B2 ESL Video Lesson Plan: Niceness

Lesson Summary:
This Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) ESL video lesson plan is built around the thought-provoking short film In Praise of Nice People. It explores the theme of appreciating nice people and the value of niceness in relationships and society. Through viewing, discussion and creative tasks, learners expand key vocabulary related to human nature and gratitude, analyse quotations about kindness, engage in roleplay, and read an extended article titled Why We Take Niceness for Granted. The lesson promotes reflection, empathy and critical thinking while developing core language skills.

Learning Objectives:
• Introduce students to the theme of appreciating nice people and niceness.
• Expand vocabulary related to human nature, gratitude and relationships.
• Develop viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.
• Develop writing skills through reflective and creative tasks.
• Improve speaking skills through discussion and structured roleplay.
• Practise critical thinking through analysis of video and article themes.
• Improve visual representing skills through multimodal homework tasks.

Lesson Activities:
• Introductory discussion on niceness.
• Quotation analysis and prediction tasks.
• Viewing and comprehension activities.
• Post-viewing discussion and analytical tasks.
• Structured roleplay activity.
• Reading comprehension of follow-up article.
• Critical thinking discussion questions.
• Reflective writing task.

Learner Type:
Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1), mature teens and adults.

Language Focus:
• Vocabulary of human nature
• Gratitude and appreciation
• Relationships and emotional awareness
• Critical reflection and evaluation

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

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.