ESL/EFL Level: Advanced (C1/C2)
Lesson Topics: homelessness, government spending, addiction
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: homelessness-lebrun-advanced-072026.docx
Lesson Overview:
Lesson Topics: homelessness, government spending, addiction
Skill Focus: Speaking, Vocabulary, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: homelessness-lebrun-advanced-072026.docx
Lesson Overview:
- Students first warm up with questions about homelessness.
- As a previewing activity, students match seven idioms and metaphors to their meaning as they are used in the upcoming video.
- The video is 4:08 in length and describes an entrepreneur's attempt to combat homelessness in eastern Canada by building a tiny home community called 12 Neighbours. The speakers in the video touch on addiction and the benefits of joining a community.
- The passage is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
- Next, students match eight vocabulary items from the video to definitions. This is followed by an exercise which requires students to ask questions to each other using some of the new vocabulary and idioms.
- The lesson has two debate topics on the root causes of homelessness and whether the government should provide free housing.
- The first roleplay is an interview between a homeless student and Marcel LeBrun, the owner of 12 Neighbours. The student must explain to LeBrun why they should be admitted over the other applicants.
- The next speaking activity is a group task in which students review a list of potential solutions to homelessness and decide which to allocate money to.
- After famous quotations, students review vocabulary by building a story using four images and the lesson's vocabulary.
- Students then review vocabulary from the video transcript and the lesson's collocations.
- Finally, the lesson ends with a few final discussion questions.
ADVANCED (C1/C2) Lesson on The 12 Neighbours Village
Warm-up
- Do you like your home? If so, what do you like about it?
- Is there much homelessness where you come from? If so, what are the main causes?
- Have you ever interacted with a homeless person? What was the experience like?
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This lesson plan was created by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. Claude AI was used to assist with answer keys and famous quotations..
ANSWER KEY
Idioms & Figurative Language
- quickly
B. time off drugs and alcohol
C. to solve an urgent matter
D. an extremely valuable person
E. a form of protection
F. gives me energy
G. to have an intense feeling of excitement
Comprehension Questions
- (Open-ended)
- (Land acknowledgement — likely recognizing the Indigenous territory on which the project is located. Purpose: to acknowledge the First Nations people whose land is being used, situating the project within a broader context of reconciliation and community responsibility.)
- Previous charitable investments were trapped in a cycle of crisis management — meeting urgent needs without addressing root causes or creating lasting change. Marcel's approach differs by combining fast, low-cost transitional housing with social infrastructure, aiming to stabilize people quickly and then redirect resources toward longer-term development.
- Social infrastructure refers to the support systems and programs beyond physical housing — such as employment opportunities, entrepreneur programs, sobriety support, and community belonging — that help residents overcome barriers and access opportunities.
- Approximately $7,500 per unit, built in one day.
- Seeing individual residents heal, stabilize, find employment, and feel good about themselves — specific people he knows personally who were struggling and have transformed. He describes this as what "charges his batteries."
- (Open-ended: personal response. Possible limitations: zoning regulations, community opposition (NIMBYism), funding sustainability, land availability, need for ongoing support staff, cultural differences in attitudes toward homelessness.)
Vocabulary Answer Key
1-g, 2-f, 3-h, 4-d, 5-a, 6-c, 7-e, 8-b
Collocation Answer Key
1-a, 2-g, 3-h, 4-b, 5-c, 6-e, 7-f, 8-d