English with Jo

Success & Failure

This is the preparation material for an English conversation lesson about success and failure. There is an inspiring video to watch about success, some common collocations and phrasal verbs that we use when talking about success and failure and finally, a list of conversation questions that people ask each other about this subject.

A video about success and failure

Collocations

Success

• Make a breakthrough – to make an important discovery or development
• Remarkable achievement – a very good achievement
• Dramatic improvement – a great improvement
• A useful contribution – to contribute something in a good way

Failure

• Fail miserably – to be totally unsuccessful
• Spectacular failure – extremely unsuccessful
• Doomed to failure – certain to fail
• Dismal failure – a total failure
• Recipe for disaster – will lead to major problems

Phrasal Verb

• Come off – succeed; informal.  Do you think his plan will come off?

Conversation Questions

• How would you define success?
• How do you measure success?
• Who is the most successful person you know?
• Is success important to you?
• Who do you think is the most successful person in your country?
• What has been your greatest success?
• What part does luck play in success?
• Is success a journey or destination?
• Does success make a person happy?
• Do you believe that people must work hard to become successful? What kind of success do you want in the future in your life?
• What can you do now to be successful in the future?
• Do you think that money and fame means success?
• Can you think of an example of a famous failure?
• Do you think most people fail before they succeed?