With this lesson, students will expand their vocabulary with powerful adjectives like eerie, haunting, and unnerving, and idioms such as gives me the creeps and scared stiff. Perfect for helping learners confidently describe unsettling experiences, analyze cultural phenomena, and engage in advanced conversations about fear, technology, and human psychology.
lesson overview
This B2–C1 ESL lesson explores the fascinating and unsettling concept of the uncanny valley why certain robots, masks, or CGI characters make us uncomfortable. Students practice advanced adjectives and idioms to describe eerie experiences while analyzing real-life examples from films, AI, and social media. This lesson works year-round but also makes an excellent Halloween option for teachers looking to bring a spooky twist to class. The lesson is available in both printable format for traditional classrooms and an online presentation. The user-friendly digital format allows easy navigation in presentation mode with just a click of the spacebar, requiring no additional software.
Target Audience:
- Level: B2–C1 (Upper-Intermediate to Advanced)
- Best for: Adults and older teens
Content Breakdown:
- Warm-Up:
- Vocabulary Focus
- Fill-in-the-Blanks
- Agree or Disagree
- Idioms Practice
- Pair & Share Practice
- Visual Prompts Discussion
- Rank Creepy Shows
- Would You Rather?
HOMEWORK (Extra Language Immersion):
Watch & Reflect
Learners watch a video about extreme plastic surgery and the “uncanny” reactions online, then answer discussion questions. This activity reinforces adjectives and idioms from the lesson while encouraging reflection on beauty, social media, and discomfort.