The Rise of Singlehood
This B2 lesson gets students talking about why more people are staying single and what that means for modern relationships. Based on a short video from The Economist, the lesson covers vocabulary like “settle for,” “screen out,” and “compatible” through real-world scenarios and opinion-based discussions. It works well for adult learners who enjoy debating social trends.
Lesson overview
- Practice 10 relationship and society vocabulary words through scenario matching
- Discuss statistics about singlehood and changing dating habits worldwide
- Watch and respond to a short video about the global relationship recession
- Debate whether rising singlehood is personal freedom or a social problem
Student's Version (Light/Dark)
Teacher's Version (Answer Keys)
Printable Classroom Version (A4)
| Level | Vocabulary | Video Length | Lesson Time |
| B2 / Upper-Intermediate | 10 words | 2:51 min | 60-80 min |
Vocabulary
- recession
- settle for
- liberation
- mingle
- compatible
- earning potential
- feminism
- picky
- screen out
- aggravate
Contents
- Lead-in
- Vocabulary preview
- Definitions
- Discussion
- Video
- Comprehension
- Comments
- Your comment
- Questions
- Practice
- Cause and effect
- Speaking
Start with the lead-in activity where students guess real statistics about marriage age, divorce rates, and singlehood in their country. This works great in pairs because students compare their guesses before you show any answers. It gets them curious and already using the topic language without realizing it. Give them about five minutes, then have a few pairs share their guesses with the class.
Move into the vocabulary preview. Let students check off the words they already know and try to explain them in sentences. For the words they don’t know, point them to the definitions page. Don’t spend too long here because the vocabulary comes back later in the practice activities, and students pick up meaning better through context anyway. Five to seven minutes is enough for this stage.
Play the video once for general understanding, then again for the comprehension questions. The video is under three minutes, so playing it twice fits easily into a single class. After students answer the questions in pairs, open up the discussion slides. The real conversation starter is the comments section, where students react to opinions pulled from the video. These comments are strong enough to get even quieter students talking because everyone has an opinion about relationships.
Wrap up with the cause-and-effect chains and the 2075 future scenario discussion. The cause-and-effect exercise reinforces vocabulary in a logical way, and the future scenario pushes students to think beyond the lesson content. If you’re short on time, pick one or the other. Both work as standalone activities.
