How to spot a liar
Lesson plan overview
This ESL worksheet explores the topic of lying: why people lie and how to spot a liar. Students learn relevant vocabulary and phrasal verbs, watch a video and have plenty of opportunities to speak about the topic. You can also take a look at the lesson “How to avoid job scams“.
Vocabulary: the worksheet starts with an initial discussion which reinforces the vocabulary from the pre-class video. Students answer a few questions and practise relevant phrases (pull a sickie, a white lie, harmless). Then students learn phrasal verbs related to lying (get away with, give you away, fall for, look out for) by matching the 2 halves of a sentence. The next vocabulary activity pre-teaches words from the video (cue, debunk, misconception). The vocabulary part of the lesson concludes with a practice activity: students complete the questions given with words and expressions from the lesson and then discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.
Listening: In a pre-listening discussion students talk about the tell-tale signs of someone lying. After that they watch a video “How to spot a liar” and complete a multiple-choice exercise and a note-taking exercise. In a post -viewing discussion, students share their opinions about the video and other related questions.
Functional language and speaking practice: Students learn different ways to say “I don’t believe you” and then role-play 4 different situations in order to practise the target vocabulary.
Homework: 3 research topics are suggested which aim to develop the topic further. The topics, combined with the additional resources provided on theenglishflows.com provide plenty of extra opportunities for contact with topic-related vocabulary in order to reinforce and enrich it
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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:
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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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