It never ceases to amaze me how innovative humans can be. The Recession has meant enormous hardship and caused life changes for many but it has also encouraged people to think of creative and interesting ways to save money.

For example, in the USA diners are turning to food trucks serving gourmet food as a cheaper dining option. '"I've eaten all over the world in three-star restaurants. I enjoy this...and I save a lot of money," said one diner.' Our elementary Instant lesson "Truck Stops" looks at this phenomenon and then asks students to create their own food truck and role play ordering food from other students' trucks.

In Britain some people are learning about butchery and cuts of meat. "More people want to cook at home in the recession, eat fresher meat and know where it is produced. Students learn about different cuts of meat, how to prepare fillet, sirloin, rump or rib eye, and can take their juicy piece home afterwards." ("DIY" Intermediate Instant Lesson) This lesson is available to all members this month as our free resource.

And for those men who care about their personal appearance or who are going for a job interview soon, have you thought about having your eyebrows shaped? This is the latest fad among British men according to the Thomson Reuters article featured in our Upper Intermediate lesson "Brow Beating". Students can discuss different styles of eyebrows and then get to design new eyebrow styles. Perhaps you could ask them to come up with a new eyebrow style for you!

And in lessons that look at more universal themes, in our Pre-Intermediate lesson "No Twittter", we look at celebrities coping with fame with Miley Cyrus deleting her Twitter account, while a new Intermediate Instant Lesson "Global Aging" foretells what kind of future elderly people can expect to have in 50 or a hundred year's time.

The worldwide recession is causing pain but it is also engendering innovation and creativity. Read about some of these ideas in our latest resources.

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Newest resources in the Teachers’ Room include:

- Truck Stops, Elementary Instant Lesson
American diners are buying food from food trucks. They're cheaper than restaurants and customers enjoy the novelty and variety. Eating habits, restaurants and food trucks, fast food, quantifiers.

- No Twitter, Pre-Intermediate Instant Lesson
Miley Cyrus, teen pop rock star, has canceled her Twitter account. She is tired of celebrity sites turning her posts into news.
Celebrities and fame, Twitter, second conditional.
- Global Aging, Intermediate Instant Lesson
More than half of babies born in rich nations today will live to be 100 years old and "if people in their 60s and early 70s worked much more than they do nowadays, then most people could work fewer hours per week." Life expectancy, aging and statistics.

- Brow Beating, Upper Intermediate Instant Lesson
British men are becoming increasingly interested in having their eyebrows professionally groomed. Personal appearance, image, fashion, quantifiers: some and any.

- How Would You Like To Pay? - Weekly Warmer
A Pre-Intermediate resource in which students use memory cards to complete utterances used when buying a clothing item.

-The Gleaners - Upper-Intermediate Instant Workbook
Foraging, trading and recycling. Students can read 2 news articles about recession beating and practise using -ing forms and gerunds as adjectives.