The Reading / Listening - Mental Health - Level 2

Amazon wants to help workers with mental health problems. It plans to put booths called "wellness chambers" in its warehouses to help workers relax. Workers can sit inside one of the booths and watch videos about relaxation. Amazon said the chambers are part of a system called "AmaZen". Zen is a method of meditating and focusing on being calm. The company said: "Employees can visit AmaZen stations and watch short videos featuring easy-to-follow well-being activities, including guided meditations...and calming scenes with sounds."

Not all was Zen-like on social media after Amazon shared a video of its AmaZen chamber. Many Twitter users criticised both the idea of the wellness chamber and working conditions at Amazon's warehouses. An Amazon worker said the chambers would not work. He described his experiences of working at Amazon. He said: "You don't get treated like a person. They work you like a robot…You don't have time to...get water. You don't have time to go to the bathroom." Amazon said: "The health and safety of employees is [our] number one priority and has been since day one."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Mental Health - Level 0 Mental Health - Level 1   or  Mental Health - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57287151
  • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-rolls-zenbooth-warehouse-employees-135253883.html
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/amazon-amazen-union-alabama-warehouse-b1855408.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. mental health
  2. Workers can sit inside
  3. part of a system
  4. focusing on being
  5. watch short
  6. easy-to-follow well-
  7. guided
  8. calming scenes with
  1. being activities
  2. called "AmaZen"
  3. meditations
  4. one of the booths
  5. calm
  6. sounds
  7. videos
  8. problems

Paragraph 2

  1. Not all was Zen-like
  2. working
  3. He described his
  4. You don't get treated
  5. They work you like
  6. The health and safety of
  7. our number one
  8. since day
  1. one
  2. like a person
  3. employees
  4. a robot
  5. priority
  6. conditions
  7. on social media
  8. experiences

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Amazon wants to (1) ___________________ mental health problems. It plans to put booths called "wellness chambers" in its warehouses to (2) ___________________. Workers can sit inside one of the booths and watch (3) ___________________. Amazon said the chambers are part of a system called "AmaZen". Zen is a method of meditating and focusing (4) ___________________. The company said: "Employees can visit AmaZen stations and watch short videos featuring (5) ___________________ well-being activities, including guided meditations... (6) ___________________ with sounds."

Not all was Zen-like on social media after Amazon (7) ___________________ of its AmaZen chamber. Many Twitter users criticised both (8) ___________________ the wellness chamber and working conditions at Amazon's warehouses. An Amazon worker said the chambers (9) ___________________. He described his experiences of working at Amazon. He said: "You don't (10) ___________________ a person. They work you like a robot…You don't have time to...get water. You don't have time to go to the bathroom." Amazon said: "The (11) ___________________ of employees is [our] (12) ___________________ and has been since day one."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Amazonwantstohelpworkerswithmentalhealthproblems.Itplanstop
utboothscalled"wellnesschambers"initswarehousestohelpworkersr
elax.Workerscansitinsideoneoftheboothsandwatchvideosaboutrela
xation.Amazonsaidthechambersarepartofasystemcalled"AmaZen".
Zenisamethodofmeditatingandfocusingonbeingcalm.Thecompanys
aid:"EmployeescanvisitAmaZenstationsandwatchshortvideosfeatur
ingeasy-to-followwell-beingactivities,includingguidedmeditations.
..andcalmingsceneswithsounds."NotallwasZen-likeonsocialmediaaf
terAmazonsharedavideoofitsAmaZenchamber.ManyTwitteruserscri
ticisedboththeideaofthewellnesschamberandworkingconditionsatA
mazon'swarehouses.AnAmazonworkersaidthechamberswouldnotw
ork.HedescribedhisexperiencesofworkingatAmazon.Hesaid:"Youdo
n'tgettreatedlikeaperson.Theyworkyoulikearobot…Youdon'thaveti
meto...getwater.Youdon'thavetimetogotothebathroom."Amazonsa
id:"Thehealthandsafetyofemployeesis[our]numberonepriorityandh
asbeensincedayone."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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