Psychology: Talking about daily stress

This lesson plan is designed to help English language learners at different proficiency levels (A1-C1) develop the vocabulary, phrases, and conversational skills needed to discuss daily stress in a clear and relatable way.

For lower-level learners (A1-A2), the focus is on building foundational vocabulary and simple sentence structures to express basic feelings of stress related to work, school, or home life. Upper-level learners (B1-C1) will engage with more nuanced vocabulary and complex phrases to describe stress, its causes, and coping strategies with greater detail and fluency.

Through interactive activities like role-plays, personalized discussions, and scenario-based tasks, this lesson creates a supportive environment for learners to practice speaking and listening while addressing a universal topic. Visuals, flashcards, and real-life examples are incorporated to enhance understanding, and culturally sensitive approaches ensure all learners feel comfortable sharing.

By the end of the lesson, students will be better equipped to articulate their experiences with stress and engage in meaningful conversations about managing it.

For lower levels (Beginners to low-intermediate, A1-A2)

Introduce simple, high-frequency words related to daily stress that are easy for beginners to understand and use.

Basic vocabulary

• Stress: Feeling worried or nervous.
• Work: A job or tasks at a workplace.
• School: A place for studying or learning.
• Home: Where you live (e.g., house, apartment).
• Busy: Having a lot to do.
• Tired: Feeling low on energy.
• Difficult: Hard or not easy.
• Problem: Something that causes worry.
• Time: Hours or minutes (e.g., not enough time).
• Help: Assistance or support.
• Boss: The person in charge at work.
• Homework: School tasks done at home.
• Family: People you live with (e.g., parents, siblings).
• Relax: To rest or feel calm.
• Sleep: Resting at night.

Vocabulary for extension

• Nervous: Feeling worried or afraid (e.g., I’m nervous about a test).
• Job: Work you do for money (e.g., My job is busy).
• Test: A school exam or quiz.
• Housework: Tasks at home like cleaning or cooking.
• Late: Not on time (e.g., I’m late for work).
• Calm: Feeling peaceful or not stressed.
• Hard: Difficult or challenging (e.g., My homework is hard).
• Friend: Someone you like and talk to.
• Rest: To stop working and relax.
• Fun: Something enjoyable that reduces stress (e.g., I watch TV for fun).

Teaching tips

• Use visuals like pictures of a busy office, a classroom, or a family at home to connect words to real-life contexts.
• Practice pronunciation of key terms like “stress” (STRES) or “busy” (BIZ-ee).
• Create flashcards with words on one side and simple definitions or images on the other.

Useful phrases

Teach short, simple sentence structures that lower-level learners can use to describe stress. Focus on easy grammar and clear meaning.

Key phrases

1. Talking about stress
   • “I feel stressed.”
   • “I am busy at [work/school/home].”
   • “I am tired because of [work/school].”
   • “I have a problem at [work/school/home].”
2. Describing the cause
   • “Work is difficult.”
   • “School has a lot of homework.”
   • “My boss/teacher is strict.”
   • “I don’t have time.”
3. Expressing feelings
   • “I don’t like stress.”
   • “I need to relax.”
   • “I want to sleep.”
   • “I need help.”
4. Asking questions
   • “Are you stressed?”
   • “Is work/school hard?”
   • “Do you have time?”
   • “How do you relax?”

Teaching tips

• Write phrases on a board or handout and model their use (e.g., “I feel stressed. Work is busy.”).
• Have learners substitute their own situations (e.g., “I am tired because of school.”).
• Practice question forms with pair work to encourage interaction.

Additional resources:

• Talking about stress in English: Stress-related vocabulary
• Workplace stress and some of its common causes

Example conversations

Provide short, simple dialogues to model talking about stress. These are designed for lower-level learners with basic sentence structures.

Conversation 1: Basic exchange

Anna: Are you stressed, Tom?
Tom: Yes, I feel stressed. Work is busy.
Anna: Oh, no! Is your boss strict?
Tom: Yes, very strict. I am tired.
Anna: Do you relax?
Tom: Yes, I sleep to relax.

Conversation 2: Adding details

Sara: Hi, Juan! Are you okay?
Juan: No, I feel stressed. School is difficult.
Sara: Why? Too much homework?
Juan: Yes, a lot of homework. I don’t have time.
Sara: That’s hard. Do you want help?
Juan: Yes, please!

Teaching tips

• Role-play dialogues with the learner, switching roles to practice both asking and answering.
• Encourage personalization by having learners use their own stress sources (e.g., “I feel stressed. My family is noisy.”).
• In group settings, pair students to practice, encouraging one follow-up question.

Teaching strategy (Lower level, 45 minutes)

Step 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)

• Ask: “Do you feel stressed? Why?” Use gestures or visuals (e.g., a tired face) to explain “stress.”
• Show a picture of a busy person (e.g., at work or school) and describe it simply (e.g., “She is stressed. Work is busy.”).

Step 2: Vocabulary introduction (10 minutes)

• Present the vocabulary list using visuals or real-life examples.
• Practice pronunciation and have learners repeat words aloud.
• Play a quick game: Say a word (e.g., “tired”), and learners point to a picture or say a related word (e.g., “sleep”).

Step 3: Phrase practice (10 minutes)

• Display key phrases and model them (e.g., “I feel stressed. School is difficult.”).
• Have learners practice by filling in blanks (e.g., “I am tired because of ____.”).
• Correct pronunciation and grammar gently, keeping feedback positive.

Step 4: Conversation practice (15 minutes)

• Read one example conversation aloud with clear, slow pronunciation.
• Pair learners (or role-play with them) to practice dialogues, using their own stress examples.
• Ask learners to create a short dialogue (3-4 lines) about their stress.

Step 5: Wrap-up (5 minutes)

• Have each learner share one sentence about their stress (e.g., “I feel stressed. Work is busy.”).
• Provide feedback on vocabulary and pronunciation.
• Assign homework: Write 3 sentences about what makes them stressed.

Additional tips (Lower level)

• Simplify: Stick to present tense and short sentences (e.g., “Work is hard” instead of “Work has been stressful”).
• Visuals: Use emojis (e.g., for stress) or pictures to make concepts clear.
• Cultural sensitivity: Some learners may feel shy about sharing personal stress. Allow them to use general examples if needed.
• Listening: Play a short, simple audio (e.g., from ESL resources) of someone saying “I’m stressed” to model pronunciation.

Upper levels (Intermediate to advanced, B1-C1)

Introduce more nuanced vocabulary related to daily stress, suitable for learners with stronger English skills.

Vocabulary list

• Stressful: Causing worry or tension.
• Workload: The amount of work to do.
• Deadline: A time or date when work must be finished.
• Pressure: Feeling forced to do something.
• Balance: Managing work, school, and home life.
• Overwhelmed: Feeling too much stress or work.
• Challenging: Difficult but interesting.
• Responsibility: Duties you must do (e.g., at home or work).
• Schedule: A plan of tasks and times.
• Cope: To handle or manage stress.
• Colleague: A person you work with.
• Exam: A test at school.
• Household: Tasks or duties at home (e.g., cleaning, cooking).
• Relieve: To reduce stress.
• Mental health: Your emotional well-being.

Complete phrases

Here are some common English phrases used to talk about stress.

1. Under a lot of pressure – Feeling overwhelmed by demands or expectations.
   • Example: “I’m under a lot of pressure at work with all these deadlines.”
2. Stressed out – Feeling extremely anxious or overwhelmed.
   • Example: “I’m so stressed out about this exam.”
3. At my wits’ end – Feeling unable to cope anymore.
   • Example: “I’m at my wits’ end trying to juggle work and family.”
4. Burned out – Exhausted and drained from prolonged stress.
   • Example: “After months of overtime, I’m completely burned out.”
5. On edge/edgy – Feeling nervous or tense.
   • Example: “I’ve been on edge all week waiting for the results.”
6. Swamped – Overwhelmed with too much to do.
   • Example: “I’m swamped with assignments right now.”
7. Up to my neck – Deeply involved in a stressful situation.
   • Example: “I’m up to my neck in paperwork.”
8. Feeling the heat – Experiencing intense pressure.
   • Example: “We’re feeling the heat to finish the project on time.”
9. Tearing my hair out – Feeling extremely frustrated or stressed.
   • Example: “This problem is so tricky, it’s got me tearing my hair out.”
10. Overwhelmed – Unable to handle the volume of tasks or emotions.
    • Example: “I’m feeling overwhelmed with all these responsibilities.”
11. Running on empty – Having no energy left due to stress or overwork.
    • Example: “After weeks of late nights, I’m running on empty.”
12. Nerves are shot – Feeling extremely stressed or anxious.
    • Example: “My nerves are shot after dealing with this crisis.”
13. In over my head – Facing a situation that feels too difficult to manage.
    • Example: “I took on this project, but now I’m in over my head.”
14. Biting off more than I can chew – Taking on too many responsibilities.
    • Example: “I bit off more than I can chew with this new role.”
15. Wound up – Feeling tense or tightly strung.
    • Example: “I’m all wound up about this presentation tomorrow.”

Vocabulary for extension

• Anxiety: Intense worry or stress (e.g., I have anxiety about deadlines).
• Multitasking: Doing many tasks at once.
• Burnout: Extreme tiredness from too much stress.
• Expectation: What others want you to do (e.g., My boss has high expectations).
• Prioritize: To decide what tasks are most important.
• Distraction: Something that takes your focus away (e.g., My phone is a distraction).
• Routine: A regular way of doing things (e.g., My routine is busy).
• Support: Help from others (e.g., My friends give me support).
• Mindfulness: Focusing on the present to reduce stress.
• Fatigue: Deep physical or mental tiredness.

Teaching tips

• Use real-world examples like a busy office calendar or a student’s study schedule to illustrate words.
• Practice pronunciation of terms like “overwhelmed” (OH-ver-welmd) or “deadline” (DED-line).
• Create a word map linking related terms (e.g., “stressful” → “deadline” → “pressure”).

Useful phrases

Teach more complex sentence structures that allow upper-level learners to describe stress with detail and express opinions.

Key phrases

1. Talking about stress
   • “I’ve been feeling stressed about [work/school/home].”
   • “My [workload/schedule] is overwhelming.”
   • “I’m under a lot of pressure because of [reason].”
   • “Balancing [work/school/home] is challenging.”
2. Describing the cause
   • “I have a tight deadline at work/school.”
   • “My colleagues/teachers expect a lot from me.”
   • “Household responsibilities take up all my time.”
   • “Exams are making me stressed.”
3. Expressing feelings and solutions
   • “I feel overwhelmed, so I need to [relax/take a break].”
   • “To cope, I [exercise/talk to friends].”
   • “I relieve stress by [hobby/activity].”
   • “I wish I had more time to [relax/focus].”
4. Asking questions
   • “How do you handle stress at [work/school]?”
   • “What’s the most stressful part of your day?”
   • “Do you find it hard to balance everything?”
   • “What do you do to relieve stress?”

Teaching tips

• Model phrases with examples (e.g., “I’m under pressure because of a work deadline.”).
• Encourage learners to use connectors like “because,” “so,” or “but” for fluency.
• Practice question forms to promote discussion and critical thinking.

Example conversations

Provide dialogues with more complexity, suitable for upper-level learners, incorporating detailed explanations and solutions.

Conversation 1: Intermediate exchange

Anna: How’s work going, Tom? Are you stressed?
Tom: Yeah, I’ve been feeling stressed. My workload is huge.
Anna: Why? What’s happening?
Tom: I have two deadlines this week, and my boss is very demanding.
Anna: That sounds tough. How do you cope?
Tom: I try to relax by watching movies at night.

Conversation 2: Adding details

Sara: Hey, Juan, you look stressed. What’s wrong?
Juan: School is overwhelming. I have exams and too many assignments.
Sara: I get it. Do you find it hard to balance everything?
Juan: Yes, especially with part-time work. I don’t have time to relax.
Sara: What do you do to relieve stress?
Juan: I go for a run or listen to music. It helps a little.

Conversation 3: Advanced exchange

Mark: Lisa, you seem stressed lately. What’s going on?
Lisa: Honestly, balancing work and home life is exhausting. I have a big project deadline, and household responsibilities never stop.
Mark: That’s a lot. How do you handle the pressure?
Lisa: I try to manage my schedule better, but it’s challenging. I relieve stress by doing yoga or talking to friends.
Mark: Yoga sounds great. Do you think mental health support at work would help?
Lisa: Definitely! I wish my company offered stress management workshops.

Teaching tips

• Role-play dialogues, encouraging natural intonation and expressions like “honestly” or “definitely.”
• Have learners adapt dialogues to their own experiences (e.g., specific work or school stressors).
• In groups, encourage follow-up questions to extend conversations.

Teaching strategy (Upper level, 45 minutes)

Step 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)

• Ask: “What’s the most stressful part of your day? Why?” to encourage discussion.
• Share a brief example (e.g., “I’d be stressed if I had a tight deadline and no time to relax.”) to model complex sentences.

Step 2: Vocabulary introduction (10 minutes)

• Present the vocabulary list using real-world scenarios (e.g., a busy office or exam schedule).
• Practice pronunciation and have learners use words in sentences (e.g., “I feel overwhelmed by my workload.”).
• Play a game: Give a scenario (e.g., “You have three exams”), and learners pick a word (e.g., “stressful”) to describe it.

Step 3: Phrase practice (10 minutes)

• Display key phrases and model them (e.g., “I’m under pressure because of a tight deadline.”).
• Have learners practice by personalizing phrases (e.g., “I relieve stress by ____.”).
• Encourage use of connectors or adverbs (e.g., “I’m really stressed because…”).

Step 4: Conversation practice (15 minutes)

• Read one example conversation aloud, emphasizing fluency and tone.
• Pair learners (or role-play) to practice dialogues, using their own stress examples.
• Ask learners to create a short dialogue (5-6 lines) about a specific stressful situation.

Step 5: Wrap-up (5 minutes)

• Have each learner share a short explanation of their stress and how they cope (e.g., “I’m stressed about exams, so I listen to music to relax.”).
• Provide feedback on vocabulary, grammar, and fluency.
• Assign homework: Write a short paragraph (5-7 sentences) about daily stress and solutions.

Additional tips (Upper level)

• Complexity: Encourage use of past tense, conditionals, or modals (e.g., “If I had more time, I wouldn’t be stressed.”).
• Critical thinking: Ask learners to discuss solutions to stress (e.g., time management, hobbies).
• Cultural Sensitivity: Be mindful that some learners may not want to share personal details. Offer hypothetical scenarios if needed.
• Listening: Use a podcast or video clip about stress management (e.g., from TED Talks or ESL resources) to expose learners to advanced language.

Common mistakes to address

• Lower level:
  • Grammar: Omitting verbs (e.g., “I stressed” instead of “I am stressed”). Emphasize “am/is/are.”
  • Pronunciation: Words like “busy” or “tired” may be mispronounced. Practice clearly.
  • Word choice: Clarify “tired” (physical) vs. “stressed” (mental/emotional).
• Upper level:
  • Grammar: Incorrect prepositions (e.g., “stressed about” instead of “stressed by”). Teach correct usage.
  • Fluency: Encourage connectors (e.g., “because,” “therefore”) to avoid choppy sentences.
  • Vocabulary: Clarify nuances (e.g., “overwhelmed” is stronger than “stressed”).

Example activity: “Stress scenarios”

• Lower level: Give learners a card with a simple scenario (e.g., “You have a lot of homework.”). They say one sentence about the stress (e.g., “I am stressed. School is busy.”).
• Upper level: Give a detailed scenario (e.g., “You have a work deadline and a family event.”). Learners discuss the stress and solutions in pairs, using at least three vocabulary words.

Homework or follow-up

• Lower level:
  • Write 3-5 sentences about what makes you stressed (e.g., work, school, home).
  • Practice a short dialogue with a friend about stress.
• Upper level:
  • Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) about a stressful day and how you coped.
  • Record a 1-minute audio describing your stress and solutions, using at least five vocabulary words.

If you are dealing with stress, here are some online resources:

• https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/living-with/index.html
• https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/tips-to-reduce-stress/
• https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet
• https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relievers/art-20047257