Success and failure make a strong pair for an adult English class: each student can bring a story about both, and the stories use the past tenses they’re practicing. This page gives you twelve questions sorted by level, the phrases to write on the board, and a lesson that puts the two words side by side. You can print the questions, write two words on the board, or put two cards on the table.
Phrases to put on the board first
A phrase list before the questions lets students spend their effort on the story. The eight phrases below fit this topic.
- to succeed in / at: to reach a goal (“She succeeded in passing the exam.”)
- to fail an exam: to not get the grade needed to pass
- to give up: to stop trying
- to try again: to make a second attempt
- to pay off: when effort brings a result (“All that practice paid off.”)
- a setback: a problem that slows progress
- to learn from a mistake: to do something differently next time
- to be proud of: to feel good about something you did
Ask students which phrases have an exact match in their own language. “To pay off” and “a setback” may not, and those two make a short discussion before the questions start.
Why failure needs a gentle start
Failure can be a harder word to say out loud than success, and in a second language the student carries two risks at once. One is the story itself: a lost job, a failed exam, a business that closed. The other is the grammar mistake they might make while telling it, in front of the class.
Language skill alone doesn’t decide who speaks. MacIntyre and colleagues proposed a model of willingness to communicate in a second language. It starts from the observation that some learners with strong skills still avoid speaking, and it links that choice to the situation, the people, and the learner’s confidence in the moment (MacIntyre et al. 1998). So a B2 student who talks freely about travel may go quiet on failure. The topic changed, and the level stayed the same.
Success can be the easier way in. Dewaele and MacIntyre asked 1,746 foreign language learners about enjoyment and anxiety in class. Enjoyment scored higher than anxiety. Learners linked enjoyable moments to skilled, supportive teachers and a supportive peer group, and some described the moment a long effort finally paid off (Dewaele and MacIntyre 2014). A question about something a student worked hard for brings that moment into the lesson. Start there, and ask about failure once the group has heard a few success stories.
A lesson with two words
The steps below run in the order of the lesson. Fit their length to your class and your timetable.
- Phrases. Put the eight phrases on the board. Students mark the ones they’ve used.
- Success in pairs. One B1 question about success. Each partner answers, then tells the class the other’s answer in one sentence.
- Two words. Write “Success” and “Failure” on the board, or put both cards on the table. Each student picks one word and one side.
- Small groups. Groups take one level’s questions. Each student picks the question they want to answer.
- Last round. Each student names one thing they discovered about a classmate today.
Step 3 is where the choice matters. A student who’d rather not talk about failure can take Success. A student who finds both words too personal can turn the card over and talk about the object.
Twelve questions about success and failure
The questions below are grouped by level. Each one asks for a story from the student’s own life, so there’s no right answer to check. Students can pass or pick another question.
B1: past events
- What’s something you learned to do well as a child?
- Tell us about a day you felt proud of yourself.
- Did you ever fail a test? What happened next?
- Who helped you most when you were learning English?
B2: experience and effort
- What’s a goal you reached after a long time? When did the effort pay off?
- What’s one thing you gave up, and do you ever want to try again?
- Who in your family is a success story, and what did they do?
- What’s a mistake that taught you something useful?
C1: values and culture
- How do people in your country talk about failure: openly or quietly?
- Can someone be successful without money? What would that look like?
- Is it better to try something big and fail, or to choose something safe?
- What did success mean to you ten years ago, and what does it mean now?
Question 5 uses “pay off” from the board, which gives students a phrase to reach for. Question 9 suits a mixed class: each student can describe a different country, and nobody has to talk about their own failure to answer it.
Follow-up questions that keep the answer going
A short answer in a second language can be a first draft. The rule card in Thesis gives three follow-ups:
What did that feel like? Who else was there? Has it always meant that to you?
They’re short enough for a B1 student to ask a classmate. For this topic, Who else was there? moves a failure story toward the people who helped, which can give it a different ending. The same rule card says: “A short answer is a full answer. You can always ask for more.” Read that line to the class before the small groups start.
Two cards in one lesson
A single word gives students room to choose their own angle. Thesis has 50 double-sided cards: an idea on one side, an everyday thing on the other. Two of them make this lesson, and a third helps when the group wants to keep going.
Success has a Notebook on its other side. A B1 student can describe a notebook: a school notebook, a list of new words, a diary. A C1 student can take Success and talk about goals, family expectations, or money. The Notebook side fits a language class well, because a student may keep one for English.
Failure pairs with Washing machine. This is the card where the object side matters most. A student who doesn’t want to share a failure can talk about a washing machine instead: the first one their family bought, a laundromat in a new city, a machine that broke. The story still uses the past tense, and it stays at a distance the student chooses.
Courage sits behind Bicycle. It connects the two words: the step between failing and trying again. A bicycle can bring up a story about learning to ride and falling, which is a small, safe failure a B1 student can tell.
For a second angle, the deck has a die with six words: MEMORIES · BODY · PEOPLE · VALUES · CHILDHOOD · FUTURE. Look at the word from that side.
Running it online
For an online class, share your screen with the online table and draw a card together. Each student reads the word aloud before answering, which adds pronunciation practice: “success” and “failure” both have stress patterns worth practicing.
Agree at the start what stays in the class. The rule card in Thesis says: “What is said at the table stays at the table.” For a failure story told in a second language, that line can decide whether a student speaks at all.
Before your next class
Write “Success” and “Failure” on the board, with the eight phrases under them. Open with question 2 in pairs, and end with the last round. Keep the C1 questions for a later lesson, once the class has heard each other’s success stories.
See the rules and the box. The three words have their own pages: Success, Failure and Courage. For class and team sessions, see Thesis for teams and classes. For the studies behind the deck, see the research page. For a lesson on hours and rest, see ESL questions about work-life balance. For students who want to go deeper on one word, see what does success mean to you.