| LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- engage in talking about university degrees and job market challenges;
- practise expressions for benefits, drawbacks and outcomes;
- watch part of a video about why graduates struggle to find work.
In this lesson, students discuss university degrees, share their opinions and experiences and watch a video excerpt (00:20–04:24) on why it is harder for graduates to find jobs. They talk about the value of degrees and skills in the job market and explore phrases for advantages, disadvantages and outcomes (e.g. overshadow any gains, tip the balance in someone’s favour, be hit-and-miss). They also discuss how some job market challenges could be addressed by institutions working together.
C2 / Proficiency60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan
WARM-UP AND VIDEO
This lesson focuses on talking about university degrees and starts with a warm-up. Students look at different words (e.g. worthwhile, outdated, challenging), say which three they associate most with university degrees and explain why. After that, they discuss questions about their experiences and opinions related to formal education. Moving on, students discuss why it might be getting more difficult for university graduates to find a job. They then watch the first part of a video about it and compare their answers. Afterwards, students discuss questions about education trends and future careers. Next, they watch the second part of the video and take notes on the answers. Following that, students talk about the value of degrees and skills in the job market.
VOCABULARY AND DISCUSSION
In this part of the lesson, students continue talking about university degrees and different views on education and career paths. First, they complete the sentences and create phrases for advantages, disadvantages and outcomes (e.g. not worth the hassle, become clear in hindsight, boils down to). After that, students explain what the phrases mean. Moving on, they finish rewriting sentences about education and careers using the correct form of the expressions from the previous task. Finally, students discuss how some challenges (e.g. the rise of AI, the growing importance of soft skills) could be addressed by different institutions (e.g. universities, businesses, governments) working together. They use the target expressions from the lesson.
HOMEWORK/REVISION
This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students choose headlines and write short news stories. They use expressions for talking about university degrees. 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
Subscribe to unlock these and many other Standalone lesson lesson plans with the Unlimited plan
Subscribe
Seriously, C1 – C2 level? Vocabulary in this lesson is between B2, beginning of C1 at most. The topic isn’t difficult, either.
Hi there! Not really; words like hit-and-miss, overshadow or hassle are either C1 or C2 (depending on the source), and it’s mostly idioms, phrases and collocations that are introduceed in the lesson, which adds to the challenge. When it comes to the topic itself, why would it need to be ‘difficult’? I belive advanced students want to talk about universities and jobs just like anyone else.
Hi! I agree with what you are saying. However, wouldn’t it be better to comment on your subscribers’ or audience by acknowledging they left a comment first? Something along the lines of “Thank you for your feedback. I understand where you are coming from.”. And then, you could ask them (in this case, Betty) what words they think are at B2 level. And also ask what they mean by “difficult”. Just my two cents.