The Magic of the Lofoten Islands

In this Intermediate ESL lesson, the student will learn and practice vocabulary related to nature and landscapes. They will also practice using Second Conditional to talk about hypothetical present situations.

Dive into this beautiful lesson to learn about one of the most amazing places on Earth – the Lofoten Islands. We will start with learning some useful vocabulary to talk about nature, landscapes, and some natural phenomena, and finish off by using the Second Conditional to talk about what we would do if we could go to the Lofoten Islands right away. Enjoy this journey!

Warm-up

To get them warmed up and relaxed, the lesson starts with a few quick questions about spending time in nature.

Video: The Magic of the Lofoten Islands

The student watches a beautiful video about the Lofoten Islands and marks all the objects and natural phenomena that appear in the video (e.g. snow, town, fishing boat, etc.).
Based on what they saw in the video, they decide which of the given adjectives would best describe the Lofoten Islands (unspoiled, tranquil, busy, deserted, remote). Then, they match these words with the correct explanations. They practice using these words in sentences by choosing the correct alternative and then giving an example of a place they could describe using these adjectives.

Vocabulary: landscapes and natural phenomena

In this part of the lesson, the student learns what the following are: fjord, peak, fishing village, and bay. They match each word with the corresponding picture and then match the parts of sentences in which these new words are used. The student reads explanations of certain natural phenomena and marks them true or false. Furthermore, they learn more adjectives used to describe landscapes and natural settings, and match them with their synonyms (pristine, breathtaking, sheltered, etc.).

Since the word phenomenon is repeating, they do an exercise in which they learn about the singular and plural forms of the word and when to use them.

A few similar words are contrasted and the student’s task is to explain the difference between them (e.g. bay and gulf).

Video: Things to do in Lofoten

The student learns about interesting things to do in Lofoten by watching a short video. Some new words are extracted from the video for the student to match them with the words they collocate with.

Grammar: The 2nd conditional

Based on a sentence from the video, the student analyzes the structure and use of the Second Conditional. They practice using it by matching sentence halves and correcting the underlined mistakes.

Finally, they answer hypothetical questions about themselves by using the Second Conditional.