Stuck in traffic

The objective

To make a proposal for reducing pollution and traffic in students´ home-cities

The language

Present simple: Traffic is..., The city is..., Cars are..., The advantages are...

Modals: They should..., We should..., They could..., It would...

Conditionals: If they establish a tax, there will be less traffic; If they established a tax, there would be less traffic; If they had established a tax long ago, we would have less traffic.

The set-up

You probably just need to come prepared with some examples of how cities have combated pollution/traffic or some ideas of your own to get the ball rolling.

The low-down

Ask students if they´ve ever been in a traffic jam. Ask them where, when and why. Now ask if they think traffic and pollution is a big problem. If so, why do they think it´s such a problem? In other words, why is there so much traffic and pollution? Do they know what other cities are doing? After generating some general discussion, cut it short so that students will have plenty to say during the task. Tell them that you want them to decide on one solution to the problem. (This increases the difficulty by forcing them to think of one all-inclusive solution). Tell them, banning all cars is not an option because it´s unfair to the people who live there. Their proposal should include

• what should be done
• how it should be done
• Cost in general terms
• the advantages/disadvantages of their solution

Now what?

Now comes the part where pairs/groups present their ideas to the rest of the class. Allow each group to first give a short presentation followed by a Q/A session (though it could easily evolve into a debate). Finally, students vote for the best proposal (of course, they can´t vote for their own idea).

Time to teach

It will depend on the level/class but probably the most interesting thing to focus on here is the language of the Q/A session or debate. This could include something as basic as question forms or as complex as the language of interrupting, clarifying, fillers, agreeing, half-agreeing or disagreeing.

More talk-time

Do you have a car? If so, what do you use it for? Would it be possible to live without it?

Do you drive your car in the city?

What do you think is the future of the car?

When do you think change will happen?

Are there any other types of pollution which are a problem in your city/country?