Motivation
Lesson plan overview
This ESL lesson on motivation is designed for B2-level students and is suitable for both general English and business English classes. The lesson explores intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, goal-setting, and strategies for achieving success and sticking to habits. This lesson is related to goal-setting, achieving goals and sticking to habits. Other lessons you might like are: “New Year’s Resolutions”, “Self-confidence”, “Returning to work after a vacation”, “Dealing with setbacks and failure”, and “Phrasal verbs: motivation”.
Speaking: The lesson begins with a set of conversation questions about motivation and success, encouraging students to share personal experiences and opinions.
Vocabulary: Students take a look at a few statements that contain key vocabulary for this lesson related to motivation (e.g. stick to, power through, stay on task, perseverance, persistence, rewards). They match the words to their definitions and discuss which expressions are true for them. Next, they make sentences by matching the 2 halves given and complete the sentences so that they are true for them.
Listening: Students watch the video “How to Stay Motivated, According to Psychology”, completing three listening comprehension tasks to reinforce understanding. In a post-listening discussion, they reflect on the video’s ideas and relate them to their own experiences, fostering deeper engagement and critical thinking.
Functional language: Students learn expressions that are motivational phrases, encourage reflection, or provide practical tips. Then in pairs, they practise these expressions, using the situations given.
For more speaking opportunities and to review key vocabulary, 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
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In-class activities
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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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