Success

Language level: Intermediate (B1) –

Upper Intermediate (B2)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 90 minutes
Activity: Talking about success,
watching a short film, and reading
Topic: Success
Language: Vocabulary related to success
Materials: Short film and transcript
Overview

This EFL lesson is designed around a short film by

Lara Lee for The School of Life titled Success,
and the theme of the nature of success. Students
talk about success, watch a short film, and
read a transcript.

Step 1

Write “success” on the board. Elicit its meaning,

its verb form - to succeed - and its adjective
form – successful – forms.

Step 2

Pair your students and ask them to discuss what

success means to them.

Step 3

Get feedback from the whole class and write up

some of their ideas.

Step 4

Tell your students they are going to watch a short

film about success. As they watch they should try
to understand what the narrator says about the
nature of success, and to compare the narrator’s
definition of success with their own.

Show the film.

Success

Link: https://vimeo.com/134134439

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 2

Step 5

Get feedback from the students on how the

narrator’s view of success compares with their
own.

Step 6

Tell your students they are going to watch the

film again. This time their task is to listen for
examples of what success is according to the
narrator.

Show the film again.

Step 7

Elicit some of the examples such as:

 Listening to a child.
 Filling your mind with interesting things.
 Knowing when to put your arm around someone.
Get your students to discuss whether they think
these things are really examples of success.

Step 8

Give your students the transcript and ask them to

read it. Help them with vocabulary. Ask them if
they agree with the narrator’s point of view.

Step 9
Success

Pair your students and ask them to tell their

partner what they think they are a success at in
their lives.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 3

Step 10

Hold a plenary session based on what students

consider themselves to be successes at.

Homework

Give students this link to a video in which the

writer Alain de Botton, who is also the narrator
of the Success short film, examines our ideas of
success and failure. For homework students should
watch the video and in the following class discuss
the ideas in it.

Link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_a_kinder_
gentler_philosophy_of_success?language=en

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

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Success

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 4