This week the ‘Thinking in English’ Community is talking about time and culture!
Time is something we all experience every day, but we don’t all think about it in the same way. Some people are always early, others are often late, and in some cultures being “on time” means something completely different. How we organise our day, plan our future, and react to delays can all be influenced by culture.
In this conversation club, we’ll explore how different people and societies understand time. Do you prefer a strict schedule or a more relaxed approach? Have you ever experienced cultural differences when it comes to punctuality? And do all cultures really see time in the same way?
This is a great opportunity to practice talking about habits, routines, and cultural differences while sharing your own experiences.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about time and culture!
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:
- Are you usually early, on time, or late?
- How do you feel when someone is late? How do you feel when you are late?
- Do you plan your day or just go with the flow?
- Do you like to be busy, or do you prefer a relaxed schedule?
- Are people in your country usually punctual?
- Have you noticed time differences between cultures?
- Have you ever had a misunderstanding because of time?
- How does technology (phones, calendars) affect how we use time?
- Do all cultures see time in the same way? Why or why not?
- Make your own questions!
Vocabulary
- On time (Phrase): At the correct or expected time.
- Early (Adverb): Before the expected time.
- Late (Adverb): After the expected time.
- Plan (Verb): To organise something in advance.
- Go with the flow (Phrase): To be relaxed and not plan strictly.
- Busy (Adjective): Having a lot to do.
- Relaxed (Adjective): Calm and not stressed.
- Schedule (Noun): A plan of activities and times.
- Punctual (Adjective): Arriving on time.
- Misunderstanding (Noun): A failure to understand something correctly.
- Time difference (Noun Phrase): The difference in time between places.
- Affect (Verb): To influence something.
Resources
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?
