Ecological vocabulary/ Useful language for writing reports/ Hedging language
Objective Proficiency Unit 13
Use language like that below to explain people’s attitudes to environmental issues, people’s actions related to environmental issues, etc. See if your partner agrees, discuss that generalisation for as long as you like, then do the same with other language/ topics below.
| Useful language for discussing generalisations “That’s exactly what I would say.” “I wouldn’t go that far. I would say that…” “I would go (even) further and say that…” “I totally disagree.”/ “I have the opposite opinion. I would say that…” |
| According to
Amongst people I know In my experience I get the feeling that (From discussions I’ve had on the subject) I have formed the impression that A survey has shown that It wouldn’t surprise me if | (absolutely) all
virtually all practically all very nearly all almost all the vast majority of most people many people/ a large number of people a considerable number of/ a substantial number of people quite a lot of/ a fairly large number of a substantial minority of not many/ few a small minority of very few a tiny minority of almost no practically no virtually no
| activists
baby boomers civil servants experts Generation X middle-aged people millennials people in developed countries people in developing countries people in East Asia people in this city people in this country politicians researchers retired people rich people students teachers teenagers the middle class the upper middle class voters young children young people
| always/ without fail
almost always usually/ generally often/ frequently occasionally seldom/ rarely hardly ever almost never |
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| accept
are (un)informed about are concerned/ worried about are confused by are considering are cutting down are interested in are sceptical about are well informed about aren’t… believe buy can afford can’t… consider discuss don’t… expect go to have opinions on ignore know about listen to/ watch look into misunderstand panic about pay attention to prioritise read realise spend money on support think about trust… on try to… understand use visit vote for wonder about would(n’t)… | (air/ water/ noise/ light) pollution
(commercial) fishing/ whaling (hydroelectric) dams (plastic/ glass) bottles (soil) erosion acid rain air miles allergies (hay fever etc) arresting/ fining/ imprisoning people for… asthma/ breathing difficulties banning… biodiversity biofuels birth defects carbon dioxide/ CO2 carbon footprint carpools charismatic megafauna consumer campaigns coral bleaching deforestation disposable razors/ pens/ nappies/ chopsticks ecological education ecoterrorism electric vehicles endangered animals energy consumption energy efficiency environmental activists (Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, etc) extinctions extreme weather (blizzards, hurricanes, etc) farming fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil) fuel cells/ hydrogen fuel gardens | global warming
GM crops/ GM foods green activism green belt green goods green parties green spaces green taxes/ carbon tax greenhouse gases hybrid cars insulation invasive species (Japanese knotweed, etc) ivory landfills locally produced foods national parks/ wildlife preserves nuclear energy/ waste organic food/ farming packaging pesticides/ herbicides plastic (carrier) bags population public transport radiation (sickness) renewable energy (wind farms, solar energy, etc) rising sea levels rubbish (= garbage/ trash) rubbish dumps sewage skin cancer smog subsidies for… the construction industry the ozone layer the smart grid the three Rs thermal energy urbanisation vegetarianism/ veganism water use zoos
|
Share something you agreed on and see if the class agrees. Then ask about anything above you don’t understand, working together to make suitable generalisations each time.
Environmental recommendations
Use language like that below to give (strong or weak) advice on how the environment could be improved, by consumers/ the general public, companies, the government, international organisations, etc.
| Although it depends on your situation
For most people… In this country In the short term In the medium term As soon as possible Over the long term
| ….have no choice but to…
By far the best option is… … must make sure to… … needs to…/ It is necessary to… I would recommend…/ My (main) recommendation would be…/ My (main) suggestion would be…/ My advice would be to…/ It is worth…/ I would suggest…/ I’d advise…/ … would be effective./ … would benefit from…/ … ought to… … would probably work. It might be a good idea to…/ It might be useful to… … could… … could possibly… It can’t hurt to… It is worth considering… It might be worth considering…
| accept
attempt to ban/ forbid be sceptical about build more buy consider cut (down on) decrease do something about find an alternative for find out fund ignore increase invest money in listen to look into pay attention to prioritise read research spend money on stop support take an interest in think about trust… on try to use visit vote for watch worry (more) about
|
Share one recommendation that you agreed on and see if the rest of the class agrees or would make it different in some way.
Ask about anything above you don’t understand, working together to make suitable (strong or weak) recommendations each time.
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Generalising and giving advice language presentation
First of all without any help, write suitable language in the right places below, with language with the same meaning/ the same strength next to each other.
(absolutely) all
virtually no
always/ without fail
almost never
….have no choice but to…
It might be worth considering…
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Look at the mixed answers below to help, putting equal ones next to each other.
Check your answers as a class or with the suggested answers below.
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Mixed answers
Use these mixed answers to help with the brainstorming task above, putting equivalent ones next to each other.
(absolutely) all
a considerable number of
a fairly large number of
a large number of people
a small minority of
a substantial minority of
a substantial number of people
a tiny minority of
almost all
almost no
many people
most people
not many/ few
practically all
practically no
quite a lot of
the vast majority of
very few
very nearly all
virtually all
virtually no
almost always
almost never
always
frequently
generally
hardly ever
occasionally
often
rarely
seldom
usually
without fail
… could possibly…
… could…
… must make sure to…
… needs to…
… ought to…
… would be effective.
… would benefit from…
… would probably work.
….have no choice but to…
By far the best option is…
I would recommend…
I would suggest…
I’d advise…
It can’t hurt to…
It is necessary to…
It is worth considering…
It is worth…
It might be a good idea to…
It might be useful to…
It might be worth considering…
My (main) recommendation would be…
My (main) suggestion would be…
My advice would be to…
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Suggested answers
Other language and rankings are possible, so please check if you wrote something different.
(absolutely) all
virtually all
practically all
very nearly all
almost all
the vast majority of
most people
many people/ a large number of people
a considerable number of/ a substantial number of people
quite a lot of/ a fairly large number of
a substantial minority of
not many/ few
a small minority of
very few
a tiny minority of
almost no
practically no
virtually no
always/ without fail
almost always
usually/ generally
often/ frequently
occasionally
seldom/ rarely
hardly ever
almost never
….have no choice but to…
By far the best option is…
… must make sure to…
… needs to…/ It is necessary to…
I would recommend…/ My (main) recommendation would be…/ My (main) suggestion would be…/ My advice would be to…/ It is worth…/ I would suggest…/ I’d advise…/ … would be effective./ … would benefit from…/ … ought to…
… would probably work.
It might be a good idea to…/ It might be useful to…
… could…
… could possibly…
It can’t hurt to…
It is worth considering…
It might be worth considering…
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