In early August I came across this 11-minute video clip from BBC Newsnight where The Netherlands and the UK are compared in terms of the importance bicycles have in everyday life.
In the first part of the video, reporter Anna Holligan travels to The Hague, Holland, to find out about the reasons why cycling has become so popular in that country. In the second part of the clip, she shows us the other side of the coin, the UK, and focuses on London to let us know what being a cyclist in the capital means.
Lesson idea:
If you have the opportunity to have a computer lab at hand, get half the class to watch the part of the report about the Netherlands (from 0'50'' to 4'20") and the other half the bit about London (5'00" to 8'55") and get the two groups to compare the two countries in an information gap speaking activity.
Later on, the class as a whole can watch the final part of the report (from 8'55'' to the end) about the dangers of cycling in big cities without the right infrastructures).
