Week 49 – Media, technology & habits

Week 49 – Media, technology & habits (gerunds vs infinitives, verb patterns, B1‑)

Theme: Talking about media use and technology habits; using common verb + -ing / verb + to + infinitive patterns.

Main grammar & functions:

• Verb + -ing (gerund) after certain verbs:
  • like / love / hate / don’t mind + -ing: I like watching series., She hates waiting.
  • enjoy, finish, stop, keep: I enjoy reading news online., He stopped smoking.
• Verb + to + infinitive after certain verbs:
  • want / hope / decide / plan / need / would like + to + verb: I want to buy a new phone., We decided to watch a film.
• Some common verbs that can take both patterns with a small meaning difference (recognition more than production):
  • like / love / hate + -ing / to + verb.

CEFR link:

B1‑: Can talk about preferences, habits, and plans using a limited range of verb patterns (CEFR: “Can express likes and dislikes, talk about everyday habits and routines, and outline future plans.”)

1. Lesson objectives (for students)

By the end of the week, students can:

1. Use verb + -ing (like/enjoy/hate/don’t mind, finish, stop, keep) to describe media and technology habits.
2. Use verb + to + infinitive (want/hope/decide/plan/need/would like) to talk about plans and intentions with technology/media.
3. Talk about how often and why they use different media/technology.
4. Ask and answer questions about media/tech habits using these verb patterns.

2. Grammar focus (with Ukrainian‑speaker notes)

a) Verb + -ing (gerunds) – habits & enjoyment

Common verbs followed by -ing:

• like / love / hate / don’t mind + -ing
  • I like watching series online.
  • She loves playing computer games.
  • I don’t mind reading news on my phone.
  • He hates waiting for slow websites.

• enjoy + -ing
  • We enjoy listening to podcasts.

• finish / stop + -ing
  • I finished watching the series last night.
  • He stopped smoking last year.

• keep (on) + -ing (recognition):
  • She keeps checking her phone.

Ukrainian issues:

• Saying to + verb after these:
  • I like to watch TV – acceptable in meaning, but for this week focus production on like watching TV.
• Forgetting -ing: I enjoy listen to music → enjoy listening.

Keep a clear student rule:

After like/love/hate/don’t mind/enjoy/finish/stop → use verb + -ing.

b) Verb + to + infinitive – plans & intentions

Common verbs followed by to + infinitive:

• want / hope / need / would like + to + verb
  • I want to buy a new laptop.
  • She hopes to work in IT.
  • We need to charge our phones.
  • I’d like to learn to code.

• decide / plan / try / start + to + verb
  • We decided to watch a film.
  • He plans to study computer science.
  • I’ll try to use my phone less.

Ukrainian issues:

• Dropping "to": want buy → want to buy.
• Mixing patterns: enjoy to watch, plan watching – contrast with the -ing list above.

Student rule:

After want/hope/need/would like/decide/plan/try → use to + verb.

c) like/love/hate + -ing / to + verb (recognition)

Explain briefly:

• Both are usually possible and similar in meaning at this level:
  • I like watching TV. / I like to watch TV.
• For this week, focus on -ing for habits/preferences because it’s more common in conversation.

3. Vocabulary & topics

Media & technology topics:

• watching films/series, TV, YouTube
• listening to music, podcasts, radio
• reading news, blogs, social media
• playing computer/phone games
• using social networks (Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
• using apps: banking app, maps, learning apps (Duolingo, etc.)

Habits & frequency words:

• always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never
• every day, at night, on the way to work, in the evening

4. Lesson skeleton (60–90 minutes)

1) Warm‑up – My media day (10–15 min)

• Students think about yesterday and note which media/tech they used (phone, laptop, TV, apps).
• In pairs, they describe simply:
  • "I watched YouTube and I checked Instagram."
• You reformulate a few using like/enjoy + -ing and want/decide + to + verb later.

2) Presentation – Verb patterns from a short text (15–20 min)

1. Show a short text:

Example:

I love watching films on Netflix and I enjoy listening to podcasts on my phone. I don’t mind reading news online, but I hate waiting for slow websites. In the evening, I try to use my phone less because I want to sleep well. Next year I’d like to buy a new laptop.

2. Underline verb patterns and put them in two columns on the board:
   • verb + -ing: love watching, enjoy listening, don’t mind reading, hate waiting
   • verb + to + verb: try to use, want to sleep, would like to buy
3. Elicit the two rules from students.

3) Controlled practice – sort & complete (15–20 min)

1. Give a list of verbs (like, enjoy, hate, don’t mind, finish, stop, want, decide, plan, need, would like).
2. Students sort them into verb + -ing vs verb + to + verb tables.
3. Gap‑fill exercise with media/tech habits, e.g.:
   • "I _ (enjoy / listen) to music on Spotify." → enjoy listening
   • "I _ (need / buy) a new phone." → need to buy
   • "She _ (stopped / use) Facebook last year." → stopped using

4) Guided speaking – Media habits (15–20 min)

Students interview each other about media & tech habits using target patterns.

1. Provide question stems:
   • What do you like / love / hate / enjoy / don’t mind doing online?
   • How often do you use social media / watch series / play games?
   • What tech skills do you want / need / plan to improve?
   • What apps would you like to try?
2. Students ask and answer in pairs, making sure to use -ing or to + verb correctly:
   • "I love watching YouTube, but I hate reading news."
   • "I want to learn to use Excel."
   • "I plan to use my phone less in the evening."

5) Freer practice – "My media habits" mini‑presentation (15–20 min)

Students prepare a short description of their media & technology habits.

1. Planning: students write notes under headings: Watching, Listening, Reading, Using apps, Plans to change.
2. They write 8–10 sentences, for example:
   • "I like watching series on Netflix and I enjoy listening to podcasts."
   • "I don’t mind reading news on my phone, but I hate waiting for slow websites."
   • "I use social media every day, but I want to use it less."
   • "Next year I’d like to start using an English learning app."
3. In small groups, students give a mini‑talk and ask each other 1–2 questions.

5. Homework / revision ideas

Choose 1–2:

1. Media diary
   • Students track their media/tech use for one day and then write 6–8 sentences using verb + -ing and verb + to + verb.

2. Verb pattern table
   • Students make their own two‑column table of verbs that take -ing vs to + verb, with 2 example sentences each.

3. "Digital diet" plan
   • Students write a short plan for changing their media habits (e.g., use phone less, read more, learn online) using patterns like:
     • "I’m going to try to…", "I want to stop…ing.", "I’d like to start…ing.", "I need to…"