Tony

Abiera
INTR 619
Assignment #6
12/9/15

Context:
This lesson is for an ESP class in China. This class is specifically a business English class. These
students are all adult learners at an intermediate mid to intermediate high level of English
proficiency. These learners have been in the business field for a while now, but are hoping to
improve their English language skills to communicate better for international business
purposes. This media sample also contains different accents of English (or even varieties of
World Englishes) to give these students practice with the type of communication they will most
certainly encounter on the job.

Objectives:
Students will be able to learn key idioms and vocabulary phrases related to
renting/owning a home or apartment.
Students will be able to listen for details.
Students will be able to improve their critical thinking skills through listening.

Lesson Plan:

1. Intro discussion/preview (5 minutes)
a. Partner discussion: Discuss your current living situation. Where do you live? Do
you rent or do you own a house?
i. Have each student jot down notes about their partners answers for the
group discussion following.
b. Group Discussion: Call on students to report on their partners current living
situation.
c. Pull up audio clip from http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer076/T093-Rent.htm

2. Input (6 minutes)
a. Play the five interviews all together once and have the students take detailed
notes on each persons answers.
i. Hand-out: graphic organizer with people in favor of renting and people in
favor of owning a house. Have them fill in details for each person.
b. Play the clip a second time, not as a whole, but each interview separately for
increased comprehension

3. Language (10 minutes)
a. Explanation of idioms
i. Teach the new vocabulary and idioms. Write these phrases on the board
and first ask students what they think the definition is based on the
context of the audio clip. This will help with critical thinking skills. Finally,
give complete definition with other examples for usage.
(http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer076/T093-Rent.htm)
1. Settling down

2.
3.
4.
5.

Pay up front
Goes nowhere
Throwing money away
Tied to one place

Tony Abiera
INTR 619
Assignment #6
12/9/15

4. Content (3 minutes)
a. Comprehension test
i. Answer the following questions about the interview.
a. Lindsay ____ her own home
i. wants to own
ii. can not imagine owning
iii. used to own
b. Chris thinks it is best to ____ a home.
i. rent
ii. own
iii. sell
c. Now, Maiko _______ her home.
i. owns
ii. rents
iii. is building
d. Amir thinks owning is _____ better.
i. usually
ii. never
iii. always
e. Lori thinks you should ______ .
i. tie up your money
ii. throw your money away
iii. not become house poor
f. Eoin would rather ______ currently.
i. own a home
ii. lease a home
iii. rent a home
ii. Go through test answers together as a class and talk about the reasons
why each person held these opinions.
5. Task (6 minutes)
i. Group discussion. Have the students think critically to decide whether it
is best to rent or buy in their specific situation. Make sure students give
reasons using new vocabulary and idioms.