Nature discussion questions and vocabulary brainstorming

IELTS Speaking Part One

Focus on IELTS New Edition Unit 10

Answer the questions below in pairs, with a different person answering first each time.

How important is nature to you?

Are there any green spaces near where you live? What are they like?

Do you have a favourite natural spot? What is it like?

How often do you go to the countryside? What do you do there?

Do you do anything to be ecologically friendly?

What ecological problems worry you most?

How worried are you by natural disasters? Which ones and why?

Brainstorm possible vocabulary to answer the underlined parts of the questions above.

Compare to the answer key on the next page. Are any of your words missing from the answer key?

Could you use any of those words in your answers?

Change pairs and ask the same questions again.

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Suggested answers to the brainstorming task

How important is nature to you? – vital – incredibly/ really/ very/ pretty/ quite/ fairly/ not very/ not at all/ unimportant

Are there any green spaces near where you live? What are they like? – riverside, canal side, park, rooftop garden, rose garden, Japanese-style garden, botanical gardens, courtyard, patch of countryside, outskirts of the city, farm/ city farm, graveyard/ cemetery

Do you have a favourite natural spot? What is it like? – hill/ foothills/ hilly area, lake/ pond/ reservoir, mountain/ peak/ mountain range, cliff, woo/ forest, swamp/ bog, valley, (natural) hot springs, river mouth/ delta, river/ stream, path/ hiking course, island/ peninsular, picnic area, waterfall, nature reserve/ national park, field/ meadow, orchard

How often do you go to the countryside? – almost every weekend, whenever I get the chance, very often, often, not as often as I would like, sometimes, once every few weeks, not very often, hardly ever, almost never, not at all (any more)

What do you do there? – go for a walk/ go for a stroll, get some fresh air, go hiking, bird watching, rafting/ canoeing, hunting, camping, caravanning, mountaineering, rock climbing, photography, (cross country) skiing

Do you do anything to be ecologically friendly? – recycling/ using public transport, vegetarianism/ veganism, not using plastic bags, driving a hybrid car, flying less often, eating organic food, using solar power, reducing my carbon footprint

What ecological problems worry you most? – deforestation/ shrinking rain forests, climate change/ global warming, nuclear energy/ radioactivity/ nuclear waste, air pollution/ low air quality, the ozone layer, greenhouse gases/ the greenhouse effect, GM foods/ genetic engineering, use of pesticides, desertification, light pollution, noise pollution, rising sea levels, melting polar caps/ shrinking polar caps, demographics/ growing world population, urbanisation, whaling, overfishing, endangered species/ reduced biodiversity/ extinction,

How worried are you by natural disasters? – petrified/ beside myself/ incredibly worried/ really worried/ very worried/ pretty worried/ rather worried/ fairly worried/ not very worried/ not worried at all/ blasé

Which ones and why? – volcano, typhoon/ cyclone/ hurricane, tsunami/ tidal wave, flooding, drought/ famine, earthquake, landslide/ avalanche/ mudslide

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PDF for easy saving and printing: Nature discussion questions and brainstorming

Related pages

Nature page

Focus on IELTS page

IELTS Speaking Part One page

Related pages

IELTS Speaking Part One page

Over 300 more pages of IELTS Speaking classroom materials available at https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/ielts-speaking/

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