LESSON OVERVIEW

Do you have the world at your feet? In this lesson, students will explore talent and success, along with activities they enjoy doing. The lesson features a video about a barista artist showcasing their skills. Students will learn and practice relevant vocabulary and idioms related to the topic. The lesson includes plenty of lively discussions and practical worksheets that are suitable and appealing for both adults and youth, ensuring an engaging and inspiring learning experience.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Listening: Students will listen to a video about a talented barista artist discussing his unexpected rise to fame. This activity will help enhance their ability to comprehend detailed explanations and narratives in English, focusing on vocabulary and idiomatic expressions related to personal success and creativity.

• Speaking: Students will participate in discussion activities where they express their views on hobbies and personal achievements. They’ll use newly learned vocabulary and idioms to articulate personal experiences and opinions about what drives success in various fields.

• Vocabulary: Key terms and idioms related to passions and hobbies will be introduced, such as “go viral,” “overnight success,” and “find your audience.” Students will learn how these expressions apply in real-world contexts, particularly in creative and entrepreneurial endeavors.

• Cultural Awareness: Through the video and discussions, students will explore how different cultures view success and personal development. They will discuss how personal passions can be turned into successful careers, and how different societal values influence these paths.

• Homework: Students will complete various tasks to reinforce their learning from the lesson. These tasks will include true or false questions about the video content, filling in blanks with key vocabulary terms, and writing sentences that use the discussed idioms and expressions to reflect on their aspirations and career goals.

VIDEO

What are your passions? Are you successful? Watch this video to see a talented barista artist go viral overnight with his accidental business idea.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

I’m Michael Breach, and I am a latté artist. I have always identified with art, and it’s always been a part of who I am. Even when I was a young child, I was always drawing. It’s almost like the world just said, you’re going to be an artist, and that’s what you do. My business started as a hobby. It was just something I did at work for fun. I was a barista at a hotel in Manhattan. One night, it was sort of an accident. I made a little latté art heart, and the heart was a bit off. So, I sort of just drew a little face in it using a bar skewer. And when I went to post it on Facebook, it tagged it as a person. So, I sort of had this light bulb go off in my head. The first thing I did is go on GoDaddy and buy baristart.com because I had a good feeling. I did a video, and this video went viral online. And overnight, I get emails from people. It was like Today Show and Good Morning America. And at that time, I’m like sleeping on my friend’s couch, and then all this stuff happened to me really fast overnight. At first, it was very difficult to actually find my audience. I thought my audience would be baristas, coffee people. But funny enough, those were the people that didn’t like my work the least. I had a lot of people saying, why would you waste your time doing art on this foam. But I had 20,000 people following me at that time saying like, this is great. You should keep doing this. It made people happy. That’s sort of kind of what kept me going with it. I think GoDaddy helped put a level of trust into what I was doing, having that professionalism out there.

VOCABULARY AND PRONUNCIATION

• have the world at one’s feet [idiom]: to have complete control or influence over one’s circumstances or to be in a position of great power or opportunity
• talent [noun]: natural ability or skill in a particular area, such as art, music, or sports
• success [noun]: the achievement of one’s goals or objectives, often measured by accomplishment, wealth, or recognition
• barista artist [noun phrase]: a skilled person who creates visually appealing and expertly crafted coffee beverages
• be keen on something [phrasal verb]: to have a strong interest or enthusiasm for something
• find one’s audience [phrase]: to discover or identify the group of people who appreciate or are interested in one’s work, message, or performance
• waste one’s time [idiom]: to spend time on activities or pursuits that are not productive or beneficial
• go viral [idiom]: to rapidly gain widespread attention and popularity on the internet, typically through social media sharing
• identify with [phrasal verb]: to feel a connection or similarity with someone or something based on shared characteristics, experiences, or beliefs
• keep one going [phrase]: to provide motivation, inspiration, or support to continue pursuing a goal or enduring difficulties
• lightbulb goes off [idiom]: to suddenly understand or realize something, often used metaphorically to describe a moment of insight or clarity
• be into something [phrasal verb]: to have a strong interest or enthusiasm for something; to be involved in or enjoy something