🔤 Vocabulary to Listen For:

Here are some useful words and phrases that you’ll hear in today’s episode. Try to listen out for them!

1. Birth rate – the number of babies born for every 1,000 people each year.
   ➤ “The birth rate in South Korea has dropped to a record low.”
2. Ageing population – when the average age of people in a country is getting older.
   ➤ “An ageing population can cause problems for the economy.”
3. Fertility rate – the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime.
   ➤ “South Korea’s fertility rate is less than 1.”
4. Urbanisation – when more people live in cities instead of the countryside.
   ➤ “Urbanisation has changed the way people live and work.”
5. Subsidy – money the government gives to help people.
   ➤ “Some countries give childcare subsidies to support families.”

🧠 Discussion Questions for Learners

1. What do you think are the reasons people are having fewer children today?
2. Should governments give more support to young families?
3. What are the possible solutions to the problem of declining populations?
4. How is this issue similar or different in your own country?
5. Would you like to live in a country where the population is shrinking? Why or why not?

📌 Activity Ideas

• Listen again and write down any new words you hear.
• Practice using the vocabulary by writing five sentences using new words from the episode.
• Summarise the episode in your own words in writing or out loud.
• Compare countries – Look up the birth rate and fertility rate in your own country. Is it rising or falling?