The inventor who imagined the electric world — and died poor and almost forgotten.
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Before we read, let's learn the important words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = B (an inventor) · 2 = D (electricity) · 3 = A (a rival) · 4 = H (wireless)
5 = G (a dream) · 6 = F (to fail) · 7 = E (poor) · 8 = C (a genius)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 in a small village called Smiljan. It is in Croatia today. His family were Serbs, and his father was a priest.
Tesla had a very special mind. He could do difficult sums in his head very fast. He could see a whole machine in his mind before he built it. He loved one big idea: a new kind of electricity called "alternating current", or AC.
In 1884, he travelled to the United States. He had almost no money. He went to work for Thomas Edison, the most famous inventor in America. But Edison liked his own kind of electricity, not Tesla's new idea. The two men did not agree, and soon Tesla left. For a time he was so poor that he dug holes in the ground for money. But he did not stop believing in his dream.
1. What was special about Tesla's mind?
2. Why did Tesla leave Edison?
1. He could do difficult sums in his head very fast, and he could see a whole machine in his mind before he built it.
2. Edison liked his own kind of electricity, not Tesla's new idea (AC). The two men did not agree, so Tesla left.
Tesla made a new motor that worked with AC electricity. AC was better than Edison's electricity for one big reason: it could travel a very long way along thin wires. A rich businessman, George Westinghouse, liked Tesla's idea and bought it.
Now there was a big fight: Tesla's electricity (AC) against Edison's electricity (DC). People called it the "War of the Currents". Edison said AC was dangerous, but Tesla was right. In the 1890s, engineers used Tesla's AC to take power from the great waterfall at Niagara Falls and send it to a city. It worked! Tesla was sure the world would use his electricity, and now it did.
Tesla had many more ideas. He made big machines that shot electric lights into the air. He worked on radio. In 1898, he showed people a small boat that he could control from far away, with no wires — like magic. People could not believe their eyes.
1. Why was Tesla's electricity (AC) better?
2. What did Tesla show people in 1898?
1. It could travel a very long way along thin wires. (Edison's electricity could not.)
2. A small boat that he could control from far away, with no wires.
Tesla had a very big dream. He started to build a huge tower called Wardenclyffe. He wanted to send electricity through the air to all the world — free power for everybody! He believed wireless power was going to change everything.
But it was too difficult. His rich helper, J. P. Morgan, stopped giving money. The tower was never finished, and later people took it down. After this, Tesla had less and less money. He became a little strange: he was afraid of germs, and he loved the pigeons (birds) in the park. He lived alone in a hotel.
Tesla died in 1943, in a hotel room in New York. He was poor, and most people had forgotten him. But the story did not end there. Many years later, people remembered him again. Now we know that Tesla saw the future before everyone else. Today his name is famous — there is even a famous car company called Tesla!
1. What did Tesla want his big tower to do? Why did it fail?
2. How did people feel about Tesla after he died?
1. He wanted to send electricity through the air to all the world, with no wires. It failed because it was too difficult and his helper, J. P. Morgan, stopped giving money.
2. At first they forgot him. But many years later, they remembered him again and saw that he was a genius who knew the future.
Sometimes we want to make one part of a sentence strong. We move that part to the front. This shows the listener the most important idea.
Change the sentence. Put the person after "It was".
1. Tesla made the AC electricity. → made the AC electricity.
2. Westinghouse helped Tesla, not Edison. → helped Tesla.
3. Morgan stopped the money for the tower. → stopped the money.
1. It was Tesla who
2. It was Westinghouse who
3. It was Morgan who
Finish each sentence with the important idea after was. Then read it out loud.
1. What Tesla wanted (free power for the world).
2. What Tesla never got (money and thanks).
3. What made Tesla special (his big ideas).
4. What people remember today (the name Tesla).
1. was free power for the world
2. was money and thanks
3. was his big ideas
4. is the name Tesla
We put the important idea at the end, after "was" or "is", to make it strong.
There is a real podcast about Nikola Tesla. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast. About 50 minutes. Listen to a few minutes now, or all of it for homework.
Listen on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Nikola Tesla in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a special boy → America and Edison → the "electricity war" and Niagara Falls → his big tower dream → no money → he died poor → now he is famous again.
Use cleft sentences to make your point strong — It was Tesla who…, What really mattered was… — and some of the key words (inventor, electricity, rival, wireless, dream, genius).
Tesla saw the future before other people. Do you know any other famous inventors or dreamers — from history or from today? What did they make? Do you think dreamers are important?
Tell me about a dream or a plan you choose — yours, or a famous person's. Did it come true? Use cleft sentences to make your point strong — It was X who…, What really mattered was…
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: