This week, the Thinking in English Community is talking about “Ability, Talent, and Skill”, in our conversation clubs!
What makes someone good at something? Is it natural talent, hard work, or a combination of both? Some people seem to have natural ability, while others improve through practice, effort, and experience. Understanding this difference can help us think more clearly about learning, success, and personal growth.
This conversation club is inspired by the recent Thinking in English episode What is Talent?, which explored whether ability is something we are born with or something we develop over time.
Talking about this topic will give us a great opportunity to practise expressing opinions, sharing personal experiences, and discussing learning strategies in clear and confident English.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about talent, skill, and what it really takes to improve!
The Thinking in English Conversation Club takes place every TUESDAY and THURSDAY at 12pm, 6pm, and 24pm UK time!
You can find more details on how to participate here!
Conversation Questions:
- What is something you are good at? Do you think you were born good at it, or did you learn it?
- What skills have you learned in the last few years?
- What is something you want to get better at?
- Can hard work replace talent?
- Do you think confidence affects your ability?
- Do you think “practice makes perfect”? Why or why not?
- Can your environment (school, country, culture etc) affect your ability?
- Do you think luck is important for success?
- Why do some people perform badly under pressure?
- Make your own question!
Vocabulary
- Skills (Noun): Abilities to do something well, usually developed through practice.
- Ability (Noun): The natural or learned capacity to do something.
- Talent (Noun): A natural ability to do something well.
- Confidence (Noun): The feeling of being sure about your abilities.
- Practice (Noun/Verb): Repeating an activity to improve performance.
- Environment (Noun): The conditions or surroundings in which a person lives or learns.
- Affect (Verb): To influence or change something.
- Luck (Noun): Success or failure caused by chance rather than effort.
- Success (Noun): Achieving a goal or desired result.
- Perform (Verb): To do a task or activity, especially in a situation where you are judged.
- Under pressure (Phrase): In a stressful situation where performance is important.
- Get better at (Phrase): To improve a skill over time.
Conversation Club Times
12pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 12:00 BST
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 05:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 06:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 08:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 08:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 13:00 CEST
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 13:00 CEST
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 14:00 TRT
- Taipei, Taiwan Tue/Thur at 19:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Tue/Thur at 20:00 JST
18pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur at 18:00 BST
- Mexico City, Mexico Tue/Thur at 11:00 CST
- Bogota, Colombia Tue/Thur at 12:00 COT
- Santiago, Chile Tue/Thur at 14:00 CLST
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tue/Thur at 14:00 BRT
- Rome, Italy Tue/Thur at 19:00 CEST
- Warsaw, Poland Tue/Thur at 19:00 CEST
- Istanbul, Turkey Tue/Thur at 20:00 TRT
- Taipei, Taiwan Wed/Fri at 01:00 CST
- Tokyo, Japan Wed/Fri at 02:00 JST
24:00pm Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Wed/Fri at 00:00 BST
- 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 01:00 CEST
- Warsaw, Poland Wed, Wed/Fri at 01:00 CEST
- 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?
