Personality
This personality adjectives ESL lesson teaches words such as friendly, shy, brave, helpful and grumpy. Students mime traits, chant, interview a partner and ask 'What is he like?' They write a short personality profile and play Guess Who by describing an invented character.
7-day trial · Card required · €0 today · Cancel before renewal
Lesson format
2 × 45 minutes
Level
Elementary
Age group
Ages 8–11
Main focus
Speaking first
What students will learn
Lesson flow
Students guess personality traits from mimed expressions (smiling = friendly, frowning = grumpy), chant personality adjectives along with a song, and drill 'What is he like? He is brave.' The second lesson interviews a partner asking 'Are you noisy? Are you helpful?', writes a personality profile describing themselves and a friend, and plays a Guess Who roleplay describing an invented character for classmates to identify.
Target language
- • 'What is he/she like?'
- • 'Are you ___?' / 'Yes, I am.' / 'No, I'm not.'
- • Personality adjectives
- • 'I am ___ and ___'
Key vocabulary
Personality Traits
- • kind
- • funny
- • brave
- • shy
- • clever
- • creative
- • helpful
- • honest
- • generous
- • outgoing
- • serious
Useful Words
- • personality
- • character
- • trait
Speaking questions students answer
- • What is he like?
- • Are you shy?
- • Are you helpful?
- • What is she like?
- • Who is kind in your class?
Interactive activities in this lesson
Cross-curricular connections
- • Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
- • Citizenship
- • Drama
Support
- • Provide the sentence frame 'I am ___' / 'He/She is ___'
- • Keep personality-adjective picture cards visible throughout
- • Allow students to point to an emoji before naming the trait
Challenge
- • Describe themselves using two personality adjectives with a reason
- • Compare their personality with a friend’s using full sentences
- • Describe an invented character using at least three traits in the Guess Who roleplay
Home challenge
Students interview a family member about their personality, then write two to three sentences describing that person using personality adjectives to share next lesson.
Recommended teaching contexts
Why this lesson works
The lesson follows a clear progression: Mime personality traits in a warm-up game, ask 'What is he/she like?' and 'Are you shy?', write a personality profile and play a Guess Who roleplay. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.