Why Some People Are Always Late

Lesson Summary

This Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1) ESL lesson plan is designed around the short video Why Some People Are Always Late and the themes of punctuality and habitual lateness.

Students explore why some people struggle to arrive on time and consider how personality, time perception, social expectations, deadlines and daily habits can influence punctuality. They learn vocabulary related to time, personality and behaviour, discuss a quotation about punctuality and share their own experiences and opinions.

Students predict the content of the video, watch and analyse it, answer comprehension questions and reflect on its key ideas. They also perform a roleplay about habitual lateness and its effect on a friendship.

The lesson includes the article How to Break the Habit of Always Being Late. Students read the article, answer comprehension questions, discuss eight practical strategies for improving punctuality and write about what they have learned.

Learning Objectives

• To introduce students to the concepts of punctuality and habitual lateness.
• To expand vocabulary related to time, personality and behaviour.
• To develop viewing, listening and reading comprehension skills.
• To develop writing skills through reflection and creative tasks.
• To improve speaking skills through discussion and roleplay.
• To develop critical thinking and visual representing skills.

Lesson Activities

• Discussing punctuality and habitual lateness.
• Exploring and responding to a quotation.
• Predicting the content of a short video.
• Watching and analysing a short video.
• Answering video comprehension questions.
• Learning and practising new vocabulary.
• Performing a roleplay about repeated lateness.
• Reading an article about improving punctuality.
• Answering article comprehension questions.
• Discussing practical strategies for arriving on time.
• Completing speaking and writing activities.
• Reflecting on the lesson.

Learner Type

Mature teens and adults.

Language Focus

Vocabulary related to time, punctuality, personality, behaviour, deadlines, organisation and habit formation.

Language Level

Upper Intermediate (B2) to Advanced (C1).

Lesson Time

90–120 minutes.

Watch the short video.

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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
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• Promote social-emotional learning (SEL)
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Benefits for Learners:

• Develop communicative competence and confidence through integrated skill-building
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• Think critically and creatively while exploring powerful social and emotional themes
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