Global Issues
Build your Italian vocabulary for global issues: words for the environment, from pollution to recycling, and words for world problems such as poverty, hunger and war.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Global issues in Italian
This module builds your Italian vocabulary for global issues, such as protecting the environment and helping with world problems. Each Italian word is shown with its English meaning, so you can learn to recognise it. These words help you talk about pollution, recycling, poverty and more.
Pollution and poverty in Italian
Start with four common words. Each Italian word is shown with its English meaning.
Environment or world problems?
It helps to sort the words into the environment and world problems.
A few more words
Three more useful words: energia means energy, guerra means war, and importante means important. When you talk about a global issue, try to add an opinion word such as importante.
Match the word
- ambiente
- inquinamento
- riciclare
- rifiuti
- The environment
- Pollution
- To recycle
- Rubbish
Which is pollution?
Which Italian word means pollution?
- inquinamento
- ambiente
- riciclare
- rifiuti
Match more words
- povertà
- fame
- guerra
- proteggere
- Poverty
- Hunger
- War
- To protect
Environment words
Which TWO Italian words are about the environment? Choose all that apply.
- ambiente
- riciclare
- fame
- guerra
Describe caring for the world
Order these to describe caring for the world: first an environment word, then an action, then a world problem, then an opinion.
- ambiente
- riciclare
- povertà
- importante
Environment words in Italian
The Italian word for the environment is _____. Dirty air and water are caused by _____. To help, we can _____ our rubbish. Two big world problems are _____, when people do not have enough food, and _____, when countries fight.
Spot the environment words
Tap the TWO words about the environment.
- ambiente
- fame
- riciclare
- guerra
- povertà
Never leave the opinion without a reason, in Italian
The global-issue words become sentences with è (is), and a grade-9 answer never states a view without a reason attached: - La povertà è un problema grave = "poverty is a serious problem". Italian keeps la in front of povertà where English drops it. grave follows problema rather than coming before it, which is the opposite of the English order. - Voglio riciclare perché è importante = "I want to recycle because it is important". Voglio (I want) is followed straight by the plain verb riciclare, with no extra word between them. perché then joins the reason.
Attach a reason, in Italian
A grade-9 answer attaches a reason. Which of these does that?
- Voglio riciclare perché è importante
- Voglio riciclare
- La povertà è un problema grave
- La povertà è un grave problema perché
Which is war?
Which Italian word means war?
- guerra
- fame
- povertà
- ambiente
Choose the word
For each meaning, choose the correct Italian word.
- You want the word for dirty air and water. Which word?
- You want the word for when people do not have enough food. Which word?
- You want the word for using rubbish again to make something new. Which word?
Write about a global issue
Write two or three sentences in Italian about a global issue, such as the environment or world poverty.
- Name a global issue
- Say why it is important, using importante
- Say one thing we can do to help