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Warm-up Tasks:
Can we believe what we read in newspapers or see online?

Discussion Questions:

1. Which of the following words describes your personality best? Naïve, trusting,skeptical, cynical.

2. A conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event or situation that suggests it was caused by people working together in secret. What famous conspiracy theories do you know of? List as many as you can.

3. Are you good at keeping secrets? If someone tells you something secret, how important is it to keep it secret?

4. Is it possible for a large group of people to keep their activities secret? Will a secret inevitably get out?

5. One aspect of many conspiracy theories is secret government activity. How much can we trust our governments? Do governments hide what they are doing from their citizens? If so, why?

6. One of the most famous conspiracy theories is about the death of JFK, the American president. What do you know about his death? What do you think happened?

7. Some people prefer to believe a conspiracy theory rather than except something is unclear. How about you? Do you feel okay with not knowing or understanding something? Or do you prefer to have some kind of explanation?

1. Do you believe aliens have visited earth? Some people believe governments hide information about alien visits. Why would governments do this? Do you think governments are keeping this information from ordinary citizens?

2. Another famous conspiracy theory suggests that the moon landing was faked. What do you know about this theory? Do you have doubts that humans landed on the moon in 1969?

3. A conspiracy, as opposed to a conspiracy theory, is a secret plan between people to do something illegal or harmful. Can you think of any famous conspiracies from history?

4. Vaccination to prevent diseases is common in many countries, but some people think it is actually dangerous and a way for pharmaceutical companies to make money? What's your opinion?

5. Christopher Hitchens described conspiracy theories as the "exhaust fumes of democracy." What do you think he meant?

6. Some people suggest secret societies such as the Freemasons or the Illuminati are powerful and responsible for major world events. What do you think about this? Who are the members of these groups?

7. On September 11, 2001, airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. Some believe it was an inside job. What do you think?

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ESL Discussion: Are you good at keeping secrets? If someone tells you something secret, how important is it to keep it secret?

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Do you believe that people really went to the Moon? This is one of many events surrounded by conspiracy theories. Alice and Rob discuss if these theories are harmless and why some people are suspicious of everything.

This week's question

Around what proportion of the US population believes that the assassination of President John F Kennedy was not the result of a lone gunman? Is it...

You can hear the right answer at the end of the programme.

Vocabulary

to fake to make something that isn't true appear to be real

gullible
a gullible person is easily persuaded to believe something

conspiracy theory
a belief that a particular group or organization is responsible for a situation or event through secret planning

susceptible
likely to be influenced by

cover-up
attempt to prevent the public from discovering information about something important

trait
quality

paranoia
strong and unreasonable feeling that other people don't like you or want to harm you

off the beaten track
unusual; not done by many other people

paranormal
strange things that can't be explained by science, for example, ghosts

unsubstantiated
not supported by evidence

Transcript

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript

... And I'm Rob. Alice, I read in the paper recently that the substance called 'fluoride' might be bad for our health. But it's in nearly every brand of toothpaste, isn't it?

something means to make something that isn't true appear to be real. I didn't realize you were so Rob - and that means easily persuaded to believe something.

We'll talk more about how healthy this type of distrust might be later on in the show. But now please focus your intellectual powers on today's quiz question, Rob. Around what proportion of the US population believes that the assassination of President John F Kennedy was not the result of a lone gunman? Is it...

Chris French, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London
There are quite a few personality dimensions that seem to be related to belief in conspiracy theories and not surprisingly paranoia is one of them; also openness to new ideas - people who are willing to entertain ideas that are kind of off the beaten track. People who believe in conspiracy theories tend to believe in the paranormal.

Paranoia is a strong and unreasonable feeling that other people don't like you or want to harm you.

Believing in the paranormal means believing in strange things that can't be explained by science, for example, ghosts.

Chris French, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London
Studies have shown that people are less likely to engage with the political process. People who accept medically based conspiracies are likely to avoid getting their kids vaccinated. And even terrorist acts - it's been shown that terrorist groups will actually use conspiracy theories as both a means to get new recruits and also to motivate people to carry out extreme terrorist acts.

But more serious examples are parents choosing not to vaccinate their children against diseases because of unsubstantiated ideas that they are harmful - 'unsubstantiated' means 'not supported by evidence'.

Alice
There you go again... Come on, Rob. Now let me remind everybody what words we've heard today. They are:

to fake something
gullible
conspiracy theory
susceptible
cover-up
trait
paranoia
off the beaten track
paranormal
unsubstantiated

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BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English / Conspiracy theories

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Do you believe that people really went to the Moon? This is one of many events surrounded by conspiracy theories. Alice and Rob discuss if these theories are harmless and why some people are suspicious of everything. Around what proportion of the US population believes that the assassination of President John F Kennedy was not the result of a lone gunman?

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A conspiracy is a secret agreement between two or more people to commit an illegal or harmful act. There are many unproven conspiracy theories of varying degrees of popularity, frequently related to government plans, murder plots, suppression of secret technology and knowledge, and other supposed schemes behind certain political, cultural, and historical events.
Video about conspiracy theories

Out of the 5 conspiracies mentioned, which one do you think is most widely believed?

Do you believe any of the 5 conspiracies? If yes, why do you believe it to be true?

Vocabulary and Expressions Conversation Questions

Would you describe yourself as a conspiracy theorist?

What, if any, conspiracies do you believe to be true?

What are some common conspiracy theories?

Do you think most conspiracy theories are true or false?

Do you think that governments sometimes cover up events?

Do you think the media is sometimes involved in conspiracies?

Have any politicians in your country been exposed for cover ups?

Do you think it is possible for global conspiracies to exist?

Do you think it is a dangerous job to uncover conspiracies and expose cover ups?

How open should governments be? Do governments need some secrecy?

Are you a suspicious or trusting person?

Do you think governments are sometimes justified in withholding information from the public?

Well-known conspiracy theories
What is your opinion about some of these famous conspiracy theories?

The CIA was involved in the plot to assassinate John F. Kennedy

An alien spaceship crash landed near Roswell and was covered up by the U.S. government

The 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre was planned by the U.S. government as an excuse to invade Iraq

Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children

Area 51 in the Nevada desert is being used for secret 'black op' projects

The Apollo moon landing was a hoax that was staged by NASA

There is a "global elite" society called the Illuminati, which is either in control of the world or is seeking to take control of the world.

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English Conversation - Conspiracy Theories

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A conspiracy is a secret agreement between two or more people to commit an illegal or harmful act. There are many unproven conspiracy theories of varying degrees of popularity, frequently related to government plans, murder plots, suppression of secret technology and knowledge, and other supposed schemes behind certain political, cultural, and historical events.

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