Problems in modern cities

Inna | Feb 18, 2026Feb 13, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this speaking lesson on big cities are to:

• talk about urban life and its challenges;
• debate opinions and perspectives on big cities;
• watch a video about one of the largest cities in the world.

In this lesson, students reflect on large cities, share their personal experience and discuss the benefits and downsides of living in big cities. They talk about common problems associated with large urban areas, watch a video about the world’s largest city and read about urban planning projects. They also explore the meaning of ‘sustainable’ and discuss future city problems and their relevance.

WARM-UP AND DISCUSSION

This speaking lesson on big cities starts with a warm-up. Students think of the largest city they’ve ever been to and say what they noticed regarding different points (e.g. traffic, noise, cleanliness). After that, they pick three cities (e.g. Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cairo) and discuss them by answering questions about personal experience and expectations about a city. Moving on, students complete sentences about reasons for living in big cities, their advantages and trade-offs (e.g. People move to big cities mainly because…). They use their own ideas and talk about a different feature in each sentence. Then, students look at some common problems associated with big cities (e.g. heavy traffic, crime rates, homelessness) and engage in tasks that discuss their impact. 

VIDEO AND MORE DISCUSSION

In this part of this speaking lesson on big cities, students watch a video about one of the largest cities in the world and choose opinions and reactions (e.g. I’ve learnt a lot from this video) that are true for them. They give details. Afterwards, students read about some examples of urban planning projects and discuss their opinions on the projects and their feasibility. Finally, they look at some possible problems cities of the future might face (e.g. different age groups live in separate neighbourhoods). Students say if any of them are true or partly true where they live. They also discuss which problems might have the worst consequences.

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