Concept 2 · Experiences
2.3 Sport and Physical Activity as Leisure
Unit 2 · Leisure Time · Section B: Lifelong Activity
What it means to move, compete, and belong
Sport is one of the most beneficial leisure activities for young people. It improves not only physical health but also mental well-being. However, many teenagers today are becoming less active due to screens and academic pressure. In this lesson, we will discover why moving more can change your life.
Inquiry Question
What are the physical, mental, and social benefits of sport for young people?
Explain — Why do many teenagers stop playing sports as they get older? What can be done to keep them engaged?
Analyze — Using the pyramid, discuss how sport builds from physical fitness up to life skills and character.
The Benefits of Sports Pyramid — from foundation to peak
Press each level. Build it from the bottom, the way the answer should be built.
In the exam: when a question asks about the benefits of sport, do not list five things at random. Say sport works at three levels — physical, mental, social — and give one from each. Same knowledge, organised, which is what the extra mark is for.
🎧 Listening
Moving More: Why Sport Matters for Young People
Written for this course to match the questions the textbook asks about it, so treat the figures as illustrative. Each finding appears as it is spoken.
Now playing · the findings
Young people are moving less than any generation before them. Researchers call it a “movement crisis”, and its two main causes are screen time and academic pressure.
The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day for young people aged 5–17. A 2024 Egyptian survey of secondary students found that most did not meet that target.
The psychological benefits of team sports are less discussed and just as real: higher self-esteem, better emotional regulation, and greater social competence.
Sport also teaches life skills that no classroom can: how to handle loss, how to support a teammate who is struggling, and how to persevere when improvement is slow.
But access to sport is not equal. Some young people have none, and the reasons are consistent: cost, location, or a lack of resources.
The strongest predictor of long-term participation is not talent, not facilities, and not competition. It is enjoyment. People keep doing what they like doing.
In the exam · Summary completion from a word box
It looks like this: A short summary with numbered gaps, and a box of words above it — always MORE words than gaps.
Always: expect to leave words behind: the extras are traps, not padding. Before you read the box, decide what kind of word each gap needs — after “are”, an adjective; starting a sentence before “to sport is not equal”, a noun. The grammar throws out most of the box before you have thought about meaning at all.
B · Listen again and complete the summary using words from the box
0 of 4 correct. The box holds 7 words for 4 gaps — some are NOT used.
1. Many teenagers are (1). A “movement crisis” has been created by screen time and academic pressure. 2. The (2) benefits of sport include better self-esteem and emotional regulation. Sport also teaches (3) like losing gracefully and persevering. 3. (4) to sport is not equal for everyone. Cost, location, and lack of resources can prevent participation.
State whether each statement is True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG). Justify your answer.
Two of these turn on a single number and one turns on the word “all”. Read the statement twice before you choose.
1. The WHO recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day for young people aged 5–17.
2. The 2024 Egyptian survey found that most secondary students met the activity targets.
3. Team sports help young people develop self-esteem and emotional regulation.
4. All young people have equal access to sports facilities.
5. Enjoyment is the strongest predictor of long-term participation in sport.
Writing in Action · Word Families
A word family is one root wearing four different uniforms. Every word-formation question is really one question: what job does this word do in this sentence? The job chooses the ending.
| Root | Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| act | action | act / activate | active | actively |
| significance | significance | — | significant | significantly |
| participate | participation | participate | participating | — |
| compete | competition | compete | competitive | competitively |
| enjoy | enjoyment | enjoy | enjoyable | enjoyably |
| respond | responsibility | respond | responsible | responsibly |
A. Complete with the correct form of the word in brackets
Sport has a ________ impact on teenagers’ mental health.
(significance / significant)
significant — It sits before the noun “impact”, describing it — so an adjective.
Many students do not ________ in any physical activity.
(participation / participate)
participate — It follows “do not”, so it is the main verb of the sentence.
The game was played ________, with both teams trying their best.
(competitively / competition)
competitively — It describes HOW the game was played — so an adverb.
Young people find sport more ________ when they choose it freely.
(enjoyable / enjoyment)
enjoyable — “find sport more ___” describes what sport IS — so an adjective, and “more” confirms it.
B · Word formation and error analysis
Press any word you think is in the wrong form. There are four word-form errors in this paragraph.
0 of 4 found.
About the six blank rows
The table in the book has six rows and this paragraph contains four word-form errors. Six rows is not a promise of six errors — do not invent two more to fill it. There is a fifth slip worth spotting: “confidence on digital platforms” should be “confidence in”. But that is a preposition error, not a word-formation one, so it does not belong in a word-form table.
Paper 2 · Word Formation & Error Analysis
Spend about 1 minute per error
Identify the word-form error, correct it, and explain why the original form is incorrect.
“Therefore, it is important to promote the responsibly use of technology.”
The mark weights shown are teaching weights, worked out from the textbook’s own task types and its Justify–Reason–Evidence structure. They show you how a full answer is built and what an examiner is looking for. They are not a published ministry mark scheme.
C · Short paragraph
Use at least four words from the word families above. Explain why some students remain motivated to exercise while others lose motivation.
Two halves to the question — why some stay, and why others stop. An answer that only does one half cannot reach full marks however good it is.
Three exam habits from this lesson
- Answer a “benefits” question in levels — physical, mental, social — and give one from each.
- In a word-box summary, decide the part of speech first, and expect to leave words in the box.
- In any word-formation question, ask what job the word does. The job chooses the ending, and naming the job is the second mark.
Speaking · individual presentation, 3–4 minutes. Describe a sport you enjoy and explain how it benefits your well-being, using evidence from the reading. Then argue for or against: “Physical education should be compulsory every day in Egyptian secondary schools.” Give two arguments and one counter-argument — the counter-argument is not optional, and it is the part most students leave out.
JRE. To what extent are the mental and social benefits of sport more important than the physical ones? · How far can sport help young people succeed in academic and professional life? Give reasons.