This is a conversation class for adults (B1-C2) based around the idea of valuable life experiences.
You will need these life experiences flashcards:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!334&authkey=!AGxRdJiqzLdNvCI
First put “The University of Life” on the board and ask the students what they think it means. Have the flashcards cut up. Put students in small groups (3-4) and give them the flashcards one at a time. Encourage them to discuss the following for each card:
What have you learnt from this life experience? If you haven’t had this experience, speculate about what you could learn from it.
Once they have discussed all the flashcards tell students to think of 2 more life experiences that have taught them a lot. They should then share them with the rest of the class.
Tell students to try and put the life experiences in order to value in terms of experience and self improvement gained.
Now tell students to think about the ways in which each of the life experiences are viewed by potential employers. Encourage them to think of both good and bad interpretations. For example with travelling a potential employer could think that you are more open-minded and have a better understanding of different cultures. On the other hand, they might think that you only want the job to save money for another trip.
Here is a list of the life experiences:
- Moving out of your parent’s house.
- Going to university
- Travelling
- Supporting yourself financially
- Getting married
- Living with your partner
- Having children
- Having teenage children
- Being seriously ill
- Being your own boss
The role-play from my class on jobs and career paths also works well with this topic.
A possible homework assignment based around this topic could be a short composition in which students explain what they have learnt from one of the life experiences in the list.
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