Listening and Speaking Activity: Lizzie Velasquez

Deceptive appearances: seeing looks in a new light

When Lizzie Velasquez was in high school, she found a video of herself on the internet: “The World’s Ugliest Woman,” the eight-second clip called her. It attracted thousands of comments - some of them suggesting she “do the world a favour” by killing herself. Instead, the now 25-year-old became a motivational speaker. Last year, she presented a TED talk about her experiences. Viewed by millions of people around the world, its core question was: what defines you? As a result of an extremely rare syndrome preventing her from gaining weight and building muscle, Lizzie’s appearance deviates significantly from the norm. After being ridiculed online, her public refusal to allow the way she looks to define her went viral. Today, she is a minor celebrity and the author of two books.
(Source: You can read the complete article here)

Watch Lizzie’s famous Ted Talk and answer the following questions:

1.      How would you describe Lizzie? Choose adjectives to describe her personality.

2.      Sum up Lizzie’s first day of school. How did she feel?

3.      In which ways was Lizzie bullied in school? What did she decide to do?

4.      Lizzie has a great sense of humour, can you remember any of the jokes she makes during her speech?

5.      Is Lizzie a successful woman nowadays?

6.      What’s her piece of advice?