Apprenticeships

Lesson Summary

Help students explore apprenticeships and the benefits of learning a skilled trade with this engaging ESL video lesson plan. Designed for Intermediate (B1) to Upper Intermediate (B2) learners, the lesson combines the short video What is an Apprenticeship? with the article Eight Reasons to Consider an Apprenticeship. Students consider career choices while developing vocabulary, comprehension and communication skills.

Learning Objectives

• Introduce apprentices, apprenticeships and their possible benefits.
• Expand vocabulary related to skilled trades, training and employment.
• Develop viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.
• Improve speaking and critical thinking through discussions and roleplay.
• Develop writing skills through reflection and vocabulary practice.
• Improve visual representing skills through multimodal homework tasks.

Lesson Activities

• Discuss apprenticeships and the benefits of choosing an apprenticeship.
• Predict video content, watch the video and answer comprehension questions.
• Analyse the video and write about what students have learned.
• Perform a roleplay exploring apprenticeship choices.
• Read an article, answer comprehension questions and discuss its ideas.
• Complete writing tasks, reflect on learning and create multimodal compositions.

Learner Type

Mature teens and adults.

Language Level

Intermediate (B1) – Upper Intermediate (B2).

Language Focus

• Vocabulary related to skilled trades, training and employment.
• Language for discussing benefits and comparing career choices.
• Expressions for giving advice, asking questions and explaining opinions.

Time

90–120 minutes.

View short video.

Transform Your English Classroom with This Film English Multimodal Lesson

This ESL lesson plan is built around a carefully selected short video and designed using the exclusive Multimodal Approach– an innovative methodology that integrates traditional language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with viewing – the active process of analysing and interpreting multimodal texts – and representing – creating multimodal texts. This pedagogically rich approach mirrors how communication works in the real world, through a combination of language, image, sound, gesture and spatial design, making the lesson more engaging, relevant and effective.

This ESL video lesson plan plan consists of a complete, ready-to-use package that includes:

• A thought-provoking short video
• A detailed teacher’s guide with step-by-step instructions
• A pre-viewing vocabulary glossary to scaffold understanding
• Comprehension, discussion and critical thinking questions
• Creative post-viewing tasks such as roleplays, writing prompts and reflective activities
• A thematically linked reading text to reinforce language and deepen understanding
• A final task encouraging learners to create their own multimodal compositions (e.g. vlogs, posters, infographics or social media posts)

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
• Create authentic, personalised multimodal projects that reflect their own voice and ideas
• Strengthen emotional intelligence and intercultural awareness through affective engagement with multimodal texts

Whether you’re teaching in a secondary school, university or adult education context, Film English lesson plans offer a dynamic, research-informed pathway to meaningful language learning. Join thousands of teachers worldwide who are transforming their classrooms with the Multimodal Approach and helping their students learn English—and live through English—more fully.