Toxic - Social media
Dec 28 2022
Toxic – social media

Toxic is a One2one Academy conversation-based podcast about the impact of social media on society. Learn how to express yourself in English.

Toxic - Social media.
Toxic

Podcast

The world has experienced a dramatic change over the years in terms of the impact of social media. Some say that the younger generation is slowly losing their social skills and that we have passed the point of no return.


This aptly named podcast refers to social media’s impact on our society. So, if you are studying English as a second language, then the first thing you should do is research this topic. Finding new phrases and words that can be used to express an opinion is critical to improving your conversation skills. 

Toxic

Statements

There are plenty of resources online; perhaps that’s a great place to start. Let me introduce some statements to think about at this stage.

  1. Children’s communication skills have evolved and are now more efficient and effective.
  2. There is a divide between how the younger and older generations use social media.
  3. Social media has created a wealth of new types of jobs that have contributed to stronger global economies.
  4. The education sector has benefited from how social media is used. 
  5. Social media platforms are contributing towards stronger relationships between friends and family members. 

Expressing an opinion on topics with more than one point of view will help you improve your conversation skills. I have mentioned a few alternative forms you can use in other podcasts. 

Interaction

I wanted to focus on how people interact when they speak to each other. Firstly it would be strange not to give a signal that we are listening to someone. By a signal, I mean some form of sound or, indeed, a sentence to at least acknowledge that you are in a conversation.

This can vary in response, but for now, here are a few different ways that we use when conversing:

  1. That’s interesting
  2. I see
  3. Hmm 

You can use many more, but they are considered indicators that you are listening and participating in a conversation. Unfortunately, many students wait to be asked a question rather than ask questions. This can be a fatal mistake since asking questions will help to promote or extend a conversation with someone. Therefore, introducing some questions is good practice to prompt a response.

Voice Tones 

The impact of voice tones can indicate emotional content. For example, a louder voice could mean aggression or how strongly you feel about something, whereas a softer voice could be considered more empathic.

On the one hand, learning how to apply voice tones to influence meaning in English is a skill. On the other hand, it will take some time to perfect, so don’t get frustrated and keep practising. 

English exams

If you are taking an exam in English, then you should consider some of these styles of questions:

  1. How has the use of social media changed in the last five years?
  2. Which platforms do you use and why?
  3. How often do you post something on a platform?
  4. In your opinion, what types of new jobs have been created directly from social media?
  5. Do you think that how we buy products and services is impacted by social media? Why?
  6. How have you personally benefited from social media? Why?
  7. Is social media considered a babysitter for the younger generation? Why?
  8. Do you believe that social media is now a key influencer in the business sector? Why?

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Guide - Road Map. An image depicting arrows in different directions.
Dec 6 2022
Guide – Road Map

This post is a guide to explain how we work, the rules we have and how to access all our learning tools.

Guide – Road Map

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Guide - Road Map
Guide – Road Map

If you have booked a class, you must appreciate that your tutor has prepared materials and organised their classes. However, you must show up to avoid being charged. If you are late for class, we only wait a maximum of 15 minutes, after which you will be charged.
You can manage your classes by creating a password and signing into the calendar. Class times can be changed, but you can only cancel a class 24 hours in advance. Therefore, we suggest you book all your class times and manage them in the calendar app.

Our full terms and conditions can be found by clicking here.

SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDE

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. We also have a closed Facebook group if you are taking an English exam; however, you need to be a one2one student to join.

PODCASTS

We use three platforms to promote our podcasts. Below you will find all the players. We publish our homework on these platforms, so make sure you join us. They are a free resource for you to use.

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Dec 2 2022
Property ownership – shades of red

A podcast based on the concept of property ownership. This is a conversation class lesson plan aimed at an intermediate level.

The world seems to be a smaller place. Yet, an overwhelming school of thought believes property ownership is still high on the wish list for most.

Shades of red - podcast about property ownership

Property

The world seems to be a smaller place. Yet, an overwhelming school of thought believes home ownership is still on a high list of priorities. The best investment is buying a property.

Buying a property is more of an investment, a safe and calculative place to store money. However, others believe it’s risky to place all your money in one place. What do you think and why?

Before you answer this question, consider that there are different forms of expressing yourself in English. The form “I think” is undoubtedly the most common, but there are other forms that you should consider, such as “In my opinion” and “I strongly believe”. Each carries a different degree of how strongly you feel about a topic. Try various forms so that you can practice.

Topping up a pension fund

The next question is based on a pension. Research over many decades has shown that investing in a property is a great way to top up a pension fund. This can often provide enhanced security in preparation for retirement. Do you agree or disagree, and why?

It’s an intriguing concept since some of us live for now, and some want to think about the future. Try and use examples from your personal experience with this topic. Often using examples can help you to express an opinion.

Renting a property

Renting a property is more flexible. This could be true post-Pandemic, as working from home can mean travelling expenses to and from work are no longer significant considerations.

Is flexibility in terms of settling in an area or scaling up to a larger property when you have more money or scaling down when you don’t important?

Property status in society

Our place in society is measured by the location of a property and its size. Status is a consideration. It displays wealth and success. But is this not the point of owning a property, and why?

Try and expand your answers. It will help you to show the depth of your grammar and demonstrate how strongly you feel about a topic.

Property equity release

Turning some of the property into a cash fund can seem attractive to some, although there is a risk that it can block the sale of a house. Nevertheless, it can make all the difference the older you get. So what do you think and why?

Equity release is only available in some countries, and various forms of this banking product exist. I have placed a link in the text that may help you research this topic if you are unfamiliar with it.

Asking questions

Students often become accustomed to answering questions, but there is cause to encourage a flow of questions both ways. Asking questions help with interaction and is good practice to ask questions.

Getting used to question formats will increase your confidence, listening and comprehension skills, and grammar depth.

Well, that’s all the time we have for today. I hope that you enjoyed this class. Please remember to like and share, and look out for more one2one podcasts on Spotify, Apple and Google. 

Thanks for listening and till next time, bye for now.

This Podcast is called Shades Of Red. Ideal for students learning English as a second language, I will talk about the concept of home ownership. Aimed at an intermediate level, some thought proking questions will require you to express yourself in English as a second language.

For more information about one2one online courses, please visit our website- www.one2oneacademy.com

Podcast production – One2one podcasts

Presenter – Sanj Saigal

Instagram – @one2one_academy

Facebook – learnenglishonline001

Established in 2011

All rights reserved.

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Nov 29 2022
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY-IELTS

Alternative energy is a highly controversial topic. Given its significance to a global society, it is popular with English exam boards.

Alternative energy – IELTS

Alternative energy should be on your radar when preparing for an exam. It’s very popular because it requires a stronger opinion in the English language rather than softer topics like friendship.

Alternative energy - IELTS
Alternative energy – IELTS

Podcast

Alternative energy transcript

Thanks for joining me for this IELTS writing task based on alternative energy.

There are many resources online. The internet will provide you with a wealth of information. However, there can often be too much information, so you should research and find things you can easily digest, write and speak about.

You may have noticed that I just mentioned speaking. This type of content applies to every area of an English exam. So be prepared to practice the topic of alternative energy in all formats.

Knowing how to turn your weaknesses into strengths can become more challenging if you are home studying. However you can achieve it, but you need to keep at it, and it will be a much longer route to take, so make sure you allow for that in your study plan.

WRITING TASK

Now to the task at hand, I will give you an essay assignment to do for your homework this week. It is set at a general level and Written in an IELTS-styled format, you will have forty minutes to complete it, and you must write a minimum of 250 words.

Here is your task:

Some people believe that investment into alternative energy infrastructure is necessary to future-proof our planet. Others believe that as a global society, we should modify our energy consumption to achieve the same result.

Write an essay to express how you feel about this topic and where possible, try and include examples from your own experience. The depth of your grammar impacts your score, so try to avoid getting repetitive with your vocabulary.

CHECKING

Checking your work can help you to avoid unnecessary mistakes, such as misspellings or full stops. There is always a temptation to use very long sentences or more complex words to try and demonstrate fluency. You need to be aware that this isn’t the case.

Planning is critical and takes little time to do if you develop a system. Normally, block planning can help and can adapt to most essay structures.

SPEAKING

Earlier on, I mentioned that this topic is content used in reading, writing, speaking and writing. Therefore, I wanted to help you identify with the speaking element.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY QUESTIONS

Here are some questions that could appear:

Is the key to reducing a carbon footprint related to education?
What do you personally do to manage energy consumption?
What type of rule is in place for plastic bag usage?
Should governments invest more in solar energy? Why?
Are wind turbines are an excellent alternative source of energy? Why?
If you had the power to manage your country’s energy laws, what action would you take to protect the environment? Why?

Of course, there are many more thought-provoking questions. However, your job is to find vocabulary and phrases that can adapt to different questions.

That’s all the time we have today. I hope that you found this podcast on alternative energy useful. Our website has a text version to help you; a link is in the description box.

Please remember to like and share until next time; bye for now.

CREDITS

Podcast production – One2one podcasts
Presenter – Sanj Saigal
Instagram – @one2one_academy
Facebook – learnenglishonline001
Established in 2011

All rights reserved.

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Podcast-The Metaverse
Nov 25 2022
The Metaverse – Podcast

Welcome to this edition of one2one podcasts. Today I will discuss the Metaverse as a conversational topic. You will need to be at an intermediate level.

Podcast-The Metaverse
Podcast-The Metaverse

Work smarter. Not harder!

– One2one

If you want to improve your level of spoken English, there are a few things that you should consider. First, expressing yourself can often depend on your voice tone and the strength of opinion used.

Conversation Lesson Plan

Welcome to this edition of one2one podcasts. Today I will discuss the Metaverse as a conversational topic. You will need to be at an intermediate level.

Although there is room for concern, many of the traditionally rooted jobs may, in fact, give rise to new job scape. One that will see the creation of new employment in emerging sectors.

So precisely what is this new dimension in internet evolution? Well, imagine a virtual landscape that would see a 3D space where people can live and work, where there are no boundaries between society, and a global economy could flourish. Of course, this is a simplistic view, but it’s a serious consideration and a brainchild of those decision-makers who want this dream to become a reality.

To access this technology will require augmented reality glasses, otherwise known as “AR glasses” and a virtual reality headset that will assist with sound and communication. 

Facebook is a company that wants to accelerate the concept and start producing revenue streams—effectively coined an ecosystem that will provide a platform mirroring our physical world.

Podcast-The Metaverse
Podcast-The Metaverse

Considerations for a class based on this topic are the following:

Conversation questions

Should we fear this type of technology or embrace it? Why?

Do we need an alternative world? Why?

Would the older generation find this technology to navigate? Why?

Will there be more job opportunities or fewer? Why?

What would an alternative future look like if humanity moved towards this type of technology? Why?

What kind of new jobs do you think will be created? 

Would life be simplified or more complex? Why?

Can you visualise a future where both the physical and virtual worlds coexist? Why?

Is it possible to work in one country but live in another? 

Would trading between countries be simplified? Why?

Would education be more accessible? Why?

Conversation Lesson Plan

If you want to improve your level of spoken English, there are a few things that you should consider. First, expressing yourself can often depend on your voice tone and the strength of opinion used. 

Use different vocabulary to become more confident using words you have never used. Practice is essential. You need to be aware of pronunciation and interaction. Remember that speaking and listening work together in harmony.

That’s all we have time for today. Join us next time on one2one podcasts. Please remember to like and share, and there is a link to our website in this podcast description. Till next time,

Bye for now.

Written and produced by one2oneacademy.com / Established in 2011 / All rights reserved

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Prison
Sep 10 2022
Prison-IELTS writing

Society believes prison is the best way to punish criminals. Write an essay to express your opinion, and where possible, try and include examples from your experience.

Prison
Prison

Deterrent

History has shown society that prison may not always act as a deterrent. As a result, there appears to be a growing opinion that the rehabilitation of prisoners could include other methods.

Social deprivation, also linked to poverty, can act as a catalyst and facilitate crime. In addition, various studies have indicated a link between crime and education.

Deterrents such as prison are now considered a factor for removing social skills and the inability to be reintroduced into society. In addition, an environment such as a prison could educate prisoners on criminal skills, thus reflected in the statistics showing a direct link towards repeat offending.

Prison

Prison is widely adopted as the preferred method of choice in protecting society from criminals. However, like any argument, many perspectives should always be considered. In the case of this essay writing task, writing about them will show the depth of your grammar.

Drawing a parallel to society as a structure in general, there are older, younger and middle-aged prisoners, some of who have served lengthy prison sentences for their crimes.

On some level, this is thought-provoking as perhaps the younger generation does not respond to prison in the same way as the other generations, thus making it ineffective as a method of reform.

I recommend you take a few minutes to plan the structure of your essay. Don’t use the same vocabulary; avoid using structures with the letter “I”. Repeating yourself will not give you points or show the depth of your grammar.

You’re expected to complete an IELTS essay writing task within a deadline of forty minutes and write a minimum word count of two hundred and fifty words. 

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Dirty cash - IELTS essay
Jul 14 2022
DIRTY CASH – IELTS ESSAY

Essay writing task; some people believe that money brings happiness, while others believe that money only brings misery.

Dirty cash-IELTS essay

That’s the IELTS writing essay task for this week. It’s common knowledge that the cost of living has widened. Generally speaking, this worldwide phenomenon affected most global societies.

ESSAY RULES

As this is an IELTS essay task. There are specific essay writing rules that you must adhere to; these include a forty-minute deadline and a minimum word count of 250 words. 

ESSAY ADVICE

Points are awarded when you demonstrate the depth of your grammar skills, so you should try your best to avoid repeatedly using the same vocabulary and phrases.

Try to include examples where possible, as this can help you to gain points with this task. Finally, as with all writing tasks, you must leave a few minutes to check your work. 

ESSAY PRACTICE

Unfortunately, practising against time constraints and learning to paraphrase are just some of the skills you should focus on. In my opinion, most students don’t like to venture out of their comfort zone. They practice building their strength while omitting to develop their weaknesses. This can be costly as it will compromise your valuable study time.

MONEY

The economy, finance and banking are all common topics. IELTS is an international exam, and as such, they will always choose issues that affect global society. 

Reading news articles will always be more beneficial than streaming movies with subtitles. Also, most films and TV series use slang which will work against you in the context of this exam.

ESSAY PLANNING

Try to plan the structure of this essay; under exam conditions, this is something that will need practice within task deadlines. Remember that quality is always better than quantity.

As always, we will correct your essay at the beginning of your class so that you can identify any errors. Learning is a process and requires time, so don’t rush. A decent IELTS exam score will open the doors of opportunity and can make the difference between getting a survival job or a job that will give you professional development and, ultimately, a defined career path.

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The Property Market
Jun 24 2022
The property market

The property market, an age-old question is whether buying a house is better than renting a house. This is an IELTS essay writing task. True, how we work has changed on many levels, with remote working dominating the employment landscape.

The media reports that buying property as a process has become more complex. Spiralling deposit requirements and higher bank interest rates are some of the reasons.

The property market, a photo of a house model with keys to depict this ielts writing task.
Property Market

Property owning

The property market has changed over the last two decades. The younger generation now has some financial support from the older generation.

Some believe that buying a home provides more financial security in the future, whereas others think the benefit will never materialise in their lifetime.

Property Renting

Flexibility is key to a modern work ethic, so the ability to change location is also an important consideration. Since, for the majority, buying has become unattainable, renting is the only option.

There is no doubt that living in a city is no longer necessary. Remote workers can rent properties on the perimeter with no consequence to earnings.

Thus, a work-life balance has impacted the decision to buy or rent a property. More and more employees find that renting is less stressful and more adaptable to modern life.

Rich and poor

We can see that the line between having money and not is getting more expansive, which influences the property market.

IELTS essay writing task

Some people believe in buying a property, while others believe in renting. Write an essay and express your opinion where possible try your best to provide examples from your own experience.

As this is an IELTS essay writing task so, you must adhere to the following guidelines. The deadline to complete this task is 40 minutes, and the minimum word count is 250 words.

Try to leave a few minutes to check your work. Furthermore, spotting simple errors can make a difference to your score.

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A passion for style-IELTS
Jun 20 2022
A passion for style-IELTS

A passion for status, society has always found a way to separate one another by defining a class system. Over the years, the lines may have widened, but it does exist.

A passion for status-IELTS
A passion for status – IELTS

A passion for status; the lower, middle and upper classes are defined by money. The more you have, the higher up the chain you are.

Status

Wearing your wealth on your sleeve is one way of showing which class system you belong to. However, there is some truth to people who try to display one class’s wealth while belonging to another.

Studies have shown that status still plays a major part in modern society. For example, it is still considered important to show wealth.

Gold and jewellery used to be the most valuable assets often used to suggest a level of income and wealth. However, today this has changed, and we can see that portable devices such as mobile phones can also carry the same prestige.

Brands like Apple have pushed the barriers on pricing structures, with phones breaking traditional prices.

IELTS – A passion for status

The following is your IELTS writing task:

Some people believe that devices such as mobile phones have status. Others believe that gadgets don’t have any status. Write an essay to express your opinion on this topic and provide examples from your own experience where possible.

This style of question features in part two of the writing section for the IELTS exam. There is a maximum time of 40 minutes to complete this task, and you must write more than 250 words.

Good luck with the task, and please remember to write and share till next time; bye for now.

For students who need more practice with listening skills, the one2one shop is now open. You will find it on the menu bar on our homepage. Every listening audio is sold with text so you can check understanding.

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A photo of green data on a black background to promote this conversation lesson plan on data tracking.
Jun 13 2022
Tracking Data-Conversation

Tracking data and using it to influence lifestyle changes impacts our health. However, not everyone agrees that harnessing data that tracks our movement is beneficial to society.

In the last decade, companies such as Apple and Samsung have made significant technological advancements with tracking data in the mobile phone sector. In addition, complementary products such as smartwatches have changed the gadget landscape.

Data tracking

Tracking data and using it to influence lifestyle changes impacts our health. However, not everyone agrees that harnessing data that tracks our movement is beneficial to society. Some believe this infringes our human rights and may lead to governmental control.

A division in society widens as our data is currently processed by third-party organisations such as insurers, medical providers and advertising agencies. Our data is sold for profit and used by other companies to target adverts.

In this conversation class, we will look at this topic in more depth and help you identify how we provide an opinion in English as a second language.

Firstly, you should consider that there are many forms to express how you provide an opinion. No one form is better, just different. To improve conversational skills, you will need to interact and ask questions. Therefore, you should practice this skill.

A photo of green data on a black background to promote this conversation lesson plan on data tracking.

Devices

You most probably own one. But, do you use location services? Why?
Do you own a smartwatch? Why?
Has society moved beyond the point where we can prevent data from selling to third-party companies?
Smart rings are the latest technology to emerge from the smart device sector. Would you buy one? Why?
Can we improve society by using data? Why?

Advertisers

Some people believe that advertisers are a necessary evil. This is because they can use data to target what we want to buy. Have you ever bought something because it was recommended online?

Questions

Imagine if you with your friends talking about this topic. It would sound strange if you didn’t ask questions to participate. It is the same in English. So, this is your opportunity to ask questions to your language instructor. Try your best not to ask closed questions where the answer consists of a yes or a no.

As you would expect in every country, the topics of conversation revolve around general knowledge so, consider reading some online news portals that will help you identify with technology, science, education, health and current news.

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