The Bystander Effect (Advanced Lesson Plan)

ESL/EFL Level: Advanced (C1/C2)
Lesson Topics: the Bystander Effect, psychology, law
Skill Focus: Vocabulary, Speaking, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Downloads: Editable DOCX | PDF Slides
Lesson Overview:

  • Students first warm up with questions about emergencies in public and the nature of people.
  • Before watching the video, students preview four idioms and try to match them to their definitions.
  • The lesson has two inputs: a video (3:35) and a paragraph (100 words). The video explains the Bystander Effect, a psychological theory that posits that the more people who witness an emergency, the less help the victim will receive. The video is followed by a short paragraph describing a 2019 study of CCTV cameras which partly contradicts the classic understanding of the Bystander Effect. Both inputs work well as a setup for the debate atop page three on whether the Bystander Effect is a myth or not. 
  • The video and paragraphs are followed by comprehension questions.
  • Next, students match vocabulary from phrases in the video to definitions. This is followed by an exercise in which students ask questions to each other using some of the new vocabulary.
  • The first speaking activity is a debate that gets at the crux of the issue: Is the Bystander Effect a myth? 
  • The lesson's role-play is centered on the legal principle of a duty to rescue, which states that in some cases bystanders who do not intervene are criminally responsible. Students act as attorneys and debate whether a woman who didn't help a man having a medical emergency should be punished.
  • The next speaking activity has students review eight public situations to determine the extent to which they are good Samaritans. Note that some of the situations are a bit unconventional -- teachers: please review beforehand (as always).
  • After a few famous quotations, students review collocations and then the vocabulary from the passage.
  • Finally, the lesson ends with a few final discussion questions.

A woman lying on the ground while bystanders ignore her.

The Bystander Effect ADVANCED (C1/C2)

WARM-UP:

  1. Have you ever had an emergency in public and had to rely on the help of others?
  2. Have you ever helped someone in public?
  3. Deep down, do you think people are good or bad?

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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

Previewing Answers

A-c, b-a, c-b, d-b

 

Comprehension Questions

  1. ...
  2. Diffusion of responsibility is the idea that when people are in a group, each individual feels less personal responsibility to act, because they assume someone else will.
  3. The rule that we ought to help, and the rule that we ought to do what everyone else is doing.
  4. She thought the situation might be serious (she checked if Ruth was breathing) and was shocked that no one else had even noticed, since a nearby man was absorbed in his newspaper. (Note: Her comment may be a bit ironic, since it’s not clear that she was going to help until someone else did first.)
  5. Because his appearance (dressed as a respectable gentleman) matched those around him, making him seem like part of the "right" group, so people didn't hesitate to help.
  6. (Open-ended: personal response. Sample: No, not really, the video shows that being in a crowd made it less likely a victim would be helped. If there's "safety" in numbers, it seems to apply more to the bystanders, who feel protected from personal responsibility, than to the victim.)
  7. (Open-ended: personal response. Sample: Philpot's research found that in real public conflicts, bystanders intervened in 9 out of 10 cases, and more bystanders meant a higher chance someone helped, the opposite pattern shown in the video.)

Vocabulary Answer Key

a-absorbed, b-intervene, c-bloke, d-unwittingly, e-apathy, f-conform, g-bystander, h-distressing, i-rebel, j-thoroughfare

Collocation Answer Key

1-a,  2-f, 3-c, 4-b, 5-e, 6-d

[1] https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Famp0000469

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