August 12th

World Elephant Day

An international annual event dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants, focusing on the terrible impact of the illegal ivory trade.

SPEAKING LESSONB1 / B2Discussion · Vocabulary · Activities

01 / LET’S TALK

Speaking Discussion

Elephants are highly intelligent and feel deep emotions. Does this change how we should treat them?
Why do people still buy ivory products when they know it requires killing an elephant?
Should tourists completely boycott companies that offer elephant rides?
If you could communicate with a highly intelligent animal for one minute, what would you ask?
How can local African and Asian farmers be protected when elephants destroy their crops?

02 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Activity 1: The Great Debate

Motion: "International governments should have the right to seize and burn all illegal ivory, even if it is held in private family collections as heirlooms."

Split into two teams. Team A defends the absolute zero-tolerance policy to stop the demand for poaching; Team B argues for property rights and the preservation of historical artifacts.

Activity 2: Rapid Fire Sentences

Complete the sentence and justify it in 20 seconds.

"The most intelligent animal on the planet (besides humans) is..."
"If I saw someone selling a product made from an endangered animal, I would..."
"I think humans are attracted to large animals like elephants because..."

Key Vocabulary

Preservation (Noun) The action of preserving something; maintaining it in its original or existing state.
Ivory (Noun) A hard creamy-white substance composing the main part of the tusks of an elephant.
Cognitive (Adj) Relating to the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought and experience.
Boycott (Verb) Withdraw from commercial or social relations with a country, organisation, or person as a punishment or protest.
Stewardship (Noun) The job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organisation or property.

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Fluency Catalyst

Idioms of Memory: Native speakers often say "An elephant never forgets" (someone who has a very good memory) or "The elephant in the room" (an obvious major problem that no one wants to talk about). Try using these in the debate!