Giving up on people

In this C1 ESL lesson plan, your advanced ESL students will:

• – express their ideas about difficult personal decisions that we sometimes need to make, related to toxic relationships;
• – improve their English vocabulary by completing an interesting range of English vocabulary activities such as synonym matching, gap-fills, reading comprehension questions, and critical thinking exercises;
• – discuss their thoughts on a video about giving up on people, and to express their ideas about personal boundaries and emotional well-being in realistic conversation practice.

This advanced ESL lesson plan focuses on interpersonal relationships, and asks when we should give up on people. Students are provided with useful vocabulary to talk about difficult personal decisions in a natural context. Throughout the lesson, students are encouraged to reflect on their own opinions and experiences, and to talk about whether they agree or disagree with the ideas mentioned in the authentic reading and listening materials. The lesson also provides opportunities to practice responding tactfully to challenging personal situations in English.

Warm-up:

Students start by giving their opinions on a selection of discussion topics with the teacher. Students are encouraged to give reasons and examples to support their opinions, but should also be reminded that they don’t need to share anything they are not comfortable with. The teacher can suggest useful phrases for dealing with such situations, such as “I’d rather not get into that”, or “That’s a story for another time”. Phrases like this will help students to feel more comfortable in real-life English conversations.

Video:

Students watch an authentic English-language video called “The capacity to give up on people”, noting down which topics are covered in the video. They are also encouraged to think about whether they agree or disagree with the points mentioned, and to ask the teacher if they have any questions about the phrases or vocabulary that was used.

English practice exercises:

Students practice using new words and expressions in context with a variety of structured English vocabulary exercises. Students will acquire new synonyms, and complete gap-fill activities with new words to see how they can be used in a natural context. During this part of the lesson, students are encouraged to ask the teacher how to use the new expressions if they are unsure, so that they are able to use them in subsequent discussion activities.

English reading exercises:

Students read an authentic English-language text about personal boundaries and emotional well-being. After reading, they answer a series of questions designed to promote critical thinking and to demonstrate their understanding of complex ideas. During this activity, students are encouraged to reflect on whether they agree with the ideas in the text or not, and to ask the teacher about any expressions they are unsure of.

English discussion:

Students examine a range of different example scenarios with their teacher, and suggest appropriate courses of action. Students should attempt to reuse new vocabulary and phrases acquired in the lesson, and should give reasons or examples to support their opinions. For more realistic conversation practice, they should also ask the teacher for their opinions so that they can practice responding naturally in real-life English discussions. In this part of the lesson, teachers focus mainly on the student’s fluency, in order to maintain a natural conversation flow. Teachers should ask leading questions if necessary to elicit use of the target language.