Level 5Travel

Beyond the Postcard: Europe's New Capitals

Grammar: Cleft sentences — full range

A Level 5 English lesson exploring travel.

travelcleft sentences — full range

What's in this lesson

A Level 5 (advanced) ESL lesson on travel, practising cleft sentences — full range. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.

From the reading: Beyond the Postcard: Europe's New Capitals

It is not Rome or Paris that dominates the conversation among experienced travellers anymore — it is cities like Porto, Tbilisi, and Ljubljana that generate the real excitement. What has shifted is not the quality of Europe's traditional capitals but the expectations of the people visiting them. A new generation of travellers, armed with long-haul low-cost flights and an appetite for the unscripted, has quietly redrawn the map. What they want is not a queue for the Eiffel Tower but a neighbourhood they can genuinely get lost in.

Vocabulary

  • absorb a wave
  • at the intersection
  • generate excitement
  • heavily in

Grammar: Cleft Sentences

It-cleft (emphasis)
It was the waterfront that surprised me most. — stresses the subject or object
Wh-cleft (what-cleft)
What the city needs is better cycling infrastructure. — focuses on the predicate

Discussion questions

  1. Have you ever visited a European city that completely surprised you?
  2. Is 'overtourism' ruining famous destinations?
  3. What makes a city worth revisiting rather than just ticking off?

Beyond the Postcard: Europe's New Capitals

Grammar: Cleft sentences — full range

What's in this lesson:

Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.

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