COMPLEX (main clause + subordinate/dependent clause) and COMPOUND (= a row of independent, main clauses) SENTENCES (pdf)
25 February 2026
Do you remember what Freddie said?
January - February 2026
NEW: A collection of arguments, including from gymme students (pdf)
YouTube Podcast: Jonathan Haidt on gen Z fragility, social media, and the cult of saftey.
Listen to the podcast and answer these comprehension questions (pdf)
Location Guide: Where the answers to these 25 questions can be found in the podcast (pdf)
Try this quiz about the Haidt podcast
Main points in Haidt's podcast: What does he say about...
... the locus of control
... the consequences of the fear of child abduction in the 90s
... fragility versus resilience versus anti-fragility
... how young teenage girls are most affected by social media, and why
... the rider and the elephant
... child experience and democracy
... light versus heavy use of social media
... the immune system
... peanut allergies
... mammals
... big changes around social media around 2009 - 2012
... the "three bad ideas"
... screen time versus social media use
After your internship, there will be an extensive test about this topic, in the form of an argumentative or expository essay,
and a vocabulary test.
11 December 2025
Continue working on yesterday's assignment.
If/when you have finished, read this article from the New York Times, published yesterday.
10 December 2025
Written exercise:
Make It More Erudite
1. Kids spend too much time on their phones and it's bad for their sleep. (excessive, adolescents, screen time, adversely, affect)
2. Social media companies want people to use their apps as much as possible so they can make more money. (platforms, maximize, engagement, revenue, incentivized)
3. When kids see other people's perfect lives online, they feel bad about themselves. (exposure, curated, content, self-esteem, negative impact)
4. The apps are made to keep sending you things so you keep looking at your phone. (notifications, algorithms, designed, sustain, attention)
5. Parents worry that their children are on social media all the time instead of doing other things. (concerns, preoccupied, platforms, neglecting, activities)
6. Checking your phone a lot can make it hard to focus on schoolwork. (frequent, compulsive, impair, concentration, academic performance)
7. Some people say that being online too much makes young people feel alone even when they're with friends. (excessive, digital consumption, paradoxically, isolation, physical presence)
8. The apps use tricks to make you want to keep using them. (employ, psychological techniques, encourage, sustained, usage)
9. Teenagers often compare themselves to what they see online and feel like they're not good enough. (engage, social comparison, idealized, inadequate, portrayals)
10. Looking at screens before bed stops your brain from getting ready to sleep. (exposure, blue light, inhibits, production, melatonin)
11. Kids get stressed out when they see how many likes and comments other people get. (anxiety, metrics, social validation, peer engagement, generate)
12. The problem is that these apps are really good at making people want to use them more. (issue, platforms, effective, compelling, continued engagement)
13. Young people feel like they have to check their phones all the time or they'll miss something important. (compulsion, fear of missing out, FOMO, perpetual, connectivity)
14. Using phones too much can make people bad at talking to others face-to-face. (excessive, usage, diminish, interpersonal, communication skills)
15. Some experts think that always being on social media changes how young people's brains grow. (researchers, constant, exposure, neurodevelopment, developmental trajectory)
16. The law tries to keep kids safe from the bad things that can happen on social media. (legislation, aims, protect, minors, potential harms)
17. It's hard to check if someone is really the age they say they are without invading their privacy. (challenging, verify, authenticity, compromising, user privacy)
18. Some people think the ban is good, but others think it might cause different problems. (proponents, beneficial, critics, unintended, consequences)
19. Companies make their apps fun and exciting so people don't want to stop using them. (design, platforms, engaging, stimulating, discourage, disengagement)
20. Doctors who study the mind say that being online too much might be connected to feeling sad or worried. (mental health professionals, excessive, usage, correlation, depression, anxiety)
3 December 2025
Jonathan Haidt, who wrote the book "The Anxious Generation", warned of the devastating consequences of raising children in an environment dominated by smartphones and social media. “We have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online”.
In other words, he claims that our lassez-fair policy is not sustainable.
Let us analyze this claim by studying the latest developments in Australia: The social media ban for children and teenagers under the age of 16, which is a new law that will take effect on 10 December 2025. Other countries, including international organizations like the EU, are watching closely.
Please form (data that FORMS your opinion is inFORMation...) your opinion by reading the following sources (and others, if you like) and discussing and answering the questions below.
unicef.org.au: Social Media Ban explained
cnn.com: What happens when you kick millions of teens off social media? Australia’s about to find out
chatgpt - written summary of this article: (1 long, 1 short)
abc.net.au: Incoming Australian social media ban leaves children vulnerable to phishing scams, experts say
Answer the following questions about the Australian Social Media Ban:
- Will the Australian teenagers be punished or fined if they don't cancel their accounts after 10 December 2025?
- Will the parents of teenagers be punished or fined if they don't cancel their accounts after 10 December 2025?
- What does Jonathan Haidt's book "The Anxious Generation" have to do with this ban?
- With clarity and urgency, Haidt warned of the devastating consequences of raising children in an environment dominated by smartphones and social media. “We have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online,” he says. Do you agree?
- Who will be responsible for the implementation of the Australian ban?
- What is going to happen to existing photos and posts on current accounts?
- What will happen when the teenagers turn 16?
- Will official ID be used to identify the age of the users, according to the provided sources?
- Why do you think 15 year-old teenagers might support this ban, in principle?
- What might happen if the under 16s use the email address of their parents or older siblings, according to the provided sources?
- While the big social media providers are often criticized for their algorithms fostering addiction, it is also true that they do implement some security filters for their young users. If the under 16s try to find workarounds, might that turn out to be more dangerous than the original accounts with the large providers? What do you think?
- Will the parents be able to give permission to their daughters/sons to use their accounts?
- How are the large corporations (TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc...) affected by the ban going to identify the age of their users?
- What might the teenagers who are desperately trying to circumvent the ban do that is more dangerous than the use of the social media in the first place?
- Will VPN solve the problem for the teenagers trying to find a way around the ban?
- Might some parents be upset that they can no longer decide what their kids are allowed to do or not? Do you think some of those parents will deem this measure paternalistic? What would you tell those parents (pros/cons)
- Which social media providers won't be affected by the ban (according to the information sources that you have)?
- Will the under 16s be able to watch YouTube videos at all?
- Given the fact that even many teenagers do think that social media use is problematic, what might be done to solve the problem, if a ban is not the ideal solution?
- Will long-distance friendships be destroyed - for ever?
- Will bullying subside?
- Would it be better to ban all phone use in schools and leave the rest as it is?
- Can this ban be compared to the alcohol ban for minors?
- Will the under 16s suffer because they lose access to online help provided by influencers, as the testimonial of that young lady on cnn.com seems to imply?
- What alternatives might be implemented to address the problem, if it's not the ban? Might it be a good idea to educate the young teenagers, to try and change their behaviour, and to teach them how to recognize dangerous scam?
Interesting and relevant words:
algorithm regulation VPN bullying age restriction
harmful content scammers predators online saftey digital freedom
identity checks accounts debate concerns public opinion
tech companies providers petition mental health distraction
boredom addiction screen time isolation verification
anti-spoofing content moderation age estimation constitutional rights
facial recognition digital identity fines legislation court challenge
policy thread education prevention measures
26 November 2025
16:
A: “Since when do you play the piano?” vs
B: “How long have you played the piano?” vs
C: “How long have you been playing the piano?”vs
D: “How long do you play the piano?
B and C: In most contexts, there is not much difference. "B" starts from the statement "I play the piano." So,
Is "Wie lange hast du Klavier gespielt?" the same as "How long have you played the piano?"
Answer: I would say "No". Why? Because in English this means only one thing: "Seit wann spielst du Klavier"? or "Wie lange hast du JETZT (bis jetzt) Klavier gespielt."?
In English, this can not be in the past. Rupert played the piano for a while when he was a kid.
How long has he played the piano? WRONG QUESTION!
How long did he play the piano? He played for one year, from 2016 until 2017. Then he quit.
4.
A: “We’ll discuss that on Monday.” This is a spontaneous decision.
B: We’re going to discuss that on Monday.” This is a decision you have made about what you are going to do on Monday. It's a plan for the future.
C: “We’ll be discussing that on Monday.” This is a polite, casual and vague way to express your intention / your plan.
D: “We’re discussing that on Monday.” This is an arrangement for the future. We have agreed to discuss this on Monday.
5.
A: “It’s been 10 years now since I talked to him.” – American English
B:” It’s ten years now since I talked to him. - British English.
This is a prototype of a PART of the upcoming class test.
The class test on 19 November will be about:
- Present perfect versus past tense (Henry and Cordula and the colorful bikes...)
- Reported speech (see the English lesson in the recording studio from 2010)
- Narrative tenses (the tricky aspects on the chalkboard)
- Unit 2A from the English book (illnesses and cures, medical vocabulary)
- The contents of 6 November (see below)
6 November 2025
Dear students,
you have chosen the following content / exercises; now study them:
- The weather and natural disasters (vocabulary exercise)
- Crime and punishment (vocabulary exercise)
- Auxiliary verbs: different uses (grammar)
- Socializing and social events (vocabulary exercise)
- Present perfect simple or continuous (grammar)
- The ... the comparatives (grammar)
- Profiting from true crime sstories (reading)
- Clothes (vocabulary)
- At, in , on: prepositions of time
For reference only:
Complete list of grammar contents
5 November 2025
- Explain the most important aspects about the tenses:
This is the first ... portion
2. Check https://test-english.com/ and find something that you find interesting to focus on.
22 October 2025
Do this exercise (word document)
October 2025
TENSES and Reported Speech
10 September 2025
Here are some interesting photos to describe:
numbers 3, 7, 8, 10, 14, 19, 22, 27, 29, 36, 40, 41, 46, 49, 51, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58
Relevant vocabulary:
Number 3: indoor swimming pool, to hide, to keep hidden, letters, bathing suit, prank, behind, back, entrance, sign, caption, bathroom, restroom, lavatory, toilet.
Number 7: skyline, downtown, (straw) hats, thirties, Empire State Buliding, inauguration, view, Manhattan, New York, skyscrapers, building boom, (reinforced) concrete.
Number 8: umbrella, plastic foil, to protect, sideways, leather handbag, uncomfortable, clumsy, bulky. How does she get on a bus?
Number 10: black&white photo, vintage, ice skating, cushion/pillow, protection from injuries, bottom, pier, balustrade, cardigan, bonnet. Where and when might the photo have been shot?
Number 14: mother with two young boys sitting on a blue sofa, light blue, dark blue, shirt, beige blouse, upset, jealous, to prefer sb/sth over sb/sth else. What might have happened?
Number 19: in the foreground, in the background, blurred, upset, striped scarf wrapped around her neck, gloves, coat, surreptitious, sneaky, secretive, to mock, rumours, to bully, (malicious?) gossip, slander, laugh at sb, comment on sb.
Number 22: to carry, bricks, huge load, cloth, cushion, scarf, wrapped, developing world, tenuous/precarious work, working conditions
Number 27: barbed wire, shorts, soldier, help, dangerous, risky, secretly, hungry?, war?
Number 29: backcombed/teased hair, sixties, mini skirts, high heels, shiny leather, fashion, twins, sullen look
Number 36: swing, playground, puddle, lonesome, crying, desperate, coat, shirt/blouse, trousers/pants, fair hair, blonde. What might have happened? What might be the reason for her sorrow/sadness?
Number 40: crib note, thumbnail, maths test, tiny numbers and symbols, good vision required. Is (s)he going to be caught red-handed?
Number 41: anti-smoking campaign?, cigarette stubs, shaped as lungs, clear message, young man sitting and leaning against a tree trunk, white T-shirt, smoking kills
Number 46: prohibition sign, birds not allowed, real?, bird and shape on sign identical, seagull?, round prohibition sign with a red circle and a diagonal line over the bird
Number 49: photo shows two distinct areas, a slum on the right and a residential building that looks like a hotel on the right, a wall (or a border?) in between, a terrace on all floors (stories), each equipped with a swimming pool, tennis court. Where might this be?
Number 51: foreground, background, condescending look, disheartened, tissue/handkerchief, hoodie shirt, curtains, fight/row?, vengeance/revenge?
Number 53: black&white, vintage, boar, pig, to pull, carriage, thick clothing, bonnets, scarves, coats
Number 55: puzzled look, surprised, curious, inquisitive, observing sb/sth?, charmed or amused by sth/sb,
Number 56: train wagon, head sticking out sideways, tracks, bushes, misaligned, vertical, horizontal, power lines, dangerous, purpose?, photoshopped?,
Number 57: CCTV cameras facing each other, prank, useless, unwanted CCTV protection, purpose of CCTV cameras, (excessive?) protection of privacy, violation of privacy, purpose, ubiquitous cameras, surveillance
Number 58: Man reading, leaning on a window sill, window frame, curtain, knots, doll, background, oriental, louver jalousie
More photos:
Number 6: writing on the wall, caption, painted, fresh paint (painted as) dripping down, the painter himself is also painted, encouraging, wise statement, perseverance. Artist: Banksy - discuss street art (graffiti)
Number 9: leaning tower of Pisa, all identical staged photos, mass tourism, dull
Number 11: launderette / self service laundry, poster / ad, to fill the washing machine
Number 12: cask, barrel, suits, summer hats, storm drain, pour, protest?, waste, prohibition
Number 13: straight hair, brush, foot, sweater, hoodie, natural, casual look,
Number 17: toddlers, jealous, threshold, wealthy
Number 18: to tie, to gag, seat, duct tape, to immobilize, to wreak havoc, drunk, alcoholic, aggressive, passenger, crew, flight attendant, pilot
Number 21: scene from Titanic movie, guardrail, ship's bow, skirt, sleeveless top, spread arms, seagull, photoshopped?
Number 23: feet in a circle, warm climate, unpretentious, unspoilt, serendipitous
Number 25: escavator, drag / bucket / shovel, truck / lorry, naked, took off his clothes, fire, heat the water, worker, building site, bottom, buttocks, tanned, casual, creative
Number 42: crouching, squatting, sad, desperate, her hands cover her face, what might have happened?, reasons for sadness: broken heart, lovesick, regret, mourning, depressed?
NUmber 43: happy family on beach, cliché, staged commercial photo for advertisements?, real family photo?
Number 44: bullet (ammunition), cigarette, similar shape, message?, anti smoking ad?
Number 47: Twin Towers, 911, cigarette smoke, to recall
Number 54: cups, handle, lever, switch, caffeine, addicted?, energetic
Number 61: Hands on hip, clasped hands, condescending, superiority, power, powerful, to show off, to display, indecent, to look down on sb, inferior, European Parliament, WMF, chief, Greek prime minister, Greece, Euro debt crisis
Number 62: fish bowl, curtain, hungry, greedy, curious, baffled, inquisitive, innocent
Number 63: homeless, beggar, panhandler, waistcoat, vest, scruffy, blowzy, canvas, shelter, laptop computer
Number 68: door, iron gate, crowd, separated, apart, eager, desperate, pushing
Number 69: billboard, hole, dropped, interrupted calls, poor service, poor coverage
General vocabulary for photo descriptions:
in the foreground, in the background, in the centre (center), at the top, at the bottom, on the left, on the right, in the (upper/lower) left/right corner, black&white, sharp, blurred, focussed
KEY (written by a student):
