The psychology of your future self

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Vocabulary - idioms for change

idioms lesson plan

LESSON OVERVIEW

Do you think you will change a lot in the future? Or maybe not at all? This idioms lesson plan based on the short TED talk by the psychologist Dan Gilbert will give your students many occasions to talk about their attitude towards change and their future selves.

B2 / Upper Intermediate60 minStandard LessonPremium Plan

VOCABULARY

The lesson on the basis of the talk entitled “The psychology of your future self” focuses on speaking about changes using the vocabulary from different tasks. Firstly, students acquire some synonyms of the word change, such as transform, modify, evolve, etc. Then, engage them into a short discussion on their own attitude towards changes. After that, you can move to idioms connected with changes.  These are perfect to describe their own personal experiences. Students need to match idioms to the situations that can describe. Next, encourage your students to choose three idioms and use them while talking about situations from their lives.

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION

Finally, students should watch the talk and discuss questions related to Dan Gilbert’s ideas. The worksheet finishes with two tasks on vocabulary from the video.
This idioms lesson plan should take around 60 minutes (including the talk which takes 7 min). In addition, before giving students worksheet, it is a great idea to elicit synonyms of the word change.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

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Leave a Reply

  1. Dudley Baker

    Excellent, will be using this with my student today after reviewing the content. Thanks!

  2. Claudia Roberts

    We loved this one. I used it with a more advanced student but the topic was so rich there was definitely enough to keep him interested. If you find the time to make something about free will/determinism that would be an excellent continuation of this theme!

    1. Justa

      Good idea! Thanks! I’ll add the topic of will and determinism to my to‐do list and try to find an interesting video. If you have any video suggestions, send me links to this email.

  3. NeliaBechkalo

    Good one, but I’d say more like 45 min

    1. Ewa

      Thanks for the feedback!

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