They make a mess in both town and country. Have you ever been to a beautiful place and seen rubbish everywhere? On the other hand, are they the biggest problem the environment faces? They don’t pollute the air or damage our lungs like car exhaust fumes, we can re-use them and recycle them. Whatever the truth, many places restrict their […]
All too often, course books make students write a letter of complaint using the same old contexts every time. An unsatisfactory hotel room, a faulty product, or bad service in a restaurant. This time let’s breathe some fresh air into this genre of writing. And do some good for the world we live in at the same time! Explore the […]
Ideal for exam classes and teacher-training. This lesson practices skills common in exams like FCE, IELTs, and Aptis; deducing meaning from context, and choosing the best heading for each paragraph. Based around George Monbiot’s article ‘Rewild the Child’, which argues for a radical rethink in how we educate children by getting them out of the classroom and taking them outdoors. […]
They say you can tell next season’s hottest trend by looking at the colour of the rivers in Mexico and China. That’s because global fashion brands like Calvin Klein and GAP are using hazardous chemicals and dyes to make our clothes. In this lesson students watch a fantastic mock anime film trailer in which our superheros expose the dark side […]
Take Action! In this lesson we are encouraged to take action over an important issue; the threat of oil companies like Shell moving into the Arctic to drill for oil with potentially devastating consequences. The outcome of the lesson is students write a short text persuading people to take action on the course of their choosing. They use language for […]
Why a bike-sharing language lesson? I wrote this language lesson because bike-sharing schemes must be one of the best infrastructure developments in cities in recent years. Turn up, pay for a bike, ride it to the next drop-off point, and you are there! In terms of reducing pollution, getting fit, and making cities more pleasant places to live, it’s a […]
Prize-winners This lesson is based around a jig-saw reading and looks at winners of this years Goldman prize, which honours ordinary people who have done extraordinary actions to protect nature, the environment and the human communities that live in them. Download the lesson plan: an-eco-prize
In this lesson for young learners, the class make an environmental audit for the school. Children are always being told what to do by adults, and this gives them the chance to judge how well adults and their school are doing, and make recommendations for them. This lesson is suitable for young learners from 7 to 13 years old, from […]
Here is a jigsaw reading on the topic of interesting ways to generate energy, whether it is to power a ship or a disco or charge up your mobile phone! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzb3VFi3Sew?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360] This lesson plan can be used with B1 level students and above, and the video of the disco that generates electricity from people dancing is a great way […]
Climate Change It’s a complex and politically controversial topic, and one people might shy away from dealing with in class. This lesson simplifies the basic science in a lesson rich in the language items around the topic of climate change. Follow the link to download the lesson plan from the British Council’s teachingenglish website: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/lesson-plans/climate-change-overview
