Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. co-host
    • ex. Australia will co-host the international music festival with New Zealand.
  2. a plaza
    • ex. People sat and talked in the busy plaza near the market.
  3. praise
    • ex. The coach praised the team after they won the match.
  4. confetti
    • ex. Confetti fell from the sky during the festival parade.
  5. an organizer
    • ex. The organizers prepared the stadium for the music concert.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Mexico City set a new world record in March for the largest football training class. The event brought together 9,500 people in the city’s famous Zócalo square. It happened as the country prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada. The large public class showed growing excitement before the global football tournament begins.

During the event, the huge plaza turned into an open-air football training field. Thousands of participants followed coaches who led drills and simple exercises with footballs. Guinness World Records judge Alfredo Arista Rueda attended the event and confirmed the new record. He praised the crowd and officially announced the achievement. People cheered loudly as confetti filled the air to celebrate the special moment.

Organizers said the new record easily passed the previous one set in Seattle in June 2025, when 1,038 people joined a similar class. Coaches said the activity also helped build excitement for matches that will take place at Estadio Azteca. Participants described the experience as fun and memorable while practicing football skills together.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Football Training Class

  • Would you like to participate in a football class with thousands of people? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • How important do you think coaches are in a training class? Discuss.
  • If you could create a large training class for a sport or activity, what would it be? Why? Discuss.

Guinness World Records

  • What do you think about Mexico City setting a new world record for a football class? Discuss.
  • Do you want to be a part of an event that sets a world record? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think people should focus more on having fun or on breaking records? Why? Discuss.