The topic of "The Environment" is explored in several academic disciplines in the IB Diploma Programme. Whether it's environmental risks in geography, processes relating to the environment in the natural sciences, or the whole Environmental Systems and Societies course, students frequently learn about the (complicated) relationship between humans and our environment. And rightly so. Man-made climate change will have a profound impact on their time upon this planet, and with issues such as climate anxiety on the rise, they must learn about the situation, as well as how to mitigate the damage we've caused.

At the same time, many of the texts on matters relating to the environment that English language learners will encounter in their other subjects, as well as in their own reading of the news (hopefully!), contain challenging scientific and academic language. With 88% of IBDP students studying their courses with English as the language of instruction and assessment and thousands of candidates sitting English B exams each year, we can assume that many students are faced with texts bursting with vocabulary beyond their level. While students are adept at using translation tools to access their subjects and communicate understanding, this won't help them in their paper-based exams. From this, we can glean two things.

Firstly, as English B teachers, we can help "build the field." That is, we can help students acquire academic and, to some extent, subject-specific terminology. While the latter is strictly the role of the subject teacher, we can play our part in less technical language. This is especially true of a topic like the environment that is part of so many other courses. Words like habitat and ecosystem are essential in speaking about environmental issues.

Secondly, we can help students develop reading skills so they can infer meaning when they lack the requisite vocabulary to understand every word they read. Using context clues, considering affixes, and accessing prior knowledge are just some of the strategies they can employ.

The text below about the illegal killing of trees in Sydney provides an opportunity for students to tackle a challenging academic text through two question types from the Paper 2 Reading exam. As I often point out to my students, while these comprehension questions are a tool for testing their reading skills, they are also a tool for helping them understand the explicit and implicit details in a text. It's a scaffold that is often removed by the time they reach university, where extensive reading does not always come with a list of guiding questions; students will need to create their own.

Using the Text

1. Start by eliciting from students which of their IBDP subjects has some focus on the environment. Do they feel there is enough focus on this important topic in the school? Is there too much?
2. Next, discuss with students how they approach texts in their subjects where the language is particularly tricky. This is also a chance to reflect on communication and self-management ATLs, specifically reading techniques and language learning strategies. Get them to consider what they do in class (with access to translation tools) versus in the exam where they don't (unless they're entitled to 25% extra time and use of a bilingual dictionary, as many students are). 
3. Get students to look at the title and predict the content of the text. What do they think has happened? Why did it happen? What might be the impact? This is longer than the average Paper 2 reading text, so you might need to split the tasks over a couple of lessons, depending on the level of your students. Have them read the whole text and highlight key ideas. Were their predictions accurate?
4. Now it's time for the exam-style text-handling questions, starting with the heading matching. Divide your class into 4 groups and give them a section each. Invite them to look back at their sections and see if they can summarise the main idea in their own words. Write these up on the board. Next, point them in the direction of the options. Do any of them align with their summaries? This is a potential strategy for paper 2, although students tell me they usually can't help looking at the options!
5. Here are the answers, which you can project in presentation mode.

6. Have students reflect on the function of subheadings in longer texts. If they've started their Extended Essays, how might they use subheadings to organise your text and signpost key ideas for the readers?

7. Move on to the next task: completing the sentences with words from the text. Explain that the first part of the sentence has been paraphrased from the original but that the answer they're looking for must be word-for-word. Like true/false justification questions, this question type develops students' paraphrasing skills, a necessary aspect of academic writing. 

8. Do the first one together. The questions have been divided according to the sections of the text. You could either do them one at a time and check the answers below or have students work through them all at their own pace. For each answer, get students to identify how the first part has been paraphrased. Have synonyms been used? Or has the word form been changed? 

Further Areas of Exploration

You could...

• ...have students produce a leaflet informing local residents about this issue and why it matters
• ...get them to research tree vandalism in their country or the country of your school
• ...make a mind-map of environmental vocabulary from the text