The dangers of motivational speakers

The main goals of this ESL lesson plan are to:

• – practice using cleft sentences through clear examples and hands-on exercises like matching columns to create cleft structures and converting complex sentences back to simple forms;
• – explore vocabulary about motivational speakers and their potential dangers by discussing psychological and social impacts, watching satirical videos about self-help culture, and reading critical texts about the motivational industry;
• – strengthen speaking and critical thinking abilities through analyzing the influence of motivational content, discussing the downsides of self-help culture, and participating in brainstorming activities about the motivational speaker phenomenon.

In this Advanced ESL lesson plan, students practice the use of cleft sentences while discussing the dangers of motivational speakers. 

Warm-Up

We kick off with a brief discussion on the potential dangers of motivational speakers in the context of psychological and societal norms.

Video

Students watch a satirical video titled “Morning Routine videos be like” and discuss the questions that follow.

Grammar

This section introduces and exemplifies the use of cleft sentences.

Exercises

In this section, the use of cleft sentences is practiced. Students are asked to match columns to create cleft sentences and to reverse-engineer cleft sentences into simple form sentences.

Reading

Students read a thought-provoking text on the dangers of motivational speakers and discuss their thoughts with the aid of some challenging questions.

Discussion

Finally, the lesson wraps up with a brainstorming activity focused around motivational speakers.