English ECLPE

Key unit competence: To use the language learnt in the context of 

environment conservation and sustainability

Introductory Activity Picture interpretation

Observe the above pictures and answer the following questions: 

1. What Fig 1,2,3,4 represent? 

2. Provide the main elements of our physical environment.

3. Why is it important to protect our environment?

4. Which methods can we use to conserve our environmental 

resources?

7.1. Talking about physical elements of environment

7.1.1. Learning activity: Reading and Text Analysis

Read the text below and answer questions that follow:

• Text: The physical environment

The physical environment can be defined as that which operates on an 

ongoing basis regardless of the persons in it. This physical environment 

then affects the actions of and outcomes concerning the people within it. 

The physical environment includes land, air, water, plants and animals, 

buildings and other infrastructure, and all of the natural resources 

that provide our basic needs and opportunities for social and economic 

development. 

Say, for example, you are playing sport and it is a windy day. You have 

to adjust your game to ensure that you allow for the way the wind is 

blowing. All processes and behaviours take place within specific physical 

environments. Within a classroom for example lighting, acoustics, size, 

comfort, safety, access to technology, etc. create and add to a physical 

environment that is either conducive to learning or perhaps distracting.

Therefore, a simple definition of any physical environment would be 

your natural surroundings including whether it is clean or dirty and the 

things within it and how they interact to create a ‹space.›

It is also known as the whole physical and biological system surrounding 

man and other organisms along with various factors influencing them. 

The factors are soil, air, water, light, temperature etc. These are called 

A biotic factors. Besides a biotic factors, the environment is very much 

influenced by biotic factors which include all forms of life like plants, 

animals, microorganisms etc. Man is thus an inseparable part of the 

environment. Man and Environment have very close relationship with 

each other. The social life of man is affected by environment. This is the 

reason for various types of social and cultural activities around the world. 

The hilly people have different life styles than people in the plain area. 

Similarly, people around the world differ in their food, cloth, festivals etc. 

All these are influenced by the factors around him.

Natural vegetation, such as forest cover, is usually the most benign 

of land uses, with higher infiltration and reduced runoff rates. The 

opposites of forest cover are urbanized areas, where large surface areas 

are impermeable, and pipes and sewer networks augment the natural 

channels. The impervious surfaces in urban areas reduce infiltration 

and can reduce the recharge of groundwater. In addition, urban runoff 

contributes to poor water quality.

Agricultural activities are major forms of land use, including row 

crops, rangelands, animal farms, aquaculture, and other agribusiness 

activities. Cropping activities involve soil and water manipulation 

through tillage and irrigation, thereby affecting runoff water and 

groundwater resources. If improperly used, fertilizer and plant protection 

chemicals in agricultural operations can affect water resources and 

ecosystems.

Urban and agricultural land uses contribute to what is termed nonpoint 

source pollution in watersheds. Nonpoint-source pollution is defined 

as diffuse (spread-out) sources of contamination from a wide area 

of a landscape, often difficult to be attributed to a single location. 

Transportation infrastructure (e.g., roads and airports) is another type of 

land use that affects water resources through road runoff and alterations 

to components of the hydrologic cycle.

Therefore, a cleanliness and beauty of the environment is also important 

for people’s sense of wellbeing. For many people, access to an attractive 

physical environment contributes greatly to their contentedness with life. 

A healthy environment also provides recreational opportunities, allowing 

people to take part in activities they value. The clean, green environment 

is also integral part of national identity, and guardianship of the land 

and other aspects of the physical environment is seen as important part 

of social wellbeing. 

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/La-Mi/Land-Use-Planning.html#ixzz5zl2OUinI

Comprehension questions

1. What is physical environment according to the author?

2. Which activities people can do on land?

3. Why the writers say that physical environment affects human 

activities?

4. Do you think physical environment can influence the food people 

eat? Explain.

5. Explain the importance of healthy environment as described in 

the passage.

7.1.2. Application activity: 

7.2. Describing environmental features and their roles

7.2.1. Learning activity: Reading and Text analysis

Read the following text and answer questions given: 

• A text: Environmental Features 

Rwanda has a temperate tropical highland climate, with lower 

temperatures than are typical for equatorial countries due to its 

high elevation. Kigali, in the centre of the country, has a typical daily 

temperature range between 12 °C (54 °F) and 27 °C (81 °F), with little 

variation through the year. There are some temperature variations 

across the country; the mountainous west and north are generally cooler 

than the lower-lying east. 

There are two rainy seasons in the year. The first runs from February to 

June and the second from September to December. These are separated 

by two dry seasons: the major one from June to September, during which 

there is often no rain at all, and a shorter and less severe one from 

December to February. Rainfall varies geographically, with the west 

and northwest of the country receiving more precipitation annually 

than the east and southeast.

Mountains dominate central and western Rwanda. These mountains are 

part of the Albertine Rift Mountains that flank the Albertine branch of 

theEast African Rift. This branch runs from north to south along Rwanda’s 

western border. The highest peaks are found in the Virunga volcano 

chain in the northwest; this includes Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda’s highest 

point, at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft). 

Rwanda has many lakes, the largest being Lake Kivu. This lake occupies 

the floor of the Albertine Rift along most of the length of Rwanda›s 

western border, and with a maximum depth of 480 metres (1,575 ft), it 

is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world. Other sizeable lakes 

include Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi, Rweru, and Ihema, the last being the 

largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains of Akagera National 

Park. Therefore, it is very important to care for our environment because 

as some the features show without it there is no life as discussed in the 

following paragraphs

No trees, no forests! No forests, no rainfall! No rainfall, no water! No 

water, no power! No power, no industry! No industry, no jobs! No jobs, no 

money! No jobs, no money! No money, no food! No food, no life!

Perceptibly, forests are very important as this sequence show. Destroying 

forests has serious environmental, economic and social consequences. 

Anyone in drought areas should remember that we have suffered 

crippling droughts as well as water and power rationing in some parts 

of Africa. Recovering from these disasters takes a long time.

In counties which heavily depend on agricultural produce both for local 

consumption and for export, rain is very important. Trees attract rain 

and we should do everything possible to preserve them. We should even 

plant more.

Trees also prevent soil erosion and flooding. Soil erosion carries away the 

productive soil while flooding leads to loss of life and property.

In Kenya’s Western province, Busia district, Budalangi constituency

and its surroundings, the inhabitants cannot build permanent homes 

because they know in the month of April they have to move to high 

grounds because of flooding that causes loss of property and even life.

In addition, forests provide catchment areas for some largest rivers 

and lakes. From these rivers and lakes, we get water for domestic use, 

irrigation and we can also get sea food. On the rivers are dams from 

which electricity is tapped or generated.

For example, River Nile is a major hydro power generation that serves 

Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. Did you know that Lake Victoria has its 

major tributaries in Kenya and these tributaries emanate from the Mau 

forest?

Due to human activities in the forest, the tributaries are reducing water. 

As a result Lake Victoria on the Kenyan side is reducing in water flow 

and if the situation is not checked, this will affect the people of Egypt who 

rely entirely on irrigation from River Nile whose source is Lake Victoria.

Moreover, forests play a significant role in our atmosphere. By absorbing 

carbon dioxide from the air, they act as a filter thus leaving our air 

fresh and clean. Forests are also the most important defence against 

climatic changes such as global warming. If we destroy the forests the 

chain is broken as well as our lives.

https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/41355

Comprehension questions

1. Why does Rwanda have a temperate tropical highland climate 

with lower temperatures?

2. Give and explain the rain seasons we have in a year.

3. What is the importance of some environment features mentioned 

in the passage?

4. Which countries are served by hydro power generation from 

River Nile?

5. What are the lakes do we have in our country and why are they 

important?

6. Which daily temperature do we have in Kigali city as mentioned 

in the passage?

7.2.2. Application activity Vocabulary and composition writing

1. Explain the following words as they are used in the passage

a. Temperatures

b. crippling 

c. droughts

d. precipitation

e. rainfall 

f. constituency

g. floor

h. catchment 

i. filter 

j. carbon dioxide 

2. Write a composition talking about the environment features of your 

district. Read guidelines of writing an essay in unit five of this book.

7.3. Describing different ways of protecting environment

7.3.1. Learning activity: Observing pictures and Reading

1. What do you see in Fig.1 and what do you think the person 

people in Fig.2 is doing?

2. Which strategies can we use to protect our environment?

3. Why is important to protect our environment?

4. Suggest some pieces of advice to people who only care for 

their businesses by building big industries and other related 

harmful activities.

B. Reading and exploitation of texts

Read the text below and answer questions given.

• Text 1: Protect your environment 

Many people say there is a need to protect the environment, but do not 

really make any effort to do anything about it. Are you one of these 

people? What can we do to encourage people to take action to protect the 

environment?

Most people are increasingly aware of the need to protect our environment. 

Despite this, not many of us are really taking steps to reduce our impact 

on the planet. In this text, I will suggest some steps each of us can take 

and some ways to motivate others to do the same.

Many environmental problems seem so big that only governments, local 

authorities or big companies can deal with them. One example is global 

warming. We need government action to reduce emissions from coal 

and oil burning power stations and to develop safer sources of power. 

These require tough regulations and huge investment. The loss of forests 

and other habitat is another problem. How can we as individuals stop 

the destruction of the Amazon or Indonesian rain forests? Yet another 

example is waste. When people live in cities, other ways may be recycling, 

picking up trash, no polluting and decrease pollution overall, saving 

animal habitats and so much more. 

We should care for the environment because it’s our real home, we live in 

it and we don’t want a nasty living of trash everywhere with stenches, 

also animals can die from our trashes such in beaches, they can get stuck 

in the can plastics. We need to recycle because recycling takes trash and 

processes it in some way to make a useful product. Composting falls 

into this category. Glass, plastics, paper, steel, and cardboard are other 

materials that may be recycled. The added benefit of compost is that 

it can be done in your own backyard. We still need to recycle all the 

plastic that we use because it gets melted and reused again for more 

supply for our needs.

When we don’t recycle, we have less plastic reusing than before and cause 

a lot more money and man labor time to recycle it for us in the landfills. 

Also, most of it gets burned to dispose of it all because we have no room 

for all the landfills and they cost too much to have. Really, we should all 

try to reuse before recycling but either works just fine. So, when we 

reuse our belongings like finding alternate uses for trash rather than 

disposal. 

Share unused portions with neighbours or charities. Donate books 

to the library; give old clothing to charity, etc. Now we also need to 

reduce which is includes reducing the amount of total waste by steps 

such as buying only the amount you need, persuading manufacturers to 

reduce the amount of packaging they use. It also includes steps such as 

mowing your lawn with a mulching mower and leaving the clippings on 

the grass. “Waste” is never generated. So, we don’t want to buy too much 

of anything for ourselves everyone needs the same things such as water 

bottles, plastic bags, and much more. And for mountainous places, it is 

important that people can make terraces, planting also some trees which 

may protect the soil. 

In conclusion, our choices, however small, do have a real impact. If each 

of us made took two or three simple steps to live more simply, imagine 

the positive effect on the planet!

http://writefix.com/?p=183

Comprehension questions 

1. Which problems did the writer say that they can be dealt with 

government?

2. What are the strategies identified by the writer about 

environmental protection?

3. Give reasons why the environment must be protected.

4. Which materials do we need to recycle in our environment?

5. How can we protect the soil from high mounts?

• Text 2. A poem on environmental protection

Read the following poem and answer questions 

We spoil our Earth

Is it really worth?

Polluting the air

is that really fair?

Can Smoke and Dust

Turn Earth into Hearth?

Clean the Air

Show that we care

Secure our future

Say Cheese!

Plant more trees

For Earth to Breathe

Plants and Animals

Love them all

Be generous

Live life tall

Conserve water

Be a nice daughter

Harvest sunlight

For a life that is bright

Plastic may be cool

But don’t be a fool

It will make you ill

Tell the whole school

Recycle everything

Don’t waste anything

If you want no tension

Go for environment protection

By KaarviKhullar

• Comprehension questions

1. Which strategies did the poet mention so as to protect our 

environment?

2. Why do you think that poet advised us not to be fool though 

plastic is cool?

3. What can a person do if he/she wants no tension?

4. Provide the message given by the poet to schools.

5. Explain the following words as they are used in the poem. Use 

dictionary 

f. Global warming 

g. Pollution 

h. Stenches

i. Backyard 

j. Portions

k. Charity

l. Recycling

7.3.2. Application activities Debate and composition writing

1. Debate the following topic or motion: Read the guidelines on 

how to conduct a debate in unit five of this book. “Human 

activities have brought more harm than good on our Earth”.

2. Write two paragraphs describing different ways of protecting 

environment. Read the guidelines on writing a paragraph in 

unit five of this book

7.3.3. Language structure: Use of expressions of purpose

1. Read the following paragraphs and identify expressions of purpose used 

The trees’ roots suck water deep from under the ground to as low as 200 

feet. They hold the soil together so that erosion is prevented. They absorb 

rain during rainy days in order to help plants grow well.

Mary lives in Gakenke District which is a mountainous area. Last 

year, she planted different trees so as to protect the soil. However, her 

neighbours did not do the same and affected her soil later. The local 

leaders sensitize every person to make terraces and some irrigation so 

that they could not get affected by soil erosion again. 

Last week, Land manager at sector level visited them and said that in 

order to avoid soil erosion people should also get water from their houses 

in addition to other methods used. 

• Notes

Expressions of purpose: to, in order to and so as to

a. In order to

We can use ‘in order to’ or ‘so as to’ instead of ‘to + infinitive’. This just 

makes it a bit clearer that we are talking about goals or intentions and 

it’s also a bit more formal. It doesn’t change the meaning.

• I went to London in order to study Environmental education. 

• I went to London so as to study Environmental education.

Use to, so as to, and in order to express purpose in the affirmative 

form

Examples:

• He is looking for a part time job to save some pocket money.

• She wakes up early in order to be on time to work.

• They visited him so as to offer their condolences for the death of his 

wife.

Use so as not to and in order not to express purpose in the negative form.

Examples:

• They woke up early in order not to be late.

• She exercises regularly so as not to get fat.

• He helped the new policewoman so as not to fail in her first mission.

b. Purpose with so that

You can also express purpose with so that. In this case you generally 

need to use a modal

Examples:

• He turned down the music so thathe wouldn›t disturb the neighbours.

• He got a visa so that he can travel to the USA.

• He decided to stay in England for a while so that he could practice 

his English language

Exercises

A: Choose the correct expression of purpose

1. Concentrate on your exercise … make any mistakes.

a. So as not to

b. to

c. So that 

2. You have to wake up … be on time.

a. To

b. In order not to

c. So that 

3. You have to register … participate in the forum.

a. In order to

b. So as not to

c. So that

4. She left work early … be at home when he arrives.

a. So as not to

b. To 

c. So that 

5. Ships carry life boats … the crew can escape when the ship sinks.

a. So as not to

b. To 

c. So that 

6. These men risk their lives-… we may live more safely.

a. to

b. in order not to

c. so that 

B: Using expression of purpose, write a paragraph talking about 

the role of physical environment in socio-economic sector.

7.1. End unit assessment

A. Use a dictionary and thesaurus to look up the missing pronunciation 

of the words/phrases in the table below. Copy the table into your 

book and fill in the blank spaces and practice reading them.

B. Suppose that you are appointed to be trainer in a given district 

and the training agenda is all about environment conservation 

and sustainability. The following are issues to be addressed in the 

training.

a. Strategies to keep different materials lying around in the 

community.

b. Ways to protect our soil from erosion.

c. Challenge of deforestation in the community.

d. A problem of water from houses

Write an essay describing how you will address the above issues to be 

presented to the Land manager. Make sure you pay attention to the use 

of expression of purpose in your writing. Words limit (300 words).

C. Rewrite the sentences below using to, in order not to, so that… 

a. I sent her a bunch of flowers because I wanted to make it up with 

her. 

b. I entered Mr Green’s office because I wished to talk to him about 

environment. 

c. I came back because I had to take care of my parents. 

d. She winked at me because she wanted to let me know that she 

was joking. 

e. I have come because I’d like to give you a piece of advice on 

environmental protection.

A. D. Match the beginnings of the sentences to the correct endings