This listening deals with the moral dilemma of a company installing surveillance software on company computers in order to monitor it’s company resources and employees. It’s quite a regular occurance nowadays, however it does have moral implications and it garners an interesting ESL discussion.
First date taught: 7 Dec 2022
10C – Strictly Confidential
Theme: The right to obtain information on people; discussing confidential information.
Vocabulary Words from the Lesson:
organized chaos – a complex situation or process that appears chaotic while still having enough order to achieve progress or goals
set in stone, carved in stone, or written in stone (idiom) – used to emphasize that something is fixed and unchangeable
stipulations (n) – Something that is stated or stipulated as a condition of an agreement.
monopoly (n) – a situation, by legal privilege or other agreement, in which solely one party (company, cartel etc.) exclusively provides a particular product or service, dominating that market and generally exerting powerful control over it; an exclusive control over the trade or production of a commodity or service trough exclusive possession.
being independently wealthy – possessing enough wealth that one does not need financial support from others or income from employment.
rough draft – an initial, incomplete piece of writing that is the first attempt at getting all your ideas on paper. It acts as the framework for the final version
intelligible (adj) – used to describe speech that is loud and clear; able to be understood; comprehensible; (root word is intellect, so it has a connotation of being understood in an intellectual way)
coherent (adj) – (of an argument, theory, or policy) orderly, logical and consistent
enunciate (v) – the act of pronouncing words clearly and distinctly; to articulate sounds clearly
informative speech – a type of speech which seeks to inform the audience about a topic, as opposed to pursuade or demonstrate a point.
independent observers – a neutral party who is removed from the situation who monitors a situation or act in order to provide integrity of a process (particularly in regard to voting)
nullifying (v) – to make legally invalid.
allegedly (v) – According to someone’s allegation.
whistle-blower (n) – One who reports a problem or violation to the authorities; especially, an employee or former employee who reports a violation by an employer.”
tattle-tale (n) – One who tattles (reports others’ wrongdoings), often by a child seeking attention.
snitch (n) – an informer, usually one who betrays his group.
entitled (v) – believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment
boundaries (n) – emotional or mental boundaries protect your right to have your own feelings and thoughts, to not have your feelings criticized or invalidated, and not have to take care of other people’s feelings
Video Vocabulary:
monitor (v) – to watch over, guard; to supervise
surged (v) [C1] – a sudden and great increase
maintaining productivity – to keep a company or an employee’s productivity at a good or acceptable working condition
conduct experiment – to organize and carry out a scientific test which is done in order to discover what happens to something in particular conditions
(someone is) looking over my shoulder – to watch carefully what someone is doing, especially so that you can criticize them
on the market (idiom) – available for sale
intrusive (adj) – annoying someone by interfering with their privacy; intruding where you are not wanted or welcome
productive (adj) [B2] / productivity (n) [C1] – the rate at which a company or country makes goods, usually judged in connection with the number of people and the amount of materials necessary to produce the goods
raise the question – to address or bring up an issue that needs to be discussed and dealt with
power imbalance – the parties that are participating have different sources and levels of power, often referring to someone who should have more power having less than someone else who should have less. This may have to do with traditional power structure (such as a boss having less power in a situation than a low-level employee), or just a societal norm (such as a wife having more power in a situation than the husband). It is often referred to in a way that criticizes the power structure itself or the fact that the situation is having a negative impact on the “natural order of things”. Not a fixed phrase.
dignity (n) [C2] – the importance and value that a person has, that makes other people respect them or makes them respect themselves
issue was raised – to bring up for consideration or debate
Example: But they raise the issue about how we judge history, and from what sources.
pressing concerns – when a feeling of worry about something, especially one that a lot of people have about an important issue, has to be dealt with immediately
Example: Your most pressing concern will be that this judgment will affect your credit rating.
free-for-all (n) – an uncontrolled situation in which people do what they want because there are no limits to stop them
plight – a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation; as if you are bound to a bad situation that is difficult to get out of
Example: The plight of the refugees touches me greatly.
oversight (n) – supervision or management
lawful grounds – a legal reason or justification officially accepted by the government or another higher authority
consent (v) – to express willingness, to give permission
safeguard (n) – something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense
safeguard (v) – to protect, to keep safe
become the norm (n) – (the norm) that which is regarded as normal or typical
Supplemental Videos:
- What Is Productivity? Why It Matters & How to Measure It from Oracle NetSuite
Attribution: Image by Freepik
English With Dixie 