The Reading / Listening - Akon City - Level 6

The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a city from scratch will go ahead. Akon has raised funds for a futuristic metropolis with a population of 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be built on the coast of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese roots. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and spent much of his childhood in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in reference to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction on the $6 billion project will commence next year and is expected to take three years to complete. He hopes his undertaking will provide much-needed employment for Senegalese.

Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a cityscape of surreal-looking gleaming glass and steel high-rises. The designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired by traditional sculptures made in African villages. The city will boast high-tech living and high-speed Internet connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a port of call for Senegalese and other Africans facing racial injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The system back home treats people unfairly, in so many different ways that you can never imagine. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming from...the diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Akon City - Level 4  or  Akon City - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rb-singer-akon-moves-ahead-with-6-billion-akon-city-in-senegal
  • https://face2faceafrica.com/article/akons-6-billion-futuristic-pan-african-city-in-senegal-to-begin-next-year
  • https://akoncity.com/about/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. FUTURISTIC CITIES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about futuristic cities. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       American / R&B / singer / futuristic / metropolis / roots / project / construction /
       cityscape / glass / steel / sculpture / village / injustice / connectivity / diaspora
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. THE COUNTRYSIDE: Students A strongly believe people should out of the cities and into the countryside; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. HIGH-TECH: How would high-tech help these areas of a city? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

High Tech Help

Your City

Transport

 

 

Restaurants

 

 

Parks

 

 

Housing

 

 

Policing

 

 

Environment

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. ROOTS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "roots". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. CITIES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best cities at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Cairo
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • Moscow
  • New Delhi
  • Dubai
  • Tehran
  • Mexico City
  • Bangkok

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. from scratch a. Collected or brought together money or resources.
      2. raised b. Family, ethnic, or cultural origins, especially as the reasons for one's long-standing emotional attachment to a place or community.
      3. metropolis c. The part of the land near the sea; the edge of the land.
      4. coast d. A very large and densely populated industrial and commercial city.
      5. roots e. From the very, very beginning.
      6. commence f. A task or project that is taken on; an enterprise.
      7. undertaking g. Begin or start.

    Paragraph 2

      8. blueprint h. The state of being linked to computers.
      9. surreal i. A design plan or other technical drawing.
      10. gleaming j. Art that is two- or three-dimensional forms, especially made by carving stone or wood or by casting metal or plaster.
      11. inspired k. All of the people living outside their own country.
      12. sculpture l. Shine brightly, especially with reflected light.
      13. connectivity m. Filled with the desire or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
      14. diaspora n. Bizarre.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Akon will use a new material called scratch to build a city.     T / F
  2. Akon City will be home to over 3,000,000 people.     T / F
  3. Akon was born in Senegal and moved to the USA as a child.     T / F
  4. The city will take three years to complete.     T / F
  5. Designs on a website showed thousands of low-rise buildings.     T / F
  6. The city's buildings will be based on traditional African sculptures.     T / F
  7. Akon said the city will help people who suffer from racial injustice.     T / F
  8. Akon wants the African diaspora to visit Senegal.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. funds
  2. metropolis
  3. roots
  4. announced
  5. undertaking
  6. surreal
  7. inspired
  8. injustice
  9. treats
  10. feel
  1. think
  2. made public
  3. bizarre
  4. origins
  5. motivated
  6. money
  7. enterprise
  8. behaves toward
  9. conurbation
  10. unfairness

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. plans to build a city
  2. Akon has raised funds for a
  3. built on the coast
  4. commence
  5. his undertaking will provide much-
  6. a cityscape of surreal-
  7. inspired by traditional
  8. high-speed Internet
  9. in so many different ways that you
  10. if you're coming from
  1. sculptures
  2. needed employment
  3. can never imagine
  4. of Senegal
  5. looking gleaming glass
  6. connectivity
  7. from scratch
  8. next year
  9. the diaspora
  10. futuristic metropolis

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
roots
commence
coast
scratch
undertaking
childhood
reference
metropolis

The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a city from (1) _____________________ will go ahead. Akon has raised funds for a futuristic (2) _____________________ with a population of 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be built on the (3) _____________________ of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese (4) _____________________. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and spent much of his (5) _____________________ in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in (6) _____________________ to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction on the $6 billion project will (7) _____________________ next year and is expected to take three years to complete. He hopes his (8) _____________________ will provide much-needed employment for Senegalese.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
system
boast
cityscape
diaspora
imagine
towering
stop
port

Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a (9) _____________________ of surreal-looking gleaming glass and steel high-rises. The designs of the (10) _____________________ skyscrapers were inspired by traditional sculptures made in African villages. The city will (11) _____________________ high-tech living and high-speed Internet connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a (12) _____________________ of call for Senegalese and other Africans facing racial injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The (13) _____________________ back home treats people unfairly, in so many different ways that you can never (14) _____________________. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming from...the (15) _____________________ and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first (16) _____________________."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a ______
     a.  city from such
     b.  city from stash
     c.  city from crushed
     d.  city from scratch
2)  Akon has raised funds for a ______
     a.  futuristic metro police
     b.  futuristic metropolis
     c.  futuristic metropolitan
     d.  futuristic meh trope police
3)  It will be called Akon City and be built on the ______
     a.  cost of Senegal
     b.  cots of Senegal
     c.  cast of Senegal
     d.  coast of Senegal
4)  He announced that construction on the $6 billion project will ______
     a.  commences next year
     b.  commenced next year
     c.  commence next year
     d.  come meant next year
5)  He hopes his undertaking will provide much-______
     a.  needy employment
     b.  needing employment
     c.  needed employment
     d.  need it employment

6)  Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a cityscape of surreal-looking ______
     a.  gleam Ming glass
     b.  gleam in glass
     c.  gleaming glass
     d.  glee Ming glass
7)  The designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired by ______
     a.  traditional sculptures
     b.  traditional sculptors
     c.  traditional sculptured
     d.  traditional sculptor is
8)  The city will boast high-tech living and high-speed ______
     a.  Internet connect city
     b.  Internet connections
     c.  Internet connectively
     d.  Internet connectivity
9)  He said the system back home treats ______
     a.  people in fairly
     b.  people in fairy
     c.  people non-furry
     d.  people unfairly
10)  feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming ______
     a.  from the die as sporran
     b.  from the dyers poorer
     c.  from the dies poorer
     d.  from the diaspora

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a (1) ____________________ will go ahead. Akon has raised funds for a futuristic metropolis with (2) ____________________ 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be built (3) ____________________ of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese roots. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and (4) ____________________ his childhood in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in reference to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction on the $6 billion project (5) ____________________ year and is expected to take three years to complete. He hopes his (6) ____________________ much-needed employment for Senegalese.

Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show (7) ____________________ surreal-looking gleaming glass and steel high-rises. The designs of the towering skyscrapers (8) ____________________ traditional sculptures made in African villages. The city (9) ____________________ -tech living and high-speed Internet connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a (10) ____________________ for Senegalese and other Africans facing racial injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The system back (11) ____________________ unfairly, in so many different ways that you can never imagine. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming from... (12) ____________________ you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop."

Comprehension questions

  1. What did the article say Akon will build his city from?
  2. How many people will be able to live in Akon City?
  3. Where did Akon spend a lot of his childhood?
  4. How much will Akon City cost to build?
  5. What did Akon say the city will provide for Senegalese people?
  6. How did the article say the gleaming glass and steel high-rises looked?
  7. What will the designs of buildings in Akon City be motivated by?
  8. What did Akon say Africans were facing in the USA and Europe?
  9. How did Akon say "the system back home" treated people?
  10. Where might people be coming from to visit Senegal?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What did the article say Akon will build his city from?
a) sand
b) from scratch
c) gold
d) from dreams
2)  How many people will be able to live in Akon City?
a) 30 million
b) three million
c) 30,000
d) 300,000
3) Where did Akon spend a lot of his childhood?
a) Africa
b) Europe
c) USA
d) Japan
4) How much will Akon City cost to build?
a) $66 billion
b) $60 billion
c) $6 billion
d) $16 billion
5) What did Akon say the city will provide for Senegalese people?
a) pride
b) employment
c) business
d) entertainment

6) How did the article say the gleaming glass and steel high-rises looked?
a) surreal
b) ethereal
c) unreal
d) funereal
7) What will the designs of buildings in Akon City be motivated by?
a) African poetry
b) African song
c) African sculpture
d) African history
8) What did Akon say Africans were facing in the USA and Europe?
a) racial injustice
b) hardship
c) challenges
d) a bright future
9) How did Akon say "the system back home" treated people?
a) unfairly
b) well
c) the same as everyone
d) like royalty
10) Where might people be coming from to visit Senegal?
a) faraway lands
b) Asia
c) South (and Central) America
d) the (African) diaspora

Role play

Role  A – Cairo
You think Cairo is the best city. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their cities. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Dubai, Bangkok or Rio de Janeiro.

Role  B – Dubai
You think Dubai is the best city. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their cities. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Cairo, Bangkok or Rio de Janeiro.

Role  C – Bangkok
You think Bangkok is the best city. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their cities. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Dubai, Cairo or Rio de Janeiro.

Role  D – Rio de Janeiro
You think Rio de Janeiro is the best city. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their cities. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): Dubai, Bangkok or Cairo.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'futuristic'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'city'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • plans
    • coast
    • roots
    • movie
    • three
    • much
    • website
    • inspired
    • high
    • other
    • through
    • first

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Akon City

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'city'?
    3. What do you know about the singer Akron?
    4. What do you think of futuristic cities?
    5. How futuristic is your city?
    6. Do you prefer big cities or small towns?
    7. How far back do your roots go?
    8. What kind of city would you like to live in?
    9. Would it be better for the world if there were no cities?
    10. What advice do you have for Akron?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'skyscraper'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What is your favourite city?
    5. Do you prefer modern or old cities?
    6. Would you like to live in a gleaming skyscraper?
    7. What is 'high-tech living'?
    8. What do you think of the city being for the African diaspora?
    9. What do you know about Senegal?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Akron?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a city from (1) ____ will go ahead. Akon has (2) ____ funds for a futuristic metropolis with a population of 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be built on the coast of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese (3) ____. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and spent much of his childhood in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in (4) ____ to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction on the $6 billion project will (5) ____ next year and is expected to take three years to complete. He hopes his undertaking will provide (6) ____-needed employment for Senegalese.

    Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a cityscape of (7) ____-looking gleaming glass and steel high-rises. The designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired (8) ____ traditional sculptures made in African villages. The city will (9) ____ high-tech living and high-speed Internet connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a port of call for Senegalese and other Africans (10) ____ racial injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The system back home treats people unfairly, in so many different ways that you can never imagine. And they only (11) ____ through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming from...the diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your (12) ____ stop."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     scratch     (b)     itch     (c)     rash     (d)     rub    
    2. (a)     rising     (b)     arising     (c)     raised     (d)     raising    
    3. (a)     tubers     (b)     twigs     (c)     roots     (d)     branches     
    4. (a)     cite     (b)     index     (c)     contents     (d)     reference    
    5. (a)     commence     (b)     command     (c)     commandeer     (d)     commander    
    6. (a)     many     (b)     much     (c)     mere     (d)     moral    
    7. (a)     federation     (b)     indicated     (c)     steering     (d)     surreal    
    8. (a)     of     (b)     by     (c)     on     (d)     at    
    9. (a)     beast     (b)     baste     (c)     boast     (d)     bust    
    10. (a)     backing     (b)     heading     (c)     sculling     (d)     facing    
    11. (a)     fall     (b)     trip     (c)     visit     (d)     go    
    12. (a)     full     (b)     first     (c)     catch     (d)     start

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. build a city from trhaccs
    2. a futuristic isreplootm
    3. in rnceerfee to the city in the movie
    4. iosroutcctnn on the $6 billion project
    5. comeencm next year
    6. provide much-needed lmoenmytpe

    Paragraph 2

    1. a cityscape of sralreu-looking gleaming glass
    2. The designs of the towering sssarpckyer
    3. inspired by traditional prlstsueuc
    4. high-speed Internet ntenotyvciic
    5. facing racial stnceuiji
    6. coming from the adipasro

    Put the text back together

    (...)  connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a port of call for Senegalese and other Africans facing racial
    (...)  much of his childhood in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in
    (...)  funds for a futuristic metropolis with a population of 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be
    (  1  ) The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a city from scratch will go ahead. Akon has raised
    (...)  project will commence next year and is expected to take three years to complete. He hopes
    (...)  built on the coast of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese roots. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and spent
    (...)  and steel high-rises. The designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired by traditional
    (...)  reference to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction on the $6 billion
    (...)  his undertaking will provide much-needed employment for Senegalese.
    (...)  Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a cityscape of surreal-looking gleaming glass
    (...)  sculptures made in African villages. The city will boast high-tech living and high-speed Internet
    (...)  coming from...the diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop."
    (...)  injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The system back home treats people unfairly, in so many different ways that you can never
    (...)  imagine. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're

    Put the words in the right order

    1. plans   scratch   .   to   build   from   city   a   His
    2. raised   for   funds   Akon   has   futuristic   a   metropolis   .
    3. He   his   Africa   .   in   spent   childhood   of   much
    4. three   is   to   years   expected   It   take   complete   .   to
    5. much-needed  undertaking  provide  hopes  will  He  his  employment  .
    6. high-rises   .   of   surreal-looking   and   A   glass   steel   cityscape
    7. made   African   sculptures   in   by   villages   .   traditional   Inspired
    8. of   a   for   It'll   be   call   port   Senegalese   .
    9. system   people   unfairly   .   The   back   home   treats
    10. want   Senegal   be   to   your   first   We   stop   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The American R&B singer Akon has said his plans to build a city from itch / scratch will go ahead. Akon has arisen / raised funds for a futuristic metropolis / metropolitan with a population of 300,000 people. It will be called Akon City and be built on the cast / coast of Senegal on Africa's west coast. Akon has Senegalese roots / root. He was born in the USA to Senegalese parents and spent much of his childish / childhood in Africa. He described his city as a "real-life Wakanda," in refer / reference to the city in the movie "Black Panther". He announced that construction at / on the $6 billion project will commence next year and is expected / expectation to take three years to complete. He hopes his undertaking will provide much-needed employment in / for Senegalese.

    Blueprints on the akoncity.com website show a cityscape of surreal-looking gleaming / cleaning glass and steel high-rises. The designates / designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired by traditional sculptors / sculptures made in African villages. The city will baste / boast high-tech living and high-speed Internet connectivity. Akon wants the city to be a part / port of call for Senegalese and other Africans facing racial / radical injustice in the USA or Europe. He said: "The system back home treaties / treats people unfairly, in so many different ways / way that you can never imagine. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. So if you're coming from...the diagrams / diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first halt / stop."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    T h_ A m_r_c_n R & B s_n g_r A k_n h_s s__ d h_s p l_n s t_ b__ l d _ c_t y f r_m s c r_t c h w_l l g_ _h__ d . A k_n h_s r__ s_d f_n d s f_r _ f_t_r_s t_c m_t r_p_l_s w_t h _ p_p_l_t__ n _f 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 p__ p l_. I t w_l l b_ c_l l_d A k_n C_t y _n d b_ b__ l t _n t h_ c__ s t _f S_n_g_l _n A f r_c_' s w_s t c__ s t . A k_n h_s S_n_g_l_s_ r__ t s . H_ w_s b_r n _n t h_ U S A t_ S_n_g_l_s_ p_r_n t s _n d s p_n t m_c h _f h_s c h_l d h__ d _n A f r_c_. H_ d_s c r_b_d h_s c_t y _s _ " r__ l - l_f_ W_k_n d_, " _n r_f_r_n c_ t_ t h_ c_t y _n t h_ m_v__ " B l_c k P_n t h_r " . H_ _n n__ n c_d t h_t c_n s t r_c t__ n _n t h_ $ 6 b_l l__ n p r_j_c t w_l l c_m m_n c_ n_x t y__ r _n d _s _x p_c t_d t_ t_k_ t h r__ y__ r s t_ c_m p l_t_. H_ h_p_s h_s _n d_r t_k_n g w_l l p r_v_d_ m_c h - n__ d_d _m p l_y m_n t f_r S_n_g_l_s_.

    B l__ p r_n t s _n t h_ _k_n c_t y . c_m w_b s_t_ s h_w _ c_t y s c_p_ _f s_r r__ l - l__ k_n g g l__ m_n g g l_s s _n d s t__ l h_g h - r_s_s . T h_ d_s_g n s _f t h_ t_w_r_n g s k y s c r_p_r s w_r_ _n s p_r_d b y t r_d_t__ n_l s c_l p t_r_s m_d_ _n A f r_c_n v_l l_g_s . T h_ c_t y w_l l b__ s t h_g h - t_c h l_v_n g _n d h_g h - s p__ d I n t_r n_t c_n n_c t_v_t y . A k_n w_n t s t h_ c_t y t_ b_ _ p_r t _f c_l l f_r S_n_g_l_s_ _n d _t h_r A f r_c_n s f_c_n g r_c__ l _n j_s t_c_ _n t h_ U S A _r E_r_p_. H_ s__ d : " T h_ s y s t_m b_c k h_m_ t r__ t s p__ p l_ _n f__ r l y , _n s_ m_n y d_f f_r_n t w_y s t h_t y__ c_n n_v_r _m_g_n_. A n d t h_y _n l y g_ t h r__ g h _t b_c__ s_ t h_y f__ l t h_t t h_r_ _s n_ _t h_r w_y . S_ _f y__ ' r_ c_m_n g f r_m . . . t h_ d__ s p_r_ _n d y__ f__ l t h_t y__ w_n t t_ v_s_t A f r_c_, w_ w_n t S_n_g_l t_ b_ y__ r f_r s t s t_p . "

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the american rb singer akon has said his plans to build a city from scratch will go ahead akon has raised funds for a futuristic metropolis with a population of 300000 people it will be called akon city and be built on the coast of senegal on africas west coast akon has senegalese roots he was born in the usa to senegalese parents and spent much of his childhood in africa he described his city as a reallife wakanda in reference to the city in the movie black panther he announced that construction on the 6 billion project will commence next year and is expected to take three years to complete he hopes his undertaking will provide muchneeded employment for senegalese

    blueprints on the akoncitycom website show a cityscape of surreallooking gleaming glass and steel highrises the designs of the towering skyscrapers were inspired by traditional sculptures made in african villages the city will boast hightech living and highspeed internet connectivity akon wants the city to be a port of call for senegalese and other africans facing racial injustice in the usa or europe he said the system back home treats people unfairly in so many different ways that you can never imagine and they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way so if youre coming fromthe diaspora and you feel that you want to visit africa we want senegal to be your first stop

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheAmericanR&BsingerAkonhassaidhisplanstobuildacityfromscratc
    hwillgoahead.Akonhasraisedfundsforafuturisticmetropoliswithapop
    ulationof300,000people.ItwillbecalledAkonCityandbebuiltonthecoa
    stofSenegalonAfrica'swestcoast.AkonhasSenegaleseroots.Hewasb
    ornintheUSAtoSenegaleseparentsandspentmuchofhischildhoodinAf
    rica.Hedescribedhiscityasa"real-lifeWakanda,"inreferencetothecityi
    nthemovie"BlackPanther".Heannouncedthatconstructiononthe$6bi
    llionprojectwillcommencenextyearandisexpectedtotakethreeyearst
    ocomplete.Hehopeshisundertakingwillprovidemuch-neededemplo
    ymentforSenegalese.Blueprintsontheakoncity.comwebsiteshowaci
    tyscapeofsurreal-lookinggleamingglassandsteelhigh-rises.Thedes
    ignsofthetoweringskyscraperswereinspiredbytraditionalsculptures
    madeinAfricanvillages.Thecitywillboasthigh-techlivingandhigh-sp
    eedInternetconnectivity.AkonwantsthecitytobeaportofcallforSeneg
    aleseandotherAfricansfacingracialinjusticeintheUSAorEurope.Hesai
    d:"Thesystembackhometreatspeopleunfairly,insomanydifferentwa
    ysthatyoucanneverimagine.Andtheyonlygothroughitbecausetheyfe
    elthatthereisnootherway.Soifyou'recomingfrom...thediasporaandy
    oufeelthatyouwanttovisitAfrica,wewantSenegaltobeyourfirststop."

    Free writing

    Write about Akon City for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    All cities should be futuristic. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. FUTURISTIC CITIES: Make a poster about futuristic cities. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. ROOTS: Write a magazine article about all of us going back to our roots. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on futuristic cities. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to make cities futuristic. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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