Responsible Tourism. Speaking exercise

Penguins being responsible tourists

In this lesson we will be talking about sustainable tourism in English, also known as responsible tourism and looking at the passive voice.

"The thing about tourism is that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it".
— Martin Parr

The world is a beautiful place, and it is becoming cheaper and easier to visit countries that our grandparents could have only dreamt of. Nothing compares to visiting the natural wonders of the world. However, many of us forget the responsibility us tourists have regarding the sustainability of such places as tourist attractions. One of the places we will be looking at in this lesson is Antarctica, the Earth’s most untouched continent, and whether or not we have the right to treat it as a tourist destination.

Before we get started, here is a list of vocabulary that will help you talk about responsible tourism with your native English-speaking teacher in your conversation classes via Skype.

It's in your hands!

English vocabulary related to Responsible Tourism

• Backpacking
• Breathtaking 
• Carbon offset 
• Hitchhiking
• Off the beaten track 
• Package holidays
• To look after
• To threaten 
• To throw away 
• To step foot on
• To litter 

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Grammar to use in your online English conversation class

The passive voice

We use the passive when the doer of the main verb is unknown, unimportant, obvious, or everyone.

Construction:
Object  +  verb ‘to be’*  +  past participle of main verb  +   (by + subject)

Example:
Mice  |  are  |  eaten  |  by cats

* we must conjugate the verb ‘to be’ , to put it in it’s appropriate form.
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Other examples:

• Spanish is spoken in Spain.
• We are given a mandatory briefing before the journey.
• Non-native species have been accidentally introduced to Antarctica.
• The effects of climate change will be studied next year.

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Useful verb forms:

• Throw - threw - thrown
• Take - took - taken
• Tread - trod - trodden

Common mistakes:

X Make a trip
√ GO ON a trip

X I have been in England
√ I have been TO England

Common pronunciation problems:

• Mountain       /'maʊntɪn/
• Tourism          /'tʊərɪzəm/
• Environment  /ɪn'vaɪərənmənt/

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Be a responsible tourist!

Questions we will discuss in your online English conversation class:

- How often do you go away on holiday?

- What type of holidays do you like?

- Are package holidays better?

- Have you ever been backpacking?

- Is there a trend of people visiting exotic locations for their holidays?

- Is there anywhere exotic you would like to go?

- What do you understand by the term “responsible tourism”?

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- Are you a responsible tourist?

- Do you respect the local customs when you travel?

- Do you clean up after yourself? Do you always throw away your rubbish in the bin?

- Do you think tourism damages famous monuments?

- Do we have a responsibility to look after natural environments?

- Can tourism help encourage conservation?

- Should people have to pay a special tax when they visit Mount Everest or Antartica? 

- Have you ever been anywhere where you felt ashamed of the tourists?

- Where is your next holiday going to be?

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Practice reading and listening before speaking with your native English-speaking teacher:

This article follows Juliet Rix’s trip to the Earth’s most untouched land, Antarctica, and also looks at whether or not tourism is detrimental to the many species who live there.

“This season around 37,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctica - home to about 20 million pairs of breeding penguins. But is it ethically acceptable to go on holiday to such a pristine environment?…” Read more…

And in this short video, John Oliver looks at how unnecessary it is to visit Antartica, including a very funny “Anti-Tourism” advert.

Do listening exercise on this video!

 

Speaking practice:

Now book your online English conversation class with one of our native English-speaking teachers to put into practice what you’ve learned in this lesson.

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