How sugar affects the brain – Nicole Avena

When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine — an overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more. Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation.

Level: B2 onwards

From: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-sugar-affects-the-brain-nicole-avena

Listening activity to dowload (pdf): how-sugar-affects-the-brain-nicole-avena

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

The benefits of a good night’s sleep – Shai Marcu

“It’s 4am, and the big test is in 8 hours. You’ve been studying for days, but you still don’t feel ready. Should you drink another cup of coffee and spend the next few hours cramming? Or should you go to sleep? Shai Marcu defends the latter option, showing how sleep restructures your brain in a way that’s crucial for how our memory works.”

Level: strong B1 onwards

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gedoSfZvBgE

Listening activity to dowload (pdf):The benefits of a good night’s sleep – Shai Marcu

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

How playing an instrument benefits your brain – Anita Collins

When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on? Anita Collins explains the fireworks that go off in musicians’ brains when they play, and examines some of the long-term positive effects of this mental workout.

Level: strong B1 onwards

From: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins

Listening activity to dowload (pdf): How playing an instrument benefits your brain – Anita Collins

For the first time, I’m posting an activity based on a TEDed video, not a TED talk. Feedback, as usual, is really welcome: ilacoimbra@gmail.com

Music is medicine, music is sanity – Robert Grupta

“Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic, talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician — and what he learned. Called back onstage later, Gupta plays his own transcription of the prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1.”

Level: B2 onwards

From: Music is medicine, music is sanity

Listening activity to dowload (pdf):  Music is medicine

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

How to live passionately—no matter your age – Isabel Allende

“Author Isabel Allende is 71. Yes, she has a few wrinkles—but she has incredible perspective too. In this candid talk, meant for viewers of all ages, she talks about her fears as she gets older and shares how she plans to keep on living passionately.” 

Level: B2 onwards

From: How to live passionately—no matter your age – Isabel Allende
Listening activity to dowload (pdf): how to live passionately

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

Three types of online attack – Mikko Hypponen

Cybercrime expert Mikko Hypponen talks us through three types of online attack on our privacy and data — and only two are considered crimes. “Do we blindly trust any future government? Because any right we give away, we give away for good.”

Level: strong B1 onwards

From: http://www.ted.com/talks/mikko_hypponen_three_types_of_online_attack

Listening activity to dowload (pdf): Mikko Hypponen Three types of online attack

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

The hidden power of smiling – Ron Gutman

“Ron Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you’ll live — and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily contagious behavior.”

Level: B2 onwards

From: https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_gutman_the_hidden_power_of_smiling

Listening activity to dowload (pdf):the hidden power of smiling

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

New posts every 2 weeks now.

Hey, everyone!

I’ve been posting a new activity every Monday but, unfortunately, due to the beginning of a new term, I will only be able to post every other Monday. I’m absolutely sure you understand it, since we are all teachers here. =)

Meanwhile, why don’t you try the activities that we already have here? I’ll be glad to receive your feedback.

Thanks for understanding it. See you next Monday! =)

Love letters to strangers – Hannah Brencher

Hannah Brencher’s mother always wrote her letters. So when she felt herself bottom into depression after college, she did what felt natural — she wrote love letters and left them for strangers to find. The act has become a global initiative, The World Needs More Love Letters, which rushes handwritten letters to those in need of a boost.

Level: B2 onwards

From: http://www.ted.com/talks/hannah_brencher_love_letters_to_strangers

Listening and writing activity to dowload (pdf): Love letters to strangers

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com

How the Internet enables intimacy – Stefana Broadbent

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

Level: strong B1 onwards

From: http://www.ted.com/talks/stefana_broadbent_how_the_internet_enables_intimacy

Listening and vocabulary activity to dowload (pdf): How the Internet enables intimacy

Did you try this activity with your group? Send me some feedback! ilacoimbra@gmail.com