The circular economy

Leanne | Jan 07, 2022Oct 07, 2022

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students discover pros and cons of the linear and circular economy and learn some new vocabulary and collocations related to the topic. They also work on a case study and come up with strategies to transform a company following a linear model into a more circular one.

WARM UP & VIDEO

The aim of the warm-up activity is to get students interested in the idea of linear and circular economy and check how much they know about both types. They look at a graphics and try to define the linear and circular economy. Then, they watch a video, check if their ideas were correct and engage in a discussion about pros and cons of each economy. Before watching the video again, students complete a vocabulary task. They analyse ten sentences related to the lesson theme and try to guess the meanings of the underlined words in them (e.g. lease, ownership, supply chain). They watch the video again and listen for detailed information, completing the gaps in seven sentences.

COLLOCATIONS & CASE STUDY

The listening practice is followed by a matching activity. Students try to create eight collocations (e.g. change someone’s mindset, manufacture a product, work on a strategy) by putting together some given words and phrases. Afterwards, they share their views on different aspects of circular economy and move on to a case study. They read a description of a company which follows a linear model and complete a list of tasks in order to make the business more circular. They focus on such aspects as sourcing ingredients, waste disposal, package design, etc. After having discussed the pros, cons and challenges the company would face, students present their ideas to other classmates. The lesson finishes with a reflection on students’ current workplaces and the possible changes they could implement to fit the ideas of the circular economy.

WORKSHEETS

13

1