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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

CHALLENGES

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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What achievements would you say you have made in your life?

2. When you want to achieve something, what do you do in order to prepare yourself for it?

3. What achievements do you hope to have in the future?

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2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the words to the definitions.

1. memorable (adj.) a. being very tired due to not having had enough rest for a
period of time
2. self-confidence (n) b. promise that something will happen in the future

3. nerd (n) c. being able to continue for a long period of time

4. sleep-deprived (adj.) d. being unusual or different and therefore easy to remember

5. sustainable (adj.) e. the quality of being certain about your abilities and skills

6. guarantee (v) f. a person who has an unusually strong interest in a particular

subject

Part B: Complete the following sentences with a part of speech from the same word family as the
Part A word in brackets.

1. Learning a foreign language, at some point, will require the of different

verb forms in order to be fluent. (memorable)

2. The contents of this email are and should not be shared with anyone
outside of the organisation. (self-confidence)

3. As a teenager, I was quite and spent most of my time drawing

comics featuring the characters from the Star Wars films that I loved so much. (nerd)

4. After travelling for over three days, I arrived in Moscow suffering from sleep
and desperate for a proper cooked meal. (deprived)

5. I’ve packed sandwiches and some bars of chocolate to give us during

the hike. (sustainable)

6. Even though I was well into my thirties when I bought my first house, my father had to act as
to help me secure the mortgage from the bank. (guarantee)

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3 Idioms, phrasal verbs and compound adjectives

Write down the meaning of the words in bold for each of the following sentences.

1. As a boy, I always thought that I would follow in the footsteps of my father and have my own
business.

2. I was always aware that when it came to the holidays, the days would always fly by in contrast to
my time at school which seemed to drag.

3. I’d always hoped to be an adventurer finding unknown places and forgotten civilisations instead
of some desk-dwelling employee.

4. I was in my twenties before I was able to figure out how to talk to women without stuttering and
sweating with embarrassment.

5. There are a lot of great sauces you can buy in the shops, but I prefer to make mine from scratch.

6. I thought getting to Paris would take ages, but it turns out it’s really quite easy.

7. I wasn’t convinced I would get the job, but I thought I would give it a shot and apply anyway.

4 Listening for details

Watch the video and decide if the following are mentioned (M) or not mentioned (NM).

1. The person who gave the presenter the idea for his challenges.

2. The speaker’s home town

3. Where the presenter went in Africa

4. The presenter’s opinion of the book he wrote.

5. If the presenter has been to Asia or not.

6. If the presenter has issues with weight or not

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5 Understanding the video

Watch the video again and decide which answer A - C is the best for each of the questions.

1. What does the presenter suggest 30 days is a good period of time for?

a. learning about a new subject that you know nothing about

b. starting a new behaviour that will be useful in meeting challenges

c. giving up negative habits or beginning positive ones

2. What did the presenter notice when he began?

a. He was much more aware of what he was doing during a particular time.

b. He found it much more challenging than he expected it to be.

c. He made a lot of new relationships while pursuing his goals.

3. What other change did the presenter notice in himself?

a. His productivity increased.

b. His stress levels went down.

c. He believed in his abilities more.

4. What discipline did the presenter acquire to complete his novel?

a. He read a wider range of books than before.

b. He wrote a set number of words each day.

c. He studied the art of narrative and storytelling.

5. When the presenter refers to himself as a novelist, he does it

a. with pride.

b. as a joke.

c. regretfully.

6. What type of challenges does the presenter suggest the audience take on?

a. achievable changes that make a difference

b. the type that creates a feeling of nervousness

c. challenges that involve meeting new people

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6 Skimming for gist

Match the following extracts a-f to gaps 1-5 in the article below. You will not need all of the extracts.

a. Taking a behaviour from very deliberate, to unconscious, takes time and a little bit of taking it
easy on yourself.

b. Numerous pieces have been written about giving up bad habits, but what should we do if we
want to pick up positive habits?

c. If it takes you a week to actually go for a run, but you start waking up at the required time, that’s
progress.

d. It’s this type of behaviour that frequently leads people to depression and worse.

e. But they are the highway to a habit.

f. If your desire to go to the gym is really, on closer analysis, driven by a desire to post pictures of
you working out on social media, you might not succeed.

Building habits
Routines backed by science

A. When it comes to how we spend our time, studies have shown that around half of the things we do each day are
governed by habits. From when we get up, to when and what we eat, to what we do just before bed and everything
in-between is driven by unconscious behaviours that we have acquired for better, or indeed worse. Given this
information, many will have thoughts flashing through their minds of times spent scrolling through social media,
or making that third coffee. Others will more proudly think of their regular exercise regime or their daily dedicated
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reading time. Clearly, habitual behaviour can involve the good as well as the bad.
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B. The bad news for those hoping for a quick fix is that there isn’t one. First, you
need to identify what behaviour you want to mimic and why. This is crucial as it needs to be authentic and serve
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you in some way, even if that way is making you serve others more effectively.
On the other hand, if the pleasure of hitting the shower after an intense session is your goal, then your motivation
may well last longer.

C. If you are planning something that is challenging to you, then lengthen the runway up to it. Maybe on January the
1st, you should plan to get up at the time you intend to go for a run, make a cup of coffee, and go back to bed.
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D. The important aspect of this is that you are beginning to create a routine. Routines are hard, they require discipline
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and doing things we don’t always want to do. People who run five miles a
day didn’t do it from day one. You need to accept that you’re not going to get there immediately either and you
will likely fail at times. But keeping at it is what counts. Slowly but surely, the amount of effort required to adapt
will fade and you’ll be left with an improved sense of wellbeing.

Sources: hbr.org, cnn.com, fullfocus.co

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CHALLENGES

7 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What negative habits do you have?

2. What positive habits have you adopted over the years?
3. What would you like to try doing for the 30 days?
4. What behaviours would you like to try and lose over 30 days?
5. What do you think you would find hard to stop doing? Why?
6. What would you personally find most difficult about starting a new positive habit?

8 Optional extension / homework

Write about either a habit you would like to acquire or a bad habit you’d like to try and stop over a
30-day period.

Consider the following questions:

• What is it you would like to achieve or stop?

• What actions would you have to take each day to do it that are different from what you do now?
• Why would you like to change?
• If you were successful, what impact would it have on your life?
• What difficulties do you think you might have in trying to do it for 30 days?
• What aspects do you think you might find easier?

You should:

• Write at least 150 words.

• Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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Transcripts

4. Listening for details

Matt Cutts: A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of
the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days.
The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you’ve always wanted to add
to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out, 30 days is just about the right
amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit – like watching the news – from
your life.

Matt Cutts: There’s a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges. The first was, instead
of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. This was part of
a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month. And I remember exactly where I
was and what I was doing that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder
30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew. I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd
to the kind of guy who bikes to work – for fun. Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mount
Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that adventurous
before I started my 30-day challenges.

Matt Cutts: I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for
30 days. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Every November, tens of thousands
of people try to write their own 50,000-word novel from scratch in 30 days. It turns
out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the
secret is not to go to sleep until you’ve written your words for the day. You might be
sleep-deprived, but you’ll finish your novel. Now is my book the next great American
novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It’s awful. But for the rest of my life, if I meet John
Hodgman at a TED party, I don’t have to say, "I’m a computer scientist." No, no, if I want
to, I can say, "I’m a novelist."

Audience: (Laughter)

Matt Cutts: So here’s one last thing I’d like to mention. I learned that when I made small, sustainable
changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There’s nothing wrong
with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they’re a ton of fun. But they’re less likely to stick.
When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.

Audience: (Laughter)

Matt Cutts: So here’s my question to you: What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30
days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you
have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This section introduces students to the ideas in the lesson and the video in particular. Ask the students to discuss
in pairs or small groups and if you have time, choose students to report back to the class on the conversations.

2. Focus on vocabulary

10 mins.
This section focuses on some of the higher level vocabulary used in the video which may be challenging. Ask
students to complete Part A unaided in the first instance, but allow them to use a reference later if needed. For
Part B, they are likely to need a reference. Be sure that students can correctly pronounce the target language.
Part A:

1. → d. 2. → e. 3. → f. 4. → a. 5. → c. 6. → b.
Part B:

1. memorisation (n) 2. confidential (adj.) 3. nerdy (adj.)

4. deprivation (n) 5. sustenance (n) 6. guarantor (n)

3. Idioms, phrasal verbs and compound adjectives

5 mins.
This task looks at some of the informal language used in the video that students may need some help with.

1. do the same thing that someone else has done previously, especially someone from your family
2. pass quickly
3. being someone who spends most of their time in an office at a desk
4. think about something until you come to a conclusion or an answer
5. from the very beginning without any help
6. discovered to be a particular thing, often in a way that brings surprise
7. try something without having any particular hope for success

4. Listening for details

5 mins.
This provides an opportunity for students to watch the video ahead of the main comprehension and practise
listening for details.

1. M [Morgan Spurlock] 2. NM 3. M [Mount Kilimanjaro]

4. M [awful] 5. NM 6. NM

5. Understanding the video

10 mins.

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CHALLENGES

Ask the students to answer the questions after the first listening, and then allow them to watch the video again
to check their answers.
Note that Morgan Spurlock is an American documentary maker on social issues. John Hodgman is an American
novelist.

1. c. 2. a. 3. c. 4. b. 5. b. 6. a.

6. Skimming for gist

5 mins.
You may want to set a strict time limit on this task to encourage students to skim-read.

1. Numerous pieces have been written about giving up bad habits, but what should we do if we want to pick up
positive habits?
2. Taking a behaviour from very deliberate, to unconscious, takes time and a little bit of taking it easy on yourself.
3. If your desire to go to the gym is really, on closer analysis, driven by a desire to post pictures of you working
out on social media, you might not succeed.
4. If it takes you a week to actually go for a run, but you start waking up at the required time, that’s progress.
5. But they are the highway to a habit.
Sources:
https://hbr.org/2021/02/what-does-it-really-take-to-build-a-new-habit
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/29/health/5-steps-habit-builder-wellness/index.html
https://fullfocus.co/make-a-new-habit-stick/

7. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

8. Optional extension / homework

20 mins+.
Ask the students to plan, write and edit their writing using their ideas from the lesson. Be sure to give them
feedback on their work.

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