Compliments - Social Emotional Learning

Teach Your Students the Language of Genuine Compliments

A practical, engaging B1+ lesson that helps learners build stronger relationships through English
Giving a compliment sounds simple, but doing it naturally, sincerely and appropriately can be surprisingly difficult, especially in another language.

This ready-to-use lesson helps students develop the language and social awareness they need to give and accept compliments with confidence. Along the way, they explore what makes a compliment effective, consider when compliments can become inappropriate, practise listening and speaking, and reflect on how they can use these skills in real life.

Designed for B1+ learners and around 60 minutes or more, the lesson combines discussion, reading, listening, pronunciation practice, role play and reflection.

Why teach compliments?

Compliments are much more than polite small talk.

Used well, they can help people build stronger relationships, motivate others and create a more positive atmosphere, yet this valuable interpersonal skill is often overlooked in language courses.

This lesson gives your students the opportunity to explore both the language and the social skills behind successful compliments, so they can communicate more naturally and appropriately in English.

What students will learn

Students will learn how to:

• Give sincere and appropriate compliments
• Recognise when a compliment may be unsuitable
• Consider important cultural and interpersonal factors when complimenting someone
• Respond naturally when someone compliments them
• Practise useful compliment language through realistic speaking tasks
• Reflect on how they can apply what they have learned outside the classroom

A complete six-stage lesson
The lesson begins by activating students’ existing knowledge and experiences. Learners discuss compliments in small groups, share their views and explore why compliments can be valuable in everyday communication.

Next, students consider ten tips for giving compliments. Before reading the advice, they generate their own ideas and compare them with the text, encouraging critical thinking as well as language development.

Students then listen to a series of compliments and decide whether each one is appropriate. They compare their ideas, apply the tips from the previous stage and discuss how factors such as the relationship between speakers can influence whether a compliment feels acceptable. A speaking check also provides additional pronunciation practice for appropriate compliments.

The lesson then turns to the other side of the interaction: accepting a compliment. Students discuss possible responses, compare their ideas with a reading text and consider what makes a response feel natural.

Once students have developed the language and awareness they need, they put it into practice through compliment role cards. Working with partners, they prepare and deliver compliments while the teacher monitors and provides feedback.

Finally, students complete a reflection task that encourages them to think about what they have learned and how they intend to use it beyond the lesson.

Everything you need to teach the lesson

The lesson includes access to:

• Presentation slides
• A reading on ten tips for complimenting
• A speaking and pronunciation check
• A reading on accepting compliments
• Compliment role cards
• A student reflection task

That means you can move from awareness and discussion to guided practice, freer speaking and reflection without having to build additional materials yourself.

Ideal for teachers who want more meaningful speaking lessons
This lesson is particularly useful if you want students to practise English that has an immediate social purpose.

Rather than simply memorising phrases, learners think about context, intention, appropriacy and relationships. The result is a lesson that develops speaking skills while also helping students become more thoughtful and effective communicators.

Lesson at a glance

Level: B1+
Time: 60 minutes+
Main aim: Enable students to give and accept sincere compliments
Skills: Speaking, listening, reading, pronunciation and reflection
Format: Discussion, guided discovery, listening, pair work, role play and reflective learning

Help your students say something positive and say it well
Give your learners the language, confidence and awareness to compliment other people naturally and respond comfortably when the compliment comes back their way.

A simple topic. A genuinely useful communication skill. And a lesson your students can take straight into real life.

Get the Giving & Receiving Compliments lesson plan and bring more positive, purposeful communication into your classroom.