Masdar: A Green City
WORKSHEET
1. Suggested Use
Sustainability and future cities focus, followed by A2+-level vocabulary and grammar activities.
2. Suggested Activities
A. Project-based learning
Students design their own green city of the future. They work in groups to imagine a small, sustainable city or neighbourhood, then decide what makes it green, e.g. energy, transport, buildings, water use, or waste. They draw or describe their city in a short paragraph. Alternatively they generate an AI image of their future green city.
B. Mediation task: Collaborating to construct meaning
Copy the video script and cut it up into pieces, e.g. 5. Give a copy to students to piece together the text, paying attention to the structure and cohesion of the text. Then, play the video for students to check their answers.
C. Pronunciation task: /s/ vs /ʃ/ sounds
Elicit examples of the sounds from the video, by having the students watch and note take or by analysing the video script, e.g. city, solar, shady, showing, wishes, solutions, safe etc. Model the sounds and mouth placement then have students repeat the words. You could also give students pairs of words to practise, e.g. see/she, save/shave, sick/shake, mass/mash.
3. Vocabulary
Environment
green
sustainable
driverless
environment
solar power
electric car
clean
quiet
safe
heat
desert
Planet
People
government
people
leaders
others
world
Verbs
start(ed)
build
create
reduce
park
travel
use
include
help
keep
show
protect
grow
look forward to
Adjectives and nouns
green
traditional
narrow
shady
important
better
future
journey
success
4. Grammar
Dependent prepositions:
reduce the need for, finish in, type of, failure to etc.
Future forms:
We will have truly succeeded; Masdar City will show new ideas about how we can live.
Modal verbs:
We will have truly succeeded; Masdar City will show new ideas about how we can live.
Passive:
A new type of city is being built; Masdar was designed to reduce the need for cars; The city was supposed to be finished in 2020.
TRANSCRIPT
Masdar: A Green City
NARRATOR:
In the United Arab Emirates, a new type of city is being built. It’s called Masdar City. The government started the project in 2006. The goal is to create a green, sustainable city -- a city that is good for the environment. A “City of the Future.”
Masdar was designed to reduce the need for cars. People park outside the city and take a small, driverless electric car to the centre. These cars travel under the city. This means the streets are clean, quiet and safe for walking. The buildings use solar power, and many include features of traditional Arab design. The streets are narrow and shady, which helps keep the city cool, even in the desert heat.
At first, the city was supposed to be finished in 2016. Then the plan changed to 2020. Now, there is no final date. But the people building Masdar City say they are not giving up. Chris Wan is one of the city’s leaders. He says the most important thing is to try.
SOUNDBITE - Chris Wan:
“The only failure that we really recognise and understand is the failure to start. We wish to see everyone start on their own journey to build a better world."
NARRATOR:
Other places now want to build their own green cities, even better than Masdar. Chris thinks that’s a good thing.
SOUNDBITE - Chris Wan:
"We look forward to everyone building their solutions that are beating Masdar City. Because once that happens, we will have truly succeeded."
NARRATOR:
Chris believes that inspiring others means real success. Masdar City is still growing, but it’s already showing the world new ideas about how we can live and how we can protect the planet.