English, baby!

Weigh the Pros and Cons

Learn English meaning of 'weigh the pros and cons'

Date: Jul 28 2015

Themes: School, Soap Opera

Grammar: Modal Verbs

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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We make choices every day. Sometimes they’re as simple as whether to have coffee or tea in the morning, or whether to walk to work or take the bus. When making bigger decisions, however, we have to think about both the good and bad parts of a situation before we can make a choice. We often have to weigh the pros and cons before deciding what to do.

Going away to school is a perfect example. The pros of leaving home might be spending time away from your parents, experiencing a new city, meeting new people, and learning how to live on your own. The cons of leaving home might be missing your family and friends, the cost of traveling to and from your new school, or having to say goodbye to a boyfriend or girlfriend. There is no doubt that making that choice can be truly difficult!

Kellie needs help weighing the pros and cons of two courses of study. Sara is helping in today’s English lesson about life’s big decisions.

3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Kellie

Sara_R

Kellie: I’ve been thinking a lot about school, and I’ve narrowed it down to two courses of study.

Sara_R: Awesome! And…?

Kellie: I either want a degree in social media marketing, or one in medicine.

Sara_R: Wow! Those are so different. Have you weighed the pros and cons of each?

Kellie: I think so.

Sara_R: What are the pros of social media marketing?

Kellie: Everyone from businesses to schools to religious organizations knows how important social media is today. It would be easy to find a job, and the program only takes a year.

Sara_R: That kind of sounds like a slam dunk.

Kellie: I know. But I’ve dreamed of becoming a doctor since I was a girl. I could really make a difference if I studied medicine.

Sara_R: There’s no doubt about that. What are the cons for each?

Kellie: Well, the obvious con with med school is how long it takes. It would take me years to finish.

Sara_R: True. And it would cost a lot of money.

Kellie: I would be in debt for a long time. But I would make more money becoming a doctor!

Sara_R: This is also true. So, that’s a pro.

Kellie: The only con with social media marketing is…well, it’s not medicine.

Sara_R: I don’t think you need to waste any more time weighing the pros and cons. Your heart is telling you what you want to do, Kellie.

Kellie: You may be right.

Grammar Point

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Discussion

Go Super to Listen

Kellie is ready to return to school, but she is trying to decide what to study. She has always wanted to be a doctor and do good things in the world. She has wanted this since she was young. But Kellie also knows that social media marketing is important to all businesses, and she could easily get a job in that area.

Sara tries to help Kellie make her choice. She asks Kellie if she has weighed the pros and cons of both courses of study. After listening to her friend, Sara can tell what Kellie truly wants in her heart. She helps Kellie understand that studying medicine is most important to her.

Did Kellie make the right choice? Do you weigh the pros and cons before making decisions?

Comments

maryam090

Saudi Arabia

I think a good decision has to be taken by thinking what of them is a benefit for her country. I said that because in my country medicine is more important than social media

majiaoqin

China

I think she makes the right choice. Do what you really want to,to be who you want to be. Time flies,I think we should try our best to reach our goal. I usually weigh the pros and cons before I make decisions. I would say it’s important and useful.

julito1

Argentina

To study medicine in the US is way, way too expensive , if Kellie needs to support herself, her parents has not been saving up for sending their kids to college, she will have to earn good money to live and pay the tuition . It is true what she says that she will be running into heavy debts that will have to be paid after graduation . The cons here is that she will have to work hard for many years to paid up the debt. But one must follow what the heart is saying , so Kellie, go into it .

zoeangelina777

Pakistan

yeah we should weigh the pros and cons before any decision and i think so they both are correct

ola33

Japan

The smarter you’re, the more difficult to make a decision. :)

Wuthering

United States

Buying a a new car is a hard decision I’ve ever made in my life , however , after weighing the Pros and Cons , I’ve decided which one I wanted .

s11211s

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

It depends on Kellie’s age and her abilities! Of course everyone weigh the pros and cons before making decisions.

In my opinion one of the big problems in the decision making process is most of us do not pay attention to our abilities, we only focus on our wishes and aims.

If we want to be successful, we should balance our wishes with our abilities otherwise we won’t be successful in our life!

S&W

China

I suggest Kellie follow her heart and choose medicine .Kellie should cherish this second opportunity to return to school and no need to think which major will be easy to find a job .The world changes too fast to predict which will be populor in future.I know once people made a big decision require people around them give their encouragement and assurment that they choose right.However ,It’s your own life and other people don’t know what your life goal is.I had choosed a major which was thought to be promising by many people,but when I graduated ,everything was changed and I had to compete with a lot of people for one possition.The most regretful is I don’t like my major .

NavidArash

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Sara really helped Kellie out. I also got a feeling that she could do a lot better in medicine. Sometimes we all know which way to go but still need someone out there come and assure us that we are right about it. And Sara done it really great to her friend.

Writing down pros and cons on a piece of paper makes it easier to pick up the best choice.

You know, tossing a coin is an alternative approach to weighing pros and cons (of course it’s unscientific and not a good idea for big decisions) but sometimes It’s fun to be happy-go-lucky and let life decide about it. I really took advantage of this method in my childhood (And maybe that’s why my life ended up like this now.). As well as playing Rock-paper-scissors to settle down a dispute among ourselves.

La Princesse de la vie

Egypt

Well, wherever your heart exists, that’s where you should be. Breaking the mold in something you enjoy doing is a more potential than drifting with the mainstream. So, Kellie would have definitely made the right decision if she chose medicine. I just hope if she can focus less on money-making advantage!

I’m actually in a situation right at the moment to make a decision and it doesn’t require me to weigh pros and cons, ‘cause there is no cons. I think I finally narrowed it down. Now I know what I will do. Good luck Kellie!