New Year’s resolutions are a perfect topic for ESL lessons: they are universal, personal, and naturally lead to meaningful discussion. This B1-B2-level ESL lesson on New Year’s resolutions encourages learners to reflect on goals, motivation, success, and failure while developing their reading, speaking, and vocabulary skills.

The lesson begins with engaging warm-up discussion questions that help students share their experiences and opinions about resolutions. Learners then explore two readings:

• a clear and accessible list of the 10 most common New Year’s resolutions, and
• a longer B2-level text explaining why people make resolutions, why many fail, and how to increase the chances of success.

Key vocabulary such as overwhelming, setback, discouraged, and clean slate is practised through matching tasks and guided speaking activities. To personalise the topic, students plan realistic resolutions from different perspectives, such as a student, professional, athlete, or business owner.

The lesson finishes with a final discussion that encourages critical thinking and reflection, making it ideal for one-to-one classes, group lessons, or conversation-focused courses.

This ready-to-use ESL lesson works well at the start of the year but remains relevant at any time when discussing goals, habits, and personal development.

Happy teaching & learning!

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