A selection of English ESL global issues printables

Simplified text about global issues/challenges. The students can try to read the text first, then move on to find and translate the words given below. This will help the students understand the text better, and I would suggest reading the text again after the students have filled in the vocabulary. 

Next are some questions to see if the students have understood the text.

This text is aimed towards lower elementary esl students in high school. 

Global Issues

Worksheet for more advanced students that allow them to explore and learn about the global issue of child marriage. The worksheet will require the students to have internet access. You should also show the mentioned TedEx talk to the class before handing out this worksheet. This is for mature students or adult students. 

Global issues - child marriage

Students will have to answer 8 questions about global warming. They will have to introduce their own ways of helping the environment. They can agree on disagree about some issues. 

questions about global warming

A four extracts reading about different social issues related to problems in the society. Students read statements and match them to A B C D (extracts). Similar to IELTS exam reading.

Global Social Issues

It is a reading comprehension text for intermediate students. It is full of vocabulary mainly related to global warming and environment in general. By using this document students will be able to talk and write about the Global warming and climate change  phenomenon. More than that, after reading the text, students must be aware of the causes and effects of this issue. 

Environment

Hey Teachers,



As we all know, the most prominent global issue circling around our social media pages, TV, and conversations with family and friends is the coronavirus pandemic. In response to this, I spent the better part of my weekend digging around for and putting together a comprehensive lesson plan on the theme of the coronavirus, which you’ll find attached below in this post. In this lesson plan, I tried to focus more on the impacts of the virus rather than the nature of it, which was the focus of the lesson I posted here a few weeks ago.



The full lesson plan is free for the time being on Fluentize via the link below:



https://app.fluentize.com/lesson/coronavirus-impacts



In the worksheets I posted here, you get the first half of the lesson. You can find the video as well as all the post-viewing activities and awesomeness on the actual Fluentize page for the lesson. It’s still free to download there if you register, and you'll get the whole thing, including the teacher's guide.



The lesson plan is geared towards an upper intermediate (B2) student level. It's based on a news report from Al Jazeera focusing on concerns over the mental health impact / aspect of the coronavirus pandemic. While it was tough to choose a video as the base for the lesson plan, this one struck me because it features some of the bright sides of the humanity in response to the pandemic - acts of kindness and it shows scenes of people coming together in times of crisis. I also couldn’t imagine a better video on the topic in terms of relevant vocabulary.



However, as you'll see in the lesson, we take the topic much further than just mental health and tackle all angles of the current situation, including the impacts on…



- Public life

- Education

- Business

- Healthcare

- Entertainment



From the creator’s standpoint, my favorite part of the lesson is the last bonus activity where you can dive into real-life ethical dilemmas and issues that have arisen as a result of the pandemic. This activity is available when you download it directly from the Fluentize page.



These dilemmas detailed on the last page of the lesson provide your students a chance to express their opinions, challenge students' speaking skills, and will be sure to get a lot of conversation stirred up on important topics related to the situation:





- People not following social distancing orders

- Dilemmas with ventilator availability in hospitals

- Donald Trump’s choice of words in a press conference

- Spending and the economy

- Price gouging of products like toilet paper





My next favorite activity in the lesson is in post-viewing (I) - on the prefixes. Rarely do I find a video where I can focus on such great examples of prefixes! The nerdy side of my language enthusiast brain really lit up when I realized I could make a little section of this lesson focused on prefixes. The following activity on the usage and functions of present participles as different parts of speech I also felt was one my better ones.





Again, you can find these  activities on the ethical dilemmas, prefixes, and present participles when you download the lesson directly from the Fluentize page.





I also realize that many English language teachers have switched to online teaching. For those of you who have done this, I recommend trying out our interactive lesson plan, which contains interactive fields for your students to write answers within. 



Also, when you do a Fluentize lesson online, we highly recommend using the platform Zoom and their remote control feature. The remote control feature allows students to take control of your screen during the lesson. You can do this by having your student request remote control of your screen, or you could also give control to the student. The reason this is so great is because it enables students to type answers in the interactive fields (download the 'Interactive Lesson' on the lesson page) of the lesson while you watch and help them with spelling and punctuation.



I’m hoping to release the mini lesson on Fluentize within the next day or so (which I'll do here as well), as well as some more lesson plans this week focusing around the coronavirus situation. I have a couple more videos I’m toying with and hope to get more out soon, so stayed tuned.



I wish all you good health and hope you have a meaningful lesson exploring this situation in detail with your students. 



Happy Fluentizing!



- Jake from Fluentize

Lesson Plan: Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Giving Opinions - Practice

This sheet includes definitions of words used when talking about a rainforest (social studies setting). Deforestation, extinction, etc.

Includes pictures.

Rainforest Vocabulary

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

This Ted Talk evokes a lot of geopolitical issues and is therefore best suited to upper-intermediate adult students. There is an activity using phrasal verbs extracted from the transcript and finding their meanings. The Listening activity is broken into four parts with listening comprehension questions.

Ted Talk: The End of Globalization

Learn about environmental issues related to energy sources, climate change, waste, lifestyle, pollution, policies, overpopulation, deforestation, exploitation and more! Discover some idioms, synonyms, vocabulary and come up with viable solutions for saving the environment.

EARTH DAY / ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (printable + answer key)

Article Summary

Elizabeth Wagner's 2008 article, “Depressed Like You: The Myth of Teen Angst”, commences with Wagner's observation of the enormity of depression as a global concern, or certainly as a significant issue in American life. She then leads the way to what will be the focus of her article, which centers on the striking prevalence of depression in teens, and how this appears to carry through in adult statistics. This elicits the thrust of her interest; Wagner seeks to determine how much of what is typically considered ordinary, teenage angst is, in fact, serious depression, and how much of this is actually related to adolescence. Through better assessing of the teenage brain in this regard, Wagner asserts, must evolve a better understanding of depression in all men and women.



Turning substantially to studies conducted by the Oregon Research Institute, the author conveys this as evidence that teen and adult depression are more closely linked than has been suspected. Then, turning to work done at the University of Texas, Wagner further corroborates these findings, as the latter research demonstrates further similarities between teen and adult depression in regard to the efficacy of treatments. Contrary evidence is then presented, which suggests that teens do indeed suffer from periods of depression clearly linked to adolescence, as the depression often is not present when the teen years are left. This examination of various studies is followed by a discussion of how the teen brain evolves, citing research findings from the National Institute for Mental Health. Wagner concludes by affirming that, whether teen depression is driven by adolescent issues, or is more the onset of adult depression, this factor of it as the earliest indication of the disorder renders the extensive study of teen depression an urgent matter, reports Darren Barden, a writing coach who cooperates with writemyessayforme.co.uk.



The Article's Impact and Value



In terms of significant impact in the field of neuropsychology, Wagner's article does virtually nothing to contribute to existing knowledge. In the author's defense, no claims are made by her that such an undertaking is a part of her agenda; rather, she sets out to present, and consequently juxtapose, some of the latest research on the subject. This being her purpose, then, it is reasonable to evaluate how successful Wagner is in producing new insights and/or previously unexplored interpretations from the data employed. In this regard, Wagner's achievement appears to be, at best, modest, and this is at least partially due to the fact that her article is too brief to do justice to the ideas entertained within it.



It seems, in fact, that Wagner is exploring the possibilities within the field of teen depression as she goes along. This creates for the reader no clear sense of agenda or purpose within the article itself, Wagner's introduction notwithstanding. The initial emphasis, for example, appears to be on depression as a disorder that, ordinary conceptions aside, afflicts adults and teens at similar rates. This introduction does contain the caveat that there is evidence of specifically adolescent depression, but this is not stressed as particularly relevant. More crucially, Wagner concludes her opening in a self-contradictory way. That is, after noting that most adults suffering from depression begin to exhibit symptoms by age fourteen, she issues her rallying cry that efforts are needed to stop teenage depression before it starts. As the issue just identified is that of a depression not defined by age, it is confusing and unhelpful that Wagner chooses to assign this designation to the core problem.



Teen depression is, as the evidence, Wagner cites supports, a difficult and complex issue. It is inescapable that many teen problems, including depressive states, are mutually inclusive and exponentially fueled. As is common knowledge, the adolescent physicality is changing, and this induces various and sometimes confounding emotional states in even the most well-adjusted teens. Moreover, and not conveyed by Wagner in the citing of her selected research, methodologies of adolescent research itself are sometimes questionable. That is, adult depression is typically studied employing some form of the interview process; with teens, it is usually conducted more as a self-reported checklist. Given the scope of emotional, physical, and mental changes the adolescent undergoes, it is reasonable to anticipate a greatly subjective response. Such responses may properly serve in obtaining actual feelings about depression from teens, but they cannot relate how temporal these feelings may be, as hyperbole is a typical aspect of adolescent reaction. In other words, to the teen responding to a survey, the mild state of depression felt brief may be expressed as both extreme and ongoing. Wagner must acknowledge that, in assessing actual depression in teens, a far more strict methodology must be employed, or she must reveal this to have been the case in the studies she cites.



The ambiguity of Wagner's article may well be a result of a lack of professionalism in the writer. For example, the article opens with: “From a distance, depression can seem like no big deal. After all, who doesn't feel a little down in the dumps sometimes?” This is a very casual approach for any piece attempting to evince academic integrity, and it does not go far in instilling confidence in the reader as to the author's scholarship. It also, unfortunately, betrays the kind of careless structure abetting the ambiguity, or lack of real direction, in the article.

Depression is indeed an enormous and serious issue in the world, and an abundance of existing research by no means precludes the need for more. As Wagner somewhat indicates, there is an important correlation between adults and teens within the subject, but the focus should be directed toward the genuine roots of depression not associated with typical teen problems. In other words, if, as Wagner asserts, most adults suffering from depression begin to do so in adolescence, the wisest course would be to isolate these early depressive factors away from the “angst” concerns associated with teens, and often misinterpreted as clinical depression.



Teen Depression Article Summary

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

25 Global issues English ESL worksheets pdf & doc