Is It Even a City?
This B1 lesson uses a funny video about Oslo to teach sarcasm and exaggeration in English. Students learn to spot these figures of speech, practice identifying them in example sentences, and try writing their own sarcastic descriptions of a city. It’s one of those lessons where students don’t realize how much they’re learning because they’re too busy laughing.
Lesson overview
- Learn to recognize sarcasm and exaggeration through a short video about Oslo
- Practice identifying figures of speech in everyday English sentences
- Write a short sarcastic paragraph describing your own city or town
- Debate the pros and cons of living in cities like Dubai, Reykjavik, or Kyiv
Student's Version (Light/Dark)
Teacher's Version (Answer Keys)
Printable Classroom Version (A4)
| Level | Vocabulary | Video Duration | Lesson Time |
| B1 / Intermediate | 8 words | 1:46 min | 60 min |
Vocabulary
- Available
- Exclusive
- Famous
- Prime Minister
- Worth
- Stand in line
- Temporarily
- Disgusting
Contents
- Lead-in
- Vocabulary match
- Discussion
- Video
- Questions
- Reading
- Figures of speech
- Practice
- Writing
- Debate
Start with the lead-in where students pick three words from a list to describe what makes a city a nice place to live. Things like safety, nightlife, and walkability are on the list. This gets opinions flowing and sets up the contrast with the video, where the speaker complains about Oslo being too easy and too available. Before the video, cover the eight vocabulary words through the matching activity. Most of these are straightforward for B1, but “temporarily,” “exclusive,” and “worth” might need extra examples.
Play the video once for general understanding, then go through the five comprehension questions. Students should pick up on the speaker’s tone pretty quickly. Play it a second time for the gap-fill exercise where they complete the transcript with missing words. After checking answers, this is a good moment to ask the class: “Does the speaker actually hate Oslo, or is he joking?” This leads naturally into the figures of speech explanation on the next slide.
Walk through the sarcasm and exaggeration definitions with the examples from the video. Point out how the speaker says things like “I temporarily live here. Unfortunately” when he clearly chooses to live there. Then move to the practice activity where students label sentences as either exaggeration or sarcasm. Sentences like “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” and “What a fantastic piece of technology!” after a computer crash are clear examples. Have students add two of their own at the bottom. Pairs work well here so they can bounce ideas off each other.
The writing task is the creative highlight. Students write seven to ten sentences about their own city using sarcasm and exaggeration. Give them the examples from the slide, like describing traffic as taking years or rainy weather as perfect for growing mushrooms. Finish with the debate activity where pairs argue for and against living in Dubai, Reykjavik, or Kyiv. Encourage them to sneak in some sarcasm or exaggeration during their arguments for extra practice.
