This week the Thinking in English Community is talking about major cities and capital cities!
Every city has its own unique history and character. I think discussing these cities and sharing our thoughts and experiences will lead to some great conversations.
This conversation club is inspired by my series of episodes exploring cities from around the world, including London, Warsaw, Rome, Mexico City, Berlin, and most recently Rio de Janeiro. Although Rio is no longer Brazil’s capital, it remains one of the world’s most famous and influential cities.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you talking about capital cities, famous places, and the role cities play in our countries and our lives!
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 the capital city of your country?
- How is the capital city different from other cities in your country?
- What famous landmarks or buildings are in your capital city?
- Why do you think a country needs a capital city?
- Can a country have more than one capital city? Do you know any examples?
- How has your capital city changed in the last 10 years?
- How does the cost of living in capital cities compare to other places?
- Should a country move its capital city if the current one has many problems?
- Should governments spend more money on capital cities or on smaller towns?
- Make your own questions!
Vocabulary
- Capital city (noun): The city where a country’s government is based.
Example: London is the capital city of the United Kingdom. - Landmark (noun): A famous or easily recognized building or place.
Example: The Eiffel Tower is a landmark of Paris. - Cost of living (noun phrase): The amount of money needed to pay for basic goods and services like housing, food, and transport.
Example: The cost of living is usually higher in capital cities. - Compare (verb): To examine how two or more things are similar or different.
Example: Let’s compare the capital with smaller cities. - Government (noun): The group of people who control and make decisions for a country.
Example: The government usually meets in the capital city. - Spend (verb): To use money to buy or pay for something.
Example: The government wants to spend more on public transport. - Change (verb): To become different or to make something different.
Example: The capital city has changed a lot in the past 10 years. - Problem (noun): Something that causes difficulty or needs to be solved.
Example: Traffic is a big problem in many capital cities. - Smaller town (noun phrase): A town that is not very big and usually has fewer people than a city.
Example: Some people prefer living in smaller towns.
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?
