New Year's Resolutions ESL Lesson Plan

OBJECTIVE & OVERVIEW

This New Year’s Resolutions ESL lesson plan contains activities, PDF worksheets, and digital materials for B2 upper-intermediate students. Throughout the lesson, students will explore the concept of New Year's resolutions. They improve their vocabulary and their language skills. The main goal is to encourage meaningful discussions and critical thinking. This lesson will help students understand the challenges and successes of setting and achieving resolutions. By the end of the lesson, students will be better equipped to express their aspirations, set goals effectively, and communicate in English.

PREVIEW & DISCUSSION

In this New Year’s Resolutions ESL lesson, students explore, discuss, and do activities related to New Year's resolutions. They discuss common resolutions, reasons behind their success or failure, and personal experiences with resolutions. Students also predict statistics about American resolution-makers and discuss key vocabulary related to resolutions and goals. This section activates prior knowledge and encourages critical thinking. It also prompts students to brainstorm tips for successfully keeping resolutions.

VIDEO & LISTENING COMPREHENSION

In this ESL New Year’s Resolutions lesson, students watch a video about the history of New Year's resolutions. They actively engage with the topic of New Year’s resolutions, carefully comparing their earlier predictions, and filling in missing words and phrases based on the video's tips. They also discuss goal-setting and obstacles.The goal of this section is to enhance listening skills and improve vocabulary. It also aims to encourage critical thinking while ensuring a thorough understanding of the video's main ideas.

DISCUSSION, VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR

After watching the video, students talk about the video tips – how good they were and if they would change anything. They also discuss what certain words mean in sentences from the video. For example, they talk about "vague," "backfire," "self-efficacy," and "hit a bump in the road."

Finally, they look at a sentence from the video that uses "I'm gonna be..." and discuss why it's used instead of "I will be..." and what "I'm gonna..." means. This part helps students understand the video better and practice grammar in context.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS COMMUNICATIVE TASK

In this activation, students get hands-on by making their own clear New Year's resolutions, sharing them with others, and giving feedback. They also refine existing resolutions to make them better. Additionally, they connect phrases to situations about quitting smoking, helping them understand better.

Finally, they talk about vague resolutions and related questions to strengthen their grasp of setting goals and the difficulties that can come with it. This part encourages students to put what they've learned into practice, be creative, and understand the lesson's ideas more deeply.

Benefits of using this New Year’s Resolutions ESL Lesson:

Practicality & Relevance: New Year's resolutions are a common and relevant aspect of many people's lives. The lesson plan connects language learning to real-world situations, making the content more relatable and applicable to students' experiences.

Grammar Practice in Context: The communicative task integrates grammar, particularly focusing on "I'm gonna..." instead of "I will be..." to express their plans in a clear way.

Functional Language: The lesson plan focuses on improving vocabulary and language skills, providing students with opportunities to express aspirations, set goals effectively, and communicate in English.