This free ESL lesson plan on the home has been designed for adults and young adults at an intermediate (B1/B2) to advanced (C1/C2) level and should last around 45 to 60 minutes for one student.
Home is sweet, it’s where the heart is, and there’s no place like it. Some people may disagree, depending on their particular home. Your home is where you live or where you’re from. It is one of the most important locations in the world. It’s where we go to feel safe and comfortable. Some people work hard all their lives to create their perfect home; others, despite their hard work, are no longer afforded that luxury due to rising house prices and rising interest rates making it extremely difficult for the current generation to own a house. In this ESL lesson plan on the home, students will have the opportunity to discuss and express their opinions on issues such as the difference between a house and a home, what makes a perfect home, and the different places people call home.
This lesson plan could also be used with your students to debate these issues for World Habitat Day, which takes place in October. For more lesson plans on international days and important holidays, see the calendar of world days to plan your classes for these special occasions.
For advice on how to use this English lesson plan and other lesson plans on this site, see the guide for ESL teachers.
PRE-CLASS ACTIVITIES
Reading activity
Before the English class, send the following article to the students and ask them to read it while making a list of any new vocabulary or phrases they find (explain any the students don’t understand in the class):
CNBC | Millennials and Gen Zers do want to buy homes—they just can’t afford it, even as adults
Owning a house has always been part of the American Dream. Baby boomers lived that dream thanks to a high supply of affordable housing; younger generations have not been so fortunate. The article gives some of the reasons why this has happened. What do they think about the issues raised in the article? Do they agree with what was said? Can they think of any ways they might disagree with the content of the article?
Video activity
To save time in class for the conversation activities, the English teacher can ask the students to watch the video below and answer the listening questions in Section 3 of the lesson plan at home. The questions for the video are styled in a way similar to an exam like the IELTS.
The video for this class is a called “10 Incredible Houses You Won’t Believe Exist” by Top 5 Best which looks at some weird and wonderful houses around the world.
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
The focus in the class is on conversation in order to help improve students’ fluency and confidence when speaking in English as well as boosting their vocabulary.
This lesson opens with a short discussion about the article the students read before the class. Next, the students can give their opinion on the quote at the beginning of the lesson plan – what they think the quote means and if they agree with it. This is followed by an initial discussion on the topic including why the students live where they do, why people move house, and whether it is better to have a house in the city or in the countryside.
After this, students will learn some vocabulary connected with the home such as mortgage, chores/housework and home improvements. This vocabulary has been chosen to boost the students’ knowledge of less common vocabulary that could be useful for preparing for English exams like IELTS or TOEFL. The vocabulary is accompanied by a cloze activity and a speaking activity to test the students’ comprehension of these words.
If the students didn’t watch the video before the class, they can watch it after the vocabulary section and answer the listening questions. Before checking the answers, ask the students to give a brief summary of the video and what they thought about the content.
Finally, there is a more in-depth conversation about political ideologies. In this speaking activity, students will talk about issues such as the types of houses common in their countries, apartments vs houses, and how the homes of the future will be.
HOMEWORK
After the class, students will write about their opinion of the home. This could be a short paragraph or a longer piece of writing depending on what level the student is at. The writing activity is designed to allow students to practise and improve their grammar with the feedback from their teacher. For students who intend to take an international English exam such as IELTS or TOEFL, there is an alternative essay question to practise their essay-writing skills.
