B1 ESL Video Lesson Plan: A Single Life
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 titled A Single Life and the theme of stages of life. In the lesson students practise vocabulary related to the stages of life, discuss stages of life, watch a short film, and speak and write about it.
Language level: Intermediate (B1) – Upper Intermediate (B2)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 60 minutes
Activity: Watching a short film, speaking and writing
Topic: Stages of life
Language: Vocabulary related to childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age.
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 short film.
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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.
Thanks, Kieran! Another great lesson! Perhaps another interesting question to ask the class to think about at the end of the class or for homework might be: ‘Where would you place the needle on your record? And why?’ (This may perhaps be more appropriate for an adult class) 🙂
Hi Frances,
Thanks very much for taking the time to comment. I’m really happy you like the lesson. Great question! Do you mind if I ad it to the lesson?
All the best,
Kieran
Hi Kieran!
Yes, I’d be more than happy for you to add my question to the lesson 🙂
Please keep the great classes coming!
All the best,
Frances
Hi Frances,
Thanks very much. I’ll add the question now.
All the best,
Kieran
precious resource to deal with an interesting theme. thank you so much
Hi Silvia,
Thanks very much for the kind words.
All the best,
Kieran
Hello,
I have just watched the film and I am … dumbfounded. It’s brilliant. Thank you very much! It’s a pity I teach young learners (6-12 y.o.) and I can’t really use this excellent material.
Thanks again!
Hi Liana,
I’m delighted you like the lesson and film so much. Perhaps you could adapt the lesson for your students by just asking them to name the stages of life and then watching the film and pausing at each stage of life and going through the objects that appear.
All the best,
Kieran
This lesson is incredible! Thank you so much. You’re a genius!
Hi Hala,
Thanks very much for your kind words.
All the best,
Kieran
Hello Kieran
I’ve used this short film with your suggestions, adapting it for an individual lesson to an adult. My feedback is that it works! In addition to the use of the language, my student took the oppotunity to think about his life and he said: “thanks, it rarely happens to find time for this kind of thoughts”.
Thanks Kieran for your posts!
Maria
Hi Maria,
Thanks very much for commenting and for your kind words. I’m delighted you and your student enjoyed the film and lesson so much.
All the best,
Kieran
Hi Kieran,
Thank you so much for the fantastic lesson! My students and I have simply loved it. As I teach 1-1 students, we’ve been able to adapt it to different levels and age groups, and the results have been amazing, as some of them are parents, others are in their 60s,and so on. There are no children or teens, but the adults love talking about their childhood and adolescence.
Hi Marilia,
Thanks very much for commenting and for your kind words. I’m delighted you and your students enjoyed the film and lesson so much.
All the best,
Kieran