Recently I started giving free English conversation lessons on-line, this was only possible because of a wonderful program called Pal Talk who host rooms that give you the opportunity to speak in real-time to anyone who enters the room. Like a conventional chat room, but with sound.
I have decided to record some of the topics that I have used here, and maybe someone else will find them useful.
The very first conversation topic I tried was entitled Smoking - should it be banned?
Well for a first topic I certainly got a lively discussion going. Surprisingly everyone seemed to be in favour of a ban on smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars! After a few teething problems the reading was very well received with quite a few people willing to read out loud. The only drawback was not everyone took the mike, but hopefully as people gain confidence that will change.
The reading I used was all about Ireland and their recent change in law that bans smoking in all public places.
The Reading
It is a classic image of Ireland: old men in traditional tweed caps sitting in a pub, with a pint of Guinness in their hands and shrouded in cigarette smoke. That was the picture at least, until 29 March, when Ireland became the first country in the world to make all workplaces smoke-free — including pubs. The Irish ban was heavily influenced by the New York City smoking ban — the Smoke-Free Air Act — which went into effect exactly one year earlier on 29 March 2003.
The New York City ban, which makes smoking illegal in all restaurants and bars and in most workplaces, became New York state policy last July. Four other US states — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine and California — have smoking restrictions of the same kind. Toronto, Canada's largest city, imposed a similar ban in June. In New York City, health inspectors make unannounced visits to see whether bars and restaurants are obeying the law. Those places that violate it are fined $200.
In Ireland, the fines are even stiffer. The Irish police, the Gardai, made it clear from the start that they did not have the resources to deal with illegal smokers. Therefore, the enforcement of the ban is the responsibility of individual publicans, who face fines of up to €3,000 and even risk losing their licence to sell alcohol if smoking continues in their pubs.
Taken from Spotlight August 2004.