Topic outline

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      Conversation sessions


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      Handout

      To download the digital version of the handout, click here
    • Annonces Foro
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      Equipe enseignante


      • Aline Boulahcen - aline.boulahcen@universite-paris-saclay.fr
      • Nikki Fransès-Jones - nikki.franses-jones@universite-paris-saclay.fr
      • Amani Hafez - amani.hafez@universite-paris-saclay.fr
      • Philippe Jumel - philippe.jumel@universite-paris-saclay.fr
      • Timothy Lorkin - timothy-brian.lorkin@universite-paris-saclay.fr
      • Sylvaine Perrichot - sylvaine.perrichot@universte-paris-saclay.fr
      • Stéphanie Robilliard - stephanie.robilliard@free.fr
      • Michael Stokes - michael.stokes@universite-paris-saclay.fr
    • Besoin d'aide ? Questions / Réponses / Suggestions Open Forum (Foro Abierto)
      No disponible hasta que: Su Apellido(s) no está vacío

  • Evaluations

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      Modalités de Contrôle des Connaissances

      • 1 présentation orale 30% 
      • 1 projet 20%
      • 1 note de participation 20% (i.e. travail à distance, homework, participation orale an classe)
      • 1 test final 30%

       Assiduité obligatoire: en cas d’absences injustifiées, vous pourrez être considéré comme défaillant.

      Après une absence: présentez votre justificatif à votre enseignant au cours suivant. Les absences injustifiées à un test ou un exposé sont notées 0/20. Signalez toute situation particulière à votre enseignant (statut salarié, handicap, traitement médical etc…) dès le premier cours, notamment si un aménagement est prévu.


      Programmes

      Thème d’étude privilégié :

      S1 : The Environment - Environmental issues

      Grammaire : groupe verbal (rappel) ; groupe nominal (article, quantificateurs) ; syntaxe

      Enrichissement lexical

      Phonologie : alphabet phonétique (sons voyelles et consonnes), accent de mot

      Prise de parole : en continu et en interaction, à travers diverses activités telles que présentations orales, débats, jeux de rôles, discours, etc.

      Expression écrite : résumé d’un article / une vidéo, essay

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      Eco-Project - What's wrong with the world? And how to fix it?

       

      You will work cooperatively with a group to:

      • assess the environmental situation of a city 
      • present the best environmental initiatives already implemented in this city (with facts and figures)
      • choose the 3 important problems that need solving (argue your point) in this city
      • present solutions based on environmental initiatives implemented in other cities or that you yourselves have come up with

      STEP 1 - Choose  the city you want to focus on.

      In a group of 3, browse the internet and the national/international press to find cities that faced environmental challenges and find how they overcome these difficulties.

      HELP: List issues that cities generally face regarding the environment. Choose one city and gather data to assess the situation (figures, reports...)

      Deadline: (to be defined by your teacher for your group)

      STEP 2 - Write a press review

      In your group, select at least 4 articles and 2 videos (2 documents / student)  from the press dealing with environmental issues in a particular city of your choice (in an English-speaking country). The articles/videos should not tackle the same issues.

      Each one of you chooses one document (an article or a video) and write a press review (200 words):

      • Write an introduction
      • Make a presentation on the problem(s) and solution(s) proposed in the article/video
      • Write a conclusion to explain why you chose this article

      Deadline: (to be defined by your teacher for your group)

      STEP 3 - Propose solutions to unsolved issues

      Find several issues that the city you chose is facing.

      Browse the internet to find solutions or come up with your own solutions to the problem the city of your choice is facing.

      Deadline: (to be defined by your teacher for your group)

      STEP 4 - Get your presentation ready

      You are counseling the city on how to lessen its impact on the environment.

      1. Present the city (main information) focusing on the environment
      2. Present the best environmental initiatives in the city you chose (with facts and figures)
      3. Choose the 3 important problems that need solving (argue your point) in this city
      Present solutions based on environmental initiatives implemented in other cities or that you yourselves have come up with

  • Climate change

    Objective:

    In this Module, you will:

    • get familiar with the vocabulary related to climate change (if you are not already familiar with it)
    • review the comparative form (basic and complex structures)
    • get familiar with the vowel sounds of English

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        Vocabulary activities

        Here is an opportunity for you to review the vocabulary of climate change

      • Vocabulary - Climate Change Página
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      • Vocabulary - the environment Cuestionario
        Abrió: sábado, 18 de junio de 2022, 13:30
        Cerró: sábado, 9 de julio de 2022, 15:30
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        Recibir una calificación
        Recibir una calificación de aprobado

      • Reading activities



        Questions:

        1.       Find out why it difficult for scientists to predict when exactly global warming will exceed 1.5°C, and why it is complicated for them to communicate about what they know.

        2.       Ice cap melting: Explain how climate change is already changing the living conditions of the inhabitant of Arctic regions, and how ice cap melting could have a more global impact if temperatures keep rising.

        3.       Sea level rise: What have been the consequences of global warming for Vanuatu so far? What could happen globally if the 1.5°C threshold is breached?

        4.       Good bye Coral reefs? What are the consequences of warming oceans on Australian coral reefs? Why are coral reefs a good example to illustrate the notion of “tipping point”? After reading the text, can you explain that concept in your own words?

        5.       It is “theoretically possible”: What are the different solutions proposed by the article to limit and control the rise in Earth’s temperature? What are the limits of such solutions?


        Climate change: World now sees twice as many days over 50C

        The number of extremely hot days every year when the temperature reaches 50C has doubled since the 1980s, a global BBC analysis has found.

        They also now happen in more areas of the world than before, presenting unprecedented challenges to human health and to how we live.

        The total number of days above 50C (122F) has increased in each decade since 1980. On average, between 1980 and 2009, temperatures passed 50C about 14 days a year.

        The number rose to 26 days a year between 2010 and 2019.

        In the same period, temperatures of 45C and above occurred on average an extra two weeks a year.

        "The increase can be 100% attributed to the burning of fossil fuels," says Dr Friederike Otto, associate director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.

        Look at the animation

      • Reading activities

        1,500 policies to fix global warming wereimplemented in 41 countries. Here are the ones that worked best

        Questions:

        What policies worked best? List them.

        What policies did not work so well? Can you explain why they did not?


      • Listening activities





      • Grammar activities

      • Comparative and superlative adjectives - Comparative forms Página
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      • Phonology activities


        Phonemic chart

        The sounds of English

        You can listen to all the sounds of English by clicking on each symbol in the chart below.
        If you click on the right corner of each symbol, you can also hear words with this sound.




      • Task - Class discussion


    • Climate Change and Human Rights Laws

      • Listening activities

        Is human rights law the best way to fight climate change?
        Countries and institutions can find themselves in court for failing to meet their climate protection commitments — a development made possible by the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Environmental activists often emerge victorious from the legal proceedings.

      • Reading activities

        Ban fossil fuel ads to save climate, says UN chief

        The world's fossil fuel industries should be banned from advertising to help save the world from climate change, the head of the United Nations said on Wednesday.
        UN Secretary General António Guterres called coal, oil and gas corporations the “godfathers of climate chaos” who had distorted the truth and deceived the public for decades.


        Climate change: Seven ways to spot businesses greenwashing

        Most of us are trying to be greener and for some that means seeking out brands and companies that are environmentally-friendly. But how can you check firms really are as green as they make out?

        Greenwashing - branding something as eco-friendly, green or sustainable when this is not the case - misleads consumers into thinking they are helping the planet by choosing those products.

        And businesses are being held to account on this in the way they advertise. But what do customers need to look out for to spot greenwashing?

        To read the article, visit https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59119693


    • Water Crisis

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        Vocabulary activities

        Here is an opportunity for you to review the vocabulary of water pollution

      • Water Pollution - Vocabulary Página
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      • Listening activities

        Where does water from?
        Listen to this instructive video about where water comes from.



      • Reading activities


        Global fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 40% by 2030, say experts
        Landmark report urges overhaul of wasteful water practices around world on eve of crucial UN summit

      • Reading activities


        A national hosepipe ban should be implemented as a national priority along with compulsory water metering across the UK by the end of the decade.
        That is the key message that infrastructure advisers have given the government as the nation braces itself for a drought that is threatening major disruption to the nation. Failure to act now would leave Britain facing a future of queueing for emergency bottled water “from the back of lorries”.

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        Listening activities



      • Water crisis in the UK

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          Listening activities


          ITV News has learned that over two thirds of Brits will avoid swimming or entering our rivers and the sea because of pollution fears.
          Last year, water companies in England dumped sewage in our waterways for a total of 3.6 million hours.
          That figure was up 54% from the number of sewage spills in 2022.
          Contained within the spills is human waste, wet wipes and sanitary products.

        • Reading activities


          Raw sewage spills into England rivers and seas doubles in 2023

          Sewage spills into England's rivers and seas by water companies more than doubled last year.



          England’s sewage crisis: how polluted is your local river and which regions are worst hit?

          Rivers in north of England among most polluted, shows new data. Search your postcode to see how sewage spills into your local river.

    • Plastic pollution

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        Vocabulary activities

        Here is an opportunity for you to review the vocabulary of plastic pollution

      • Vocabulary - Plastic pollution Página
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      • Listening activities



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        The Countries Polluting The Oceans The Most

        A team of researchers in the United States and Australia led by Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia, analyzed plastic waste levels in the world's oceans. They found that China and Indonesia are the top sources of plastic bottles, bags and other rubbish clogging up global sea lanes. Together, both nations account for more than a third of plastic detritus in global waters, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The original source data can be found here.

    • Garbage Patches

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        Reading activities




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        Listening Activities



        Document 2:
        LISTENING : Can this project clean up millions of tons of ocean plastic?

        Document 4:
        LISTENING
        The Other Source: Where does plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch really come from?
        The Ocean Cleanup

        Document 5:
        The Ocean Cleanup’s System 03 Captures Record Amounts of Plastic From the Pacific
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        Task - Debate



        Is it worth spending so much money to clean up our oceans ?
        Organisation:
        The chairperson will introduce the debate by explaining what garbage patches are and the problems they raise.
        One team will focus on why it is a waste of time and money (and can propose other solutions instead) to try and clean up these patches.
        One team will defend projects such as the Ocean Cleanup initiative and explain why we have to support them.

    • Air pollution

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        Vocabulary activities

        Here is an opportunity for you to review the vocabulary of air pollution

      • Vocabulary - Air pollution Página
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      • Listening activities




      • Listening activities


        What about the situation in the US? 

      • Reading activities

        Almost everyone in Europe is breathing toxic air
        Guardian investigation finds 98% of Europeans breathing highly damaging polluted air linked to 400,000 deaths a year

        For more specific information, check this interactive map :
        Europe's pollution divide: see how your area compares

        What can be done to combat air pollution in Europe?
        From wood burning to driving, there are things people can do – but industries such as shipping and agriculture bear most of the responsibility

    • Wildlife - Biodiversity

    • Energy - fossil fuels and renewables

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        Vocabulary activities

        Here is an opportunity for you to review the vocabulary of Energy - fossil fuels and renewables

      • Vocabulary - Energy Página
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      • Listening activities

        What are fossil fuels exactly?


      • Renewable energy


        Listening activities

        Look at this instructive video about renewable energy



        Reading activities


        Solar energy use will become more common as power use becomes smarter and more automated. Dealing with the climate crisis involves the overhauling of many facets of life, but few of these changes will feel as tangible and personal as the transformation required within the home


        Ithaca has turned to private investors to help it decarbonize thousands of residential and commercial buildings


      • The world’s renewable energy cities

        By Dan Hanson on 27 Feb 2018

      • Task - Design a renewable future

        Here is a little game to know if you can design a renewable future:  Visit PBS website

    • Energy - Hydrogen

      • 'Moses of climate change' - Boris Johnson says Britain will be 'Qatar of hydrogen'


        Britain will become the "Qatar of hydrogen", Boris Johnson has said as he prepares to lay out his Government's green agenda today ahead of the Cop26 climate summit. 
        Mr Johnson said the Government will pivot to green power by 2035 as he said the market will ultimately drive consumers to go green.
      • The History and Uses of Hydrogen

        Hydrogen’s tendency towards combustion is what makes it both a dangerous chemical element and a useful energy source.

        Name: Hydrogen
        Symbol: H
        Atomic Number: 1
        Relative Atomic Mass: 1.008
        Category: Reactive nonmetal
        Appearance: colourless, odorless gas

      • The hydrogen revolution

        Listening activities

        How do hydrogen fuel cells work? Let's find out!

        For more information, visit this website

        Hydrogen: fuel of the future? | The Economist

        The truth about hydrogen


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        Listening activities

        What Is Green Hydrogen And Will It Power The Future?


        introduction
        • 0’00 -> 2’30 - - the questions raised by hydrogen
        • 2’ 30 -> 4’45 - Hydrogen today: hydrogen production - the colours of hydrogen - green hydrogen - private and public investment
        hydrogen in transportation:
        • 4’46 -> fuel cells - difference between electric cars and hydrogen-fuelled cars 
        • 6’25 ->  long haul trucking / freight shipping /  air travel
        • 6’57 -> a slow beginning for hydrogen vehicles
        • 7’56 -> the problem of fuelling stations 
        • 8’40 -> hydrogen efficiency rate and energy density
        • 9’36 -> making hydrogen technology more cost-effective
        Hydrogen storage
        • 9’51 -> the complexity and cost of hydrogen storage
        • 10’45 -> storing renewable power
        • 12’55 -> batteries v. hydrogen
        Conclusion
        • 13’28 - Future outlook -  the need for governments' intervention and investment.

        Can hydrogen help the world reach net zero? | FT Film

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UwbJ8n9L0
        • 00:00 What is Hydrogen
        • 00:50 Green Hydrogen
        • 02:50 Current uses of hydrogen
        • 04:10 The concerns
        • 05:00 The Hydrogen rainbow
        • 05:51 Emerald Hydrogen
        • 07.35 The investors
        • 10:50 The policymakers
        • 13:40 Green steel
        • 17:35 Cleaning up aviation
        • 22:15 The hydrogen economy of the future


        The truth about hydrogen | DW Planet

        (12’07)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGTjKJHu99c
        • 00:00 Intro
        • 00:37 What is hydrogen?
        • 01:34 How can we use the stuff?
        • 04:41 The hydrogen rainbow
        • 08:49 No silver bullet
        • 10:47 What's next for hydrogen?
         

      • Reading activities

        In his speech on the planned economic recovery, the prime minister said hydrogen technology is an area where the UK leads the world. He hopes it’ll create clean jobs in the future. But is the hydrogen revolution hope or hype?
        Hydrogen is widely touted as a green fuel for everything from cars and planes to heating homes. But all too often it has a dirty secret

        Industry has been promoting hydrogen as a reliable, next-generation fuel to power cars, heat homes and generate electricity. It may, in fact, be worse for the climate than previously thought.
        Too many technical difficulties to overcome to make it a viable low-carbon heating fuel, say researchers.

      • Task - Energy Assembly UK, The Path to Net Zero

        The situation 

        You have been chosen to take part in Energy Assembly UK, The Path to Net Zero. You are part of the focus group dealing with the issue of hydrogen.  

        Energy Assembly UK will host a discussion between assembly members who will present their arguments to the Assembly so that they come up with a list of 5 to 10 recommendations.

        More information here

      • The Future of Hydrogen - National Grid UK URL
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    • Building for the future

      Building for the future: three eco-cities preparing for overpopulation, rising sea levels and air pollution

      As overpopulation and climate change take their toll on our cities, engineers and urban planners are adapting their designs to cope with an uncertain future.

      • Reading activities


        To cope with surging populations, city planners are starting to look beneath their feet for space




        As sea levels encroach on the land, could we move people to the oceans?



        Can forest cities help to mop up our pollution?

      • The world’s renewable energy cities

        By Dan Hanson on 27 Feb 2018

    • Phonology

    • Methodology

      • Writing a summary

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          How to read and summarize an article


          The purpose of a summary is to give the reader a clear, objective picture of the original text. Most importantly, the summary restates only the main points of a text without giving examples or details. The summary is not a copy-paste from the text.

          PRELIMINARY STEPS
          1.    Make notes of ...
          • the subject of the article
          • the title
          • the author
          • the source (and country)
          • the date

          2.    Try to divide the text into sections. Subheadings might help.

          3.    Highlight important information:
          • the main points of each section
          • the key support points (providing explanation)

          4.    Think of synonyms to express the same idea

          WRITING
          Write an introductory paragraph that begins with a frame, indicating the source and the author as well as a reporting verb to introduce the main idea. The introductory verb is generally in the present tense.

          Make a presentation of the problem(s) (if mentioned) and solution(s) proposed in the article/video. Take into account the construction of the article/video.

          Use linking words that reflect the organisation of the original text(s), for example cause-effect, comparison-contrast, classification, chronological order, etc.

          Think of reporting verbs to introduce ideas (explain, demonstrate, list, mention, say, add, argue...)

          Finally, write a conclusion why you chose this article/video or the topic of the article/video.

          Your summary should be 1/3 of the length of the article but I do not want you to write more than 250 words.

      • Writing a speech

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          Learn from Greta :-)

          The language used in a speech should be interesting for the listeners.
          The acronym A FOREST is an easy way to make sure your language is powerful. It stands for:
          •    A - alliteration
          •    F - facts
          •    O - opinion
          •    R - rhetorical questions
          •    E - emotive language
          •    S - statistics
          •    T - triples (repeating your point three times, but in different ways)

          Watch this informative speech by Greta Thunberg to get you in the mood for speech writing:

          Examples from Greta's speech

          • Alliteration: Protect our peaceful, pleasant planet.
          • Fact: Greenhouse gas levels are at an all-time high.
          • Opinion: I believe it is important to care for our planet because…
          • Rhetorical questions (questions that don’t need an answer): Wouldn’t you want to help?
          • Emotive language: Atrocious destruction of our wildlife
          • Statistics: In 2019 13,000 hectares of trees were planted in the UK.
          • Triples: We must act now! The time to act is here! We have no option but to act!

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          Activity 1 - What makes a speech effective?

          Think about these different features of a powerful speech. Can you order them from most to least effective?


          Top Tip!

          Think carefully. If you were listening to a speech, what technique would make the key points stick in your mind?

          For example, some people might find that hearing the key message repeated three times will help them to remember it.

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          Activity 2

          Read this article all about the world’s top plastic polluters. 

          Imagine you are giving a short speech to one of the top plastic polluters. You want to persuade them to use less plastic and make changes more quickly. 

          Use some of the statistics from the article as well as the techniques in the acronym A FOREST to support your opinion.

          Top tip!
          Think about:
          •    Who you are addressing
          •    Your purpose for being there
          •    How you will open your speech
          •    Which A FOREST features you will use
          •    What your closing line will be

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          Activity 3 - Delivery

          This is part of a speech by former president of the USA John F. Kennedy about the decision to go to the moon.
          Read it out loud and think carefully about where you place expression and emphasis to make it sound as meaningful as you can.

          We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
          John F. Kennedy

      • Making a Call to Action

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          What is a call-to-action video/presentation?

          A ‘Call-to-Action’ is the oral presentation that has a direct message informing the audience about the problem and suggests an immediate action.

          Preliminary steps

          • Gather information to show your audience why the problem you are dealing with is important.

          • List the actions your audience can take to make a difference.

          Presentation skills

          • Speak slowly and clearly.
          • Don't read off your palm cards.
          • Maintain eye contact with the audience.
          • Maintain good posture so you can be clearly heard.
          • Use natural hand gestures.
          • Use a natural tone of voice.
          • Practice to improve your confidence.
          • If you choose to present in pairs, there must be equal speaking time for both speakers.
          • Be persuasive in what you say (content/argumentation) and in how you speak (style/tactics to convince).
          • Your teacher needs to validate your choice of topic or any change of topic.

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          PRACTICE

          Watch the videos and consider what a call-to-action video is.



          Ask yourself the following questions?
          What makes it convicing?
          How to make it more powerful?
          Who is being addressed?
          Are the actions relevant considering who the audience is?

      • Debating

    • Grammar

    • Get Ready for the Final Test

      Here are a few links to become familiar with and get ready for the exercises of the finals.

    • Teacher's space