Dealing with setbacks and failure
Lesson plan overview
This video-based lesson deals with the topic of setbacks, success and failure. It is mostly business-related, but it can be taught in a general English class as well. Students will learn interesting phrasal verbs and expressions, and will discuss various aspects of the topic. This lesson can be combined with the following video-based lessons: “Emotional intelligence in the workplace”, “Using sports psychology to improve our everyday lives”. “Dealing with a difficult co-worker”, “What is holding women back at work”, as well as the worksheets: “Phrasal verbs: success”, “Phrasal verbs: solving problems”, “Phrasal verbs: emotions”, “Idioms: challenges”, and “Idioms: ambition”.
The lesson starts with a few speaking activities. First, students are given a list of setbacks and are tasked with dividing them into setbacks experienced by an individual or by a company. Then they answer a few questions related to the setbacks. Next, they discuss different setbacks they’ve experienced in their lives (e.g. a minor setback, a legal setback, etc.). After that they are given sentences describing people who have tried something and have failed and need to guess the activity.
Vocabulary: Students learn a few expressions related to setbacks and failure that will later appear in the video (e.g. to hold a grudge, to move on, to do someone wrong, to get over something). After creating the expressions, students complete 7 sentences with the correct one, and then engage in a pre-listening discussion, which also serves as additional practice of the key vocabulary.
Listening: Students watch a video called “How successful people deal with setbacks”. The first time they watch the video, they answer 4 questions. The second time they watch the video, they fill the gaps with the words they hear. Finally, students engage in a post-listening discussion.
As a vocabulary review activity, students are asked to use 5 expressions from this lesson and write 5 sentences related to success and failure.
For more speaking practice, you can use the conversation cards.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Pre-class activities
All video-based ESL lesson plans include online pre-class activities, which are FREE and can be completed without registration. Perfect for teachers who wish to embrace the blended learning approach. By providing students with resources and engagement opportunities before the actual class session, educators can foster active participation, enhance comprehension, and optimise in-class discussions.
The pre-class activities are optional: if you choose not to assign them, or your students don’t complete them, it will not disturb the flow of the class. You can find and review the pre-class activities for this lesson plan here:
To send the pre-class activities to your students, copy the link below.
In-class activities
Additional resources
Each video-based lesson plan includes links to additional resources (videos and articles), which are FREE can be found online (in the pre-class activities page. These links aim to extend the learning experience, enabling students to connect classroom knowledge with real-world applications.
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Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
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