B1 ESL Lesson Plan: What Does Depression Feel Like?

Lesson Summary

This Pre-intermediate (A2) to Intermediate (B1) ESL lesson plan explores what depression can feel like, how it may affect daily life and how people can find support.

The lesson is based on the short video What Does Depression Feel Like? Signs & Support. Students learn vocabulary related to depression, emotions, support and recovery, discuss possible signs of depression and consider how friends, family members, teachers, counsellors and health professionals can help.

Students predict the content of the video, watch and analyse it, answer comprehension questions and reflect on its key ideas. They also perform a detailed roleplay focused on asking for and offering support.

Towards the end of the lesson, students read an article titled Strategies That Can Support Mental Health. They answer comprehension questions, discuss the strategies presented and complete speaking and writing activities using new vocabulary.

Learning Objectives

• To introduce students to what depression can feel like and how it may affect daily life.
• To expand students’ vocabulary related to depression, emotions, support and recovery.
• To develop students’ viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.
• To develop students’ writing skills through creative tasks and the use of new vocabulary.
• To improve students’ speaking skills through discussion, roleplay and the use of new vocabulary.
• To improve students’ visual representing skills through multimodal composition homework tasks.

Lesson Activities

• Pre-viewing discussion
• Vocabulary development
• Video prediction
• Video viewing and analysis
• Comprehension activities
• Critical-thinking discussion
• Support-focused roleplay
• Article reading and discussion
• Reflective writing
• Multimodal homework tasks

Learner Type

Mature teens and adults

Language Focus

• Vocabulary related to depression, emotions, support and recovery
• Language for describing feelings and changes in behaviour
• Expressions for asking for help and offering sensitive support

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.