What Do You Want To Be?
This jobs ESL lesson helps learners name professions and talk about future ambitions. Students use charades, songs and interviews to practise 'What do you want to be?' and describe what different workers do. They create a Future Me poster and present their dream job in a class catwalk.
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Lesson format
2 × 45 minutes
Level
Beginner
Age group
Ages 6–9
Main focus
Speaking first
What students will learn
Lesson flow
Children guess jobs mimed by the teacher, sing jobs songs pausing to answer 'What do you want to be?', and drill flashcards with a chant. The second lesson interviews a partner asking 'What do you want to be? Why?', watches a video discussing what different jobs do, makes a Future Me poster to present ('This is me. I want to be a dancer!'), and finishes with a dream-job catwalk.
Target language
- • 'What do you want to be?'
- • 'I want to be a ___'
- • 'What does a ___ do?'
- • 'A ___ helps people'
Key vocabulary
- doctor
- teacher
- pilot
- engineer
- chef
- artist
- nurse
- vet
- policeman
- firefighter
Speaking questions students answer
- • What do you want to be?
- • What does a chef do?
- • Do you want to be a doctor?
- • Why do you want to be a firefighter?
- • What does a firefighter do?
Recommended teaching contexts
Why this lesson works
The lesson follows a clear progression: Guess jobs in a charades game, interview classmates about their dream job, make a Future Me poster and perform a catwalk. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.