Internships
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson plan deals with the topic of internships. Students will discuss the importance of internships, how to turn an internship into a job offer, and paid vs unpaid internships. They will also practice talking about their internships at a job interview. Other lessons you might like are: “Apprenticeships vs university”, “How to ace your job interview”, “How to avoid job scams”, “How to optimize your resume (CV)“, “Should you take a gap year?”, “Phrasal verbs: job interviews”, and “Dress for success”.
Speaking: The lesson starts with a few discussion questions related to how prepared young people are after finishing their education, and difficulties they are facing when trying to find a job. Next, they discuss different ways educational institutions could better support students for a successful transition to working life.
Vocabulary: Next, students learn how to talk about their internships at a job interview. They look at a few different answers, and learn words and expressions such as gain hands-on experience, gain industry insights, bring to the table, get a foot in the door. Then they complete the sentences with their own experiences and practice talking about their internships (if they’ve done any).
Next, students brainstorm what to do to turn their internship into a job offer.
Listening: Students watch a video called “How to turn an internship into a job offer”,and complete 2 listening comprehension activities. After that they engage in a post-listening discussion.
Speaking: Finally, students discuss a few controversial aspects of internships (unpaid internships, interns not being given meaningful tasks, etc.)
For more speaking practice, and to review key vocabulary from this lesson, you can use the conversation cards.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
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.
Unlock these resources with one of our subscription plans
Teacher’s lesson plan
Student’s worksheet
Student’s interactive PDF
Conversation cards PDF
Not sure yet?
Try one of our FREE lessons plans
Share this lesson plan with someone who will find it useful