As part of the series of lessons inspired by unusual holidays, 15th May, also known as Family Day, is a perfect opportunity to explore how modern families are changing. This Boomerang Kids ESL lesson focuses on one topic that some students may relate to, but that most of them will certainly have a strong opinion on — the growing number of adults who move back in with their parents. Let’s talk about rising housing prices, unstable jobs, relationship breakdowns, and many other factors that have contributed to what is often called the Boomerang Generation.
This B2 lesson on changing family structures focuses primarily on listening, discussion, and natural spoken English through an authentic video clip from Loose Women. Students share their opinions about adult children moving back home, learn informal expressions connected to the topic, and analyse how native speakers soften opinions using the discourse marker I mean…
At the end of the post, you can find the worksheet, teacher’s notes, and presentation to download and use with your students.
Warmer: Milestone Ages
Begin by looking at milestone ages (18, 21, 25, 30, 35) and discussing what people typically do at each stage of life. Consider education, work, relationships, and other major life events. Since students naturally compare these milestones to their own experiences and culture, this stage immediately creates engagement and personalisation. Extend the warmer by moving into a broader class discussion about trends in students’ countries and the reasons why some people move back home later in life.
Vocabulary in Context: Parents’ Opinions
Before playing the Loose Women video, look at four short opinions from parents discussing their adult children moving back home. The vocabulary is introduced through realistic contexts rather than isolated definitions, which helps students infer meaning naturally. I selected four vocabulary items that could stop students from fully understanding the video: do your bit, slob on the couch, be sick of, and put someone off.
Students match the expressions to their definitions and discuss which parents sound positive or negative about the situation. I intentionally mixed the opinions to help students see that attitudes towards adult children living at home are often more complex and do not have to be inherently negative.
Listening for Gist: Who Agrees?
Watch an authentic video discussion about the Boomerang Generation. Since the speakers’ names are not provided, they are identified either by pictures or by the colours of their shirts (red, blue, and yellow). During the first viewing, students identify which speaker uses each target expression from the previous task and decide whether each speaker agrees, disagrees, or is unsure about adults moving back home.
Listening for Detail: Why?
Watch the video again and write the reasons behind each speaker’s opinion. The speakers raise several interesting ideas, such as parents having ‘done their bit’ or some parents actually enjoying their children back for their company.
I added this step as I believe that it helps students move beyond identifying attitudes and towards understanding justification, something that they will need in the speaking part of the class. Additionally, the discussion is authentic and slightly messy, so students are exposed to real spoken English rather than scripted textbook language.
Language Focus: ‘I mean…’
I think my favourite part of this Boomerang Kids ESL lesson is the focus on the discourse marker ‘I mean…’ Native speakers use this expression all the time, but learners are rarely taught how or why it works in conversation. Show some examples from the video and match them to their communicative purpose: introducing an example, softening criticism or disagreement and explaining or clarifying an opinion. This stage helps learners notice that spoken English is often less direct and more nuanced than the language found in their coursebooks.
Controlled Writing: Softening Opinions
Allow students to get used to this structure by rewriting strong opinions using ‘I mean…’. For example:
Adults over 30 shouldn’t live with their parents. = I mean, adults over 30 probably shouldn’t live with their parents for too long.
This activity helps students sound more natural and conversational while also introducing the idea of hedging and softening opinions, which is an important skill at this level.
Debate Preparation
Move to a more communicative stage of the lesson by dividing students into two groups:
- Group 1: prepares arguments in favour of adults moving back home
- Group 2: prepares arguments against this idea
Students often have strong personal opinions, so the discussion should become lively very quickly. Encourage them to use vocabulary and expressions from earlier, especially ‘I mean…’ to sound more natural during disagreement.
Debate: Should Adults Over 30 Live With Their Parents?
Students work with a partner from the opposite group and debate the topic. Since they have already analysed opinions in the video and prepared arguments in advance, they should be able to speak more confidently and develop their ideas in detail. This stage should encourage spontaneous reactions and follow-up questions rather than short prepared speeches.
Final Speaking Task: House Rules
To finish this lesson, students imagine that their 30-year-old child is moving back home. In groups, they create five house rules covering topics, such as paying rent, chores, privacy, guests… and whatever else comes to their minds! This task leads to humourous but realistic discussion, which ends with a general comparison of ideas. I think that ending the lesson this way lowers the intensity after the debate while still recycling the target languaeg and topic naturally.
This Boomerang Kids ESL lesson is a great way to explore modern family structures while practising authentic spoken English and discussion skills. By combining listening, vocabulary, discourse markers, and debate, students build confidence expressing nuanced opinions about a topic that feels highly relevant to contemporary life.
If you’d like to try this lesson with your students, you can download the worksheet, teacher’s notes, and presentation below.
Would you ever move back in with your parents? 👀
