Imposter Syndrome

Lesson Summary:
This ESL video lesson plan for Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) learners explores self-doubt, impostor syndrome and their impact. Students expand vocabulary, develop critical thinking, practise comprehension, and engage in creative speaking and writing tasks.

Learning Objectives:
• To introduce students to the concepts of self-doubt, impostor syndrome and its impact
• To expand vocabulary related to impostor syndrome and personal development
• To develop viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills
• To improve speaking skills through discussion and roleplay
• To develop writing skills through creative tasks and use of new vocabulary
• To practise critical thinking through discussion and reflection
• To enhance visual representing skills through multimodal tasks

Lesson Activities:
• Vocabulary building on impostor syndrome and self-doubt
• Predicting the content of and viewing a short video
• Answering comprehension and analysis questions
• Discussing and interpreting quotations on impostor syndrome
• Reading and analysing the article The Hidden Benefits of Self-Doubt in Personal Growth
• Writing reflections based on video and article content
• Performing roleplay to practise new language
• Critical thinking and reflection activities

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

Language Focus:
• Vocabulary of self-doubt and impostor syndrome
• Personal development and critical thinking language
• Expressions for discussion, reflection and roleplay

Transform Your English Classroom with This Film English Multimodal Lesson

This ESL video 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
• 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.

Watch the short video.