Facelifts, Beauty & Choice

This C1 lesson works well because the topic splits a room fast. Start with the two quotes on slide 1 and 2 and give students two minutes in pairs to react before you say anything about the video. This gets them predicting the content and activates what they already think about plastic surgery, which makes the actual viewing much richer.

Move into the speaking task on procedures like Botox and rhinoplasty, then hit the vocabulary preview before the video. At C1, most students will recognize a few of these words, so have them check off what they know and explain it to a partner rather than just defining terms themselves. This saves time and surfaces gaps faster than a straight vocabulary drill.

Play the five minute video once for general understanding, then a second time if your group needs it before tackling the questions. The comprehension questions move from factual to interpretive, so don’t rush question three on sprezzatura. Give students a minute to think before they answer out loud.

The comments section is where the lesson picks up energy. Real reader comments on the video give students something concrete to agree or disagree with before the open discussion questions, which work best in small groups of three or four, so a class of twelve works better in three groups of four than two groups of six.

Save real class time for the three debates. Each one forces students to use the target vocabulary while arguing a side they might not personally hold, which is exactly the kind of pressure that pushes C1 speaking from correct to fluent. Let pairs switch sides after their first two minutes so both students practice both arguments.