Did I cause offence?

Olia | May 01, 2026Apr 29, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• engage in discussing offence from various points of view;
• practise key phrases for handling offence;
• watch a video on the value of not taking offence.

In this lesson, students explore a quote on offence and free expression, share their opinions and watch a video about overcoming offence. They analyse personal and social responses to offence, work with offence-related phrases (e.g. come out, get the wrong idea, sit well with someone) and listen to a conversation involving a confrontation. Students also reflect on the best ways to handle social friction and role-play managing offensive interactions.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This lesson starts with a warm-up. Students read a quote about freedom of speech and offence. They explain the key ideas it presents and briefly say whether they agree with each part of the quote. Afterwards, students engage in discussing offence, etiquette and sensitive topics. Next, they watch a video where a speaker talks about three reasons why it’s important to teach people not to get offended. First, students discuss what they think these reasons are. They then watch part of the video and check. In the second part of the video, students explore advice on responding to offence. They discuss Bruce Lee’s ‘Be like water’ quote and watch the clip to verify their interpretations. After that, students discuss questions about responses to offence and free speech.

USEFUL PHRASES FOR DISCUSSING OFFENCE

In this part of the lesson, students look at pairs of statements and complete the gaps to create phrases for discussing offence (e.g. come off as, sit by, take aback). They then decide whether the speaker of each sentence has been offended or has said something offensive. Afterwards, students rewrite sections of a dialogue using the target phrases from the previous task. Moving on, they examine the dialogue again and guess the topic of discussion. Then, students listen to the full conversation and check. They also identify the relationship between the speakers and evaluate how well they handled the situation. Following that, students evaluate scenarios involving offence and propose the best solutions. Finally, they work in pairs and role-play different scenarios using the target phrases. Student A expresses a strong opinion while Student B plays someone who is easily offended. They then continue, swapping roles and choosing new scenarios.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students find and correct mistakes in sentences, using phrases for discussing offence. They then continue the sentences with their own ideas. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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