This Time Last Year - Look how far I´ve come!
Beginner/Intermediate Level 1 hour
Aim - To help students reflect on positive changes in their lives over the past year and build confidence by speaking about past and present experiences in English.
WARM UP - TIME TRAVEL (5 -7 min)
Ask students to close their eyes for a moment and imagine it is this time last year. Guide them with a few questions, such as:
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Where were you?
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What were you learning?
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What were you worried about?
Pair talk (1 minute):
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Students choose one example to share with a partner.
LEAD IN MODEL - (5 -10 min)
The teacher models the activity by sharing personal examples of change, helping students feel confident and supported when reflecting on their own progress.
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This time last year, I couldn’t _____.
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This time last year, I was worried about _____.
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Now I can / now I’m not.
Example:
“This time last year, I couldn’t edit videos by myself. Now I can.”
Write the structure on the board
"This time last year, I couldn´t __________. Now I can. And ask students to practice.
If students are feeling comfortable, they can share their experiences with the class by giving examples, such as "This time last year, I couldn´t edit videos by myself, but I asked a friend to show me how to use an online editor and now I can edit some videos by myself."
MAIN SPEAKING ACTIVITY - THEN vs NOW (15 min)
Step 1: Individual thinking (5 minutes)
Give students a reflection sheet or write categories on the board:
such as: English, School, Confidence, Friends, Hobbies, Something difficult
Then give them some sentence starters:
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This time last year, I couldn’t…
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This time last year, I didn’t like…
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This time last year, I was afraid of…
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Now I can…
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Now I enjoy…
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Now I feel…
⚠️ Important:
Students choose only 3 sentences → keeps it positive and manageable.
Step 2: Structured Pair Speaking (10 minutes)
Round 1 (2 minutes each):
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Student A speaks
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Student B listens and must react:
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“Really?”
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“That’s cool.”
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“Me too.”
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“Why?”
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Round 2: New partner
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Students repeat, gaining confidence and fluency.
CONFIDENCE BUILDER - YOU´VE CHANGED (10 min)
Students often don’t see their own progress — hearing it from others is HUGE.
Rules: Only positive changes & No jokes about appearance.
Do this in small groups.
Each student hears:
“This time last year, you…”
Examples:
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“You were quieter.”
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“You didn’t speak English a lot.”
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“You were scared of reading.”
Then:
“Now you…”
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“You speak more.”
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“You try.”
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“You help others.
GENTLE FUTURE LINK - THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ................. (5 minutes)
We lightly connect to the future without making it a resolution lesson.
Prompts:
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Next year at this time, I hope I can…
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Next year, I want to feel…
Pair share only — no pressure to share with the class.
LESSON CONCLUSION (5 min)
Students reflect on the positive changes they have made over the past year and recognise their own progress. By sharing and listening to others, they see that growth happens gradually and that using English to talk about real experiences helps build both language confidence and self-belief.