esl lesson social media

Topic: Social Media

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Social Media

“Everyone is living for everyone else now. They’re doing stuff so they can tell other people about it.” Karl Pilkington, British TV presenter

Home » Social Media

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LESSON OVERVIEW

This free ESL lesson plan on social media has been designed for adults and young adults at an intermediate (B1/B2) to advanced (C1/C2) level and should last around 45 to 60 minutes for one student.

Social media has given people the opportunity to connect with friends and other people from all corners of the world. It has played a huge role in globalisation and the flow of information. But has this really been to the benefit of humanity? Many people blame social media for a breakdown in communication and relationships, and others say that instead of bringing us closer together, it is actually making us feel lonelier and more despressed. In this ESL lesson plan on social media, students will have the opportunity to discuss and express their opinions on issues such as their favourite social networks, how they use them and what problems are associated with social media.

This lesson plan could also be used with your students to debate these issues for World Social Media Day , which takes place in June. For more lesson plans on international days and important holidays, see the calendar of world days to plan your classes for these special occasions.

For advice on how to use this English lesson plan and other lesson plans on this site, see the guide for ESL teachers .

PRE-CLASS ACTIVITIES

Reading activity Before the English class, send the following article to the students and ask them to read it while making a list of any new vocabulary or phrases they find (explain any the students don’t understand in the class):

CNN | A child drove 200 miles to meet a stranger. Here’s how to make sure your kid doesn’t do the same

The article raises the issue of an 11-year-old boy who drove across his state to meet a man he had met on social media. The article goes on to give parents advice on how to protect their children from threats on social media such as inappropriate content, fake friends, cyberbullying, social network addiction and scams. At the start of the class, hold a brief discussion about what the students thought about the article. What do they think about the issues raised in the article? Do they agree with what was said? Can they think of any other ways to keep children safe on the internet and on social networks?

Video activity To save time in class for the conversation activities, the English teacher can ask the students to watch the video below and answer the listening questions in Section 3 of the lesson plan at home. There are intermediate listening questions and advanced listening questions so teachers can decide which would be more appropriate for their students. Check the answers in the class.

The video for this class is called “Can social media use cause depression?” by CNN which discusses new research that has found a link between social media and feelings of depression and loneliness.

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES

The focus in the class is on conversation in order to help improve students’ fluency and confidence when speaking in English as well as boosting their vocabulary.

This lesson opens with a short discussion about the article the students read before the class. Next, the students can give their opinion on the quote at the beginning of the lesson plan – what they think the quote means and if they agree with it. This is followed by an initial discussion on the topic including what the students like most about social media, what they like to share or see shared by their friends, and how social media has changed the way we live our lives.

After this, students will learn some vocabulary connected with social media such as go viral , trend and troll . This vocabulary has been chosen to boost the students’ knowledge of less common vocabulary that could be useful for preparing for English exams like IELTS or TOEFL. The vocabulary is accompanied by a cloze activity and a speaking activity to test the students’ comprehension of these words.

If the students didn’t watch the video before the class, they can watch it after the vocabulary section and answer the listening questions. Before checking the answers, ask the students to give a brief summary of the video and what they thought about the content.

Finally, there is a more in-depth conversation about social networks. In this speaking activity, students will talk about issues such as the negative effects social media has had on society, how social networks might be considered dangerous, and what safety advice they would give to people using social media.

After the class, students will write about their opinion of social media. This could be a short paragraph or a longer piece of writing depending on what level the student is at. The writing activity is designed to allow students to practise and improve their grammar with the feedback from their teacher. For students who intend to take an international English exam such as IELTS or TOEFL, there is an alternative essay question to practise their essay-writing skills.

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38 Social network English ESL worksheets pdf & doc

All about Social Media

Get Full Access to download this Handout or Free Access to download a selection of handouts to teach in your English classes.

This is a vocabulary and discussion based Handout. Students are introduced to modern vocabulary used when talking about social media and social networking on the Internet.

Vocabulary introduced in this Handout trending, influencer, DM, viral, clickbait, YouTuber, apps, likes, tweet, troll, meme, TikTok.

Formal and Informal Verbs

How Beer is Made

Introducing your Company

Like, Be like, and Look like

Reported Speech using Asked, If, and Whether

Reported Speech with Say and Tell

Talking about your Company

The House of the Future

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Social Media ESL Worksheets, Activities and Games

ESL Social Media Worksheet- Speaking Activity: Discussion, Communicative Practice - Vocabulary, Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Unscrambling, Writing Posts - Pre-intermediate (A2) - 25 minutes

Hashtag Dominoes

Esl social media game - vocabulary: matching - group work - pre-intermediate (a2) - 20 minutes.

Posts and Replies

Esl social media activity - vocabulary, grammar and writing: unscrambling, matching, writing short replies - group and pair work - pre-intermediate (a2) - 25 minutes.

Find Someone Who...

Esl social media activity - speaking: gap-fill, asking and answering questions from prompts, controlled and freer practice - intermediate (b1) - 30 minutes.

Social Media Vocabulary

Esl social media worksheet - vocabulary exercises: listing, binary choice, matching, gap-fill - speaking activities: asking and answering questions, freer practice - pair work - intermediate (b1) - 30 minutes.

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Breaking News English Lesson on Social Media

Home | help this site, social media 'destroying how society works' (14th december, 2017).

The Reading / Listening - Social Media - Level 3

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a long break from social media so they can experience real life. He wants people to value each other instead of valuing online "hearts, likes, and thumbs-up". Palihapitiya also points out how fake news is affecting how we see the world. It is becoming easier for large websites to spread lies. It is also becoming easier to hurt other people online. Anyone can hide behind a fake user name and post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a global problem. He is worried about social media so much that he has banned his children from using it. However, he did state that Facebook was a good company. He said: "Of course, it's not all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly does good in the world."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Social Media - Level 0 , Social Media - Level 1 or Social Media - Level 2

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

"Much has been said and written on the utility of newspapers; but one principal advantage which might be derived from these publications has been neglected; we mean that of reading them in schools." The Portland Eastern Herald (June 8, 1795)

"News is history in its first and best form, its vivid and fascinating form, and...history is the pale and tranquil reflection of it." Mark Twain, in his autobiography (1906)

"Current events provide authentic learning experiences for students at all grade levels.... In studying current events, students are required to use a range of cognitive, affective, critical thinking and research skills." Haas, M. and Laughlin, M. (2000) Teaching Current Events: It's Status in Social Studies Today.

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities, and more.

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--> 1. SOCIAL MEDIA: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about social media. Change partners often and share your findings. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life? executive / social media / president / number / users / feeling guilty / social networks a long break / real life / online likes / websites / user name / global problem / fake Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently. 3. OVERWHELMINGLY GOOD: Students A strongly believe social networks are overwhelmingly good; Students B strongly believe social networks are overwhelmingly bad. Change partners again and talk about your conversations. 4. SOCIAL MEDIA: What are the good and bad things about social media? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote. Good Bad Communication News Ego Romance Education Bullying MY e-BOOK See a sample 5. FACEBOOK: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "Facebook". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. 6. ADVANTAGES: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest advantages of social media at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings. getting advice shopping sharing music seeing family photos making friends keeping in touch getting advice up-to-date news Vocabulary Paragraph 1 1. former a. All of the people living together in a country. 2. executive b. Being something, being in a job or being in a role before, but not now. 3. harm c. Feeling bad about something you have done to other people (or to yourself). 4. responsible d. A top manager in a business or organization. 5. guilty e. Having a duty to do something or do a job. 6. destroying f. Damage or hurt the health of someone or something. 7. society g. Damaging something so it is totally broken. Paragraph 2 8. break h. A rest or a pause to stop something for a short time. 9. value i. Very, very, very strongly. 10. thumbs-up j. Think about how important someone or something is. 11. fake k. Stopped something from happening or stopped people from doing something. 12. lies l. A sign that something is great by showing a thumb pointing upwards. 13. banned m. A thing that is not real but is made to look like the real thing. 14. overwhelmingly n. Things that people say that they know are not true. Before reading / listening 1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F). An ex-Facebook boss said social media is damaging society. T / F The ex-boss feels guilty about getting more people to use social media. T / F The ex-boss said social media does not change our behaviour. T / F People message each other today instead of talking face to face. T / F The ex-boss said people would benefit from a break from social media. T / F The ex-boss suggested liking online likes is a thing we need to do more. T / F It is becoming more difficult for big websites to spread fake news. T / F The ex-boss said Facebook is "overwhelmingly bad". T / F 2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article. executive harm increasing wait sad experience value lies break overwhelmingly hold on unhappy face untruths damage appreciate boss hugely growing rest 3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.) social media is doing great he feels very people talked to each other care about what other people They get very sad if people do people should take a long break valuing online hearts, likes, and Anyone can hide behind a fake user he has banned his Facebook overwhelmingly does name and post lies think of them good in the world harm to society thumbs-up face to face children from using it guilty not like the photo from social media Gap fill Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below. behavior guilty joined post executive social message increasing

A former Facebook (1) ____________ has said social media is doing great harm to society around the world. The executive is a man called Chamath Palihapitiya. He (2) ____________ Facebook in 2007 and became a vice president. He was responsible for (3) ____________ the number of users Facebook had. Mr Palihapitiya said he feels very (4) ____________ about getting more people to use (5) ____________ networks. He said the networks are destroying society because they are changing people's (6) ____________. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other face to face. Today, people (7) ____________ each other and do not talk. People also really care about what other people think of them. They (8) ____________ photos and wait to see how many people like the photo. They get very sad if people do not like the photo.

fake user banned break good lies value global

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a long (9) ____________ from social media so they can experience real life. He wants people to (10) ____________ each other instead of valuing online "hearts, likes, and thumbs-up". Palihapitiya also points out how (11) ____________ news is affecting how we see the world. It is becoming easier for large websites to spread (12) ____________. It is also becoming easier to hurt other people online. Anyone can hide behind a fake (13) ____________ name and post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a (14) ____________ problem. He is worried about social media so much that he has (15) ____________ his children from using it. However, he did state that Facebook was a good company. He said: "Of course, it's not all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly does (16) ____________ in the world."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) A former Facebook executive has said social media is doing ______ society a. great harmful to b. great harms to c. great harmed to d. great harm to

2) He was responsible for increasing the ______ Facebook had a. number of users b. number of abusers c. number of fusers d. number of fuses

3) the networks are destroying society because they are changing ______ a. people's behavioral b. people's behaviorally c. people's behaving d. people's behavior

5) They get very sad if people do not ______ a. like them photo b. like then photo c. like the photo d. like these photo

6) Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a long ______ media a. break from social b. breaks from socially c. broke from social d. break from socially

7) He wants people to value each other instead of ______ hearts a. value in online b. valuing on line c. valuing on lines d. valuing online

8) It is becoming easier for large websites ______ a. to spread lives b. to spread lays c. to spread lies d. to spread ails

9) He is worried about social media so much that he has ______ a. binned his children b. banned his children c. band his children d. bond his children

10) it's not all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly ______ the world a. does good in b. does goodly in c. does goodness in d. does goods in

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A former Facebook executive has said social media is (1) ___________________ to society around the world. The executive is a man called Chamath Palihapitiya. He joined Facebook in 2007 and became a vice president. He was responsible for increasing the (2) ___________________ Facebook had. Mr Palihapitiya said he (3) ___________________ about getting more people to use social networks. He said the networks are destroying society because they are changing people's behavior. Twenty years ago, people talked to each (4) ___________________ face. Today, people message each other and do not talk. People also really care about what other people (5) ___________________. They post photos and wait to see how many people like the photo. They get very (6) ___________________ do not like the photo.

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a (7) ___________________ social media so they can experience real life. He wants people to value each other instead of valuing online "hearts, likes, (8) ___________________". Palihapitiya also points out (9) ___________________ is affecting how we see the world. It is becoming easier for large websites to spread lies. It is also becoming (10) ___________________ other people online. Anyone can hide behind a fake user name and post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was (11) ___________________. He is worried about social media so much that he has banned his children from using it. However, he did state that Facebook was a good company. He said: "Of course, it's (12) ___________________. Facebook overwhelmingly does good in the world."

Comprehension questions

Multiple choice quiz

6) What did Chamath Palihapitiya want people to experience? a) jet coaster rides b) virtual reality c) real life d) true love

7) Who does Chamath Palihapitiya want people to value? a) poor people b) him c) Facebook staff d) each other

8) What did Chamath Palihapitiya say is affecting how we see the world? a) fake news b) a website c) CNN d) digital glasses

9) Who did Chamath Palihapitiya ban from using social media? a) his children b) bad people c) his boss d) his wife

10) What did Mr Palihapitiya say "overwhelmingly does good in the world"? a) the United Nations b) Facebook c) the Internet d) rain

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'social' ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ and 'media' . ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.

• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text: