Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. adequately
    • ex. The manager trained the new members to adequately prepare them for the tasks.
  2. house
    • ex. The new building will house international students near the university.
  3. forgo
    • ex. He decided to forgo his business trip because of a family emergency.
  4. sufficient
    • ex. She only cooked a sufficient amount of food for five people.
  5. dwindling
    • ex. The high costs of rent and food caused dwindling savings.

Article

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

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A new report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said that the United States is not prepared to adequately house the increasing number of older people. Jennifer Molinsky, the project director of the center’s Housing an Aging Society Program, warned that many older adults will have to forgo needed care or will have to rely on family and friends. This would happen without enough government help.

The report says that in 2021, the government’s housing assistance was only sufficient for about one-third of the 5.9 million renters ages 62 and over. This provides housing with supportive services such as cleaning, cooking, and transportation. The report also says creative ideas are needed now to house people with fixed or dwindling incomes. One idea to save money is to share a home or an apartment instead of living alone.

In 2021, nearly 11.2 million older adults already spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The mortgage debt among older adults is rising. Many of them also find it difficult to get additional services as the average cost of care is over $100 (about ¥14,683) a day.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Older Adults’ Housing

  • In your country, can older adults receive government housing assistance? Why is this so? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what is the most important government service that older adults need (ex. transportation, healthcare)? Why? Discuss.
  • Why is it important for a country to have private and public housing facilities for older adults? Discuss.

House Sharing

  • How do you feel about sharing your house or apartment with a non-family member (ex. okay, worried)? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are sharing your house with someone. Is it okay to share other things with this person? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What rules should housemates/roommates have when sharing a house? Discuss.