The World Without Fear
This B1 lesson gets students talking about fears, phobias, and how they react to scary situations. They learn to describe common fears and express feelings using phrases like “it freaks me out” and “it gives me the chills.” The video imagines a world without fear, which opens up some fun and surprising conversations.
Lesson overview
- Learn vocabulary for ten common fears and phrases to describe how you feel
- Watch a short video imagining what life would look like without any fear
- Read and react to real comments about whether fear is useful or harmful
- Practice speaking through “would you rather” questions and scary scenarios
Student's Version (Light/Dark)
Teacher's Version (Answer Keys)
Printable Classroom Version (A4)
| Level | Vocabulary | Video Length | Lesson Time |
| B1 / Intermediate | 10 words and 9 phrases | 2:18 min | 60 min |
Vocabulary
- public speaking
- flying
- heights
- spiders
- snakes
- needles
- thunder
- dogs
- dark
- clowns
- It freaks me out.
- I get really anxious when…
- It makes my heart race.
- It gives me the chills.
- I’m not sure how I’d feel.
- I’m a little nervous.
- I’m not scared at all.
- It doesn’t bother me.
- I’m completely comfortable.
Contents
- Lead-in
- Practice
- Discussion
- Video
- Comprehension
- Comments
- Questions
- Practice,
- Would you rather
- Writing
Start with the lead-in questions about what makes people afraid. Most B1 students will mention animals, the dark, or heights right away. Let pairs talk for a couple of minutes, then move to the picture activity where they name ten common fears. This is where you introduce the vocabulary naturally. Some words like “public speaking” and “needles” might need a quick explanation, but others like “spiders” and “thunder” should click fast. The gap-fill exercise on the next slide locks in these words before the lesson moves on.
Before playing the video, ask the discussion question about a world without fear. Give students a minute to brainstorm in pairs. Their ideas will probably be simple at this level, things like “people would pet lions” or “nobody would study for exams.” That is exactly the kind of thinking the video builds on. Play it once and have students write down what people are not afraid of but should be. Then go through the comprehension slide together, matching each scene to the real danger and the characters’ calm reactions. This is a good place to check that students understood the humor.
The comments section shifts the tone a bit. Three real comments give different views on whether fear is helpful or harmful. The one comparing fear to pain usually gets a strong reaction. Let students read quietly, then discuss in small groups which comment they agree with most. Follow this with the gap-fill questions where students complete the blanks and then ask each other. This keeps the energy conversational rather than test-like.
End with the scenario reactions and “would you rather” activities. For the scenarios, students pick a phrase from the list to describe how they would feel in each situation. Model the first one yourself so they see what a full answer looks like. The “would you rather” questions are the highlight for most groups. Pairs like “hold a snake or touch a big spider” always get strong reactions and plenty of laughing. If time allows, the writing task at the end asks students to describe their scariest experience in 80 to 100 words, which works well as homework too.
