Free Time Fallacy

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – examine our complicated relationship with free time and modern attitudes toward leisure activities;
• – develop nuanced vocabulary, listening skills, reading comprehension, and discussion abilities through various exercises;
• – watch a video about why people brag about being busy and practice critical thinking about free time perspectives.

This Advanced ESL lesson plan examines our complicated relationship with free time, helping advanced students develop nuanced vocabulary.

Warm-up

The lesson kicks off with students thinking about the modern approach to free time.

Video

Students watch a video “Why People Brag About Being Busy.” After viewing, they review a list of key points and select which ones were mentioned in the video. This task helps improve listening skills and sparks conversation.

Reading

Next, students read a short article called “The way we view free time is making us less happy.” They discuss the main message from the article using a list of phrases provided. This part of the lesson strengthens vocabulary and reading skills while reinforcing the theme of the lesson.

Exercises

In the first language activity, students choose the option that fits best a particular sentence. In the second exercise they choose three leisure activities and discuss how our approach to them reflects modern attitudes toward free time.

Discussion

To wrap up the lesson, students complete a few sentence starters in a way that reflects their own thoughts and experiences. This final activity gives them a chance to personalize what they’ve learned.