Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

    • ex. The delicate glass can easily break if you’re not careful.
    • ex. The puzzle was complex, so it took me a long time to finish it.
    • ex. He lost his concentration when the loud music started playing.
    • ex. Madison showed a lot of patience while helping her little brother with his math homework.
  1. come across
    • ex. She came across a new exercise routine that she wanted to try.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Lito is a Japanese artist known for creating delicate designs on fallen leaves. He quickly gained fans worldwide by posting his works on social media. His art has helped him find peace as he struggled with ADHD, a condition that affects focus and attention. It gave him a purpose: finding joy by making people happy.

Lito enjoys working at night. He carefully cuts designs into leaves using a pen and a design knife. Some of his complex works, like “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and “Leaf Aquarium,” can take more than eight hours to finish. He likes to finish his work in one session as he focuses.

Before becoming an artist, Lito had trouble at school and work. He didn’t understand others’ feelings and avoided conflict. But even as a child, Lito has always had high levels of concentration and patience. At 30, he discovered he had ADHD. Then, in 2020, he came across leaf cutting and saw it as a way to use his concentration and patience. Now, Lito has regular exhibitions and wants to keep making art that makes people happy.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Lito the Artist

  • Lito finds joy in making people happy through his art. How do you think art can make people happy? Discuss.
  • Lito said that people appreciating his art motivated him to do more. Why do you think positive feedback is important? Discuss.
  • Lito has ADHD and uses leaf cutting as a way to use his concentration and patience. What is your opinion of Lito’s decision to use these qualities positively? Discuss.

Making Art

  • Lito uses leaves as his art material. What do you think of leaf-cutting art? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you are an artist. What material would you use and what kind of art would you make (ex. coffee for painting, plastic bottles for a sculpture)? Discuss.
  • Leaf-cutting takes a lot of patience and concentration. Why do you think patience is important in creative projects? Discuss.