ESL Lesson Plan Should Alcohol Be Illegal?

In this B2 ESL lesson plan, students explore the topic of Prohibition and examine the wider impact of alcohol on society. They begin by considering what governments should ban and how banning products can affect businesses, workers, crime, and the economy.

Students then watch a video about Prohibition in the United States, learning how the ban on alcohol led to unexpected consequences, including organised crime, black markets, corruption, illegal bars, and loss of tax revenue. They practise listening and comprehension while exploring the key events that shaped Prohibition.

The lesson also includes vocabulary activities, a Prohibition timeline, and a decision-making task in which students act as government ministers and decide how to respond to different alcohol-related problems. 

Students then explore who benefited and suffered from Prohibition before discussing the wider role of alcohol in modern society. The lesson finishes with a debate and a reading task exploring what might happen if alcohol were illegal today.