B2 ESL Video Lesson Plan: The Smart City of The Future

Lesson Summary:
This Upper Intermediate to Advanced ESL video lesson plan is built around a thought-provoking video that explores how artificial intelligence may transform the cities we live in. Focusing on urban life, smart cities and surveillance, the lesson combines video analysis, discussion, roleplay and an extended reading to help learners engage critically with the future of city living.

Learning Objectives:
• To introduce students to the theme of cities and urban life.
• To introduce students to the concept of smart cities of the future.
• To expand students’ vocabulary related to cities, technology and surveillance.
• 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 discussion and roleplay using new vocabulary.
• To improve students’ visual representing skills though multimodal composition homework tasks.
• To practise critical thinking through discussion and reflection on technology and society.

Lesson Activities:
• Pre-viewing discussion on cities and smart cities.
• Quotation-based reflection on urban life.
• Viewing and analysis of a short video on AI and cities.
• Vocabulary-focused tasks on technology and surveillance.
• Reading and discussion of an article on urban convenience and surveillance.
• Roleplay exploring ethical and social dilemmas.
• Written reflection and creative follow-up tasks.

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

Language Focus:
• Vocabulary related to cities and urban life
• Technology and artificial intelligence
• Surveillance, privacy and ethics

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.