My Dream Job ESL lesson thumbnail
Book 7 · Unit 9Intermediate · Ages 12–14

My Dream Job

This careers ESL lesson teaches jobs, workplaces, responsibilities and reasons for choosing a profession. Students mime occupations, match workers to locations and practise 'I'd like to be...' with because. They write about a future career and perform a dream-job interview as candidate and interviewer.

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Lesson format

2 × 45 minutes

Level

Intermediate

Age group

Ages 12–14

Main focus

Speaking first

What students will learn

• Identify and describe common jobs and workplaces
• Ask and answer 'What does a vet do?' and 'Where does a chef work?'
• Use present simple for duties and 'want to be' for future goals
• Explore interests and career preferences
• Write three future career goals with reasons
• Perform a dream-job interview roleplay

Lesson flow

Students mime jobs for classmates to guess, match jobs to workplaces ('A chef works in a kitchen'), and drill 'What does a vet do? A vet helps animals.' The second lesson votes on dream jobs, drills 'I want to be a scientist' / 'I'd like to be a photographer because...', writes 'My Future Career' explaining what the job involves and why it matters, and roleplays a dream-job interview as candidate and interviewer.

Target language

  • • 'What does a ___ do?' / 'Where does a ___ work?'
  • • 'I want to be...' / 'I'd like to be...'
  • • Present simple for duties
  • • Jobs and workplace vocabulary

Key vocabulary

  • career
  • salary
  • qualification
  • interview
  • CV
  • ambition
  • goal
  • experience
  • degree
  • skills

Speaking questions students answer

  • • What does a vet do?
  • • Where does a firefighter work?
  • • What's your dream job?
  • • Why do you want to be a pilot?
  • • Do you like working alone or in a team?

Recommended teaching contexts

• Intermediate ESL and EFL classes• Ages 12–14• Primary school classrooms• Language schools• Private and small-group lessons• Teaching jobs vocabulary• Pair and whole-class speaking• Interactive whiteboards and online teaching

Why this lesson works

The lesson follows a clear progression: Mime jobs in a What's My Job? warm-up, ask 'What does a ___ do?' matching jobs to workplaces, write about a future career and roleplay a dream-job interview. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.

This lesson includes

• Interactive lesson slides
• Teacher guide
• Printable worksheets
• Speaking practice: "What does a vet do?"
• Classroom games
• Videos
• Vocabulary practice
• Pair work
• Extension activities

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