This week, the Thinking in English Community is discussing the environment and the Tragedy of the Commons in our conversation clubs.
Environmental problems are both global and local. I’m sure you have heard countless news reports discussing pollution and climate change, or the way we treat oceans, rivers, and the air. These issues are connected to the idea of the “Tragedy of the Commons.” This is when shared resources are overused because no one person feels fully responsible.
This conversation club is inspired by the recent Thinking in English episodes on the Tragedy of the Commons and The Great Smog, which explored how environmental crises happen and why they can be so difficult to solve.
Talking about these topics will give us the chance to practise expressing opinions, agreeing and disagreeing politely, and discussing complex global issues in clear, confident English.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about the environment, responsibility, and the future of our planet!
The Thinking in English Conversation Club takes place every TUESDAY and THURSDAY at 12pm, 6pm, and 23pm UK time!
You can find more details on how to participate here!
Conversation Questions:
- How important is protecting the environment to you personally?
- What simple things can people do to help the environment?
- What kind of pollution worries you the most?
- Do you think climate change feels like a local problem or a global problem?
- Is it fair that some countries pollute more than others?
- Who should take the biggest responsibility for environmental problems? Individuals, companies, or governments?
- Do you think economic growth and environmental protection can exist together?
- Do people treat shared things (like the oceans or the rivers or the air) worse than private things? Why?
- What gives you hope about the future of the environment?
- Make your own questions
Vocabulary
- Protect (verb): to keep something safe from harm or damage
- Environment (noun): the natural world, including air, water, land, and living things
- Pollution (noun): harmful substances added to the environment
- Climate change (noun): long-term changes in global temperatures and weather patterns
- Global (adjective): relating to the whole world
- Local (adjective): relating to a particular area or community
- Responsibility (noun): the duty to deal with or take care of something
- Environmental protection (noun phrase): actions taken to prevent damage to nature
- Economic growth (noun phrase): an increase in a country’s production, income, and wealth
- Shared resources (noun phrase): natural things like oceans, rivers, or air that everyone uses
- Fair (adjective): just and reasonable
- Exist together (verb phrase): to be possible at the same time
- Future (noun): the time that is coming next
Resources
Conversation Club Times
12pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 12:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 06:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 07:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 09:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 09:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 13:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 13:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 15:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Tue/Thur at 20:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Tue/Thur at 21:00 JST
18pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 18:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 12:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 13:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 15:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 15:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 19:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 19:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 21:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Wed/Fri at 02:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Wed/Fri at 03:00 JST
23:00pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Wed/Fri at 23:00 GMT
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 17:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 18:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 20:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 20:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Wed/Fri at 00:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Wed, Wed/Fri at 00:00 CET
- Istanbul, Turkey Wed/Fri at 02:00 EEST
- Taipei, Taiwan Wed/Fri at 07:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Wed/Fri at 08:00 JST
Model Answers & Vocabulary
To help you prepare for the Thinking in English conversation club this week, I have created vocabulary lists and some model answers.
The model answers are split into intermediate, upper-intermediate, and advanced level responses. Hopefully this will give you an idea on the differences in quality between intermediate and advanced responses, and perhaps inspire your own answers to these questions!
B1 (Intermediate)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
B2 (Upper Intermediate)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
C1 (Advanced Level)
Model Answers
Vocabulary
See you all at this week’s conversation club!
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Further Questions?
