Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. an entrepreneur
    • ex. My grandfather was an entrepreneur who started five different businesses.
  2. drastically
    • ex. Jenna changed her hair drastically; she used to have long black hair, but now it’s short and blonde!
  3. range
    • ex. Ticket prices range from $50 to $150.
  4. a surge
    • ex. Every year there is a surge of tourists in July and August.
  5. influential
    • ex. Jessica J. has a lot of followers, so she’s very influential on social media.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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The number of teenage entrepreneurs in the UK has increased drastically over the past 10 years. According to 2019 research by financial service company OneFamily, over 4,150 businesses in the UK are now owned by people under 20 years old. This number is a 700% increase from 2009, when there were only about 490 teenager-owned businesses. The types of businesses owned by teenagers in the UK range from tech companies to health, fashion, and beauty brands.

The research showed that there were three main reasons for the surge in the number of teenage entrepreneurs. The first reason is that many teenagers prefer to be their own boss. Second, they were inspired by influential people like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, who started their own businesses when they were young. Last, thanks to their heavy use of social media, it’s easy for teenagers to do networking and build a client list from the comfort of their own home.

According to one business expert, being a teenage entrepreneur has many benefits. These include earning extra money and learning money management. Starting a business also gives teenagers the opportunity to try new things, and it can provide knowledge and experience that they can use in the future.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Entrepreneurs

  • Do you think the number of teenage entrepreneurs in your country will drastically increase? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Should parents allow teenagers to start a business? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What characteristics should entrepreneurs have (ex. hardworking, intelligent)? Why? Discuss.

Teenagers

  • Do you think it’s okay to give teenagers a big responsibility? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What life skills should teenagers have (ex. communication, creativity)? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think teenagers today are different from teenagers when you were growing up? Why or why not? Discuss.