Your students will watch trailers from reality TV dating shows and talk about them. It’s the perfect lesson for Valentine’s Day!

Note to teachers: This is an adult conversation lesson and the videos are from reality TV shows about romance, so the content won’t be appropriate for every class. Please watch the clips before showing them to your students to ensure that they suit your students’ maturity level.

You can download the PDF to print for class here. The lesson will last approximately 1 hour.

Step 1: Warm-Up (5-10 minutes)

Get into partners and answer the warm-up questions.

1. What is reality TV?
2. With your partner, make a list of famous reality TV shows.
3. Do you like the shows you listed? Why or why not?

Step 2: Vocabulary (5-10 minutes)

Match the vocabulary words about romance with the definitions.

Vocabulary	Definitions
1. blind date	a. to be hurt
2. bachelorette	b. to promise
3. fiancé	c. slang for soul mate
4. fairy tales	d. a person who is engaged to be married
5. gut	e. an arranged meet-up where one person hasn’t met the other
6. get crushed	f. a children’s story about imaginary creatures and events
7. commit	g. a sudden feeling of intense anxiety
8. my person	h. an unmarried woman
9. panic attack	i. stomach; an instinctual belief
10. Bridezilla	j. a person who is very demanding in planning their wedding

Step 3: Watch and discuss Love is Blind (15-20 minutes)

Now we’re going to watch a trailer for a reality TV show. The name of the show is Love is Blind.

• What do you think the show is going to be about?

Now watch “Love is Blind | Official Trailer | Netflix.”

Answer the comprehension questions.

1. What is the concept of the show?
2. What are some of the problems that the couples seem to have?

In partners, ask and answer the discussion questions.

1. Why do you think someone would agree to be on this reality TV show?
2. Would it be easier or harder to talk to someone that you can’t see? Why?
3. Do you think it’s going to work out for the couples in the TV show? Why or why not?
4. In the show the couples talk to each other for ten days before deciding if they want to get engaged. Is it enough time? Why or why not?
5. After getting engaged “in the pods,” the couples meet each other and then they have more time to get to know each other “in the real world.” Many couples who seemed perfect suddenly struggle to stay together in the real world. What kinds of problems do you think these couples face?
6. Do you believe love is blind? Why or why not?

Step 3: Watch and discuss The Bachelorette (15-20 minutes)

The second trailer we are going to watch is from The Bachelorette.

• What do you think this show is about?

Now watch the “The Bachelorette 2023 Midseason Trailer – The Bachelorette.”

Answer the comprehension questions.

1. What is the TV show about?
2. The bachelorette’s name is Charity. Why is Charity’s big problem in this season of the Bachelorette based on what you’ve seen in the trailer?

In partners, ask and answer the discussion questions.

1. Do you think it would be fun to be a contestant in the bachelorette/bachelor? Why or why not?
2. What about the bachelor/bachelorette? Do you think the show is fun or stressful for them? Why?
3. Some of the people in the TV show are worried about committing and getting engaged. Why do you think those people agreed to be on the show?
4. Do you think that someone can truly find love on a show like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? Why or why not?
5. Is it possible to love more than one person at the same time? Why or why not?
6. There is a spin-off series called The Golden Bachelor which is about elderly people trying to find love. Would you be interested in watching the show? Why or why not?

Step 3: Watch and discuss 90 Day Fiancé (15-20 minutes)

The final trailer that we are going to watch is from 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way.

• What do you think this show is going to be about?

Watch the trailer “First Look: 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way Season 3!”

Answer the comprehension questions.

1. Based on the trailer, what is this TV show about?
2. Which countries are mentioned in the trailer?
3. What are some of the problems that these couples are going to face?

In partners, ask and answer the discussion questions.

1. In the original show 90 Day Fiancé, people from different countries move to America to be with their fiancés. Then they have 90 days to marry their partners before their visa expires. Do you think 90 days is enough time to decide if you want to marry someone and if you want to move to a new country? Why or why not?
2. In 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Americans travel to be with their partners who live in different countries. Would you be willing to move to another country to be with a partner? Why or why not?
3. The trailer showed that many of the couples in the TV show are going to have problems. Which of the problems are fixable and which aren’t? Why?
4. Do you think that couples who are from different cultures face different problems than couples who are from the same culture? Why?
5. Would you be interested in watching this show? Why or why not?

What did you think about today’s Valentine’s Day lesson? If you need more lessons about Valentine’s Day, try English Conversation Lesson to Get Students Talking about Romance – Red Flags!