The Drama of the Tour de France

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – use professional cycling and the Tour de France to practice vocabulary, reading, listening, and speaking skills;
• – work on language skills through interactive activities based on challenging sports competitions;
• – watch an educational video about why the Tour de France is brutal and engage with cycling content.

This B2 intermediate English lesson uses professional cycling and the Tour de France to help students practice their language skills. Students will work on vocabulary, reading, listening, and speaking through interactive activities based on one of the world’s most challenging sports competitions.

Warm-Up Discussion

The lesson starts with students looking at a cycling-related problem or scenario and deciding what they think would be the best solution. They work together to discuss their ideas and explain their reasoning. This gets everyone talking right away and introduces some of the vocabulary and themes they’ll encounter throughout the lesson.

Educational Video

Students watch an interesting video called “Why the Tour de France is so brutal” that explains what makes this famous bike race so incredibly difficult. The video covers the physical challenges, the route through France, and what cyclists have to endure during the competition. After watching, students take a quiz to check they understood the main points and details from the video.

Language Practice Activities

This section includes three different language exercises that help students practice English while learning about cycling. First, they match the beginnings and endings of sentences to create complete, logical statements. Then they work with cycling-specific phrases, putting words together to make expressions that people actually use when talking about professional cycling. Finally, they complete sentences using vocabulary related to the lesson topic, which helps them practice using new words in context.

Reading Comprehension

Students read a text about professional cycling that might cover topics like training, the history of cycling competitions, what it takes to be a professional cyclist, or the equipment used in races. The text is written at an appropriate level for B2 students but still contains interesting information about the sport. After reading, they answer questions that test their reading comprehension and help them think more deeply about what they’ve learned.

Final Discussion

The lesson ends with students answering thoughtful questions about cycling, sports, and related topics. These questions encourage them to share their own opinions and experiences while using the vocabulary and ideas from the lesson. They might discuss things like what motivates athletes to push their limits, how sports bring people together, or what they find most impressive about professional cycling.

This B2 lesson combines language learning with sports content to keep students engaged while they practice practical English skills. The mix of video, reading, exercises, and discussion activities helps students improve different aspects of their English while learning interesting facts about professional cycling and the Tour de France.