Expressing regret and criticism: should have and shouldn't have

Summary

This ESL lesson plan is designed for B1 intermediate English students to practice expressing regret and criticism about past events. The lesson focuses on using the modal verb structures "should have" and "shouldn't have." Through a series of engaging activities, students will learn how to talk about past mistakes and what they wish they had done differently.

This lesson helps students build confidence in discussing common life experiences. The material includes a warm-up discussion, a listening comprehension exercise about weekend regrets, and a vocabulary matching task. These activities provide contextual practice for the target grammar and vocabulary, encouraging students to reflect on their own experiences and communicate them effectively in English.

Activities

• A warm-up discussion to get students talking about past mistakes, regrets, and the concept of self-criticism.
• A listening comprehension activity where students listen to a short audio and fill in the blanks in a blog post about someone's weekend mishaps.
• An interactive vocabulary matching exercise to learn and practice key terms related to regret and consequences, such as "procrastinate," "hindsight," and "missed opportunity."
• Integrated grammar practice focusing on "should have" and "shouldn't have" to express regret and criticism in the context of the listening activity.

My Weekend Regrets

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Vocabulary focus

The vocabulary section introduces essential words and phrases for discussing past mistakes and feelings. Key terms include "regret," "procrastinate," "consequences," "hindsight," and "missed opportunity." Students will also learn useful idioms like "kick yourself" and "dwell on" to express their feelings about past events more naturally.

Grammar focus

This lesson centers on using modal verbs in the past to express regret and criticism. The main structures are "should have + past participle" for things we wish we had done, and "shouldn't have + past participle" for things we wish we hadn't done. This grammar is practiced contextually through the listening and speaking activities.