This post is very much based on a lesson from issue 125 of the extinct It's Magazine.
Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below, so that ideas flow more easily the day you get together with your friends and you can work out any vocabulary issues beforehand.
How has life changed in the last fifty years? Look back on what you know about life fifty years ago and describe how life was different in the following fields compared to today.
LEARNING LANGUAGES – EDUCATION – MEDICINE AND HEALTH – SCIENCE – TECHNOLOLGY – EMPLOYMENT – TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT – FREE TIME – SPORT – FOOD AND COOKING – LIFESTYLE – THE MASS MEDIA – SHOPPING – JUSTICE AND SOCIAL ISSUES – THE ENVIRONMENT
Example:
Fifty years ago students used to go to school on Saturday (education)
Fifty years ago the national service was compulsory for men in Spain (society)
Fifty years ago English wasn’t taught at school. It was mainly French, and people didn’t speak the language, it was just grammar and translation.
What sensible progress do you expect humankind to have made in 50 years from now? Use the categories below. Try to think of logical advances and be prepared to give reasons for your ideas.
LEARNING LANGUAGES – EDUCATION – MEDICINE AND HEALTH – SCIENCE – TECHNOLOLGY – EMPLOYMENT – TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT – FREE TIME – SPORT – FOOD AND COOKING – LIFESTYLE – THE MASS MEDIA – SHOPPING – JUSTICE AND SOCIAL ISSUES – THE ENVIRONMENT
Example:
Human cloning will be part of the health care system, which will allow doctors and surgeons to make spare parts for patients in need.
Space missions to Mars will be run regularly with a view to making this planet habitable.
Home schooling will be usual, as computer assisted learning will make it possible for students not to go to school to keep in touch with teachers and classmates alike.
The following may be representative of some aspects of today’s life style. What do they all have in common? What do you know about them? How often do you use them? How have they changed life in 21st century?
- Have you ever used Amazon?
- What do you think of the site?
- What do you like or not like about it?
- Does it provide a good service?
- Amazon’s strategy of selling books at a discount has had a negative effect on publishers and bookshops, many of which have closed down. Do you think Amazon’s influence on book publishing has been positive or negative?
- When you use the Amazon site, the site gathers information about you and recommends things you might want to buy based on your preferences. Amazon doesn’t sell this information but it can share it with certain businesses. Do you think this is a good or bad thing?
- Amazon allows users to submit reviews of the products they buy. Reviewers must rate the product from one to five stars and can also leave comments. However, some authors have admitted to writing their own reviews. Can you trust reviews and comments that are posted at sites such as Amazon?
