What is this lesson about?

This personality idioms ESL lesson plan teaches B1–B2 learners how to describe people in a natural way. Students explore idioms through real mini-dialogues, discuss personality types they know in everyday life, and practise using expressions like heart of gold, ray of sunshine, and salt of the earth to talk about friends, colleagues, and family.

How do students learn the new language?

Learners build fluency through a friendly, conversation-first sequence:

• Warm-up discussion about real people in their lives

• Photo-based personality impressions

• Idioms introduced through short, relatable dialogues

• “This or that?” tasks to choose the best idiom for each situation

• Speaking practice describing people they know

• A reflective sentence-completion activity to close the lesson
  

Why is this lesson useful?

By the end of the lesson, students can:

• Use six common personality idioms confidently

• Describe people in a warm, natural way

• Share real examples from their own lives

• Recognise subtle differences between similar idioms

• Build conversation and storytelling skills

What makes this lesson special?

This lesson isn’t about memorising expressions. It’s about talking about real people — the kind, the cheerful, the mischievous, the grounded — using idioms that native speakers use in everyday conversation.

Who is it for?

Ideal for B1–B2 adult learners, both online and in person. Great for conversation classes, and teachers who want meaningful, human-centred speaking activities.