LESSON 3 — UNIT 5: CITY OR VILLAGE

WHAT CAUSES RURAL EXODUS?

Student’s Book 3e | English Course

SECTION 1 — VOCABULARY RELATED TO RURAL

MIGRATION

This section presents the key words and expressions you need to talk about rural exodus: the
movement of people from villages and rural areas to cities.

1.1 Core Vocabulary List

Word / Expression Meaning Example Sentence

Rural exodus The movement of people Rural exodus is a serious
leaving the countryside to settle problem in many African
in cities countries.
School leaver A young person who has Many school leavers move to
finished school and left without the city looking for work.
finding a job
Drought A long period with very little or The drought destroyed all the
no rain; no plants can grow crops in the village.
Flood A large amount of water that The flood made it impossible to
covers land that is normally dry farm the land.
Hardship Difficulty in life; suffering Families face great hardship
caused by lack of money or when crops fail.
resources
Backbreaking work Extremely hard physical labour Farming in the fields is
backbreaking work.
Manpower The number of workers The company needs more
available for a task manpower to grow.
Livelihood The way someone earns Farming is the only livelihood
money to live; their means of for many villagers.
existence
Facility A building or place that Cities offer better educational
provides a service (school, and medical facilities.
hospital, etc.)
Drawback A disadvantage or problem One drawback of city life is
overpopulation.
Overpopulation Too many people living in one Overpopulation leads to
area unemployment in cities.
Disappointment A feeling of sadness when His disappointment was clear
 things do not go as expected when he could not find a job.
Unemployment The situation of not having a High unemployment in cities is
job a consequence of rural exodus.
Begging Asking strangers for money or Some rural migrants end up
food because you have nothing begging on the streets.
Drug addiction A serious dependence on Drug addiction is a social
harmful substances problem linked to city hardship.
Robbery Stealing from someone, often Poverty can push some people
with violence towards robbery.

1.2 Causes of Rural Exodus

People leave the village for many reasons. Here are the main causes:

• Drought and floods: Natural disasters destroy crops, leaving farmers with no food or
income.
• Backbreaking farm work: Agricultural labour is very hard and poorly paid.
• Lack of facilities: Villages often have no good schools, hospitals, or entertainment.
• Lack of job opportunities: There are very few non-farming jobs available in rural areas.
• Hardship and poverty: Families struggle to survive when harvests fail repeatedly.

1.3 Consequences of Rural Exodus

When too many people move to the city, serious problems arise:

• Overpopulation: Cities become overcrowded and resources run short.

• Unemployment: There are not enough jobs for everyone who arrives.
• Begging and poverty: Migrants with no income are forced to beg.
• Drug addiction: Frustration and idleness can lead young people to drugs.
• Robbery and crime: Desperate people may turn to crime to survive.
• Disappointment: Many migrants discover that city life is not as easy as they imagined.

SECTION 2 — LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

In this lesson, we study two important language functions: expressing consequences and making
suggestions.

2.1 Expressing Consequences

We use certain words and phrases to show that one event is the RESULT of another event.

KEY CONNECTORS FOR CONSEQUENCES

as a result / therefore / consequently / so

STRUCTURE

as a result Cause. As a result, consequence.

Example: There was a drought. As a result, the plants died.

therefore Cause; therefore, consequence.

Example: He had no job; therefore, he moved to the city.

consequently Cause. Consequently, consequence.

Example: The floods destroyed the crops. Consequently, many
farmers left the village.

so Cause, so consequence.
Example: There was no water, so the rice died.

NOTICE — Key Punctuation Rules

• After AS A RESULT and THEREFORE at the start of a sentence, put a comma: "As a result,
..." / "Therefore, ..."
• THEREFORE can also come after a semicolon: "He had no job; therefore, he left."
• SO connects two clauses with a comma before it: "The harvest failed, so they left."

2.2 Making Suggestions

We use certain structures to suggest an action or recommend something to someone.

KEY STRUCTURES FOR MAKING SUGGESTIONS

What about + verb-ing / How about + verb-ing / I suggest + verb-ing / that +
subject + verb / Why don’t we + base verb / We could + base verb

STRUCTURE

Structure Example
What about + verb-ing? What about building more schools in the village?
How about + verb-ing? How about going back to the village?
 I suggest + verb-ing I suggest creating more job opportunities in rural areas.
I suggest that + subject + I suggest that the government build more roads.
verb
Why don’t we + base Why don’t we sensitise young people about the dangers of rural
verb? exodus?
We could + base verb We could mechanise agriculture to reduce backbreaking work.
Let’s + base verb Let’s finish the work first and then go to the city.

NOTICE — How to Respond to a Suggestion

• Accepting: "That’s a great idea!" / "Good idea!" / "I agree." / "That sounds good to me."
• Refusing politely: "I don’t think that’s a good idea because..." / "I’m not sure about that."
• Counter-suggestion: "Instead, what about...?" / "I’d prefer to..."

SECTION 3 — EXERCISES

The exercises below are organised from controlled practice to free production. Complete them
carefully.

Exercise 1: Vocabulary — Match the Word to its Meaning

Draw a line to match each word on the left with its correct meaning on the right.
1. Drought a. A very large amount of water covering dry land
2. Flood b. Asking strangers for money because you have nothing
3. Livelihood c. A long period with no rain; crops cannot grow
4. Backbreaking work d. The way someone earns money to live
5. Begging e. Extremely hard physical labour
6. Overpopulation f. Too many people living in a single area

Exercise 2: Vocabulary — Fill in the Blanks

Choose the correct word from the box and write it in the blank. Each word is used once.

Word box
drought | school leavers | manpower | facilities | unemployment | hardship

1. Many _________________ move to the city because they cannot find jobs in the
village.
2. The _________________ lasted two years and destroyed all the harvests.
3. Cities offer better _________________ such as hospitals and universities.
4. Rural exodus leads to high _________________ because not everyone finds a job.
5. The factory needs more _________________ to increase its production.
6. Families face great _________________ when floods destroy their crops.

Exercise 3: Expressing Consequences — Join the Sentences

Rewrite each pair of sentences as ONE sentence using the connector given in brackets.
1. The drought was very long. The farmers had nothing to harvest. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
2. Aisha’s father wanted her to marry. She left the village. (therefore)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. There are no schools nearby. Many children cannot get an education. (consequently)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. My cousins found no job in the village. They moved to Abidjan. (so)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
5. The company is growing fast. It needs to recruit new employees. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Exercise 4: Making Suggestions — Rewrite Using the Given Structure

Rewrite each sentence using the structure provided in brackets.
1. You should build more schools in rural areas. (What about...?)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
2. We should sensitise young people about the dangers of the city. (How about...?)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. You should go back to the village and grow vegetables. (I suggest...)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. We should create more entertainment in villages. (Why don’t we...?)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
5. You should mechanise agriculture to help farmers. (We could...)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Exercise 5: Error Correction

Each sentence contains ONE mistake. Find it and correct it.
1. The harvest failed. As a result the village was empty.
→ Correction: _________________________________________________________
2. What about to build more roads in the countryside?
→ Correction: _________________________________________________________
3. She had no money; Therefore, she begged in the streets.
→ Correction: _________________________________________________________
4. I suggest that we to create more jobs.
→ Correction: _________________________________________________________

Exercise 6: Rewrite the Sentences (Textbook Activity B)

Rewrite these sentences to express the consequence. Use the words or expressions in
brackets. Follow the example: 'I want a good job; as a result, I move to the city.'
1. I move to the city because I want better job opportunities. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
2. My cousins have abandoned farming because there are regular floods. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. Aisha left the village because her father wanted her to marry an old man. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
4. Akou goes to Abidjan because he finds farm work backbreaking. (therefore)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
5. The company is recruiting because it needs new workers. (as a result)
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Exercise 7: Put the Words in the Correct Order (Textbook Activity C)

Rearrange the words to form correct sentences.
1. travelling / How / car / by / about / ?
____________________________________________
 ____________________________________________
2. basketball / tonight / about / playing / What / ?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. cities / overpopulated / being / are / Big /
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Exercise 8: Free Writing — Communication Activity (Textbook Session 3 D)

You attended a conference on rural exodus. Write what you will say to your English club
(10 lines maximum). Include: causes of rural exodus, consequences, and your
suggestions to fight it. Use 'as a result', 'therefore', 'What about...?', 'How about...?' and
other expressions from this lesson.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

ANSWER KEY (FOR THE TEACHER)

Exercise 1 — Matching
1→c | 2→a | 3→d | 4→e | 5→b | 6→f

Exercise 2 — Fill in the Blanks

1. school leavers 2. drought 3. facilities 4. unemployment 5. manpower 6. hardship

Exercise 3 — Joining Sentences (suggested answers)

1. The drought was very long. As a result, the farmers had nothing to harvest.
2. Aisha’s father wanted her to marry; therefore, she left the village.
 3. There are no schools nearby. Consequently, many children cannot get an education.
4. My cousins found no job in the village, so they moved to Abidjan.
5. The company is growing fast. As a result, it needs to recruit new employees.

Exercise 4 — Making Suggestions (suggested answers)

6. What about building more schools in rural areas?
7. How about sensitising young people about the dangers of the city?
8. I suggest going back to the village and growing vegetables. / I suggest that you go back to
the village.
9. Why don’t we create more entertainment in villages?
10. We could mechanise agriculture to help farmers.

Exercise 5 — Error Correction

11. missing comma → As a result, the village was empty.
12. to build → What about building more roads in the countryside?
13. capital T on Therefore is wrong after semicolon → she had no money; therefore, she
begged.
14. to create → I suggest that we create more jobs.

Exercise 6 — Textbook Activity B (suggested answers)

15. I want better job opportunities; as a result, I move to the city.
16. There are regular floods; as a result, my cousins have abandoned farming.
17. Her father wanted her to marry an old man; as a result, Aisha left the village.
18. Akou finds farm work backbreaking; therefore, he goes to Abidjan.
19. The company needs new workers; as a result, it is recruiting.

Exercise 7 — Textbook Activity C

20. How about travelling by car?
21. What about playing basketball tonight?
22. Big cities are being overpopulated.

End of Lesson 3 — Student’s Book 3e