No matter how strong and fearless you may be, there is always that one thing that may scare you. Whether it’s something serious like claustrophobia, something specific like arachnophobia, or something bizarre like trypophobia, we all have our reasons to be anxious. In this A2 grammar lesson, students get to talk about phobias while practising possessive adjectives and pronouns.
What I don’t like about A1-A2 lesson plans for adults, is that they always seem to be centred around basic topics. I was on the lookout for a good A2 lesson plan about possessive adjectives and pronouns, but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t speak about either family members or clothes. Since this class is designed for one of my long-term A2 students, I thought that we can revise possessive adjectives and pronouns, while talking about phobias. This class combines more complex language and ideas, with the revision of this relatively simple grammar issue.
This class consists of a worksheet (including the teacher’s notes) and a presentation available at the end of this post for free.
Look at five less-commonly known phobias. Students work in pairs and predict what the phobias may be about. The phobias in question are nomophobia (fear of being without a mobile phone), arithmophobia (fear of numbers), octophobia (fear of the number eight), globophobia (fear of balloons) and eisoptrophobia (fear of mirrors). Check the answers (and students’ creativity!), and then ask them to match the phobias with their definitions. Discuss if students know anyone with such a phobia or with any other unusual phobia.
I was looking for a perfect way to introduce this grammar topic while staying on the subject of phobias. I wanted to use the ChatGPT to help write the dialogue but ended up writing one myself as it was just more accurate. Read the text and answer questions about the people mentioned and their phobias. Once students answered the questions, go back to the text and underline any possessive adjectives and pronouns. Since it’s not mandatory for students to know what they are, give some examples of each one, so they know what they are looking for.
Since students probably already know about possessive adjectives and pronouns, refresh their memory by completing the table with the missing words (including subject and object pronouns). Follow this activity with two short grammar exercises that test students’ knowledge and understanding of this grammar topic.
The second-to-last exercise is a speaking and (possible) homework introduction. Students read three short descriptions of people describing their fears. Based on the descriptions, guess the phobias. This activity is followed by a short writing exercise, in which students write three sentences describing something they are afraid of. Monitor this activity and correct any errors as needed. Once everyone is finished, share the answers with the rest of the group, while guessing the fears. As always, finish with short speaking feedback.
If you enjoyed this short grammar lesson plan, click the links below and get your copies.
Have you got any phobias? What do you think about choosing a more complex topic for lower-level students?
JoannaESL 
Amazing 🙂 thanks
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