Maryam Maryam

second conditional
intermediate level

Description

In this lesson, students will learn and practise the second conditional to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future. The context is based on money and dreams, which encourages personal engagement. Learners will discover the form and meaning through guided questions and examples, followed by controlled and freer practice to support fluency and accuracy.

Materials

Abc PowerPoint presentation (teacher-made)

Main Aims

  • To enable students to understand and accurately use the second conditional to talk about unreal or imaginary present and future situations.

Subsidiary Aims

  • To develop students’ fluency by using the second conditional structure to talk about personal hypothetical situations in a communicative context.

Procedure

Lead_in (4 minutes) • To activate interest and introduce the topic of money and dreams through open discussion, with no grammar focus at this stage.

The teacher shows a picture of a bag full of money on the slide. The teacher asks the following questions to the class: What do you see? What do you think this is? Imagine this money were yours — what would you do? Students give spontaneous ideas orally in open class. The teacher responds naturally to students’ ideas, without correcting or focusing on grammar.

Exposure (2 minutes) • To expose students to the target structure (Second Conditional) in context, without explicitly mentioning grammar rules.

The teacher shows five example sentences using the second conditional (e.g., "If I had one million dollars...") on a slide. Each sentence includes a different idea with "first" to indicate priority. The teacher explains that students should choose one idea they would do first and give a reason. The task is done in pairs.

Highlighting (3 minutes) • To draw students' attention to the form and meaning of the Second Conditional using guided questions.

Show one model sentence on the slide: “If I had one million dollars, I would buy a big house.” Ask these CCQs to help learners understand the meaning and form: Do I have one million dollars now? → No Is this a real or imaginary situation? → Imaginary / Unreal What tense is the verb after “if”? → Past Simple What do we use to show the result in the second part? → Would Let students respond and think.

Clarification (3 minutes) • To clarify the meaning, form, and pronunciation of the Second Conditional.

Show the correct form on the slide: If + past simple, … would + base verb Then model and drill pronunciation of I'd vs. I would Provide one more example using both sentence orders:(if---/----if)

Controlled Practice (3 minutes) • To provide controlled practice of the target structure by identifying and correcting common mistakes in Second Conditional sentences

Show 5 sentences on the slide (some correct, some incorrect). Ask students: Is this sentence correct or incorrect? Let them decide in open class. Elicit answers and reasons. Click to reveal the correction under each incorrect sentence. Confirm and repeat the correct form out loud.

Semi-Controlled Practice (3 minutes) • To help students practise and become more confident using the Second Conditional structure with some support.

Show slide with gap-fill sentences (with verbs in brackets). Students complete the sentences in pairs. Example: If I ______ (be) taller, I ______ (play) basketball professionally. After pair-checking, elicit answers from students one by one.

Freer Practice (3 minutes) • To allow students to use the target language in a real-life, personalized context.

Show slide: Choose a Question (5 Second Conditional question), for example: If you had one million dollars, what would you do?

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