Minimalism ESL lesson
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett
Intro
This lesson idea can be incorporated with the consumerism lesson as well as the consumer society. All three are built so that you can mix and match the different activities and tasks as you see fit. In this lesson idea the focus is mainly on minimalist and types of buying. There is vocabulary work, a reading task and speaking questions. There is also a grammar focus on conditionals (First, second and third). The lesson is ideally for Upper-Intermediate and above but you can easily incorporate a lot of the ideas here with Intermediate levels. You can find more from the lesson ideas page.
Warm-up
Get students to discuss the quote and its meaning and whether they agree with it or not. Get feedback and elicit examples of what Warren Buffett is referring to. The idea here, is that when you have too many responsibilities or priorities you don’t have time to focus on the most important things – whether it is career related or lifestyle choice.
Alternatively you can write the word MINIMALISM or ask students to play a game of hangman with you. Once the word is on the board draw a circle around it and ask students to discuss for one minute what it means. After feedback brainstorm examples or words associated with MINIMALISM. Then ask students to briefly discuss if they have ever tried doing this in their life and what the result was. Don’t give them too much time because details will be discussed later.
Vocabulary
Words for Keep and Get rid of, put them in the right category
Store, Save, Dispose of, consume, hoard, stockpile, archive, dump, throw away, retain, abandon, eradicate, maintain, preserve, discard, conserve, save
After students have done this in pairs, check answers and explain anything that is unclear. Be ready to explain the difference in meaning between conserve and preserve as these are false friends in some languages.
Speaking
The speaking questions below have been written to include the words from the above vocabulary task so students can practice the words.
Questions on Minimalism:
- Do you like shopping? How often do you buy stuff (clothes, shoes, electronics, household items etc.)
- Have you ever tried to reduce the amount of stuff in your home? how (un)successful were you? What made it easy/difficult?
- How often do you go through your stuff and dispose of things you don’t need or any longer?
- How important, in your opinion, is it to maintain clothes, electronics, shoes and other consumer items? How often do you do this?
- Is it common in your home to conserve food/energy/money? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this?
- Do you or your family preserve foods? or other consumer goods? Why(not)?
- Do you use a lot of space in your home for storage? How helpful is it to store your things and save them for the future? Give some reasons for doing this.
- What are some different ways to discard consumer items you don’t want anymore? (electronics that work, clothes and shoes that are still usable, other items…
Reading
Explain your buying tendencies to your partner, think about these questions to help you…
- How would you describe your consumption habits?
- Do you think about what you buy very carefully and for a long time?
- Are you spontaneous with your buying?
- Do you do research before deciding what to get?
This reading text below describes the different types of buyers. It also provides questions on what a person should ask themselves before making a purchase.
The three types of buyers
- Section summary: Research shows we all fall somewhere on a spectrum between hoarder and minimalist.
To understand how modern people relate to their items, Preston conducted an experiment.
The experiment worked as follows: Preston had participants choose from a list of 107 household items ranging from invaluable (like egg shells) to highly valuable (like a diamond ring). She let participants select as many items as they wanted.
Then, once the participants chose their items, Preston asked them to pare them down to what they could fit in a shopping cart. Once they’d done that, she pushed it further—she asked them to pare down again to what would fit inside a shopping bag.
This revealed three basic personality types around possessions: hoarders, intermediates, and minimalists.
- Hoarders, no surprise, tended to grab and acquire more. In Preston’s study, these people selected a lot of items from the list—one chose 82 items. But they then had trouble pairing the items down to fit in the shopping cart or bag. Some literally couldn’t do it, and it caused them severe anxiety (one freaked out and argued that the 42 items they insisted on keeping would fit in a small shopping bag).
- Then there were “intermediates.” These people were somewhere in the middle. They started with too many items to fit into the shopping bag, but not so many that their initial run of items didn’t fit in the shopping cart. And they were fine paring their items down to a shopping bag’s worth and left with a reasonable amount of useful items.
- At the opposite end were the minimalists, who tended to acquire less. These people didn’t select many items from the initial list—one guy chose nothing. In fact, these people were mildly overwhelmed with the list itself and the thought of having too much caused them anxiety. When asked to pare down, they did so quickly and easily and ended up with an exceedingly small amount of items. But they left a lot of useful, life-enhancing gear on the table.
Preston says every one of us lies somewhere on the spectrum of “hoarder” and “minimalist.”
And so, before I buy, I ask myself:
- Why am I buying this in the first place?
- Is it possible I’m just bored or stressed, and online shopping is relieving that?
- What do I intend to accomplish with this item?
- Do I already own something that can serve the same purpose?
And that is why I’ll be returning that Filson flannel. I forgot to run that four-question framework before clicking buy, and thank God for online returns.
Language Focus
Grammar Exercises: First and Second Conditionals
Topic: Minimalism and Consumerism
1. First Conditional
Explanation:
The First Conditional is used to talk about real or possible situations in the future and their likely results.
Form:
• If + present simple, will + base verb
Examples (Minimalism & Consumerism):
1. If you stop buying unnecessary items, you will save more money.
2. If everyone reduces waste, the environment will benefit.
3. If you donate your old clothes, someone else will use them.
Exercise 1: Complete the Sentences
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
1. If people _______ (buy) fewer things, they _______ (reduce) clutter in their homes.
2. If you _______ (declutter) your living space, you _______ (feel) less stressed.
3. If brands _______ (promote) sustainability, consumers _______ (make) better choices.
4. If you _______ (adopt) a minimalist lifestyle, you _______ (spend) less money.
5. If companies _______ (stop) producing single-use plastics, pollution _______ (decrease).
2. Second Conditional
Explanation:
The Second Conditional is used to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations in the present or future and their imagined results.
Form:
• If + past simple, would + base verb
Examples (Minimalism & Consumerism):
1. If people consumed less, the planet would be healthier.
2. If I were a minimalist, I would own only the things I truly need.
3. If companies cared more about sustainability, they would create eco-friendly products.
Exercise 2: Rewrite the Sentences
Rewrite the sentences using the Second Conditional.
1. People don’t buy fewer products. The planet isn’t more sustainable.
(If people bought fewer products, the planet would be more sustainable.)
2. I don’t live a minimalist lifestyle. My home feels cluttered.
3. Brands don’t focus on eco-friendly designs. Consumers don’t choose sustainable options.
4. Companies don’t reduce production of luxury goods. People keep overspending.
5. I don’t donate unused items. They take up space in my home.
These exercises incorporate meaningful context, making grammar practice both relevant and engaging for students while tying into the theme of minimalism and consumerism.
3. Third Conditional
Explanation:
The Third Conditional is used to talk about unreal situations in the past and their hypothetical results. It reflects regret, missed opportunities, or “what if” scenarios.
Form:
• If + past perfect, would have + past participle
Examples (Minimalism & Consumerism):
1. If I had avoided impulse shopping, I would have saved a lot of money.
2. If people had donated unused items earlier, fewer resources would have been wasted.
3. If companies had focused on sustainability years ago, we would have seen less environmental damage.
Exercise 3: Complete the Sentences
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
1. If I _______ (know) about minimalism sooner, I _______ (reduce) my spending habits earlier.
2. If people _______ (choose) quality over quantity, they _______ (waste) fewer resources.
3. If you _______ (not buy) that expensive gadget, you _______ (save) enough money for a vacation.
4. If companies _______ (invest) in eco-friendly products earlier, they _______ (have) a positive impact on the planet.
5. If I _______ (declutter) my home last year, I _______ (feel) more relaxed now.
Speaking Activity: Conditional Conversations on Minimalism and Consumerism
Objective:
To practice using the First and Second Conditional in meaningful and interactive discussions related to minimalism and consumerism.
Activity Title: What If We Changed Our Habits?
Preparation
1. Write prompts and scenarios involving consumerism and minimalism on small cards (or display them on a slide).
• Examples for First Conditional:
• If you stop buying unnecessary things, how will your life change?
• If people start recycling more, what will happen to the planet?
• If everyone chooses minimalism, what will be the biggest challenge?
• Examples for Second Conditional:
• If you were a minimalist, how would your life look different?
• If companies cared about the environment, what products would they sell?
• If people didn’t care about material things, how would society change?
Procedure
1. Pair Work/Small Groups:
Divide the students into pairs or groups of three. Give each group a set of question cards.
2. Speaking Task:
• Each student picks a card and reads the scenario/question aloud.
• The group discusses the scenario, making sure to use the target conditional forms in their answers.
• Example responses:
• If I stopped buying clothes every month, I would save a lot of money. (Second Conditional)
• If more people started practicing minimalism, they will feel less stressed. (First Conditional)
3. Follow-up Challenge:
After 5-7 minutes of discussion, ask each group to share one or two insights or interesting ideas they discussed.
Extension
• Turn the activity into a debate: One side argues the benefits of minimalism (If people practiced minimalism, the world would be better), while the other argues its challenges (If minimalism became mainstream, some industries would collapse).
This activity allows students to practice speaking fluently, use conditionals accurately, and engage in meaningful discussion on a relevant topic.