Lesson goal: Students can describe complex and mixed emotions with precision, interpret other people's feelings and use as if / as though, would rather and it's high time with unreal past forms.
Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.
Lesson plan
- 1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- Can you remember a moment when you felt two opposite emotions at once?
- Are you good at hiding your feelings?
- Which emotion do you find hardest to put into words?
- Do people in your culture talk openly about their feelings?
- 2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
Open the boxMemorywistful · elated · apprehensive · indignant · despondent · exasperated · ambivalent · smug · sheepish · forlorn · euphoric · disgruntled · crestfallen · bewildered · contrite
All words in the set - 3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
- Fill the gap
Caught eating my birthday cake at midnight, he gave me an embarrassed, ___ grin and offered to buy another.
Answer: sheepish - Fill the gap
I feel ___ about the promotion: more money, but far less time with my children.
Answer: ambivalent - Fill the gap
She looked at me as if I ___ mad when I said I was quitting my job to sail around the world.
Answer: were / was - Fill the gap
It's high time you ___ him how you really feel.
Answer: told - Multiple choice
A fan who has just seen her team win the cup in the last minute is most likely to feel ...
euphoricwistfuldespondentapprehensive - Multiple choice
Which sentence is correct?
I'd rather you didn't mention it to anyone.I'd rather you not to mention it to anyone.I'd rather you won't mention it to anyone.I'd rather that you to not mention it. - Multiple choice
What is the difference between 'smug' and 'proud'?
Smug suggests irritating self-satisfaction; proud can be entirely positive.Smug is stronger, but equally positive.There is no difference in meaning.Proud is always negative; smug is neutral. - True / false
Read: "When the letter arrived, Maya was elated: after three rejections, she had finally been offered a place at drama school. By evening, though, her euphoria had given way to something more complicated. The course was in another country, her father was unwell, and she found herself staring at the letter as though it were a bill she couldn't pay." Maya's feelings stayed the same all day.
Answer: False - True / false
Read the text again. The writer suggests that Maya felt apprehensive about what the offer would mean for her family.
Answer: True - Discussion question
Describe a time when good news gave you mixed feelings. Use at least three emotion words from the set and one structure with as if / as though or it's high time.
Sample answer: When my best friend announced she was emigrating to Canada, I was genuinely elated for her, yet I felt oddly despondent on the way home. I'd always told her it was high time she followed her dream, but I couldn't help feeling a little forlorn, as if a chapter of my own life were closing. Now, looking back, I feel wistful rather than sad.
- Fill the gap
- 4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Is it healthy to always say exactly how you feel, or is some restraint wiser?
- Why do people sometimes feel despondent even after achieving a goal?
- When did you last feel genuinely indignant? Was your anger justified?
- Does an apology mean anything if the person isn't truly contrite?
- Can you feel wistful about a time you didn't enjoy while it was happening?
- 5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz