscrolling, and digital addiction are rewiring our brains for distraction, instant gratification, and cognitive decline.

Studies show excessive screen time can shrink gray matter, weaken memory, and impair decision-making.

Luckily, the brain is adaptable. 🧠

By setting boundaries, curating what you consume, and prioritizing real-world experiences, you can rewire your brain for focus, resilience, and deep thinking.

A very interesting article here.

Business life stories

  Do you enjoy telling stories? What kinds?

How important is storytelling in your culture? 

Are storytelling traditions a thing of the past or should they be preserved for future generations?

Watch Daveed Diggs acceptance speech in Tony Awards. What do you notice about his use of a story?

FOCUS ON

When telling stories, jokes, and anecdotes, Present tenses might often be used instead of past tnses. This can help the listener experience the story as it was happening right now and to them, thus making it more engaging. 

Read the following Aboriginal fable. Change the verbs to an appropriate present tense.

Rainbow Serpent: Aboriginal Story from Australia 

One day, it started to rain. And it rained like it had never rained before. Rain fell for days and days and the world was becoming flooded with water. Two young men, Bil-bil, or the Rainbow Lorikeet brothers, had no shelter, so they came to Goorialla, the Rainbow Serpent. They asked for help sheltering from the rain. The rainbow serpent was hungry and tricked the young men, '1 have no shelter, but you can hide in my mouth. You'll be safe from the rain in there.' The young men climbed into Goorialla's mouth and he closed it shut, swallowing both men. 

He soon realized that people would notice the young men missing and come looking for them. He knew they would find their tracks leading right into his mouth. He didn't want to be caught and so decided to hide in the only place he knew he would be safe: the sky. He saw people's sadness at losing these two young men, so he decided to try and make them happy again by turning his body into big arc of beautiful colours. 

Now, just after it rains, you can see the Rainbow Serpent sharing his beautiful colours with the people on the ground as his way of saying sorry for taking those Rainbow Lorikeet brothers.

 VOCABULARY

OWN IT!
Now, using the tips we explored today, turn your childhood story into an inspirational one to promote your company's message.

Saving space

 What do you do to save space at home or at the office?

People can become very creative when they are pressed to find space.

For example, in this famous Bangkok market, Medlong, stall owners are required to move out of the way to let trains get through! Shoppers must stand to the one side to let train the pass. 

  

Read  these other ingenious solutions:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each space-saving solution?

Could any work in your town or city? Why?

Which would you be happy to experience?

LANGUAGE: Causative Verbs

Practice more here

It must have been invented by....

 When and where do you think there were invented?

brain surgery, concrete, eye make-up, water sanitation systems

Read the text and check your predictions

Which information did you find the most surprising? 

How certain is it that the sentences are true? 

Write certainly true (CT), possibly true (PT) or certainly not true (NT). 

1 Egyptians invented make-up.  

2 Both men and women in ancient Egypt wore make-up. 

3. Our ancestors knew about bacteria. 

4. It was a bad idea to perform brain surgery.

5. Roman concrete was good as modern concrete. 

6. Roman concrete was very strong. 

7 The people in the Indus valley were safe from dangerous diseases. 

Find the sentences in the text that told you the answers to Exercise 3. Match the modal structures with their meaning (1-4). Then read the Grammar box to check. 

1 It's very probable or certain that something happened 

2 It's quite possible that something happened. 

3 It's impossible that something happened. 

4 It was wrong to do something. 

GRAMMAR Speculating about the past 

You can talk about possibility and certainty in the X past using the structure: modal verb have X past participle. 

• Use must have if it's very probable or certain that something happened. 

Some of these operations must have been successful. 

• Use may have or might have if it's possible that something happened. 

Egyptians may/might have been the first to use make-up. 

• Use can't/couldn't have if it's impossible that something happened. 

Roman concrete can't have been as strong as modern concrete. 

• Use should/shouldn'"t have to talk about mistakes or express criticism. 

They shouldn't have been doing surgery then.

Practice

Convincing someone who questions the evidence

 DISCUSSION

1. Think of a time when you were trying to convince someone of your point of view. Work in pairs to discuss the questions. How did you try to convince them? Did you 

• appeal to their emotions
• appeal to their logical reasoning
• tell personal anecdotes 
• quote scientific evidence

2. Did you manage to convince them? What happened?

B. Do you know the story of the atheist and the priest? Let's watch a video to find out why persuading people of something against their convictions is so hard.

 

 

C. Which of these things do you naturally do when you have conversations with people who don't share your point of view? Which of these things do you need to work on? 

Can you think of examples of confirmation bias that you've seen? What role do you think media plays in encouraging confirmation bias?

2 What are some common beliefs that you share with your friends or family? Have you  met people with different beliefs from you? What happened? What are the benefits of having to convert people who have different beliefs from you?

COMMUNICATION SKILL 

Convincing someone who questions the evidence In order to make someone more likely to want to listen to - and believe - your evidence, try to do the following 

1 Listen carefully and with respect. 

2 Show that you understand their opinions. 

3 Help them feel secure about their identity. 

4 Have a collaborative discussion. 

5 Encourage scientific curiosity.

6 Keep the tone of the interaction positive

D. Look at the boxes. What are the people's beliefs? Why do you think they are resistant to anyone trying to convince them otherwise?

Useful language  Trying to convince someone 

Showing you understand their opinions

 I can see why you might think that. 

I get that this is really important to you 

Keeping the discussion collaborative

Like you, I just want to find out more. 

Do you get where l'm coming from? 

Encouraging a scientific curiosity 

Let's see if we can find some scientific evidence to back this up. 

I always think it's worthwhile finding out what the research says about it.

E. OWN IT! Work in pairs.

Roleplay the from Exercise D, using the Communication and Useful language to help you. Try to persuade each other of your point of view. Take turns to be the one who doesn't believe the evidence . 

Practice vocabulary here.

A natural or a hard worker?

 What have the masters achieved? To what extent are their achievements due to natural talent or hard work in your opinion? 

 

So how did Judith become so good ____chess?

She had a long-term commitment _____ becoming the best.

So, from a very early age, she focused ____ the game and pracised.

Where do Stephen's amazing abilities stem ___?

Already as a child, he had a passion ____ drawing.

Practice prepositions

https://create.kahoot.it/share/prepositions-advanced/20ca120f-311c-4ae7-a6f9-30c426e8afb5

Circle all the /dj/, /tj/ and /sh/ sounds in the tongue twisters (1-8). 

Practise saying the tongue twisters in pairs. 

1. I'm sure 1 saw Sheila selling seashells on the seashore, but I can't be sure she sold seashore shells. 

2. Julia, George, Jean and Joan joyfully jumped down the jagged hill. 

3. Chester the Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap cheddar cheese. 

4. Fresh fried fish, 

Fish fresh fried, 

Fried fish fresh, 

Fish fried fresh. 

5. If a dog chooses to chew shoes, whose shoes does he choose to chew? 

6. Jenny just got jeans and a jacket for graduation in June or July. 

7. Jump then touch your chin, jaw and cheek. 

Jump then touch your jaw, cheek and chin. 

Jump then touch your cheek, chin and jaw. 

8. She saw Shirley's shoes on the sofa, but was she so sure she saw Shirley's shoes on the sofa? 

B Discuss the questions in pairs.

1. Which of these sounds exist in your language?

2. Which of these tongue twisters did you find the most challenging? Why? 

3. Did you find any of these tongue twisters easy? Which, and why? 

YOUR TURN

Find a person you know for being a master in his domain (business, sports, etc). Prepare to talk about them using the words from the exercise above and the vocabulary of the lesson.