What Makes

A Friendship
Last?
(B2 - C1) <a href="https://storyset.com/people">People illustrations by Storyset</a>

Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2023. For use only with license.

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
PART 1 Discuss what you think Charles Darwin’s and Aristotle’s quotes below mean. Do
you agree or disagree with them? Explain.

A person’s friendships are one of “ the best

measures of their worth.”
- Charles Darwin

Friendship is a single soul dwelling in

two bodies.”
- Aristotle

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
PART 2 Describe the phases/stages of friendship development. How much time do you
think it takes to advance through each stage?

AN A CASUAL A FULLY-FLEDGED A BEST

ACQUAINTANCE FRIEND FRIEND FRIEND

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
PART 3 1 Discuss the questions below about your best/closest friendships.

How have some of your best/closest friendship(s) started?

3
What makes these friendships valuable or meaningful to you?

What challenges or factors can make friendships hard to sustain?

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
 1 4
PART 4 How could each of the following factors affect or complicate friendships
between people?
2
5 Differences in opinions,
Time
values, or beliefs
3
Distance
Differences in cultural
background
1 Money

Have any of these factors affected or complicated your friendships? If so, how?

How do you think people can avoid these complications?

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
PREVIEW DISCUSSION

In your opinion, what are some ways to make a friendship last?

What are the most important things a friendship needs to stay healthy?

<a href="https://storyset.com/people">People illustra

by Storyset</a>

VIEWING ACTIVITY
VIEWING ACTIVITY
What makes a friendship last? | Am I Normal? with Mona
Chalabi
 VIEWING ACTIVITY

What makes a friendship last? | Am I

Normal?

Watch the video until 0:49.

 1
PART 1 Discuss/Write short answers to the questions below.

2
0:01 What inspired Mona to research the topic on how to make friendships last?

3
0:25 Who/What did she turn to in order to find out how to make friendships last?

0:42 According to one study, how do friendships often dissolve?

VIEWING ACTIVITY
 VIEWING ACTIVITY

What makes a friendship last? | Am I

Normal?

Watch the rest of the video.

PART 2 Write the number of hours you have to spend in each transitional stage of
friendship, according to the study Mona describes.

1:38

AN A CASUAL A FULLY-FLEDGED A BEST

ACQUAINTANCE FRIEND FRIEND FRIEND

hours hours hours

Were your answers in Preview, Part 2 the same as or close to the actual answers?

VIEWING ACTIVITY
PART 3 Finish each sentence according to what Mona and her mom say in the video.
1
2
3
2:15
According to Mona’s mom, the first thing you need to start a friendship is to…
2:55
According to Mona’s mom, special friends or good friends are the ones that…
3:23
In order to make a friendship last, there is no magical formula. It just takes...

PREVIEW ACTIVITY
VIEWING FOLLOW-UP
 1
PART 1 Below are some more keys to making friendships last. Write a gerund that fits
2
the context of each tip. Then discuss the questions below.
3
4 Putting time and effort into the friendship

5 in touch despite factors like time and distance

healthy boundaries
each other’s differences in beliefs, values, or backgrounds
1 up about your feelings if a friend angered, upset, or offended you

Are any of these difficult for you to do when it comes to friendship?

Are there any other tips you would add to the list above? If so, explain.

VIEWING FOLLOW-UP
PART 2 Choose the correct prepositions/adverbs that fit the text below. One is not
1 used!

2 afloat apart on behind off out

Each time that Mona relocates, it seems to get harder to sustain the friendships she left ____________. She
3
wanted to find out how to keep those friendships ____________ without getting overwhelmed.

Mona says that after a year of isolation, some of her friendships feel like they’re hanging ____________ by a
thread.

Mona looked at a study on how friendships fall ____________ in the hopes that she might be able to avoid some
of those pitfalls.

Try to define each phrase in bold above in your own words based on the context

VIEWING FOLLOW-UP
PART 3 Below are some other common challenges or troubles that people face in their
1
friendships. Discuss what you think each one means, and give an example of
each. 2

4 Growing apart from a friend

5 Being taken advantage of by a friend

Not seeing eye to eye on certain issues

Feeling a lack of reciprocity in a friendship

Being let down by a friend

VIEWING FOLLOW-UP
FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGES TASK
● Work with a classmate/your teacher.
● Think about some of the friendships you may have in the categories below.
● Refer to the list of possible challenges in the list below.
● Take turns opening up about any challenges you’ve experienced with these friends.
● Give each other some advice on how you may be able to overcome, resolve or avoid these
challenges.

A best A new
friend friend

A close A roommate /
childhood housemate
friend
FRIEND
A friend who A teammate
lives far
away
A family
A colleague
friend
FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGES TASK
 1
2
POSSIBLE3 CHALLENGES
4 Having trouble keeping the friendship afloat
5 Having trouble establishing healthy boundaries in the friendship
6 A friendship(s) that is/are hanging on by a thread
7 Growing apart from the friend
8 A time you felt let down by the friend
9 Feeling a lack of reciprocity in the friendship
Not seeing eye to eye on certain issues

Being taken advantage of by the friend

Any other issue, challenge, or conflict not listed above

<a href="https://storyset.com/people">People
illustrations by Storyset</a>

FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGES TASK

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY
Work with a partner.
PART 1 Discuss
1 the questions below about the video.

2
What inspired Mona to research what makes friendships last?

3
What are the four transitional stages of friendship? How much does it take to
advance through each stage?

What did Mona’s mom say about friendship? How do friendships start? How does
she define a “special” or a “good” friend?

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY

PART 2 Finish writing the missing phrases/phrasal verbs Mona uses in the video.
1

2 Each time that Mona relocates, it seems to get harder to sustain the friendships she
. She wanted to find out how to
without getting overwhelmed.
3
Mona says that after a year of isolation, some of her friendships feel like they’re
.

Mona looked at a study on how friendships in the

hopes that she might be able to avoid some of those pitfalls.

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY

PART 3 What were some other common challenges or troubles in friendships that you
studied in 1the lesson? Finish writing them in the spaces below.

2
3
Growing from a friend
4
Being of by a friend
5
Not seeing on certain issues

Feeling in a friendship

Being by a friend

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY

LESSON REFLECTION: Discuss the topics below about the lesson.
1

2
Did you learn or use any new vocabulary, grammar, phrases,
etc. in this lesson? If so, what?
3
What did you enjoy about the lesson?

Is there anything you found difficult about the lesson?

QUIZ & REVIEW ACTIVITY

Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2022. For use only with license.

THANK YOU!