PREVIEW ACTIVITY 1 Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.

Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

Work with a partner, group, or your teacher. Do the activities below together.

PART 1 Discuss the questions below about charity and volunteering.

1 What is the difference between giving to charity and volunteering?

Why are these actions important?

2 Which do you think feels more rewarding — giving to charity or volunteering?

Why?

3 Do you think it’s better to give to a close friend or a family member, or to

random strangers who are in need? Explain your answer.

PART 2 Choose the correct definitions of the vocabulary words as used in the sentences.

1 After so much corruption, the people of the country have developed a cynical
view towards their politicians.

a cynical view is... a. a belief that people are lazy and careless
b. a belief that people are selfish and dishonest
c. a belief that people are caring and generous

2 Researchers are trying to discover whether the joy of giving has biological
basis in the brain.

biological basis means... a. genetic variation

b. evolutionary progress
c. natural roots

3 There was a huge drop-off in tourism in 2020 due to the pandemic.

a huge drop-off is... a. a sharp decline or decrease
b. a big shock or surprise
c. a noticeable sign or symbol

4 I like doing volunteer work because of the tangible impact it has on others.

a tangible impact is... a. an impact that is easily seen, felt, or noticed
b. an impact that is manipulated or altered
c. an impact that is only a little bit effective
PREVIEW ACTIVITY 2 Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.
Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

PART 1 Discuss the questions about the vocabulary words as used in the sentences below.

1 Every month, I audit my accounts and my spending to make sure that it’s all
in line with my financial goals.

• What do you think it means to audit your accounts/your spending?

• Why is it important to audit your accounts/spending?

2 Giving a big tip to a restaurant waitress or waiter is an example of generosity.

• What do you think generosity means?

• What are some other examples of generosity?

3 Volunteering is about doing work for others when you’re not forced to do so.

• What do you think it means to be forced to do something?

• Do you think it’s generally a good or bad feeling to be forced to do
something?

4 Thanks to the philanthropy of some of the community leaders, our town

was able to construct a new hospital, library, and event center.

• What do you think philanthropy means?

• Can you name anyone who is a leader in philanthropy on a global level?

5 After having our first child, me and my wife shared a feeling of elation.

• What do you think elation means?

• What are some other life moments in which you might experience elation?
WHY GIVING FEELS GOOD Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.
Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

PREVIEW DISCUSSION: Read the discussion topic

below and discuss it with your partner or teacher.

If you’re comfortable sharing, discuss the extent

to which you give to charity or do volunteer work,
or any kind of experience you have with each.

VIEWING ACTIVITY

PART 1 Discuss / Write short answers according to the information in the video.

0:58 1 What does Michael Norton say about the “cynical view of people” that exists?

1:45 2 Who is Jenni Santi what field does she work in? What kind of experiment does she
discuss and what were the results of this experiment?

3:38 3 Which makes us happier — giving money or giving time? What is the issue with this?

Choose true (T), false (F), or not given (N) according to the information in the video.
PART 2
Explain / correct any false statements.

1 T F N Research suggests that people are generally more generous

than cynical.

2 T F N The idea that giving causes joy is backed by scientific proof.

3 Giving to or helping others produces a similar feeling to

T F N
exercising, eating food, or thinking of romantic partners.

4 T F N Auditing your accounts and giving to things that align with

your core values will help you feel the impact of your
donations.
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY 1 Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.
Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

PART 1 Discuss the questions below.

1 Think about your core values. What kinds of organizations/charities

would you want to donate to that align with your core values?

2 Do you think that people are more naturally self-centered and selfish, or
more generous and selfless? How can people can become more generous?

PART 2 Choose the correct phrases that fit the sentences below. One is not used!

amazing generosity a tangible impact a cynical view

a feeling of elation biological basis a huge drop-off

1 There’s of people that they are really self-centered,

selfish, and never help anybody unless they’re forced to. While this is true,
there’s also happening all the time around the world.

2 Jenny Santi says that when we help someone, we get .

3 There’s in the number of people who volunteer

compared to donate money because volunteering is much harder to do.

4 The act of giving gives us a feeling of having in the world.

Tick () which phrases in bold below are used to express findings/results. If the
PART 3
phrases don’t express findings/results, try to explain what they do express.

1 “ My hunch is that when you give time, it is more impactful on you.”

2 “ Science has shown that our brain releases rewarding chemicals when
we exercise.”

3 “ Turns out, there are two rewards centers of the brain that light up when
people give.”

4 “ These experiments provide evidence that the joy of giving has

biological basis in the brain.”

5 “ Research suggests that giving time does in fact make us happier.”

6 “ The issue is that giving time is much, much harder to do.”
POST-VIEWING ACTIVITY 2 Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.
Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

EXPERIMENT & FINDINGS TASK:

Work with a partner/on your own. Come up with an idea for an experiment and discuss/
write about it. It can be about anything. Use at least 2 phrases expressing findings/
results as well as 2 other phrases/vocabulary provided below when presenting. Then
share and present your experiment and findings to your teacher/class.

PHRASES EXPRESSING Science has shown that... Turns out, ...

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
This experiment provides evidence that... Research suggests that...

OTHER PHRASES/ biological basis a cynical view a tangible impact

VOCABULARY:
generosity a huge drop-off forced

My/Our hunch is that... The issue is that...

EXAMPLE EXPERIMENT IDEA: The effect of giving on the brain

In this experiment, we want to find out whether the joy of giving has biological basis in the
brain. Therefore, we developed an experiment to measure our neuroactivity when we give. Our
hunch is that there is biological basis for joy when we give to others.

In the experiment, subjects were given a pool of money they were allowed to either keep or
donate to charity. As they made their decisions, their brain activity was recorded by FMRI.

Turns out, there are two rewards centers of the brain that light up when people give. And these
are the pleasure centers of the brain. These areas are the same parts of the brain that light up
when we eat food, or when we think of romantic partners. This experiment provides evidence
that the joy of giving has biological basis in the brain.

YOUR EXPERIMENT IDEA:

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.
Why Giving Feels Good (C1)

Work with a partner. Complete the quiz and review activities below.

PART 1 Questions. Discuss the answers to the questions below about the video.

1 Who is Michael Norton? Who is Jenny Santi? What do they speak about?
2 What was the experiment described in the video about? What were the results?
3 Which makes us happier — giving money or giving time? Why?
4 What can you do to help you feel the impact of your donations?

Vocabulary: Define each word below. Then write/say a sentence out loud using each
PART 2
word. Make your sentence somehow connected to the topic of charity/volunteering.

1. philanthropy

2. elation

PART 3 Vocabulary: Write the missing adjective + noun phrases in the spaces below.

1 There’s of people that they are really self-centered,

selfish, and never help anybody unless they’re forced to. While this is true,
there’s also happening all the time around the world.

2 There’s in the number of people who volunteer

compared to donate money because volunteering is much harder to do.

3 The act of giving gives us a feeling of having in the world.

Phrases: Write the verbs that fit the phrases in the video about presenting findings/
PART 4
results.

1 out, there are two rewards centers of the brain that light up
when people give.

2 This experiment evidence that the joy of giving has

biological basis in the brain.

3 Research that giving time does in fact make us happier.