Lone wolf or social butterfly? Understanding personalities

Megan | Apr 17, 2024May 09, 2024

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this speaking lesson are to:

• discuss personality traits and the changes the personality undergoes in various social settings;
• talk about personality tests and practise adjectives to describe personality types;
• watch a video about birth order stereotypes.

This lesson focuses on talking about personality types. Students discuss methods of identifying personality traits, brainstorm reasons why people experience changes in their personality and use personality adjectives to talk about themselves. They also watch a video on how birth order affects personality types, talk about the impact of family dynamics on individual development and discuss whether they agree with statements about different opinions on personality.

TALKING ABOUT PERSONALITY TYPES

This lesson starts with a warm-up in which students read the idiom ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ and discuss to what extent they agree with it. Following that, they engage in talking about personality types. Students read different methods of identifying personality traits (e.g. Rorschach test, Astrology, Career aptitude tests, etc.) and discuss questions about their reliability, importance in various aspects of life, self-perception and external factors influencing personality. Then, they read four situations in which people have experienced changes in their personality and suggest why they might be happening. 

VIDEO AND MORE DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students continue talking about personality types more and prepare to watch a video about how birth order might affect someone’s personality. Before watching it, they choose three words to describe themselves from a list (e.g. adaptable, entertaining, peacemaker, etc.). Then, they watch the video and check if the adjectives they chose are the same as those the speaker uses to talk about their birth order position. Afterwards, students discuss questions about birth order and personality traits, including perceptions of characteristics associated with being the oldest, middle, youngest, or only child. Finally, they explain the meaning of statements about personalities that show different opinions and discuss to what extent they agree with them.

WORKSHEETS

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