ESL/EFL Level: B2/C1 (Upper-Intermediate)
Lesson Topics: friendship, loneliness
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: rental-friend-japan-upper-intermediate-092025.docx
Lesson Topics: friendship, loneliness
Skill Focus: Listening, Speaking, Vocabulary
Approximate Class Time: 1.75 hours
Lesson Plan Download: rental-friend-japan-upper-intermediate-092025.docx
- The lesson begins with warm-up questions about friendship.
- Next, students watch a short YouTube video (3:20) about rental friends that you can hire in Japan. The video touches on the importance of having someone to just listen and spend time with, instead of trying to always be productive.
- The video is followed by comprehension and follow-up questions.
- The one debate topic questions whether it is easier to make friends today compared to thirty years ago.
- As a unique feature, I've added five friendship-related idioms to the lesson to increase its vocabulary load. Students complete simple matching and cloze exercises, and are encouraged to use the expressions in the following roleplay activities.
- Next, students do Part 1 of a roleplay between a rental friend and a potential royal client. One student must pitch herself as the idea friend-for-hire, while the other conducts the interview.
- As the lesson draws to a close, students review the lesson's vocabulary and match collocations used in the video.
- The lesson closes with some final discussion questions.
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) Lesson on Rental Friends
Warm-up Questions
- Have you ever paid for a service that wasn’t a “product,” e.g., tutoring, a guide, or a personal trainer?
- Think about your best friend(s). What do you do for them and what do they do for you?
- How would you define the perfect friend?
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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 Q Answer Key
- Morimoto rents himself out “to do nothing,” offering companionship and a listening ear, and has been hired thousands of times since 2018.
- 10,000 yen (about $70).
- He refuses requests that go beyond his “do nothing” role, such as traveling abroad (Trinidad and Tobago) or helping move a fridge.
- Unlike rental actors who play friends or family roles, he provides effort-free companionship without pretending to be anyone else.
- It shows that people value temporary, obligation-free relationships and that society puts too much pressure on always being productive.
- … (subjective/personal opinion).
Vocab review answer key: 1-b, 2-g, 3-e, 4-a, 5-d, 6-f, 7-c
Collocations: 1-b, 2-c, 3-d, 4-a