❖ Unit 7 ❖ Citizenship ❖ Vocabulary ❖

Citizenship Vocabulary

Words about civic engagement, NGOs, volunteering, responsibilities and rights — the language of active citizenship.

Core vocabulary — definitions

Word	Definition
charity	An organisation that helps people in need.
sacrifice	To give up something valuable in order to help another person.
lobbying	Attempting to influence political officials to take a desired action.
community	A group of people having certain values in common.
NGO	A non-governmental organisation — not working for the government.
globalisation	The process by which business, politics and culture operate around the world.
human rights	The basic rights all people should have, such as justice and freedom.
responsibilities	Obligations or duties.
citizen	A person who is a member of a particular country.
volunteer	To offer to do something without expecting payment.
voting	The act of choosing in elections.
civic	Related to citizenship and city affairs.

Collocations

voluntary work · voluntary service
active citizen · active citizenship
community action · community service
national anthem · national identity
dual nationality · membership card
sensitisation campaign · raise awareness
sort out a problem · tackle issues
take action · get involved

Practice 1 — Fill in

Fill with: charity · sacrifice · lobbying · community · NGO · globalisation · human rights · responsibilities · citizen · volunteer

Everybody believes that housework is part of women's responsibilities.
Human rights aren't respected in many countries.
Every citizen aged 18 or above has the right to vote.
Many women sacrifice interesting careers for their family.
Drug trafficking is a matter of concern for the international community.
The mosque in our neighbourhood was built by a volunteer who is very wealthy.
UNICEF is an NGO whose aim is improving children's health and education.

Practice 2 — Word formation

Correct form

Kamal is an (activity) active citizen. He always does (volunteer) voluntary work.
The players sometimes sing the (nation) national anthem before the match.
Voting is not only a right, but a moral (obligatory) obligation.
I have to renew my club (member) membership card.
Many Moroccans abroad have a dual (national) nationality.
The (govern) government and the civil society should (organisation) organise some (sensitise) sensitisation campaigns to raise people's (aware) awareness about the (important) importance of their (participate) participation in the (politics) political life for the (develop) development of our community.

Practice 3 — Collocations

Match to make collocations

voluntary → work / service
active → citizen
community → action
national → anthem
dual → nationality
membership → card
sensitisation → campaign
raise → awareness
take → action
sort out → a problem

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Rights AND duties

A citizen has both rights (vote, freedom) and responsibilities (respect law, pay taxes, participate).

② Types of civic action

Voting, volunteering, joining NGOs, lobbying, protesting, donating, campaigning.

③ Civic vocabulary is rich

Master synonyms: citizen / civic / civil; volunteer / voluntary / volunteering.

❖ Exam tip

Citizenship texts often use abstract nouns: involvement, participation, contribution, responsibility, engagement. Learn these for both comprehension and writing.