On a diet

The objective

To discuss dieting and health and decide on the best plan for someone who wants to lose weight

The language

Imperatives: eat, do, run, exercise

Modals: You should..., I would..., You could...

Conditionals: If you run for 30 minutes each day, you will lose one kilo.

The set-up

Discussing weight can be a sensitive issue. Yet it´s a very conversation many have, and you´ll be surprised at how motivated your students will be to discuss the issue. One way we can still talk about it without discussing weight specifically, is to do the following:

The low-down

Tell students that you would like to lose some weight (a kilo or two?) in the next seven days (you could give a specific reason, such as fitting into a dress or going to the beach) but so far you haven´t been able to do it properly (if you´re obviously really skinny already then say it´s your partner or someone else who wants to lose the weight). Ask the class if they have any suggestions. (Here you should get some input but like with any open class discussions, if you don´t feel like people are responding, put them into pairs.) As you get feedback, put the ideas on the board. Next, put students into groups of 3 or 4 and ask them to come up with a seven-day plan for you to lose a kilo or two. Their plans should include both diet and exercise suggestions for each day.

Now what?

Write the question "Would this work for me?" on the board. Invite groups to present their plans to the class. While the class listens, they should be thinking about this question. After each group finishes their proposal, give groups 2 minutes to discuss the above question. Then in feedback, choose a student or two to respond. Move on to the next group and repeat.

Time to teach

Grammar-wise, this isn´t a complicated lesson. So probably your focus will be on vocabulary, phrases or word-chunks. If you note down enough vocabulary they had trouble with, try this activity: write the words on the board and ask students to work in pairs to write a text which begins with "I never usually...." using as many words as they can or all the words from the board. When they finish, call on one or two of the best to read theirs out loud.

More talk-time

Are you healthy? Why or why not?

What have you had to eat today? Was it all healthy?

What´s the best way to lose weight, in your opinion?

What are the worst things to eat, in your opinion?