SBS Learn English will help you speak, understand and connect in Australia - view all episodes.
This lesson is suitable for intermediate-level learners. After listening, test your knowledge with our quiz.
Learning notes:
Examples of phrases you can use when talking about wildlife and nature:
- Did you see that article about sea turtles?
- Did you hear about the bushfires affecting wildlife?
- I just read something interesting about marine life.
- A lot of species are under threat.
- Some animals are losing their natural habitat.
- Pollution in the ocean is a big problem.
- Some species might even face extinction.
- Wildlife conservation is so important.
- If we protect wildlife, we are protecting the whole ecosystem and the biodiversity of the planet.
- A lot of animals are under threat today.
- Deforestation destroys natural habitats.
- Plastic pollution is harming marine life.
- Biodiversity is important for a healthy planet.
Colloquial expressions:
If something is under threat, that something is in danger.
To face extinction is to risk disappearing completely from the planet.
Wildlife conservation means protecting wild animals and their natural environment.
To look at the bigger picture is to look at the whole situation, not just one small part of it.
A natural habitat is the place where an animal normally lives in the wild.
Vocabulary:
Wildlife means animals and plants living in nature.
Endangered animals are animals that are at risk of disappearing forever.
Marine life means animals and plants that live in the sea.
Pollution is something that makes the environment unclean, such as plastic in the ocean or chemicals in rivers.
Deforestation is cutting down trees and clearing forests.
Forestation is planting trees to create or expand a forest.
An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals, and their environment in which they all work together.
Biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth, including all the different animals, plants, and living things.
Transcript:
(Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript)
SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands, and waterways throughout Australia.
You’ve probably heard people talking about animals in danger or pollution harming the oceans. But when it comes to everyday conversations, it’s not always easy to know what to say.
So, how do you talk about wildlife? And how do you explain why protecting nature really matters?
Hi, I’m Kate, and in this episode we’re exploring how to talk about animals, nature, and protecting wildlife.
These aren’t just news stories; they’re real, everyday issues. And here in Australia, where we have so many unique and fascinating animals, they come up in conversation all the time.
So, let’s hear how Allan and Claire talk about some of the challenges that wildlife faces today,
Allan:
Did you see that article about sea turtles?
Claire:
Yes, I did. A lot of them are under threat because they’re losing their natural habitat.
Allan:
And pollution in the ocean is a big problem for them, too. Some species might even face extinction.
Claire:
Yeah, wildlife conservation is so important.
Allan:
Exactly. If we protect wildlife, we are protecting the whole ecosystem.
Claire:
And the biodiversity of the planet.
Talking about wildlife can sound so serious, but the phrases Allan and Claire use are very simple and easy to learn. Let’s break them down.
First, Allan said:
Did you see that article about sea turtles?
This is a natural way to start conversation about something you've read, heard or seen in the news.
You could also say:
- Did you hear about the bushfires affecting wildlife?
When we talk about wildlife, we are talking about animals and plants living in nature.
- Did you see that report about endangered animals?
Endangered animals that are animals at risk of disappearing forever.
- I just read something interesting about marine life.
Marine life are animals and plants that live in the sea. All of these phrases are great for starting conversations about nature and wildlife.
Next, Claire said:
A lot of them are under threat because they’re losing their natural habitat.
When we say something is under threat, it means that it’s in danger. Claire said that many animals are under threat because...
... they’re losing their natural habitat.
A natural habitat is the place where an animal normally lives in the wild. For example, forests are the natural habitat of a lot of birds and mammals. The ocean is the natural habitat of sea turtles and whales.
You could also say:
A lot of animals are under threat today.
And one of the reasons for this is that people are cutting down trees and clearing forests so that they can cultivate crops or build on the land because...
Deforestation destroys natural habitat.
While deforestation clearing forests, forestation is the opposite - planting trees to create or expand a forest. Basically, deforestation removes trees, and forestation adds them.
Next, Allan said:
And pollution in the ocean is a big problem too.
Pollution is something that makes the environment unclean, and this can be a problem for wildlife. For example, if you’re talking about plastic in the ocean or chemicals in rivers, you could say:
Plastic pollution is harming marine life.
You can even talk about ‘light pollution’ which is when cities and buildings make so much light at night people cannot longer see so many stars at night and creatures like turtles can be confused about how to get back to the sea.
Let’s go back to Allan, he said something very serious:
Some species might even face extinction.
To face extinction is to risk disappearing completely from the planet. Sadly, this has already happened to a lot of different animals throughout history.
Claire agrees that this is a problem. Do you remember how she reacted? She said:
That’s why wildlife conservation is so important.
Wildlife conservation means protecting animals and their natural environment so that they can survive and continue to live in the wild.
You’ll often hear this phrase when people are talking about national parks, protecting the bush or saving endangered species.
Towards the end of the dialogue, Allan and Claire talked about the bigger picture. This is a phrase we use when we are looking at the whole situation, not just one small part of it. Let’s hear them again:
If we protect wildlife, we also protect the whole ecosystem.
And the biodiversity of the planet.
An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals, and the environment that they live in, while biodiversity means the variety of life on Earth. All the different animals, plants, and living things.
Healthy ecosystems usually have strong biodiversity, that is, they have a lot of different species living together, which strengthens the whole environment, so you could say:
Biodiversity is important for a healthy planet.
If you’re making a steady progress, you’re slowly improving or getting better, one step at the time.
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Paul Nicholson and Lily O'Sullivan voiced the characters of Allan and Claire, and Professor Lynda Yates was our educational consultant.
