There are lots of ways to be eco-friendly – or ‘green’ – these days. Do you know how to explain some of them in English? Learn some language for green ideas, review verb tenses for past actions with present results, and practise your listening and pronunciation in this free English lesson from Oxford Online English. This lesson is for upper intermediate learners.
Listen to the full audio here:
A: I’ve been growing my own veg for twenty years, and I don’t even have a garden!
B: Really? Where do you do that then?
A: On the balcony of the flat. I put a load of pots down, put glass up around it to conserve the heat and bingo … it’s like a little greenhouse in there!
B: And how much money do you save?
A: I don’t really know, but I haven’t bought a vegetable yet this summer! … Hey, and I’ll tell you my other top tip for saving water!
B: Go on …
A: You know when you run the taps or the shower and it takes 20 or 30 seconds for the water to get hot … stick a bucket under there to collect the water and use that instead of flushing the toilet all the time. I’ve been doing that for years and all!
B: Gosh, well with all the money you’ve saved, you could have invested in a shower that gets hot straightaway (laughs) … well thanks for that Stan – some great ideas there! We’re asking what’s the best way of not only saving the environment but saving money for yourself too. Annie in Brighton has got in touch and says “I’ve fitted energy-saving light bulbs all over the house, and my electric bill has gone down by half”. And on the subject of saving on electricity, Tom in Kent says “My energy provider has been pestering me since I moved in to get a smart meter put in, but when they came round, they found that they couldn’t do it because all the other flats in the building have already done it, and there’s literally no room left in the wiring cupboard. So could you recommend anything we could invest in on behalf of all the residents?” Well Mark’s still on the line, our energy adviser, what do you suggest Mark?
C: Right, hello Tom! Well I don’t know what sort of building you live in but you say there are other tenants, so I assume it’s a block of flats with a management company of some sort. The government have just introduced a scheme to install solar panels on roofs to help low-income homes improve their energy efficiency. Now depending on your area and your income, you may not even have to pay for the installation, so long as you commit to an energy contract for a minimum period. So, I’ll give you a website address to look up … it’s solar panels UK … (fades out)
Green Ideas – exercise 1
Comprehension: listening for key ideas
The discussion includes green-friendly ideas related to saving water and electricity, amongst other things. Which ones can you hear?
Green Ideas – exercise 2
Vocabulary: environment collocations
Collocations are common combinations of two or more words that are correct in certain situations. For example, the adjectives ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’ can mean similar things, but in some collocations, one is correct and the other is not!
There are many examples in this conversation!
Green Ideas – exercise 3
Grammar: perfect verb forms
The conversation includes several verbs in the present perfect, several in the present perfect continuous, and one perfect modal verb. Do you know why they are used?
Green Ideas – exercise 4
Pronunciation: when sounds change
When we put words in sentences, the sound at the start of one word can change the sound at the end of the word before it. This idea of sounds changing in fast speech is called ‘assimilation’. There are lots of examples in this dialogue!
To learn more about pronunciation, try our Pronunciation Course in the Members section at the top of the page.
