Let’s talk about health and well-being in English.
1.) What is health? How do you define it?
2.) Do you think we are physically healthier or less healthy than we were in the past?
3.) Do you think our psychological well-being is better or worse than it was in the past?
4.) What is the key to great health and well-being?
Warm Ups
BEGINNER
First Aid Kit Vocabulary Game
INTERMEDIATE
Basic Diagnosis and Treatment Activity – Conversation and vocabulary practice.
What’s the Difference?
What’s the difference between a Cold and the Flu? Read the chart and discuss.
A Cold
Caused most commonly by the rhinovirus virus
Usually milder than the Flu
Symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, and nasal congestion. Sometimes also cough and sore throat
Onset is gradual, and recovery usually takes around a week
Treatment is rest, hydration, and decongestion
The Flu
Caused by Influenza viruses (A or B)
Usually more severe than a Cold
Symptoms include a fever, muscle aches, fatigue, a dry cough, and chills
Onset is sudden, and recovery usually takes around two weeks.
Treatment is rest and hydration, antiviral medication if required
(Flu can lead to Pneumonia.)
Vocabulary
NEW BEGINNER
BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
Illnesses and Injuries Vocabulary
Cold/flu = gripa
congestion = congestión
cramp = calambre
bump = bulto/chichón
blister = ampolla
bruise = moretón
swelling = la hinchazón
rash = sarpullido
burn = quemadura
scratch = rasguño/arañazo
cut = corte
infection = la infección
splinter = la astilla
fever = la fiebre
chills = resfriado
dizziness = mareo
fatigue/lethargy = la fatiga/letargo
vomiting = vómito
diarrhea = La diarrea
constipation = estreñimiento
injury = herida
Verbs to know
to sneeze = estornudar
to cough = toser
to sweat = sudar
to faint = desmayarse
INTERMEDIATE
Adjectives for injuries
bruised = amoratado/magullado
swollen = hinchado
tender = sensible/delicado (other)
inflamed = inflamo
twisted/sprained = torcido
broken = roto
Grammar
ALL LEVELS
How to Talk about Pain – Learn how to use the words hurt, injure, wound, and sore.
HIGH BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
Past Simple and Past Continuous Compared – Grammar review
Past Simple or Past Continuous Quiz – Try the Health quiz!
HIGH INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
Have, Has, or Had? – Advanced Practice grammar
Reading and Speaking
HIGH BEGINNER
What is the essence of a healthy lifestyle?
Read the three answers out loud. Then share your observations. Which one do you agree with most? Do you have another way to look at the topic?
1.) Health is about balance. A healthy diet is to consume and spend around the same number of calories every day. Our environment is comfortable when it is neither too hot, nor too cold. We should sleep well and deeply, but both too much and not enough sleep is detrimental.
2.) Health is about connection. By being loving and connected with others, we ensure that we are there for one another in emergencies. Just knowing that you are accepted and loved is good for your health. There are lots of studies to prove it. Just connecting with your Here and Now helps to ground you, reduce stress, and live a longer, more meaningful life.
3.) Health is about physical fitness and exercise. Staying strong and flexible not only helps you defend yourself from external threats, it also defends you against countless diseases. Get off the couch and move around, as though your life depends on it.
Reading and Listening
HIGH BEGINER +
Immune System – Breaking News English
Human Biology – Select a system to read about.
ADVANCED
Mindfulness, Concentration, and Insight – Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
Check out the high intermediate/advanced reading and speaking lessons!
Speaking
BEGINNER +
Conversation Questions
How is health related…
1.) to age?
2.) to diet?
3.) to spirituality?
4.) to community?
5.) to money?
6.) to geography?
7.) to psychology?
8.) to lifestyle?
9.) to genetics?
10.) to the environment?
Nursing Conversation Questions
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
Role Play – Medical Self-defense
Watch the video: Learn to say NO! to your doctor.
An assertive patient asks a doctor the question.
1.) That’s very private. Why do you need to know that?
2.) I want a second opinion before I decide. Could you refer me to someone, please?
3.) Those medications are outside my budget. Is there a generic option?
4.) What are side effects of this medication?
Not the doctor’s business – C2 reading
Related topics
Health isn’t just about our physical bodies. It’s about our psychological, social, and spiritual health as well.
Check out the Mental Health lesson.
Check out the Religion and Spirituality Lesson!
NEW!
Autism Lesson
Disorder or Difference? Autism Researchers Face Off Over Field’s Terminology – Science Magazine
Watch the Video
1.) Stop every 20 seconds are talk about what the child experiences.
Vocabulary:
surroundings
overstimulation
heightened sense of smell/sound/touch
awareness
What do you want to study next?
