This ESL lesson plan is about an issue a lot of cities are facing – gentrification. Students will talk about neighbourhoods, amenities, and the pros and cons of gentrification, as well as practice conjunctions and linking devices. It can be combined with the lessons “Carpooling and car sharing” and “Inflation and young people”.
The lesson starts with an initial discussion about affordable housing. Next, students look at different amenities and discuss which amenities they consider to be important when choosing an area to live.
Vocabulary: Students look at adjectives used to describe neighbourhoods and areas (booming, quaint, welcoming, run-down, shabby, bustling) and divide them into negative and positive. Next, they are asked to describe 2 different areas in their cities, using both positive and negative adjectives.
Next, students talk about gentrification and think about different pros and cons from the perspective of long-term residents, new residents, local businesses, etc. After that they read a short text about gentrification which introduces key vocabulary (be prices out, displace, unaffordable, evicted, undergo transformation, rent stabilisation). They match the words to their definitions and then complete a few sentences with their own ideas.
Listening: Students watch a video “The pros and cons of gentrification” and complete the notes given. After that they further discuss gentrification.
Grammar: Students look at a few sentences from the video and the use of the linking devices although, so as to, as, and lead to. They match the words to their usage. Then, they complete 4 sentences with the correct word. After that they use the linking words to talk about their own living situation.
Lastly, students role-play a meeting between different people affected by gentrification (home owners, tenants, city planners) and discuss possible concerns and solutions. You can combine this lesson with lessons about urban development and renewal, city planning and infrastructure, life in the city vs life in the countriside