Ireland: 100 years of the Olympics

It’s the final countdown! The Olympics in Paris are about to start and to gather the whole world – and Ireland! – for a few weeks. For this occasion, the Centre culturel irlandais in Paris has prepared an online exhibition reflecting how the Games mirror societal issues and the history of Ireland. The exhibition is entitled 100 Years of the Games, because 1924, the last games hosted by Paris, was the first time that Ireland had its own team, two years after winning independence.

Thanks to the following activities, your B1-B2 students will not only learn more about the Olympics and Ireland but also train for their Bac exams since they’ll be led to read the different sections of this online exhibition and to select information in order to sum it up before sharing with the other groups and thinking about how the Olympics and topical issues are intertwined.

These activities could be used to illustrate the notion of diversity and inclusion.

Ready, set, go! Let the Games begin!

Vocabulary and structures

competition: to compete, team, Olympics/ Olympic Games, medal, medallist…
sports: athlete, sportsperson performance, field, hammer throw, discus…
talking about past events (preterite)
politics and war: free state, fight for independence, flag, protest…
explaining / giving details: as a matter of fact, indeed…
expressing cause/ consequence / paradox: as, since, that’s why, as a consequence, yet, nevertheless…

Pronunciation