Lesson Topics: empathy, sympathy, talking about problems
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: empathy-sympathy-upper-intermediate-092024.docx
Lesson Overview:
- After warm-up questions, students preview 11 vocabulary items contained in the YouTube video "Brené Brown on Empathy" which discusses the differences between showing empathy and sympathy. The video is nicely animated and only 2:53 in length.
- The video is followed by comprehension and a vocabulary-matching activity. After vocabulary matching, students form discussion questions with the target vocabulary.
- There are two debate topics. One is about the value of 'talking out' your issues and the other questions whether empathy can be learned.
- Prior to roleplays, students read three strategies for expressing empathy. Next, they brainstorm problems two fictional characters might have. Finally, they roleplay a conversation with the characters and try to use the aforementioned strategies.
- Next, as a more fun activity, students try to find the silver lining in a set of problematic scenarios.
- After famous quotations, the lesson ends with a review of vocabulary and collocations before presenting some final discussion questions.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Empathy & Sympathy
Warm-up-Questions
- Who do you talk to when you have a personal problem? Why do you go to them?
- What is the difference between empathy and sympathy? Use your dictionary if required. Can you give examples of an act that shows empathy compared to a sympathetic one?
- Does every bad event have a positive side?
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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. ChatGPT was used to generate answer keys and some famous quotations. For questions, contact the author.
Comprehension Question Answer Key
- ...
- According to Brown, empathy fuels connection, while sympathy drives disconnection. Empathy is about feeling with someone, while sympathy often distances us by trying to make the situation better without truly understanding it.
- Showing the ‘silver lining’ is often unhelpful because it dismisses the other person’s pain or struggle. It suggests that their feelings aren't valid or important by trying to focus on something positive, rather than just acknowledging their difficult emotions.
- When someone shares something difficult with us, we should respond by acknowledging their feelings without trying to fix the problem or minimize it. A simple response like, "I don’t even know what to say, I’m just glad you told me," can be much more powerful than offering solutions or trying to make things better.
Vocabulary 1 - Falling apart, 2 - Judgment, 3 - Relevant, 4 - At least, 5 - Perspective, 6 - Diverse, 7 - Overwhelmed, 8 - Came up with, 9 - Silver lining, 10 - Sympathy, 11 - Empathy
Collocations 1-f, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b, 5-e, 6-c
[1] Sources: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-show-empathy, https://students.ubc.ca/ubclife/emotional-intelligence-101-empathetic-responses
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