B1 ESL Video Lesson Plan: The Mirror
This B1-level ESL video lesson plan is built around a thought-provoking video that explores the theme of stages of life. It is designed to help learners develop key language skills—listening, viewing, speaking, reading, writing and visually representing—through guided discussion, roleplay, vocabulary building, and engaging classroom activities.
Check out the lesson planThis ESL video lesson plan is designed around a short film by Ramon and Pedro which tells the story of a boy’s journey from childhood to old age. Students practise speaking, writing and vocabulary related to bathrooms.
Language level: Intermediate (B1)- Upper-intermediate (B2)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 60 minutes
Activity: Watching a short film, speaking and writing
Topic: Life and growing up
Language: narrative tenses, vocabulary related to the bathroom
Benefits for Teachers:
- Save hours of preparation with a fully developed, flexible lesson plan
- Engage students through compelling stories and real-world themes such as emotional intelligence, character, values, empathy, personal development, identity, relationships, global issues and social issues
- Build classroom routines that integrate multimodal literacy naturally and progressively
- Foster more inclusive and differentiated learning by using varied modes of input
- Rely on a trusted methodology backed by educational research and grounded in the theories of Vygotsky, Kress, Mayer and Krashen
Benefits for Learners:
- Develop communicative competence and confidence through integrated skill-building
- Expand vocabulary and improve listening and reading comprehension through repeated, meaningful exposure
- Think critically and creatively while exploring powerful social and emotional themes
- Strengthen emotional intelligence and intercultural awareness through affective engagement with multimodal texts
Watch the film.
Check out the lesson plan
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Transform Your English Classroom with the Multimodal Approach
This ESL video lesson plan is built around a thought-provoking short video and designed using the innovative Multimodal Approach, integrating listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing. Engage learners with real-world themes, develop communicative competence, build vocabulary and foster critical thinking through dynamic, research-informed activities. Find out more about the Multimodal Approach and join thousands of teachers transforming their classrooms with Film English.
Hi Kieran,Another great lesson, I’m going to use it with my B1 students, they’ll love it Thanks for sharing it. Sally
Hi Sally,
Thanks a lot, glad to know you like it. Let me know how it goes with your students.
Cheers,
Kieran
it’s wonderful .i think it’s perfect for tefl teachers who teach teens like me.thank you.
Thanks a lot, Abid. The lesson works really well with teens. If you use it, let me know how it goes, please. All the best, Kieran
Dear Kieran,
I’d like to express my admiration. Your films are a real treasure for any teacher. This one is not an exception. I used the film “The Mirror” during my public lesson with B2 students and it was a great success! I slightly changed your instructions as I had to focus on Сonditionals. For instance, I asked the students to choose an episode from the film and voice the thoughts, regrets, dreams and wishes of the character using the direct speech. Homework was aimed at making the students think about their own life – Write a first-person narrative describing how you‘d feel and what would happen in your life if you were 30 now… . Begin like this: “If I were 30, …” Or you may write about your possible future. Begin like this: “When I am 40 (60), …”
Thanks once again for your thought-provoking films and lessons. They’ve become part and parcel of my work.
Best wishes from Moscow.
Hi Tatiana,
Thanks a lot for taking the time to commment and for your kind words about the site. I’m really happy that you like the site so much and find the lessons useful.
All the best,
Kieran
Thank you for this creative resource and all of them. I use them with my private ESL students and without fail they always enjoy the film and lessons. Your resources are an excellent use for comprehensible input for my private classes. Thank you.
Hi Marta,
Thanks a lot for the kind words.I’m really happy you enjoy the lessons.
All the best,
Kieran
good
very good
I told a group of ESL teachers about this page. They were all interested in it. I told them to donate something because this is a huge effort.
Hi Gera,
Thanks a lot for commenting and for the kind words and support.
All the best,
Kieran