Lesson Summary:
This Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) ESL video lesson plan is built around a short video titled Don’t Chase Happiness. Become Antifragile. and explores the theme of antifragility. It is designed to help mature teens and adults develop key language skills through viewing, discussion, vocabulary building, roleplay, article reading, comprehension tasks, writing and critical reflection. Learners examine how people can respond to pressure, recover from hardship and grow through difficulty.
Learning Objectives:
• To introduce students to the concept of antifragility
• To expand students’ vocabulary related to happiness, hardship, resilience and well-being
• To develop students’ viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills
• To develop students’ writing skills through creative tasks and use of new vocabulary
• To improve students’ speaking skills through roleplay, discussion and use of new vocabulary
• To improve students’ visual representing skills through multimodal composition homework tasks
Lesson Activities:
• Discuss the relationship between antifragility and happiness
• Explore key vocabulary before viewing
• Predict the content of the video
• Watch the video and answer comprehension questions
• Analyse the speaker’s ideas about happiness and well-being
• Take part in a roleplay about pressure, recovery and growth
• Read a follow-up article on post-traumatic growth
• Complete discussion, writing and multimodal homework tasks
Learner Type:
Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) mature teens and adults
Language Focus:
• Antifragility, resilience and recovery
• Happiness, hardship and well-being
• Post-traumatic growth and personal development
• Discussion and roleplay language
• Reflective and critical writing
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
- Promote social-emotional learning (SEL)
- 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 video.
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We hope you enjoy this ESL video lesson plan.
Thanks for being part of the Film English community, and happy teaching!
— The Film English Team
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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.