LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this speaking lesson on adulthood are to:

• discuss adulthood from a critical perspective;
• watch a video on becoming an adult;
• share experiences and opinions.

Students talk about what it means to be an adult today, discuss their opinions and explore the challenges of adulthood. They watch a video about the transition into adulthood, read headlines and share their views on responsibilities, independence and societal expectations. Students also debate statements about adulthood, practise phrases for expressing opinions and engaging in discussions, and do an exercise where they talk about perceptions of adulthood for two minutes without stopping.

This is a Speaking Class worksheet. It includes a variety of tasks that let your students practise their speaking skills. This lesson format does not focus on grammar or vocabulary. Learn more about it here.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This speaking lesson on adulthood starts with a warm-up. Students choose things (e.g. their clothes, the opinions they express, their sense of humour) they believe are the clearest indicators of someone’s age and justify their choices. After that, they discuss questions about what defines adulthood and the factors that shape it. Next, students watch a video on adulthood and discuss whether they found anything surprising and whether the video has made them rethink anything from the previous task. Afterwards, they look at headlines (e.g. Extended Adolescence: When 25 is the new 18) and discuss what the articles might be about. Following that, students discuss questions about the articles from the previous task, the changing nature of adulthood and the challenges of “adulting” in modern society.

DISCUSSION

In this part of this speaking lesson on adulthood, students choose items from different groups (e.g. cooking meals every day, paying bills on time, maintaining a home (cleaning, fixing things), booking your own doctor’s appointments) that, in their opinion, show someone is a responsible adult. They explain their reasoning. Following that, students work in pairs to debate statements (e.g. There should be a legal age for using social media). One student argues in favour and the other argues against. They then switch roles. Students use phrases for expressing opinions and engaging in discussions (e.g. There’s little doubt in my mind that…). Finally, they choose one point from a list (e.g. adults playing teenagers in films) and talk about it for two minutes without stopping.