The Golden Gate Bridge

Objective & content

This A2+ documentary introduces the Golden Gate Bridge, where a narrow, foggy strip of sea separated San Francisco from the land to the north. The narrator explains why ferries were no longer enough, names the engineer Joseph Strauss, his colleague Charles Ellis and the designer Irving Morrow, and describes how workers built the towers and cables during the Great Depression. The text also states that eleven workers died and that a safety net saved 19 men. Language focus is present simple to describe the bridge and past simple for dated build facts, with the vocabulary of transport and the city. The main skill is listening comprehension, followed by the in-app quiz.

Materials & prerequisites

The episode comes with a student sheet and a teacher sheet (PDF and HTML). Learners should already know present simple, there is / there are and basic past simple forms (was, were, built, opened).

Curriculum alignment

Tagged for cycle 3 (6e): "L'enfant et le temps qui passe" and "L'enfant et son environnement élargi". The episode targets CEFR A2+.