B2 ESL Video Lesson Plan: The Art of Listening

Lesson Summary:
This Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) ESL lesson plan is built around the video The Art of Listening: How does listening help us embrace different perspectives? and explores the theme of listening as an active and emotional skill. Students expand their vocabulary related to listening, dialogue and communication, discuss quotations, analyse the video, complete comprehension and critical thinking activities, perform a roleplay, and read the article Building Trust Through Listening. The lesson concludes with reflective writing and multimodal homework tasks to reinforce empathy and understanding through active listening.

Learning Objectives:
• To introduce students to the concept of listening as an active and emotional skill.
• To expand students’ vocabulary related to listening, dialogue and communication.
• To develop students’ viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.
• To improve students’ speaking skills through roleplay and discussion using new vocabulary.
• To develop students’ writing skills through creative and reflective tasks using new vocabulary.
• To develop students’ visual representing skills through multimodal composition homework tasks.

Lesson Activities:
• Pre-viewing discussion on listening and active listening.
• Viewing and analysing the video The Art of Listening.
• Comprehension, critical thinking and discussion tasks.
• Roleplay to practise empathetic communication.
• Reading and discussion of Building Trust Through Listening.
• Creative and multimodal homework projects.

Learner Type:
Upper Intermediate (B2) – Advanced (C1) learners; mature teens and adults.

Language Focus:
Vocabulary related to listening, dialogue and communication.

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 video.

Remember that Individual Membership and Institutional Membership of Film English Club allow unlimited access to all 800+ Film English Club Video Lesson Plans, Extensive Viewing Guides and Film Study Worksheets.

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.