Summary
This ESL lesson for B1 English students explores Bucket lists and ambitions. Using a real video as the basis for discussion, students develop reading and listening comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar skills across a 90-minute class.
The grammar focus is Expressing desires: 'want to' and 'would like to'. Key vocabulary includes bucket list (noun), roller coaster (noun), backpacking (verb (gerund)) and more, all drawn directly from the source material. The practical English section gives students useful phrases for real-life situations: You are talking with a friend about things you want to do together in the future, like planning a trip or a new hobby..
Activities
- A warm-up discussion to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking about the topic before watching or reading.
- Comprehension exercises based on the video to check understanding of the main ideas and key details.
- A grammar focus on Expressing desires: 'want to' and 'would like to'. In English, we use 'want to + infinitive' to talk about our desires and intentions. It's very common in everyday speech.
- Vocabulary expansion with advanced expressions related to Bucket lists and ambitions not found in the source material.
- Practical English phrases for You are talking with a friend about things you want to do together in the future, like planning a trip or a new hobby., with exercises to practise using them naturally.
- A speaking task where students role-play a real-world scenario, applying vocabulary and phrases from the lesson.
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Well this is something that should be a lot harder than it is currently, but like, punching a Nazi in the face.
(soft music)
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- My bucket list?
- My bucket list?
- A bucket list?
- Ah, boy, let's see.
- I always wanted to, like, go and ride a whole bunch of roller coasters from around the United States.
- I wanna do Burlesque one day.
- Learn how to swing dance.
- I'd like to get a tattoo.
- I wanna ride a donkey down the Grand Canyon. I think that would be a fun adventure.
- Have an orgy.
- [Man] Own an orchard?
- No, have an orgy.
- [Man] Oh, have an orgy.
(laughing)
- I would like a foursome. Ghetto, like, hood rat, business woman, like a older cougar, freak.
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Really wanna be in a bar fight.
- I wanna break a law.
- I would like to see a million dollars. I wanna touch it. I wanna bathe in it.
- I wanna be in a Fast and Furious movie.
- Be a movie star.
- Like to make a, - Big Hollywood, - Movie one day. With Michael B. Jordan, Taraji P. Henson, and David Boreanaz.
- I have strange ones, like I have this whole list of celebrity females that I wanna get a picture of getting kissed on the cheek by.
- I wanna meet Will Farrell.
- Bette Middler.
- Jackie Chan. - Yoko Ono.
- I wanna touch Nicki Minaj's butt.
- Be in a Justin Bieber music video.
- Make out with Jason Momoa.
- [Man] Is he single?
- No, he has a wife. So it's sad.
- [Man] I mean, they might be open.
- Yeah.
- I really wanna go backpacking in Outer Mongolia.
- Traveling to Paris.
- The Great Wall of China.
- Spain. - Greece.
- I wanna see, like, the crystal blue waters and, like, the buildings and the cliff-side.
- Really, really, really badly.
- I've never been.
- I wanna live in New York. I wanna live in Manhattan.
- Try, like, all the different food and just, like, see all the different shit.
- Seeing the Seven Wonders before they're all gone.
- Ride across the Czech Republic on a motorcycle. That's my thing.
- [Man] Why the Czech Republic?
- Dracula country.
- [Woman] What's on your bucket list?
- I wanna perform somewhere.
- Maybe, like, Lollapalooza or some type of crazy event.
- Perform in a well known play.
- Publish a successful book.
- I really wanna go LARPing. Being surrounded by castles in, like, some Renaissance gear and just tackling the next person that I see like a princess or something.
- Well I wanna try 'shrooms.
- I've always wanted to build a time machine.
- Probably get a colonic.
- Hang gliding naked over a volcano.
- Touch lava.
- Touch a penis.
- Touch a polar bear.
- Touch a shark.
- Get locked in a cage with every big cat.
- Get as close to the animals as I can but not die.
(laughing)
- [Man] What's on your bucket list?
- Seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers is number one. I love them.
- I really wanna go to Korea and get tattooed.
- Tea in China.
- Tea ceremony in Japan.
- Parasailing in Peru.
- Go to space.
- I wanna go to Michael Jackson's Neverland.
- I wanna go to London to visit Amy Winehouse's grave.
- And drive on the wrong side of the road.
- I wanna go to Alaska.
- See the Northern Lights.
- Go to every major tennis Grand Slam.
- Travel the world.
- Trying to put a piece of gum on all of the world wonders.
- I want to see Niagara Falls again. Dad took me there when I was young.
- I want to own my own business.
- I wanna buy a house.
- I wanna get married.
- Yeah, I would love to get married.
- Having kids.
- That'd be dope, like have two minions of me.
- I want to own and operate, - A farm full of animals - Start an orphanage.
- Swim with dolphins. Like on its back, like, you know what I'm saying?
- I wanna have a cat room in my house.
- I wanna own a otter. His name would be Felix.
- Do a crazy stunt, like, maybe like jumping out of a car.
- Fly, like, a jet fighter.
- Go fast. Really fast.
- I really wanna jump off the tallest building in Dubai.
- I wanna try scuba diving. Cause I'm just terrified of water and I really wanna get over it.
- I wanna cross one of the scariest bridges in the world.
- Skinny dipping.
- Being in one of those clear pools.
- Swim through something that isn't water, like kool-aid, like pudding, like syrup.
- Run a marathon.
- Hike to the back of the Hollywood sign.
- Hike the Pacific Coast trail. That's the one that goes from California up to B.C.
- I do wanna climb a mountain but I don't want to actually climb. I just wanna appear at the top cause I've seen people climb mountains and that's shit's not for me.
- I've never really thought about this. I like, really scared of my mortality so I never, like, think about, like, well what if I die?
- I don't wanna die. Is that an option? Does it have to be?
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces B1-level words and phrases related to Bucket lists and ambitions. Key terms include bucket list (noun), roller coaster (noun), backpacking (verb (gerund)), cliff-side (noun), hang gliding (noun). Students practise using these terms in context through exercises drawn from the source material.
Grammar focus
This lesson focuses on Expressing desires: 'want to' and 'would like to'. In English, we use 'want to + infinitive' to talk about our desires and intentions. It's very common in everyday speech.
Bucket lists and life goals
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