A. Have a natural conversation
with your partner
1. Do you enjoy a difficult challenge? How do you usually respond to
challenges? When was the last time you faced a daunting challenge and you decided to take the plunge? Did you rise to the challenge?
2. Would living in a small village present an enormous challenge? Would you feel cut off and isolated? When you started at your workplace did you fit in immediately or did that become a huge challenge at first?
3. Do you enjoy setting and achieving realistic goals? What would be your crowning achievement?
4. Has anybody you know ever achieved the impossible? Can you think of a shining example?
5. Have you ever defied the odds by doing something no one expected? When was the last time you pulled something difficult off?
6. When was the last time you felt a rush of adrenaline while completing something that had posed a challenge? Do you enjoy the satisfaction of completing a challenging task?
7. What challenges is the world facing nowadays?
8. If you were offered a job overseas, would you jump at the chance? Is this one of your main ambitions? Which is the greatest ambition you have pursued? Do you know anyone who has a burning
ambition to travel somewhere? Do you?
9. In your opinion, what can we do to increase
or improve student motivation?
10. What may be the causes for students’ poor
motivation?
11. Have you ever done anything that was met with complete failure?
B. Monologue
Student A
1. Would it be an overstatement to say that you are a highly ambitious person? What are your biggest ambitions? What ambitions have you already fulfilled?
2. Can you define what “success” is? What qualities do we need to achieve success? Can you think of someone who has made a success of their lives? Can you think of some outcomes that were nothing less than miraculous?
3. Have you ever taken
up a difficult challenge?
4. Do you know anybody who after having made a name for themselves and having been on a roll, had to confront a major challenge and everything ended in a great debacle? Have you ever undergone anything that was met with complete failure? Do you think fear of failure should deter you from
trying again?
5. What political / economic / sports projects have recently ended in total failure?
Student B
1. What challenges bring out the best in people? and the worst? What daunting challenges is the world facing nowadays? Can you give examples of economic, environmental, intellectual, political, and technological challenges?
2. Have you ever secretly harboured
a lifelong ambition? Can you tell us about it?
3. What political or economic initiatives can be described as dismal (very bad) failures?
4. What film / book / song / scientific experiment / sporting event / etc.
achieved a resounding
success?
5. How
useful can advice from parents, teachers, and friends be? Do you follow their advice? Can you think of
any occasions where people have followed
or ignored advice (particularly
regarding studies and work)? What happened?
Vocabulary
Daunting: to make somebody feel
nervous and less confident about doing something. Intimidating. E.g. She has the daunting task of cooking for 20 people every day.
Harbour: to have in mind a thought or feeling, usually over a long period.
Sp. albergar.
Dismal: very bad. E.g. Their
recent attempt to increase sales has been a dismal failure.
Useful
language to describe the pictures
dump: a place where waste or rubbish/garbage is taken and left
rubbish dump
a toxic/nuclear waste dump
tip: a place where you can take rubbish/garbage and leave it
landfill: an area of land where large amounts of waste material are buried under the earth. E.g. The map shows the position of the new landfills. a landfill site
Glass recycling
Bottle labels
Cans
Jars
Wind farm
Wind turbine
solar panels
solar power
renewable sources of energy
Useful language to discuss the topic:
1. Challenges
It posed a challenge (to create a challenge that has to be dealt with)
It was a major challenge
I had to confront a big problem
I was a little apprehensive /ˌæprɪˈhensɪv/(worried or frightened) about the effects of what I had done
I felt a bit tense (nervous or worried)at first
He was always on edge (nervous) before an interview
This year for my New Year’s resolution I decided I had to listen to others better.
In the past few years, I fell into the occasional bad habit of not listening closely enough to family and friends. I was aware of this, and I wanted to do my best to listen better. It became a major challenge at first but now, a couple of months later I must say I don’t have to make an effort anymore and I am actually enjoying it.
Last year I decided to complete my master’s degree. Now, a year later, I believe I rose to the challenge, and it has given me the confidence to embark on the next stage in my career
(If someone rises to the challenge, they act in response to a difficult situation which is new to them and are successful).
It was a challenge and it was daunting but at least I tried
I anticipated myself making some major changes in my life. This would be the year that I would finally attain some of the goals that would be personal achievements.
For the first time in my life, I knew what I wanted to do and I intended to go for it. That was something that I felt was right, with every bone in my body. Everything just fell into place naturally. It is funny how everything becomes brighter and clearer when you have a vision for it.
2. Achievements
crowning achievement: the most important, significant, or excellent accomplishment or moment of one's career or life.
E.g.
The author's oeuvre spans five novels, four plays, and six books of poetry, but this, her final novel, is by far her crowning achievement.
I may have had success in business and led a somewhat romantic life, but my crowning achievement was by far the day I became a father.
3. Ambitions
My main ambition was…
I had always pursued my greatest ambition
To pursue his personal ambition, he decided to leave everything behind and go on an around the world trip.
I wanted to realize my secret ambition as soon as possible.
4. Motivation
I had to strengthen my motivation
A lot has been said about how to increase students’ motivation.
High school students lack motivation in the classroom for various reasons. Sometimes students lack role models. They don’t have relatives who they can look up to. And on top of that they are constantly targeted by non-academic celebrities or negative role models through the media.
5. Failure
It was doomed to failure from the start
It was a dismal failure
I was close to tears.
I was feeling weepy (sad)
I was reluctant to resign to failure.
I started a small business thinking it would be a shining moment in my life but, without proper planning, after a few months it was a dismal failure.
debacle: /deɪˈbɑːkl/ /dɪˈbɑːkl/
an event or a situation that is a complete failure and causes embarrassment. E.g. He should take responsibility for the debacle and resign. Let’s hope this is the end of the debacle over player transfer fees. It's a total debacle
6. Success
He's made a success of his life
It was an overnight success
It was a resounding success (very great)
It was a roaring success (tremendous)
I was assured of success
It was an outstanding achievement
It was a remarkable achievement at first
To achieve success, a film should…
The book met with success in Great Britain, but at first no one in the United States wanted to publish it.
A book’s popularity doesn’t always guarantee its movie’s success.
The song was a resounding success. It became a Christmas hit that year, which was the beginning of a triumphal march around the world.
pull something off (informal) to succeed in doing something difficult
E.g.
We pulled off the deal.
I never thought you'd pull it off.
be on a roll to be having a lot of success with what you are trying to do.
E.g.
Midvale High was on a roll, having won their last six basketball games.
He defied the odds (= did what no one expected) and won the race
I was delighted that he could do it
I was elated /iˈleɪtɪd/(very happy) by the prospect of the new job ahead
She was thrilled to bits (= extremely pleased) that he’d been offered the job
He was overjoyed (extremely happy) at my success
The English Department is astounded, amazed, taken aback, rocked back on its heels, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, stunned, shocked, astonished, bowled over and staggered that we have such wonderful students...
set (or rock) someone back on their heels: astonish or disconcert someone. E.g. she said something that rocked me back on my heels.
nothing less than something
used to emphasize how important, serious, or impressive something is
E.g.
His appearance in the show was nothing less than a sensation.
