This week the ‘Thinking in English’ Community is talking about controversial debates!
People often have different opinions about how society should work, from whether money makes us happier to whether university education should be free. These questions don’t always have one clear or correct answer, which makes them interesting to discuss!
In a recent episode of Thinking in English, we explored the debate around the death penalty and the arguments for and against it. In this conversation club, we’ll explore other topics that people disagree about, share our opinions, and practise explaining our ideas while listening to different points of view.
Here are 10 conversation questions to get you debating different points of view!
The Thinking in English Conversation Club takes place every TUESDAY and THURSDAY at 12pm, 18pm, and 23pm UK time!
You can find more details on how to participate here!
Conversation Questions:
- Are books better than films?
- Do smartphones make our lives better or worse?
- Is working from home better than working in an office?
- Are exams a good way to measure someone’s ability?
- Does money make people happier?
- Should public transport be free for everyone?
- Should university education be free, or should students pay for their degrees?
- Should tourists pay higher prices than local people to visit popular attractions?
- Should there be a maximum age for politicians?
- Make your own questions!
Vocabulary
- Compare (v): To examine the similarities and differences between two or more things.
- Smartphone (n): A mobile phone that can access the internet and run applications.
- Work from home (phrase): To do your job from your home rather than an office.
- Measure (v): To judge or determine the size, amount, or quality of something.
- Ability (n): The skill or power to do something.
- Public transport (n): Buses, trains, and other transport services available for public use.
- University education (n): Education provided by a university, usually leading to a degree.
- Degree (n): A qualification awarded by a university after completing a course of study.
- Attraction (n): A place that people visit because it is interesting or enjoyable.
- Local (n): A person who lives in a particular area.
- Maximum age (n): The oldest age allowed for someone to do something.
- Politician (n): A person who works in politics, especially as an elected representative.
- Advantage (n): A positive feature or benefit of something.
- Disadvantage (n): A negative feature or drawback of something.
- Point of view (n): A particular way of thinking about or understanding something.
Conversation Club Times
12:00 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
18:00 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
23:00 Conversation Club Around The World
- London, United Kingdom Tue/Thur 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 01:00 CET
- Warsaw, Poland Wed/Fri at 01:00 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?
