Stay interested, stay motivated – first lesson with new students

Title separator

First lesson with new students

first lesson

This is a standalone lesson but it can also be used as part of the set titled:

LESSON OVERVIEW

This ESL worksheet can be used in the first lesson with new students. In the lesson, students discuss their interests, watch a video about motivation, and do vocabulary and grammar tasks. 

B2 / Upper Intermediate
C1 / Advanced
60 minStandard LessonFree / Premium Plan

VOCABULARY & DISCUSSION

At the beginning of the lesson, students discuss eight topics in pairs (e.g. art and culture, travelling, science and technology) to find three which they feel similar about. Then, they do a vocabulary task. They need to complete sentences in three sets. The words are provided for each set (e.g. rewarding, accomplishment, eager). They also choose a topic from each of the three sets and tell their partner about it. After that, students look at six lesson topics and predict what they might learn in each and how enthusiastic they would be about participating in the lessons. All the lessons are available on the ESL Brains website, so they can be used with students as a follow-up to this first lesson plan:

VIDEO & GRAMMAR

Students finish sentences so that they are true for them. The sentences contain the words from previous exercises and refer to students’ motivation to learn English. As this is the first lesson with new students, it can be helpful to find out what their motivations are. Then, students watch the video about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. They also discuss how they are motivated and whether their motivation has changed over the years. The final task is a grammatical one. Students need to create questions using provided words. To do the task, they need to use a variety of English grammatical structures.This task will help test students’ grammatical knowledge. With a group of students, the teacher can split the task in two. This way, each student will do six examples. In a one-on-one class, the student can create six questions chosen by the teacher. After finishing the tasks, students choose some of the questions to ask their partner. 

Other ESL Brains first lesson worksheets:

WORKSHEETS

 

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. chaviracorona

    Great. Just in time for a speaking course I’m about to launch and a couple of 1 to 1 lessons!

    1. Ewa

      I’m glad to hear you will use the lesson 🙂

  2. Nejra Građan

    This is amazing! You should make one for each level! It would be so helpful! Excellent work.

    1. Ewa

      Thank you! There is also a B1/B2 lesson which you can use with your new lower-level students: Me, my work and I.

  3. Beata Traskowska

    The communicative part is very interesting however, my students who were B2+/ C1 found the questions at the end in the last exercise very challenging. I think it might be a bit overwhelming for them to put the words in order and also sort out the grammar. I used it for my first lesson with a new group and I think they were a bit discouraged at the end.

    1. Ewa

      Hi Beata. Thanks for your feedback. The task you are referring to doesn’t require changes to the word order, just using the correct grammar. And I believe the examples are suitable for B2/C1 level (conditionals, verb patterns, etc.).

      1. Beata Traskowska

        The examples are certainly a B2/C1 level, I just think they might be more suitable for students who are a bit more ‘warmed up’ with the course material. Let’s not forget that this is our first lesson after a break or even the very first lesson with a new group. Some emotions are at play, students don’t want to fail, they are a bit withdrawn, perhaps a bit stressed. It’s just a thought that perhaps a good idea would be to have something ‘lighter’ in terms of grammar 🙂

  4. pomidorku

    I LOVE THIS. Keep up the great work!

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
collocations to describe appearance
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Does anyone else look like you?

General

With this lesson, students talk about facial features! They practise collocations to describe appearance, watch a video on the concept of doppelgängers and discuss people who look alike.

speaking lesson on guilt
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Should I feel bad about it?

General

In this speaking lesson on guilt, students discuss guilty pleasures and varied opinions on the emotion. They also watch and discuss a video about ‘vacation guilt’. Students have an optional vocabulary activity with expressions related to guilt.

talk about supernatural phenomena
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Do you believe in ghosts?

General

Engage in talking about supernatural phenomena! With this lesson, students practise vocabulary related to mysterious and supernatural events, watch a video on why people claim to see ghosts and discuss their beliefs. They also play a quest game!

ESL lesson about animal abilities
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

How smart are animals?

General

Students discuss animal abilities with this lesson! They talk about differing opinions on animal intelligence, learn about animal skills and hear some fascinating animal stories. They watch a video, think about an animal’s point of view, and discuss lots of questions.

C1 / Advanced
Critical Reading Club 30 min / 45 min
Loading

Gen Z’s penchant for sad music

General Lifestyle

Students read and discuss an article about Gen Z’s preference for sad music and learn vocabulary for describing sad music and listener behaviour. They also talk about changes in music trends, analyse comments, and share opinions on the topic.

talk about uncertain situations
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Uncertain times in business

Business General

In this lesson, students talk about attitudes towards difficult situations. They revise useful vocabulary and watch a video about VUCA, a framework to interpret challenging circumstances. Students also talk about how some difficult situations were handled in real life.

vocabulary on challenges and achievements
C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

In a league of your own

General

In this lesson, students discuss awards and famous individuals, and learn vocabulary on challenges and achievements. They explore Olympic Games quotes, watch a video about an athlete, and engage in discussions on success.

advanced prepositions
C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Advanced prepositions

General

Work on prepositions with this lesson! C1 students practise advanced prepositions in various contexts, discuss personal experiences and explore prepositional phrases. They also study verbs with dependent prepositions and prepositions in binomials.

B2 / Upper Intermediate | C1 / Advanced
Critical Reading Club 30 min / 45 min
Loading

Mockumentaries and other comedy series

General

With this lesson, students discuss mockumentaries like The Office! They also explore other comedy series and learn some descriptive vocabulary. They discuss opinions on famous comedy series and look at proposals for other potential programmes.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there's no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won't be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).
Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with