Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

Topic: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

Aim: In this lesson, students will practice reading and speaking for fluency in the context of the discussion on the topic why people procrastinate.
Age: Teens/Adults
Level: intermediate/upper-intermediate
Time: 50 min
Lesson type: Speaking and vocabulary
Materials: worksheet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JncL_bHxhrU

1. Warm-up 3 min

Aim: break the ice and provide safe environment for the lesson.

Procedure: ask the student to choose one of the proverbs and agree or disagree with it and explain why. Do it very briefly (two arguments are enough).

When God says "today," the devil says "tomorrow."

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Do it today! Tomorrow it might be forbidden.

Don't delay today's work until tomorrow.

2. Lead-in 5 min

Aim: to break the ice, introduce the topic and brainstorm some ideas

Procedure: ask the student to do the tasks, help the student with vocabulary.

If you procrastinate, you keep leaving things you should do until later, often because you do not want to do them

1. What are the synonyms for procrastinate - ………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Complete the gaps with one of the verbs from task 1.

a) Women who ………….. having a baby often make the best mothers...

b) He decided to ……………… the expedition until the following day...

c) They had to……………… having children, for the usual reason, to establish their careers...

Answers:

1. delay, postpone, put off

2.a) put off b) postpone c) delay

3. Pre-teaching Vocabulary 5 min

Aim: to unblock the blocking vocabulary in order to help the student understand the key points of the talk.

Procedure: ask the students to look at the table with words from the video and match them to their meanings. Let them do everything they know, present the vocabulary they do not know.

Answers: 3. 1-g, 2-d, 3-e, 4-b, 5-c, 6-h, 7-a, 8-f.

4. Eliciting ideas on the topic. 4 min

Aim: to let the student provide some ideas or situations where people can procrastinate.

5. Watching (scanning) 15 min

Aim: to watch the video for specific pieces of information and have fun.

Procedure: ask student to watch the video. S needs to answer the questions about things mentioned in the video. No need to understand everything. After they finish, ask them to report back to you. No details are needed at this point.

Questions during watching:

1. Who are the main characters in the video?

2. What are their main characteristics?

3. What are the «good procrastinator's» feelings?

4. What does the speaker say about types of procrastinaton?

5. What do people usually procrastinate on?

Answers:

1. Rational Decision Maker, Instant Gratification Monkey, Panic Monster.

2. Rational Decision Maker – very serious and sensible, helps people to visualize the future, see the “big picture”, make long-term plans, wants people to do what makes sense to be doing right now – things that are harder and less pleasant;

Instant Gratification Monkey – loves things that are easy and fun, lives in the dark playground; is terrified by Panic Monster.

Panic Monster – sleeps most of the time, but wakes up not long before the deadline, terrifies Instant Gratification Monkey.

1. The good procrastinator’s feelings – guilt, dread, anxiety, self-hatred.

2. 2 types of procrastination – with a deadline (when Panic Monster wakes up); and without a deadline (this is less visible, less talked about, but is suffered quietly and privately and can be the source of huge amount of long-term unhappiness and regrets; it makes you a spectator in your own life).

3. People procrastinate on seeing their families or exercising, taking care of health, on relationship which is not working, starting their own business, etc.

6. Productive follow-up: speaking 5 min

Aim: to provide students with a chance to check their guesses about the things people procrastinate on and practice speaking for fluency

Procedure: ask the student to answer the questions.

7. Discussion (speaking for fluency) 7 min

Aim: to personalize the text and practice speaking for fluency

Procedure: offer the student questions to discuss. Alter or add any questions according to how the discussion is going. Adapt the questions for your student.

Discussion questions:

1. Why does the speaker show the calendar?

2. What is the speaker's message to the audience?

3. How do you feel about procrastinating?

4. What advice could you give to those who procrastinate?

8. Error correction and Homework 5 min

Aim: provide delayed error correction and assign a creative homework

Procedure: provide a delayed error correction. Show the student grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation mistakes and offer the S to correct himself. Provide examples of good language as well and praise the student.

After that assign a homework.

Example homework task: Read the article “The 4 Main Causes of Procrastination Revealed ” and match the paragraphs 1-4 to “cures” A-D.

Answers: 1C, 2D, 3A, 4B.

Write a mini essay about why it is important to do things in time; or how you usually procrastinate (120-140 words).