How about a tattoo?

Olia | Sep 11, 2024Oct 16, 2024

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this speaking lesson on tattoos are to:

• talk about tattoos from different perspectives;
• watch a short video on tattoo tourism;
• revise collocations with the word ‘tattoo’.

With this lesson, students talk about personal travel traditions, watch a video about a woman who gets tattoos while travelling the world and share their opinions on tattoos and tourism. Students also revise collocations with the word ‘tattoo’ (e.g. have a tattoo, tattoo artist, detailed tattoo, etc.), role-play a conversation about getting a tattoo and discuss discrimination against people with tattoos in the workplace. In addition, they suggest getting tattoos based on personal interests.

WARM-UP AND COLLOCATIONS

This speaking lesson on tattoos starts with a warm-up. Students read about things people do when they travel (e.g. In every country I visit, I take the same photo in a specific pose or at a specific spot.) and say if they have any travel traditions. Afterwards, students watch a video about a woman who travels the world and gets tattoos in each country she visits. Then, they say if they agree with comments about tattoos and tourism and explain their opinions. Following that, students discuss questions about the trend of getting tattoos while travelling. After that, you can ask students to do a vocabulary activity. In the task, they revise collocations with the word ‘tattoo’ (e.g. remove a tattoo, tattoo design, temporary tattoo, etc.) and complete mind maps. They also choose one collocation in each mind map to create questions to ask their partner. Students ask and answer each other’s questions.

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION

At this point in this speaking lesson on tattoos, students complete facts related to tattoos according to what they know (e.g. Women/Men get more tattoos than women/men.). Then, they check the answers and discuss the facts by completing statements with their opinions (e.g. It’s interesting that…). Next, they imagine they want to get a tattoo. Their friend doesn’t like the idea and gives them reasons why they shouldn’t do it (e.g. I think you might regret it when you’re older.). In the task, students respond to their friend’s comments. Afterwards, they read a statement about discrimination against people with tattoos in the workplace and discuss questions about the topic. Finally, they read about people who want to get tattoos and their personal interests. Students discuss the details of their tattoos (e.g. what the tattoo should be of, what the meaning of the tattoo will be, etc.).

WORKSHEETS

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