Health – Beyond the Basics
C1-Level English Lesson Plan: “Health – Beyond the Basics”
Time: 90 minutes
Focus: Vocabulary, discussion, critical thinking, listening
Skills: Speaking, listening, vocabulary use, functional language
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Use advanced vocabulary to talk about physical and mental health
- Express opinions about health-related topics using hedging and cautious language
- Respond to a podcast/audio segment about modern health trends
- Debate and defend opinions using formal argument structures
Warm-Up Discussion (10 min)
Prompt:
Ask students in pairs or small groups:
- How do you define “being healthy”?
- What are the differences between physical, mental, and social health?
- Has your idea of health changed over the years?
Follow-up: Share answers as a group. Write interesting or surprising answers on the board.
Vocabulary Input: Talking About Health (15 min)
Introduce and elicit/discuss the following high-level vocabulary:
- Holistic health
- Preventative care
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Burnout
- Mental resilience
- Wellness industry
- Chronic vs. acute conditions
- Overmedicalization
- Blue zones
Activity: Matching definitions, then short discussion:
- Which of these ideas are important in your culture? Which are overused or misunderstood?
Listening Activity: Health Trends (15–20 min)
Audio Source (Choose a real podcast or video, or use a transcript for offline use): e.g. BBC Health Check or TED Talk: “Why we all need to practice emotional first aid” by Guy Winch.
Tasks:
- While listening: What is the main argument?
- After listening: Which 2–3 supporting examples can you remember?
- Language focus: Listen for and underline hedging language (“It could be argued,” “Studies suggest,” “There may be…”)
Speaking Task: Health Controversies (25 min)
Set up a “Health Café” style debate. Each pair or small group gets a statement like:
- “Sugar should be taxed like tobacco.”
- “Mental health is more important than physical health.”
- “People are responsible for their own health, not the government.”
- “The wellness industry is doing more harm than good.”
Instructions:
- Prepare arguments for or against
- Use phrases like:
- “It’s commonly believed that…”
- “While it may be true that… I’d argue that…”
- “One counterpoint to consider is…”
Each group shares their opinion, and others react using diplomatic language.
Functional Language Focus: Expressing Opinions Carefully (10 min)
Focus on cautious, diplomatic phrases:
- “It appears that…”
- “To some extent…”
- “One might say that…”
- “There’s growing evidence to suggest…”
Activity: Rephrase these blunt opinions into more balanced ones.
Example:
- Blunt: “The wellness industry is a scam.”
- Diplomatic: “There’s a perception among some that the wellness industry may sometimes overpromise results.”
Wrap-Up and Homework (5 min)
Discussion prompt: What’s one thing you will do differently this week to improve your own health?
Speaking Task: Health Controversies
Discuss the following statements in pairs or small groups. Choose one and prepare a short response to present to the class.
- “Sugar should be taxed like tobacco.”
- “Mental health is more important than physical health.”
- “People are responsible for their own health, not the government.”
- “The wellness industry is doing more harm than good.”
Useful Phrases for Expressing Opinions:
- It could be argued that…
- There’s growing evidence to suggest…
- While it may be true that…
- One possible explanation is…
- I’m not entirely convinced that…
Functional Language Practice
Rephrase the blunt opinions below using more cautious and formal language.
- “The wellness industry is a scam.”
→ _______________________________________________________ - “People don’t care about their health anymore.”
→ _______________________________________________________ - “Doctors just want to make money.”
→ _______________________________________________________
Reflection & Homework
Reflection question:
What’s one small change you could make this week to improve your own health?
Homework idea:
Write a short opinion piece (200–250 words) on one of today’s discussion questions using at least 5 of the new vocabulary items and 3 hedging expressions.
Homework (Optional):
Write a short opinion paragraph (200–250 words) on one of today’s debate topics. Use at least 5 of the new vocabulary words and 3 hedging expressions.