Conversation class on athlete salaries
In this week's lesson you will learn the necessary skills to talk about Athlete Salaries in English with your online English teacher via Skype.
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Quote on Athlete Salaries
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In this first class we will be looking at a quote by Sara Silverman, and discussing some questions based on vocabulary related to sport and money.
We also recommend that you take some time to study the common pronunciation problems and common mistakes that our students make.
Before we get started, let's look at a couple of warm-up questions on the topic of athlete salaries.
Warm-up questions to discuss with your teacher
1. What is a professional athlete?
2. Who are the top professional athletes in your country? How much do you think they earn?
Now check your pronunciation of the below vocabulary with your native English teacher, and discuss the questions to put this new vocabulary into use.
Vocabulary
Question
Deserve
Do you think professional athletes deserve high salaries? What arguments are there in favour of it?
Fair
Is it fair for a top level footballer to earn 200 more times than a player in the second or third divisions?
Avoid
Does it annoy you that some athletes avoid paying taxes on the millions they earn?
Give back
Do you know of any celebrities/athletes who give back to their communities?
Bribery / Corruption
In your opinion, has the high amount of money in sport ruined it? Is it more vulnerable to bribery and corruption?
Improve your Pronunciation with this FREE video course!
Quote of the Day
Finally, discuss the Quote of the Day with your native English teacher via Skype.
First explain the meaning, and then say whether you agree or disagree:
"We don't get what we want, we get what we think we deserve."
– Sarah Silverman
Common pronunciation problems
Astronomical 
Astronomical 
Earn
Earn
Worth
Worth
Common mistakes
| WRONG | RIGHT |
| ✘ They win too much money | ✔ They earn too much money |
| ✘ They can buy that they want | ✔ They can buy what they want |
| ✘ Their salaries are too much | ✔ Their salaries are too high |
Should athletes ask for more?
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In this class we will be looking at questions and vocabulary related to sponsorships.
We also recommend you watch the video before your English class to be able to discuss it with your English teacher.
Before we get started, let's look at a couple of warm-up questions on the topic of sponsorship.
Warm-up questions to discuss with your teacher
1. What is a sponsorship?
2. Can you name any athletes with famous sponsorships?
Now check your pronunciation of the below vocabulary with your native English teacher, and discuss the questions to put this new vocabulary into use.
| Vocabulary | Question |
| Promoted | Do you buy any products promoted by a professional athlete? |
| Earn a living | In what other ways can athletes earn a living? |
| Factors | What different factors do companies need to consider before sponsoring an athlete? |
| Agreement | Do you know of any sponsors cancelling sponsorship agreements with any sports star/organisation? Why? |
| Sponsor | Which world sports team or player would you sponsor? Why? |
Now discuss the video with your English teacher in your online conversation classes via Skype:
Click to do the English listening exercise on this video!
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This article talks about LeBron, Mayweather, Ronaldo and Tiger are all sporting ‘brands’ you can take to the bank - but who is greatest money-spinner of all time? Read and discuss the article with your native English-speaking teacher online via Skype:
Article “NBA superstar James was recently anointed sport’s most valuable individual brand and in 2013 he earned $53 million in endorsements alone. Chuck in a lazy $20 million per year in salary and it’s easy to see how the star could afford the pile of bricks in Miami that he put on the market after announcing his intention to return to Cleveland." Read more… Questions to discuss with your English teacher 1. Who is sport's most valuable individual brand? 2. How much money did Mayweather pocket for his last two fights? 3. How many Bugatti Veyrons does Floyd own? 4. Who is the highest paid footballer on the planet? 5. How much does this famous footballer earn?
Irregular Verbs
| Present | Past | Participle |
| Pay | Paid | Paid |
| Get | Got | Got / Gotten |
| Make | Made | Made |
Role play on Athlete Salaries
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Role plays are a fantastic way of practicing real life English expressions, which are incredibly important to know if you want to increase your fluency and speak English like a native speaker.
Choose your favourite role (role A or role B) and practice the below role play with your native English teacher via Skype. Your teacher will help you with typical spoken English expressions that will help you speak English like a native speaker!
Improve your English writing skills by choosing one of the following essay questions, and sending it to us for correction.
We will reply within 48 hours with the corrected text, clearly marking your mistakes, and a feedback sheet, which you can use to improve your future written work.
See our other English conversation lessons, to improve your grammar and vocabulary, and practice your reading and listening skills.
And don't forget to book your online English conversation classes with one of our native English-speaking teachers to put into practice what you’ve learned in this lesson.
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