Expressing

feelings

COMMUNICATION

LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE

Intermediate B2_1041X_EN English
Goals

■ Can use a range of phrases

to ask someone how
they're feeling politely and
also respond to these
questions appropriately.

■ Can discuss how culture

shapes how we express
our feelings.

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If we manage to express our feelings in
positive ways, we can experience a
greater sense of connectivity with
others.

Are you feeling okay today?

Great! Let‘s get started.

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 Warm up discussion

Which feelings and emotions do

you feel confident expressing?

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Feelings

Do you ever find it difficult to share some feelings with others?

Why might these feelings be more complicated than others?

anger

fear sadness

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 expressing feelings

There are many strategies to discuss feelings and emotions successfully –

some tactful phrases and questions during a conversation can help
someone open up and share their feelings.

Learning some of the expressions in this lesson can help to make

navigating discussions about feelings easier.

Expressing feelings confidently can lead to a much higher quality of life,

and a deeper sense of connection with others.

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 sharing feelings

Feelings can often be difficult or complicated to express clearly.

Nevertheless, sharing them can help in resolving difficulties and
misunderstandings between people.

We express different feelings in different situations.

It is important to understand the emotional state of others in order to
maintain healthy relationships.

Discussing feelings together can be difficult, but it can help

lift negative feelings.

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 positive feelings

Sharing positive feelings can strengthen a relationship between two

people. Showing love, affection, happiness and care can help build trust.

This can lead to feelings of deeper connectedness and establish

friendships, as well as develop emotional ties and bonds.

The sharing of positive feelings can contribute to richer

and closer relationships with others.

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 negative feelings

Negative feelings between people can take the form of differences or hurt feelings.

In the case of hurt feelings, sharing them can enable people to discuss a problem
and identify how to solve it. In this way, discussing negative feelings can help solve
problems between two people.

Sharing negative feelings can be very complicated. It is essential to speak clearly

and openly to avoid making a situation more complicated.

Listening and patience are both essential when discussing

negative feelings.

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Write a sentence to express how each person is feeling

1. I am going sailing on the lake. I feel energetic and excited about

What a beautiful day! my day.

2. I am being bullied at work by ________________________________________

a colleague.
________________________________________

3. I just got made redundant ________________________________________

from my job.
________________________________________

4. I have an interview for a very

________________________________________
exciting job position
tomorrow. ________________________________________

5. My partner has left me for ________________________________________

someone else.
________________________________________

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Talk to the teacher

Why is it more complicated to discuss negative feelings with

others? Discuss each of the issues below with your teacher and
suggest ways to avoid these scenarios.

The discussion could be misinterpreted.

Someone may react badly, or take

something personally.

Someone may not respond with

empathy.

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Talk to the teacher about how each of these people are
feeling

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 continuing a
enquiring politely
conversation

When having a discussion it is important to know phrases and strategies which will
help continue a conversation. When discussing feelings, which can often be sensitive
or complex, it is often best to enquire politely.

The phrases on the next slide are useful for enquiring politely and continuing a
conversation.

Are you feeling OK?

How so? Tell me more.

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 Asking about feelings

Are you
feeling OK?
Is there
What’s the
something on
matter?
your mind?
Would you like
What is vexing
to talk about
you today?
it?
You seem
Could we talk
irritated, are
in private?
You seem a you OK?
little blue,
what’s wrong?

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 empathy responding appropriately

It is always best to make enquiries about feelings in a polite and respectful way.
In the case of negative feelings, people may not be prepared to share everything.
When discussing sensitive feelings it is very important to be aware of the other
person’s emotional state. Responding appropriately in these situations can assist in
developing an emotional rapport with someone.

The phrases on the next slide can be used to respond appropriately when having a
discussion about feelings and emotions.

That sounds awful. I am here if you would like to talk about anything.

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 Responding with empathy

Actually…
That must have
I’m not feeling been really fun,
very well. would you
recommend it?
Really? Tell me
To be honest…
more.

Don’t be
How so?
downhearted.
How was it?

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Discuss your feelings in each of these situations with your
teacher

You are worrying

about an important
You have just won the
test at university this
lottery!
week that you are
very unprepared for.

You are extremely

angry about the way
You are worried
one of your
about your partner’s
colleagues spoke to
health and well-being.
you at the meeting
today.

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Talking about feelings

Use some of the phrases learned from the lesson to discuss feelings and
respond to these people.

I don’t think I can afford my house repayments any more…

I don’t think you love me anymore.

I’m so excited for the concert next week!

Guess who is getting married!

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Talk to the teacher

Your friend Jake has been extremely upset about something. You want
to make sure he is alright, and you would like to offer some emotional
support.

1
Enquire politely using some
phrases from the lesson.

2 Keep the conversation going.

3
Offer Jake some support or
advice that you feel will make
him feel better.

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 culture

As well as this, culture has a significant impact on how people interpret,

express and experience emotion.

While emotions are universal, the reasons why they arise and the
appropriateness for them to be expressed can differ significantly
across cultures.

Some cultures, such as the Eskimo, have no words for

anxiety. The absence of this word makes it harder to express
and interpret this emotion.

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 visual clues

Visual clues are a large part of interpreting how others are feeling.

There are significant differences in how some people’s feelings are

interpreted across cultures.

This can create complications for teams of international workers when it

comes to understanding the nuances of the emotional reactions of their
colleagues.

Cultures not accustomed to expressing anger or aggression

may also find it harder to pick up on the visual clues and
expressions linked to these feelings.

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 cultural context

The cultural context of a situation can result in people interpreting facial

expressions and other actions in different ways.

Sensitivity to aggression can also differ across cultures.

Japanese people often prioritise the tone of voice, when it

comes to expressing emotion, rather than facial expression

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Culture and emotions

Read the short article about the relationship between feelings and culture.
Fill in the gaps with the most appropriate vocabulary

Culture provides us with the _______________ that express

help us to identify and _______________ the various
emotions we might feel. Some cultures might guidelines

display certain feelings in different ways. Some

interpret
cultures might value social _______________ over
individual expression. This means that some harmony
emotional _______________ may be suppressed if
they are likely to cause problems within a group. public

reactions
Different cultures also vary in how they
_______________ different emotions in social
contexts. Certain feelings might not be
appropriate to express in _______________.

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Respond to the questions

Talk to the teacher about each of the questions below.

Why might people in certain cultures

show less emotion in a group setting?

Do cultural expectations of emotions

affect men and women differently?
Can you give an example?

How does your culture impact on how

you express your feelings?

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Big question

? ? ? ?? ?
? ? ?
Have you ever had an experience
where cultural differences have caused

?
you to express your feelings in

?
different ways?

? ? ? ? ? ?
Or have you ever noticed different
emotional reactions when travelling
abroad?

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Role play

■ Choose one of the characters below to role play. Your teacher and
classmates should do the same. Try not to pick the same character
as each other.
■ Take it in turns to talk and listen to each other. Remember to be a
sensitive and understanding friend.
■ Try to give each other advice or support using phrases and
strategies from the lesson.

Rebecca is angry about David looks concerned.

Joan is upset about Steven is very happy
something. Try find out
something. Try to about something. See if he would like to
what it is and make her
cheer her up. What could it be? talk about it.
feel better.

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Big question

What are some mistakes people

can make when talking about
feelings?

Consider your answer, and talk to

the teacher.

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Reflect on the goals

Go back to the second slide of the lesson and check

if you have achieved all the goals of the lesson.

yes no

_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________

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Reflect on this lesson

Think about everything you have seen in this lesson.

What were the most difficult activities or words? The easiest?

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

+ _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________

– _______________________________
_______________________________
If you have time, go over
the most difficult slides again

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30 www.lingoda.com
Activity p. 23
guidelines, express, harmony, reactions, interpret, public
Answer key
Homework

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Write a diary entry

Write a diary entry about your day. Imagine that something has
happened which has given you strong feelings.
Write about what happened, and how you feel now.
Aim to write about 200 words.

Dear Diary,

Today started off like any other…

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catergorise

Think about the different phrases we have discussed in this

lesson. Write as many of them as you can under the relevant
header and practise saying them aloud.

Responding with
Asking about feelings
empathy

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