English Class — Weekly Schedule 2026

Kinyarwanda–English Language Exchange

Each week, read the linked article before class. Discussion questions are for conversation practice — there are no wrong answers.

April

Week 1 — Apr 6–12Environment

The global ocean treaty finally became law

  1. What is something in your country that belongs to everyone? Who should protect it?
  2. Have you ever seen the ocean? How did it make you feel?
  3. Is it easy or hard for many countries to agree on one rule? Why?
  4. What would you protect if you could make one new law?
Week 2 — Apr 13–19Health

Exercise may work as well as antidepressants for depression

  1. Do you exercise regularly? What do you do?
  2. How do you feel after moving your body — walking, dancing, farming?
  3. In your community, how do people deal with sadness or stress?
  4. Should doctors prescribe exercise the same way they prescribe medicine?
Week 3 — Apr 20–26Nature

Nine European bison released into the wild in Spain

  1. Have you ever seen a wild animal? Where? How did it feel?
  2. Why do you think some animals disappear and then come back?
  3. What animals are important in Rwanda or your home country?
  4. If you could bring back one extinct animal, which would it be and why?
Week 4 — Apr 27–May 3Environment

Bamboo: the overlooked material poised to change construction

  1. What materials are used to build houses where you are from?
  2. Do you think traditional building methods are better or worse than modern ones?
  3. Have you ever built or helped build something? Tell us about it.
  4. What does a good home mean to you?

May

Week 5 — May 4–10Culture

Stormzy champions a campaign to get non-readers reading

  1. Do you enjoy reading? What was the last thing you read?
  2. Did you read books as a child? Who taught you to read?
  3. Why do you think some people stop reading as adults?
  4. What book would you recommend to a friend, and why?
Week 6 — May 11–17Arts

Ireland made its basic income for artists permanent

  1. Is being an artist a real job? Why or why not?
  2. What kind of art do you enjoy — music, dance, painting, storytelling?
  3. Should the government pay people to make art? Who benefits?
  4. Is there an artist or musician from Rwanda or East Africa that you admire?
Week 7 — May 18–24Nature

A persecuted Serbian eagle is making a remarkable comeback

  1. Have you ever seen a bird that surprised you — its size, color, or sound?
  2. What does it mean when a species “makes a comeback”?
  3. Do you think humans can fix the damage they do to nature?
  4. What is a bird or animal that has special meaning in your culture?
Week 8 — May 25–31Nature

158 giant tortoises reintroduced to the Galápagos island of Floreana

  1. What do you know about the Galápagos Islands?
  2. Why do tortoises live so long — up to 150 years? What can we learn from them?
  3. Have you ever returned somewhere after a long time away? How did it feel?
  4. What does “extinction” mean, and why does it matter?

June

Week 9 — Jun 1–7Health

Study: a third of older adults improved cognitively over 12 years

  1. Do you think people get smarter or less smart as they get older?
  2. Who is the wisest person you know? What makes them wise?
  3. How do people in your community care for older relatives?
  4. What do you want your life to look like when you are 70 or 80?
Week 10 — Jun 8–14Society

Croatia finished clearing all its landmines — 30 years after the war

  1. What does it mean for a country to “move on” after a war?
  2. What does the word “peace” mean to you beyond just no fighting?
  3. Is forgetting the past important, or dangerous?
  4. How does a community begin to heal after a difficult time?
Week 11 — Jun 15–21Health

Smart glasses help people with dementia stay in their own homes

  1. Do you know someone who has memory problems? How does it affect their family?
  2. What technology in your daily life helps you the most?
  3. Should elderly people live with family or in care homes? What is the custom where you are from?
  4. What would you want people to do for you if you could no longer remember things?
Week 12 — Jun 22–28Nature

Japan takes red-crowned cranes off its endangered species list

  1. What is an animal or bird that is special or symbolic in your culture?
  2. Why do you think Japan worked for 100 years to protect these cranes?
  3. What does it feel like when something almost lost comes back?
  4. Is there something in your community that was nearly lost but was saved?
Week 13 — Jun 29–Jul 5Overview

What went right in 2025: the year’s top 25 good news stories

  1. What is the best piece of news you heard this year?
  2. What problem in the world do you most hope gets better?
  3. Do you usually watch or read the news? How does it make you feel?
  4. If you could change one thing about the world in the next year, what would it be?

July

Week 14 — Jul 6–12Health

An ancient disease causing blindness has nearly been eliminated

  1. Have you or someone you know ever had a problem with their eyes or vision?
  2. What does losing your sight mean for someone’s daily life?
  3. How important is clean water and good sanitation for health?
  4. What disease do you wish scientists would eliminate next?
Week 15 — Jul 13–19Environment

Europe reached a ‘tipping point’ for clean energy

  1. Where does the electricity in your home come from? Do you know?
  2. Have you ever experienced a power cut? How long did it last?
  3. Do you think solar or wind power could work well in Rwanda? Why or why not?
  4. What is one small thing you do — or could do — to use less energy?
Week 16 — Jul 20–26Nature

Scotland to require ‘swift bricks’ in all new buildings for birds

  1. Do birds live near your home? Which ones?
  2. Why do you think birds and small animals struggle more in cities than in the countryside?
  3. Should builders be required by law to help wildlife? Or should it be a choice?
  4. What is one way humans and nature can share the same space?
Week 17 — Jul 27–Aug 2Environment

Africa is powering ahead with solar energy faster than expected

  1. Do you think Africa will be a leader in clean energy in the future? Why or why not?
  2. What does it mean for a village or town to get electricity for the first time?
  3. Is it fair that countries that polluted less have to deal with more climate problems?
  4. What would change in your daily life if you had unlimited clean electricity?

August

Week 18 — Aug 3–9Nature

Polar bears in Norway are fatter and healthier despite melting ice

  1. Have you ever seen snow or ice? Where?
  2. Why do you think the polar bears’ diet changed instead of them dying out?
  3. What does “adapt” mean? Can you think of a time you adapted to a big change in your life?
  4. What part of nature worries you most right now?
Week 19 — Aug 10–16Science

Scientists figured out how to store data inside glass

  1. What do you do to remember important things — photos, notebooks, your phone?
  2. What would happen if all the photos and documents in the world suddenly disappeared?
  3. Is it important to preserve the past? What from the past do you most want to keep?
  4. What invention from the last 20 years has changed your life the most?
Week 20 — Aug 17–23Health

Next-generation flu vaccines could save millions of lives by 2050

  1. Have you ever been very sick with flu? What was it like?
  2. Do you trust vaccines? What makes people trust or distrust them?
  3. How did COVID change how your community thinks about disease and health?
  4. If scientists could eliminate one disease completely, which should they choose?
Week 21 — Aug 24–30Environment

Ukraine’s wetland restoration project is a ‘beacon of hope’

  1. Can nature recover even during very difficult times for humans?
  2. What does it mean to protect the environment during a war or crisis?
  3. Have you seen a place change — for better or worse — over the years?
  4. What gives you hope when things around you feel difficult?
Week 22 — Aug 31–Sep 6Health

A new drug cut seizures by 91% in children with rare epilepsy

  1. Do you know anyone who has epilepsy or another condition that affects daily life?
  2. What does it mean to a family when a sick child gets better?
  3. Should expensive new medicines be available to everyone, or only people who can pay?
  4. What is one thing you are grateful for about your own health?

September

Week 23 — Sep 7–13Environment

Air pollution fell sharply in major cities around the world

  1. What does the air smell like in your city or village? Has it changed over the years?
  2. What are the biggest sources of pollution where you live?
  3. Who do you think is responsible for fixing air pollution — governments, companies, or individuals?
  4. What health problems are common in your community that might be connected to the environment?
Week 24 — Sep 14–20Health

The US smoking rate fell below 10% for the first time in history

  1. Do people smoke a lot where you are from? Is it changing?
  2. Why do you think smoking is still common even though everyone knows it is harmful?
  3. Have you or someone you know ever quit a difficult habit? How did they do it?
  4. What habit do you think your generation has that future generations will look back on and say: “Why did they do that?”
Week 25 — Sep 21–27Nature

Knepp farm: a 900% increase in breeding birds in 20 years

  1. What does the word “wild” mean to you?
  2. Is there a place near where you grew up that felt wild or natural? What was it like?
  3. The farmer stopped farming and let nature take over. Would you make that choice? What would you lose? What would you gain?
  4. Can cities also be rewilded? What would that look like?
Week 26 — Sep 28–Oct 4Community

Businesses helping ex-offenders, homeless people, and farmers win awards

  1. Have you ever bought something from a business that also does good — for the community or environment?
  2. What is the difference between a business and a charity? Can something be both?
  3. Is there a problem in your community that a small business could help solve?
  4. What would your ideal business be, if you could start one?

October

Week 27 — Oct 5–11Nature

Plans for a massive national park ‘at the end of the world’ in Chile

  1. Have you ever visited a national park or protected area? What did you see?
  2. Why do some governments protect land from development? Do you think it is worth it?
  3. Who do you think should own land — individuals, governments, or communities?
  4. What wild place in Rwanda or East Africa should be protected forever?
Week 28 — Oct 12–18Nature

Bison are reshaping landscapes and reducing wildfire risk in Spain

  1. What natural disasters happen in your country — floods, droughts, fires?
  2. How do animals change their environment just by living in it?
  3. Have you ever seen how quickly nature can grow back after damage?
  4. What is the most powerful thing you have ever seen in nature?
Week 29 — Oct 19–25Health

A third of all cancer cases could be prevented — here’s how

  1. What does “prevention” mean? Is it different from “treatment”?
  2. What do you do in your daily life to stay healthy?
  3. Is it hard to make healthy choices where you live? Why or why not?
  4. How do people in your community talk about cancer — openly, or not?
Week 30 — Oct 26–Nov 1Science

Electric planes now carry mail to remote communities in Scotland

  1. Have you ever sent or received a letter or package from far away?
  2. Do you think electric planes will be common in your lifetime?
  3. What is something that used to seem impossible but is now normal?
  4. Would you feel safe in an electric plane? Why or why not?

November

Week 31 — Nov 2–8Society

New UK law gives 800,000 low-paid women access to sick pay

  1. Have you ever had to work when you were sick because you could not afford to stay home?
  2. Should all workers be paid if they are too sick to work? Who should pay for it?
  3. What is the hardest job you have ever done, or seen someone do?
  4. What does a fair workplace look like to you?
Week 32 — Nov 9–15Health

Libya became the 28th country to defeat trachoma

  1. What do you know about Libya?
  2. What does it mean for a whole country to defeat a disease?
  3. Who deserves the credit — scientists, governments, doctors, communities?
  4. What disease or health problem in your country do you think could be eliminated if there was enough effort?
Week 33 — Nov 16–22Health

Stem cells from placenta used to treat spina bifida in the womb

  1. What do you know about conditions that people are born with?
  2. How does society treat people who are born with disabilities where you are from?
  3. What does the word “miracle” mean to you? Have you ever used that word about something in your own life?
  4. Should scientists try to treat conditions before birth, or is that going too far?
Week 34 — Nov 23–29Environment

Renewables now beat fossil fuels on energy security, not just cost

  1. What do you think the world’s energy will look like in 50 years?
  2. Have you ever had to pay a lot for electricity or fuel? How did it affect your life?
  3. Is it the responsibility of rich countries to help poorer ones switch to clean energy?
  4. What does “energy security” mean, and why does it matter to ordinary people?
Week 35 — Nov 30–Dec 6Society

Nations committed to addressing the root causes of female incarceration

  1. Do you think men and women end up in prison for the same reasons?
  2. What does “the justice system” mean, and do you think it is fair where you live?
  3. What does it mean to address the “root causes” of a problem rather than just the problem itself?
  4. What is one thing that would make your community safer and fairer?

December

Week 36 — Dec 7–13Environment

Chile signed off on one of the world’s largest marine reserves

  1. What does the ocean provide for people — food, livelihoods, culture?
  2. The community leader said the ocean is part of their identity. What is part of your identity in the same way?
  3. Should any part of the ocean belong to everyone equally, or should countries own it?
  4. What is something in your community you want to protect for future generations?
Week 37 — Dec 14–20Society

US murder rate: the sharpest fall ever recorded in a single year

  1. Does safety look different in different countries? How would you describe safety in your community?
  2. What do you think makes a community safer — police, jobs, education, something else?
  3. Has your neighborhood or town become safer or less safe over your lifetime?
  4. What does the word “progress” mean to you?
Week 38 — Dec 21–27Overview

What went right in 2026? — Positive News year in review

  1. What was the most surprising good news story from this year for you?
  2. Which topic from our classes made you think the most?
  3. What English word or phrase did you learn this year that you still remember?
  4. What is one thing you want to learn or do differently next year?
Week 39 — Dec 28–Jan 3Environment

Solar panels and crops together: better for farms and the planet

  1. Have you or your family grown food? What did you grow?
  2. What does it mean when two different things help each other at the same time?
  3. Do you think technology and traditional farming can work together?
  4. What is the most important crop or food where you are from, and why?