INTRODUCE
People set personal deadlines to make sure they reach their milestones in life by a certain age.
PRESENT
STEP A EXPRESSIONS
Go over the expressions with your tutor and answer the questions.
1. To have all the time in the world means to have plenty of time.
George thinks he has all the time in the world to finish the sales report. When I asked for it, he said he hadn’t even started yet!
Q: Which person thinks he has all the time in the world? Why?
a kid who plans to sleep all day |
a magazine editor rushing to meet a deadline |
2. Better late than never is an expression used to show that you are happy something was eventually done even though it was delayed.
I got you a present! I know your birthday was last week, but better late than never, right?
Q: In which situation are you more likely to say “better late than never”? Why?
when you arrive at a party at midnight |
when you buy your friend a birthday present one month early |
3. In due course is used to mean that something will happen at the appropriate time.
Don’t worry too much. You’re still young. You’ll find a good partner in due course.
Q: Which of these things can you say will happen in due course? Why?
knowing what you want to do in life |
getting a perfect score on a test |
STEP B PRONUNCIATION
| Phrase | Example |
|---|---|
than never / tha-neh-ver / |
Better late / tha-neh-ver / ! |
UNDERSTAND
READING
Toru is reading a blog post.
 |
Why I Started Giving Myself Deadlines
When I was young, I dreamed of getting rich. After that, I planned to find a steady relationship, get married, buy a house in the suburbs of Toronto, and have three perfect little kids. I believed that everything would happen in due course if I just worked hard enough. I worked hard, but unfortunately, none of those things have happened yet. I’m now a single 36-year-old who rents a small apartment and has almost no savings.
I’ve always had dreams, but to succeed, you need more than just dreams. You need plans! I realized this just recently, but better late than never, right? If you want to succeed in life, you must have plans. And for each of those plans, you must have deadlines.
Why? Deadlines keep you on track. If you don’t have a concrete target date, you might think that you have all the time in the world to try and achieve your goals. Before you know it, you’re close to 40 and none of your dreams have come true.
My first goal is to have enough money saved in the bank to buy a house by the time I’m 38. Think I can do it? I know I can! My plan shows I can!
TRIVIA
In many countries, the average age of first-time home buyers has been rising. In the UK, the average age rose from 28 in 2007 to 34 in 2020. In the US, the average age was 33 in 2019, an all-time high since records started in 1981.
PRACTICE
STEP A EXERCISE
Rephrase the underlined parts using the expressions in the box.
1.
Tutor: I really need to start that report very soon.
Student: What? Why? It’s not due until the end of next month. You have a lot of time to work on it.
2.
Tutor: I feel like I’ve been dating for years… I can’t believe I still haven’t found the one…
Student: Don’t worry. You’ll meet him eventually.
3.
Tutor: I’d been wanting to open my own clothing store for a long time, and now I finally did it. But I’m a little worried that I waited too long…
Student: No, no! You delayed it for a long time, but at least you’ve done it now!
STEP B EXERCISE
Complete the speech using the expressions in the box.
I never thought of setting a personal deadline for myself when I was younger. Though I knew I wanted to be a business owner, I didn’t make any solid plans because I figured that everything would happen __________ anyway.
However, that didn’t seem to be the case. I was already 37 years old when I finally started my own business. Then, it took five years before it was actually profitable. Those were five long years. But __________, right?
My advice to aspiring business owners out there is this: Start now. You don’t __________, so start planning now!
CHALLENGE
Challenge 1
Your friend wants to talk to you about some personal problems he’s/she’s having. Before your meeting, read a blog post about personal deadlines. Then, talk to him/her about what you read.
Today's Expressions
- have all the time in the world
- better late than never
- in due course
 |
Have you ever wondered whether personal deadlines are really necessary? Some people say yes and others say no. To help you decide if setting personal deadlines is a good idea for you, here are some pros and cons:
Pros:
- Personal deadlines are like bucket lists. They make you feel good when you accomplish something.
- They give you purpose. Because you know when you need to complete something by, you have motivation to keep moving forward.
- They help you understand your own priorities better.
Cons:
- Personal deadlines are stressful. They make you feel like you’ve failed in life just because you didn’t do something by a certain age.
- They sacrifice quality. You may do something really quickly or poorly just to say you achieved your goal on time.
- They don’t promote flexibility. Sometimes, things just happen in due course – like finding the love of your life – so you can’t rush them.
So, what do you think?
Challenge 2
Discuss your ideas.
If TimeAllows
1 PERSONAL DEADLINES |
2 REACHING YOUR GOAL |
3 TIME |
|---|---|---|
|
1 PERSONAL DEADLINES
|
2REACHING YOUR GOAL
|
3TIME
|
FEEDBACK
I can read and understand a post about personal deadlines.
LESSON GOAL ACHIEVEMENT
-
4
Very GoodCould complete the task with ease
-
3
GoodCould complete the task with some clarifications
-
2
FairCould complete the task with additional instructions
-
1
PoorCould somehow complete the task with difficulty
PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK
- RANGE
the ability to use a wide variety of vocabulary - ACCURACY
the ability to speak correctly - FLUENCY
the ability to speak smoothly without pauses or fillers - INTERACTION
the ability to manage a conversation
