About this lesson:
In this short TEDTalk video and interactive lesson, you'll watch landscape architect, Andrew Grant advocate for landscape and nature being the keys to good city planning.
You'll learn some vocabulary related to landscape architecture and some of the science behind why the green is such an essential colour when it comes to our health, and you'll have the opportunity to identify some common phrasal verbs.
Words of the day:
rethinking/reimagining something (verb) - to think/imagine something in a different and new way
preeminent (adjective) - surpassing all others; very distinguished in some way; having high importance.
at the frontiers of something - the farthermost limits of knowledge or achievement in a particular subject
Record your vocabulary: Any new vocabulary you learn can be stored in your ArchiEnglish Vocabulary app on in a physical paper journal.
About this video:
Landscape Cities explores the importance and benefit of including green space in the city. History shows us that the successful cities planned for and protected their green space. Green is such an important colour in our lives - the colour where our perception is most acute! Any wonder I love the colour green!
Andrew is a landscape architect who formed Grant Associates in 1997, and through his projects, he continually tests the creative possibilities of sustainable landscape architecture and ecological placemaking.
Placemaking is a people-centered approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Put simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover needs and aspirations.
Andrew led the multi-disciplinary design team on the £500 million Gardens by the Bay project at Bay South in Singapore. This 54-hectare public park has won multiple international design awards including the Building Project of the year at the 2012 World Architecture Festival and featured in David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 2.
I felt this was a fascinating topic, to discuss the idea of how being in nature can improve so many facets of our lives - social connection, mental health, creativity and exploring the concept of placemaking.
He asks some big questions:
How do we rethink the identity of our places? How do we promote our sense of management of the resources we have?How do we bring people together using landscape to create amazing destinations - amazing places to gather?
Some things to think about & discuss:
As you're watching the video, think about how this applies to your own practice,, and your work.
How do you think we should bring people together using landscape to create amazing destinations - amazing places to gather?
What is the difference between equity and equality and the example she uses in the video?
Why I love using interactive Video lessons
I love using videos for teaching English. First of all, this is how people tend to consume media nowadays, and I believe it's a great way to breakdown and understand vocabulary. Fewer people tend to read, and we have turned more toward video content such as YouTube, TikTok, Netflix and also Podcasts.
For me, video is more engaging than text as it involves more senses. There’ve also been studies which suggest that using authentic videos for learning languages motivates learners and benefits the whole learning process.
In addition to this, I like to use authentic videos to ask questions and apply newly learned vocabulary to real situations to make sure the new vocabulary is understood.
Want to stop feeling like you don't have the words to speak up? Ready to start building the confidence you deserve to start speaking up in meetings and giving your opinion more freely? Find out more about my 1:1 coaching programs and follow me on Instagram for daily tips and English lessons.
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