This ESL video lesson plan is designed around a moving short film titled We’ve All Been There by Nicholas Clifford and the theme of empathy. Students write a story, watch a short film and speak about empathy.
Language level: Intermediate (B1) – Upper Intermediate (B2)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 60 minutes
Activity: Watching a short film, speaking and writing
Topic: Empathy
Language: Present perfect, narrative tenses and language connected with empathy
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 film.
Check out the lesson plan
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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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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.
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Captivating video, great lesson plan!
Hi Jasmina,
Thanks for commenting. grea to know to know you like the lesson so much 🙂
All the best,
Kieran
These are really nice videos – thanks for taking the time to do all this.
Glad you like them, Blair 🙂
Loved the short film “We’ve all been there”.
I think I’ll use the lesson you suggest very soon in one of my classes.
Thank you!!
Cristina
Hi John,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope your students enjoy the lesson.
Kieran
I saw your site mentioned on the TESOL Facebook page. I visited and was so impressed! I plan to use this lesson plan with my Level 3/4 class next week. We just finished a lesson on idioms and proverbs, so this fits in perfectly. I can think of another idiom that fits here, too…”Play it forward.” Thanks for a great site.
That should be “Pay it forward”…oops!
Now I understand, Linda 🙂
Hi Linda,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m really happy you like the site. I hope your students enjoy the lesson.
All the best,
Kieran
I love it!! that’s really true 🙂
Hi Lidia,
Great to know you like it so much!
All the best,
Kieran
I liked it so much! I’m waiting for another one.Thank you a lot!
Hi Cristina,
Thanks a lot for commenting. Great to know you liked it so much. I hope you like the next lesson as much.
All the best,
Kieran
Great lesson plan, as usual. I was looking for ideas for something a bit lighter after my lessons on social conscience and the use of conditionals (what would you do if you saw someone…). So when I think of something more enjoyable for my students, I always end up here. And this lesson fits in so PERFECTLY! Thank you soooo much for all this great work and also for making me discover such gems.
So sad I can’t attend the Image Conference in Barcelona.
Hi Marie,
It’s a pleasure; I’m just happy other teachers find the lessons useful. Shame you can’t attend The Image Conference, it’s going to be a great event.Maybe next year!
All the best,
Kieran
Fantastic video! Thanks for posting them and making this site one of my absolute fav. Cheers!
Hi Cystal,
Thanks a lot for commenting and for your kinfd words about the site; I’m really happy you like it so much.
All the best,
Kieran
Thank you Kieran for this wonderful lesson plan, and for the site in general.
I used this lesson on Monday with my upper intermediate course. They loved it.
I also used the film for a speaking practice using second conditionals:
If I were the elderly woman I would feel….
If I were the 8 month pregnant waitress I would….
I’m a teacher and an actor, so I really love your site. It’s the perfect balance for cinema enthusiasts and EFL teachers!
Thanks!
Hi Tom,
Thanks alot for taking the time to comment and for your kind words about the site; one of the things I’m I’m trying to do with the site is to combine film ananlysis with language learning so you’v ehit the nail on the head there! Great ideas for using the second conditional.
All the best,
Kieran
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful short film! It brought tears to my eyes…:)
I am a teacher student in Norway at the moment, but I will definitely use this film in my class when substituting and also during my practice periods! Thank you for the detailed lesson plan, too. This will be used.
Hi Nina,
Thanks a lot for commenting and for your kind words about the lesson; it’s great to know you find the site useful.
All the best,
Kieran
hello this is a very well planned lesson plan.but i wonder if you could tell me the approach or technique used in this plan?
Hi George,
Thanks for commenting. I’m not really sure what you mean when you ask about the approach or approach.
Cheers,
Kieran
You are brilliant, Sir. Your lessons are really remarkable, and fun for anyone, really. I’m donating to support today. Thank you, Kieran!
Hi Ed,
I’m really happy you enjoy the lessons so much. 🙂
All the best,
Kieran
I am truly surprised with this website. Thank you so much for sharing all this material with us. Last night I spent hours going through all these lesson plans and I think they are all amazing. Tomorrow I’m gonna give it a go with this one in class, I’m sure it will be great!
Thanks again!
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks a lot for the kind words.I’m really happy you enjoy the lessons.
All the best,
Kieran
Just wanted to take the time and say thanks!
Hi Angus,
It’s a pleasure, glad you like the site.
All the best,
Kieran
Captivating video
Hi ,
I’m glad you like it.
All the best,
Kieran
Hi, you truly offer enjoyable lessons. It would be difficult not to want to recommend this website to others. They are lessons in English and in life.
Thank you
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the kind words; I’m really happy you like the lessons so much.
All the best,
Kieran
Hi, first time here, I’m an MATESOL student and I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful, thought-provoking lesson plan. I’m tweaking it just a bit to meet my student’s needs. This is a great website. Glad to have found it.
Hi Zeke,
Thanks a lot for commenting and for your kind words. I’m really happy you like the lesson so much.
All the best,
Kieran