Topics for the C levels: C1 and C2

1. HOMES: house swapping; moving house; “desirable” residences; slums; condemned housing, low-income housing; squatters; renting a house; the process of buying and selling a house, etc.

2. LAW AND CRIME: Common crimes and offences; reporting a crime; punishments; life imprisonment, the death penalty; the age of criminal responsibility; etc. Legal processes: arrest, detention, court hearing, sentencing; appeal, etc.

3. COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND SERVICES: the health service; social services; the emergency services; support groups; the use of public services; education; cultural resources: libraries, parks, community centres, etc. Banks: applying for a loan / mortgage; credit/ debit cards, cheques, bank procedures, getting into and out of debt, withdrawing and depositing cash, etc. CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT: immigration; working and studying in another country; understanding attitudes and behaviour of the target community; citizens’ responsibility; legal processes; process to obtain a citizenship, filling in forms, interviews, culture tests for nationality qualification, etc. Reporting an accident…

4. POLITICS, SOCIETY, MAJOR HISTORICAL EVENTS AND THE MOST RELEVANT HISTORICAL FIGURES: politics, government and the most important government institutions and their most important functions: Houses of Parliament, House of Lords, Senate; the British Empire; development of the Commonwealth; the formation of the USA; the Bill of Rights; relevant historical figures in the world of literature, politics,… the World Wars; the formation of the English language; universal suffrage; women and the vote; young people and the vote; etc.

5. RELATIONSHIPS: meeting online, friends on social networks, friends and family problems; marriage; divorce; domestic violence; re-marriage; blending of families; foster families; adoption; the difficulties in bringing up children; intercultural marriages; birth, marriage and death rituals; monogamy and polygamy…

6. WORK: Job satisfaction; equality; getting fired: legal implications (unfair dismissal); bullying, mobbing and harassment; dress codes; job descriptions; work-related problems; training and re-training; dealing with paperwork and administrative processes; interview and selection procedures; justifications for changing careers; implications; job search strategies; immigration and work, working abroad, academic qualifications. Educational training to get a job.

7. EDUCATION. LIFE-LONG EDUCATION: Primary and secondary schools, the university, vocational studies, life-long learning; studies; schools and classrooms; adult education; forms and documents; administrative processes; the education system; religious vs. secular education…

8. THE ENVIRONMENT: the traffic; excessive traffic, pollution; climatic change; the greenhouse effect; the concept of sustainability; waste disposal; consumer issues: too much food, too many clothes; environmental research; the carbon footprint; renewable energies, etc.

9. HEALTH AND NUTRITION: Interpreting nutritional information on food labels; the relationship between food and good health; going to the doctor; interpreting information about an illness; dealing with medical prescriptions; most common ailments and symptoms; etc.

10. RECREATION, LEISURE AND CULTURE: The cinema, the theatre, music; sport; television; film and book reviews; alternative ways of spending your spare time; traditions; Holidays and festivals in English-speaking countries; holidays and travel as a means of discovering and contrasting cultures; popular culture, slang and taboo words; gestures; body language; physical proximity and distance (extra-linguistic); jokes and senses of humour; proverbs and sayings; rituals related to birth, death and marriage; etc.

11. ADVERTISING AND SHOPPING: Alternative ways of shopping (the Internet) and their advantages and disadvantages; globalization; environmental consequences of excessive consumerism: consumer protection; consumer rights; formal complaints; warranties and guarantees; advertising; misleading advertising, etc.

12. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: inventions; high-tech crime / materials/ equipment/ security devices; technological and scientific advances, medicine and medical research: stem cell research; cloning; ethical implications; genetically modified food, new technologies, etc.

13. THE NATURAL WORLD: Animal and human behaviour; our relationship with animals; endangered species of flora and fauna; the work of zoos and national parks; the conflict between large dangerous animals and the human population;  etc.

14. SAFETY AND THE DANGERS IN THE WORLD ABOUT US: natural and man-made disasters. Citizen safety. War and conflict in the modern world. Terrorism. Economic fluctuations, … 
15. CHALLENGES: in education or work; stress; making important decisions.
16. LANGUAGES AND COMMUNICATION: lingua franca; written and spoken communication; influence of new technologies.
17. THE MEDIA: newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. Influence of new technologies. Social media. Fake news.
18. TRAVEL: types of tourism; impact of tourism. Repercussions of economic and health crises on tourism.