Society & global issues.
The topic where students most often repeat what they have heard. Give them the language to say what they actually think.
Warm-up · ask three
- What issue do you wish more people took seriously?
- Has anything you have read this year changed your mind about something?
- What is one problem your own town has solved well?
08
B2 course unit 8
Society and Global Issues
These prompts reuse the society and global issues vocabulary from Unit 8, so students meet the same ten items in the reading, the workbook and here.
Let’s talk
Discussion questions
Project the generator and let it cold-call a question. Filter by level, then give a student 60 seconds to answer without stopping. Browse the full decks below.
Random question generator
Press “New question” to put one on the board.
Deck 1
Close to home
- What is the biggest problem facing your town or city?B2
- Have living standards where you live improved or worsened in your lifetime?B2
- Is your area becoming more or less mixed as people move in and out?B2
- What does urbanization look like where you are — growth, or emptying out?B2
- Do people in your country trust their own institutions?C1
Deck 2
Fairness and opportunity
- Does everyone in your country get the same chances in life?B2
- What causes inequality more — where you are born, or what you do?B2
- Is poverty mainly a lack of money, or a lack of options?B2
- Should the state guarantee a minimum standard of living for everyone?C1
- Can a society be both very unequal and genuinely fair?C1
Deck 3
Rights and belonging
- What forms of discrimination do people still face where you live?B2
- How much can a law actually change how people behave?B2
- What should a country do for people arriving as refugees?B2
- What makes someone belong to a place — paperwork, time, or something else?C1
- Where is the line between a national interest and a shared responsibility?C1
Deck 4
Global problems
- Which global problem gets far less attention than it deserves?B2
- Why does literacy still matter so much for development?B2
- Can sustainable development and economic growth really go together?C1
- Are global problems getting worse, or are we just seeing more of them?C1
- Which is more effective — foreign aid, or trade?C1
Deck 5
Doing something
- Have you ever volunteered or given to a charity? What made you?B2
- Does raising awareness actually change anything?B2
- What can one person realistically do about a global problem?B2
- Should companies be required to act on social problems, or just pay taxes?C1
- Is it fair to expect young people to fix problems they did not create?C1
Talk for longer
Useful language
The words students need to discuss serious problems precisely, and to disagree without shouting. Pre-teach a handful, then challenge them to slip three into the discussion or the debate.
Sentence starters
Scaffolding for B2 — finish the sentence about you.
Stating a position
Using evidence carefully
Disagreeing respectfully
Proposing action
Words & phrases
The unit’s target vocabulary — the same ten items as the workbook.
an unfair difference in wealth or opportunity
“Inequality is a major global issue.”
the state of being very poor
“Education helps people escape poverty.”
treating people unfairly because of who they are
“Laws aim to stop discrimination.”
a person forced to leave their country for safety
“The charity supports refugees.”
the ability to read and write
“Literacy rates are rising worldwide.”
the move of people into cities
“Urbanization is speeding up.”
growth that doesn’t harm the future
“Sustainable development protects the planet.”
to help more people learn about an issue
“The campaign raised awareness of poverty.”
an organization that helps people in need
“She works for a children’s charity.”
how comfortable and wealthy daily life is
“Living standards have improved.”
Society and global issues word bank
Quick words for the debate and the discussion.
Classroom debate
Priorities Showdown
Two ways of spending the same money go head-to-head. Vote, watch the split — then make one student defend the winner and another argue the case for the loser.
Where would the next billion do more good?
Round 1
How to play: Both options are worth doing — the question is only which comes first when the money is finite. Take a vote, tap the totals in, then have one student defend the more popular choice and another argue why the loser cannot wait. Every argument needs a target phrase.
Model dialogue
Hana & Viktor plan a school campaign
Read it together, notice the underlined phrases, then act it out — and finally take on the roles below.
A classroom after school. Two students have been asked to choose one cause for the year.
So we have one campaign and a small budget. What are we choosing?
I want to work with a local charity on food and warm clothes this winter.
That helps people immediately. But it does not change why they need it.
And your idea does?
A reading club with the primary school. Literacy is what breaks the cycle.
In twenty years, maybe. People are cold in December.
Fair. Although if we only ever treat the symptom, poverty just repeats.
You sound like the sustainable development chapter.
Because it was right. Long-term work is the unglamorous part.
Then let us do both properly: collect in winter, and raise awareness all year.
And invite the families to the reading club — no forms, no questions.
Agreed. Nobody should meet discrimination on the way to getting help.
Now choose a cause together
Student A - the long-term thinker
Fix the cause
Immediate help never runs out because the underlying problem is never touched. Education, training and opportunity are slower, but they are the only things that end the need.
Student B - the right-now thinker
Help the person in front of you
Long-term plans are easy to admire and easy to postpone. Someone needs help this month, and a real thing done now beats a better thing promised later.
Your mission
- Each argue for one cause your school should support this year.
- Ask your partner what their plan would actually change in twelve months.
- Agree on one campaign, and one way you will measure whether it worked.
- Present it to the class in 60 seconds — use at least three phrases from the Useful language section.
Wind down & write
Choose your writing task
Pick one task to finish in class or as homework. Every option pushes the unit vocabulary into writing.
01
Describe one social problem in your country and explain what you would do about it.
02
Write an article for a school magazine persuading students to support one cause.
03
Does raising awareness actually change anything? Write an opinion piece.
04
Write a letter to your local council proposing one change that would help people in your area.
05
Are richer countries doing enough about global inequality? Write an essay giving your view.
Exit ticket · 60 seconds
Before you leave
Quick round-the-room close: each student answers in one sentence. A fast way to check the target language landed.
“Name one issue you understand better than you did an hour ago.”