S1E07 - Always

Objective & content

In the Voss kitchen, Stella complains about Tiago's skateboard and Mason's habit of eating her yogurt, while Diane hurries everyone out. At school Stella drops Elena to impress Mika, and Tiago later tells her she is throwing away "the real thing". The grammar focus is the present continuous with always and never for repeated, often annoying habits, with vocabulary for friendship and feelings. Learners listen for the two storylines, then practise the structure in the in-app quiz and the class activities.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson plan (45 minutes, audio about 2:40) treats always + -ing ("I'm always tripping over it") and be + never ("You're never here") as one family of habit structures. The episode leaves Stella's conflict unresolved on purpose, so do not pre-explain it. Support [S] and extension [A] options are given for each stage.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Activate prior knowledge: learners name a small habit that annoys them, and you collect examples on the board.
2. (5 min) Preview six words on the board: popular, embarrassing, pretend, impress, complicated, joined at the hip.
3. (15 min) Listen twice: once for gist, then again pausing at the end of each of the first three scenes to check understanding.
4. (5 min) Comprehension check with six questions drawn from the quiz.
5. (5 min) Vocabulary practice: match the words to their meanings, or use the worksheet.
6. (5 min) Grammar focus: sort lines from the episode into "annoying habits" and "complaints with never", then drill the -ing form and is/are agreement.
7. Extension or homework: a Stella and Tiago role play, and the text message Stella never sends to Elena.

Materials & prerequisites

• Episode audio or the Academy app, and a board or projector.
• Worksheet and flashcards from the lesson plan.
• Class-pack student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF) from the printables.
• Prerequisites: present continuous forms and basic adverbs of frequency.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4, 4ème: "School and society" (friend groups and social pressure) and "Encountering others" (a newcomer reading unfamiliar social codes).