Idioms: Personal Growth & Motivation

What is this lesson about? This personal growth idioms ESL lesson plan helps B1–B2 learners express ambition, perseverance, and resilience using natural idiomatic language. Students learn expressions such as get your act together, step up your game, bite the bullet, turn over a new leaf, stick to your guns, and keep your eye on the prize through dialogues, grammar practice, and reflective speaking tasks.

What language will students learn? Learners focus on six essential idioms:

• Get your act together – become more organised and responsible

• Step up your game – improve performance or effort

• Bite the bullet – force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult

• Turn over a new leaf – make a fresh start or change a habit

• Stick to your guns – continue with your beliefs or plans despite opposition

• Keep your eye on the prize – stay focused on your final goal
  

How do students practise? The lesson builds fluency and motivation step by step:

• Warm-up discussion questions about discipline, change, and perseverance.

• Dialogue-based reading showing idioms in authentic contexts.

• Definition matching and sentence transformations to clarify meaning.

• Tense gap-fill and typical usage matching to reinforce accurate usage.

• Speaking tasks where learners personalise idioms through reflection on their own goals and challenges.
  

Why is this lesson useful? By the end, learners can:

• Use motivational idioms fluently to describe goals, growth, and resilience.

• Build confidence in expressing perseverance and determination.

• Strengthen grammar and vocabulary in one integrated flow.

• Reflect on self-improvement while practising authentic English.
  

Who is it for? This lesson is designed for intermediate adult learners (B1–B2). It’s particularly suited for wellbeing-focused or personal development ESL classes, whether online or in person.