Have you ever felt like you were on a deserted island or lost in a maze? In this ESL lesson, students will learn about the epidemic of loneliness, the consequences of this feeling, and how to overcome it. This lesson features a video of a psychiatrist explaining one practical thing we can do to make our lives better. Students will learn and practice auxiliary verbs and vocabulary relating to this topic. The lesson includes plenty of engaging discussion activities and worksheets that have been developed for adult and teenage learners.

Lesson Objectives

To learn and review the use of Auxiliary Verbs

To discuss the topic of loneliness

To develop speaking and listening skills

To learn new vocabulary

Video

Watch this video to learn how to tap into the hidden psychology of your mind. Dr. Goulston, a psychiatrist of over 40 years, explains how we can do one practical thing to make our lives better. What made you smile today?

Video Transcript SHOW

- I have a question for you. I have a question I'd like to ask you. I had a question for you. Can I ask you a question? This might sound crazy but hear me out. I have five words that when used correctly, tap into the hidden psychology of your mind in a way that could actually save lives or at least make yours better. We know because a worldfamous psychiatrist challenged us to put these words into action every day for a week and we did. Okay, I consider myself a social person. I've got a great girlfriend, an amazing group of friends, but in this city of nine million people, I often feel very alone. I work from home a lot and might not see another person all day. If I do leave my house to go get a coffee or go to my coworking space, the interactions I do have throughout my day, just feel so transactional. I'm in my own world, and that's not just me. Recent studies have shown that nearly half of all Americans report feeling alone. And that seems to go across all ages, all races, even all countries. We're living in an epidemic of loneliness that so many people feel, yet nobody wants to talk about. We can be surrounded by people yet feel so alone. And this can have some real devastating consequences. Loneliness can deteriorate your mental and even your physical health. We're designed to be social animals. When you strip away that connection to other people, loneliness can lead to some really dark places. So, Alex and I reached out to Dr. Mark Goldstein, a world-famous psychiatrist and best-selling author of several psychology books, to challenge us with one practical thing we could do in our lives that could change our lives for the better.

- Hey, Dr. Goulston.

- Hey guys. I was a practicing psychiatrist for over 40 years. I had a pretty good track record because for 25 years, I saw suicidal patients and none of them killed themselves. And I'll tell you what I discovered is I learned to look in their eyes like I'm looking in your eyes. And it's all about how do you listen to people so they feel felt, not just understood but they feel felt. And what I discovered with suicidal patients is at the depth of their dark night of the soul, they felt really alone. So, what I learned is if you can pair with people in their despair by feeling their feelings with them, and they got better. Here's the challenge. Once a day, when you're in front of a name-tagged, faceless person after they serve you, this is the conversation. Hi, Jackie. My name is Mark. Thank you. I have a question for you. And you have to say it like you want to hear the answer. Say, Jackie, what made you smile today?

- That’s amazing. I am excited to try this out. I’m really excited to try this out. I’m really excited to try it out. Challenge accepted. Challenge accepted