Second Nature: How Habits Shape Your Life

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are:

• – to practice vocabulary related to habits and habit forming,
• – to increase the confidence with which students talk about their daily routines,
• – to practice listening comprehension.

In this intermediate lesson plan, students will discuss the power of habits and practice B1 level vocabulary.

Warm up:

The lesson starts with students looking at a list of possible reasons why habits can be so powerful. They have to choose one that they think is closest to the truth. A list of questions aimed at getting students to talk follows.

Video:

Students watch a video titled “How Habits Can Change Your Life (and Your Brain)” and use a list of provided phrases to discuss its main messages. This part of the lesson probes students’ listening skills and reinforces their ability to form and articulate conclusions at an intermediate level.

Speaking:

This section opens with a debate in which students exchange their thoughts with their teacher about the merits of a statement about habits. They take turns to argue opposite views and give their reasons for holding such views.

In the following exercise, the learners argue the pros and cons of building routines. This is done to broaden their vocabulary and improve speaking fluency.

In the third exercise, students familiarize themselves with a number of hypothetical situations and decide what they would do if faced with each of them.

In the fourth exercise, students discuss opposing viewpoints on how habits shape lives. 

Finally, they look at a list of marketing slogans related to habit forming and explain their understanding of them on what they aim to accomplish.

Discussion:

Students read a list of famous quotes, choose one and discuss it. They are asked to explain whether they agree with it or not and why.