Sustainable living: giving advice and talking about consequences

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for B1 learners explores Sustainable living: giving advice and talking about consequences through a real article. Across 11 interactive exercises, you'll develop vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• 5 extended vocabulary terms to broaden your range
• Grammar focus: First conditional for consequences with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for planning a green initiative at work
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
• Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness

Lesson activities (11 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the article, with definitions and usage notes.
3. Fill the gaps — Complete sentences with the correct vocabulary. Drag and drop or type your answers.
4. Grammar — Study First conditional for consequences — explanation, examples, and key rules.
5. Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
6. Practical English — Learn phrases for planning a green initiative at work — ready to use in real conversations.
7. Cloze passage — Fill in blanks within a connected text to practise vocabulary in context.
8. Extended vocabulary — Go beyond the basics with additional expressions related to the topic.
9. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
10. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the article:

• To cut down on — to reduce the amount of something you use or consume.
• Carbon footprint — the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by a person's or organization's activities.
• To make a difference — to have a positive effect on a situation.
• Long-term effects — the results or consequences that happen over a long period of time.
• Eco-friendly alternative — a different choice or product that is better for the environment.

The lesson also covers 5 extended vocabulary items beyond the article:

• To go green — to start living in a way that is better for the environment.
• Single-use plastic — plastic products that are designed to be used only once before they are thrown away.
• To conserve energy — to use as little energy, like electricity or gas, as possible so that it is not wasted.
• Waste reduction — the process of making less rubbish or garbage.
• To have a knock-on effect — when an event or action causes other events or actions to happen one after another.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on First conditional for consequences.

We use the first conditional to talk about the real and likely results of an action in the future. It's perfect for discussing the consequences of our environmental choices and explaining why sustainable habits are important.

Examples from the lesson:

• If we reduce our energy consumption, we will lower our carbon footprint. — Use 'if' + present simple for the condition, and 'will' + infinitive for the likely future result.
• The office won't save money on bills unless we turn off the lights. — You can also use 'unless' to mean 'if... not'. It helps to talk about negative consequences.
• Will we make a difference if just one person recycles? — You can also form questions by starting with 'will' and putting the 'if' clause at the end.

Key rules:

• Use the present simple tense in the 'if' clause, not the future with 'will'.
• The result clause uses 'will' or 'won't' to talk about a real possibility.
• Common mistake: 'If we will save water...' is incorrect. Always say 'If we save water...'

Practical English

Planning a green initiative at work

When you're working with colleagues to make your office more sustainable, you need to suggest ideas, agree, and raise concerns politely. These phrases will help you have a productive conversation and make a clear plan together.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "What if we tried to use less paper by printing double-sided?" — Use this to introduce a new suggestion in a friendly, open way.
• "I'm on board with that. And we could also encourage people to use digital documents." — This shows you agree with an idea and want to build on it.
• "That's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure everyone will remember to do it." — Use this to express a concern without being negative or aggressive.
• "Could you walk me through how the new recycling system would work?" — This is a polite way to ask for more details about a plan before you agree.
• "So, are we all agreed? The next step is to write a proposal for management." — Use this to check for agreement and move the plan forward.