Speaking Unit 8 The Natural Environment
Focus on Part 1 of the IELTS Speaking Test
WARM-UP
1. Think of your home and answer the following questions.
a. Do you live in a house, an apartment or another type of accommodation?
b. Are there any public facilities nearby e.g. a garden, sports park, library, and museum?
c. Is this a good area for old people, children or students? Why?
d. Describe the natural environment, e.g. nearby lakes or rivers, parks, the air.
2. Put the following vocabulary into the 2 lists, nouns or adjectives. The first ones have been done for you.
VOCABULARY
3. Use your dictionary to check the meaning of the words from the vocabulary list. Which words from the list have a negative meaning?
4. Listen to the words in exercise 2 and mark the stressed syllable in each word. Listen again and repeat the words.
PRONUNCIATION
l and r
5. Listen to the audio and decide whether the speaker is saying the word in List A or List B. You’ll hear each word twice. Place a tick beside the one you hear. The first one has been done for you.
6. Listen and repeat the words above. Try practising these at home to hear the difference in the sounds and play the same game with your friends.
7. Listen to some candidates answering these Part 1 IELTS speaking questions. The answers are not in the correct order. Match the answers to the questions. The first one has been done or you.
a. Where do you live? In an apartment or a house? Speaker 2
b. What is the area like where you live? ________
c. Describe the town or city where you live. ________
d. Where do people go at the weekend to enjoy some fresh air? ________
e. Describe a popular destination near your town which has natural beauty. ________
8. Listen to the following Part 1 IELTS questions and mark the sentence stress. The first one has been done for you.
a. Where do you live? In an apartment or a house?
b. What is the area like where you live?
c. Describe the town or city where you live.
d. Tell me about where people go at the weekend to enjoy some fresh air.
e. How do people enjoy the outdoors where you live?
9. Work with a partner. Student A is the examiner and Student B is the candidate. Student A asks the questions above focusing on sentence stress. Student B chooses and reads the correct answer from the script at the end of this unit. Change roles and repeat.
GRAMMAR
10. Listen to find out what people can do to help the environment. Then answer the questions below.
a. Who wants to reduce their impact on the environment?
b. Who thinks it’s a good idea to drive less and use less electricity at home?
c. Who thinks that recycling uses too much energy and produces more carbon in the environment?
d. Who comments on the amount of waste people just throw on the ground?
e. Who recommends changing our lifestyle drastically?
11. What advice does Chloe give?
a. We ought to recycle some goods.
b. We should try to reuse things instead.
12. Can you exchange should and ought to in these sentences without changing the meaning?
Yes. Should and ought to have the ________ meaning for advice and conclusions:
SHOULD—OUGHT TO
We should not build any more roads through it.
We ought to do things to encourage nature lovers to visit the forest.
should and ought to have the same meaning.
You can always use should instead of ought to.
They are used when giving advice.
Pronunciation: should /∫ud/ weak form /∫əd/
ought to /tu:/ weak form /tə/
Positive: Subject + should/ought to + base form verb
Negative: Subject + should + not + base form
Question: Should + subject + base form…?
Note: Questions and negative forms using ‘ought to’ are less common.
13. Listen to the audio and repeat. You’ll hear each sentence twice.
a. You should try to cut down your carbon footprint.
b. You ought to travel by bike or on foot instead of car whenever possible.
c. We oughtn’t to leave the lights on when we leave the room.
d. We shouldn’t waste water.
14. Now read the scripts below and underline the words ‘should’ and ‘ought to’.
Maddi
To try to cut down on our carbon footprint for the environment, we should travel by bike or on foot instead of using the car whenever possible. We also ought to turn lights off when we leave a room, take shorter showers to conserve water and recycle for sure!
Chloe
We ought to recycle some goods. People think that recycling is so good for the environment, but the truth is, it really isn't that great. You have to use fossil fuels for the energy to break it down and then make a new product out of it. We ought to try to reuse things instead.
Stacy
I’ve always thought we should go back to the basics. If everyone would quit throwing trash on the ground it would be a huge step in the right direction...Sounds simple, but drive down a highway and look to your left and right and you’ll see what I mean...
Michael
I think we should all sell our cars, our houses, and most belongings. Live in a brush hut, eat berries, wear leaves for clothes, and move every 2 months.
15. Look at the script of the four speakers again and make sentences of their ideas using ‘should’ or ‘ought to’. Write your sentences below. The first two have been done for you.
a. You ought to cut down on your carbon footprint.
b. We should travel by bike or on foot instead of using the car whenever possible.
c. ………………………………………………………………………………
d. ………………………………………………………………………………
e. ………………………………………………………………………………
f. ……………………………………………………………………………...
g. ……………………………………………………………………………...
h. ……………………………………………………………………………...
i. ……………………………………………………………………………...
j. ……………………………………………………………………………...
16. Add some of your own ideas as to what people can do to help the environment. Start your sentences using ‘I think we should/ought to…’ or ‘In my opinion, we should/ought to…’. Tell your partner your ideas.
Put it all together
17. Use the box below to write notes about the environment where you live. Make as many notes as possible. Use your dictionary and the vocabulary you have learnt in this unit.
18. Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions above.
19. Here are some more questions for you to practise with.
a. Do you like spending time outdoors? Why/ Why not?
b. What activities do you enjoy outside? Why?
c. Are there any outdoor activities you don’t enjoy? Why not?
d. Do you think being outside during the day is important? Why/Why not?
e. Describe a park or public garden that you enjoy visiting.
f. Where is a very popular place for people to go and enjoy the outdoors on holiday? Why do they go there?
g. Where do most people in you country go to relax at the weekend?
h. Do you think we should protect the natural environment? Why/ Why not?
i. Do most people in your country care about the environment? Why/ Why not?
j. How do people care for the environment in your country?
k. What kinds of pollution problems do you have in your country?
l. What kinds of natural disasters have you heard of? Give details.
m. What kinds of weather do you like best?