Advanced Relative Structures ESL Lesson Plan (C1, 60 Minutes)

Who it is for. Advanced students who use all standard relative clauses accurately. In formal essays they rely on that / which / who, and they make errors with more complex structures (the thing what I need, the first woman who climb, a system which by people pay, how far that it works).

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

Main aim. To develop students' use of advanced relative structures: nominal relative clauses (what, whatever, whoever), relative infinitive clauses (the first to ..., a place to stay, someone on whom to rely), connective relatives (whereby, in which case, by which time, at which point) and the extent / degree / way to which / in which.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can write a 150-word essay paragraph about an innovation using at least six advanced relative structures, e.g. What makes mobile banking revolutionary is the system whereby payments are made instantly. The extent to which it has changed rural life is remarkable.

• Subsidiary aim. To develop cohesion and concision in formal writing.
• Subsidiary aim. To discuss innovation and its impact.

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

• what is not used after a noun: the thing what I need ✗ → the thing (that) I need or what I need.
• After the first / the only, use the infinitive, not a full clause with the wrong tense: the first person to land (or who landed).
• whereby is formal and refers to a system, method or arrangement.

• Nominal relatives used as subjects are often followed by a pause in speech: What surprised me | was the price.

• What surprised me was the price. What does what mean here? (The thing that.) · What was surprising? (The price.)
• a system whereby users pay by phone What does whereby mean? (By which / through which.) · Is it formal or informal? (Formal.)
• She was the first Sri Lankan woman to climb Everest. Did she climb Everest? (Yes.) · Had any Sri Lankan woman done it before? (No.)

The paragraph uses at least six advanced relative structures accurately. No the thing what or incorrect whereby errors. 7 out of 8 or better on Handout 3, Exercise A.

Which structures did students use most naturally? Did the writing become more concise and cohesive?

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

SMALL IDEAS, BIG CHANGES

What makes an innovation truly important is not its complexity but the extent to which it changes ordinary lives. Consider mobile money, a system whereby people send and receive payments using a basic phone. In rural areas, where banks are often hours away, it has become a lifeline. Whoever has a phone can now pay school fees, receive wages and save, which was unimaginable twenty years ago.

Another example is solar lanterns. For families with no electricity, there was often no safe way in which children could study after dark. Today, a lantern costing less than a pair of shoes gives them light to read by.

Pioneers matter too. In 2016, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala became the first Sri Lankan to climb Mount Everest. It was a climb on which there was no one on whom to rely but her team. She spent weeks acclimatising, by which time several climbers had already turned back.

What these stories show is that innovation is about access: giving people whatever they need to take control of their own lives. If the technology is too expensive, it will fail, in which case even the best idea changes nothing.

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Find an example of each structure in the article.

Discuss.

• Rewrite What makes an innovation truly important is ... without what. Which version is more emphatic? ______________________________
• What does whereby mean? Could you use where instead? ______________________________
• light to read by: what is the full relative clause? ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Rewrite each sentence using the word given. Keep the meaning the same.

B. Correct the errors.

• The thing that worries me is the cost. (What) → ______________________________
• Anyone who finds the keys should take them to reception. (Whoever) → ______________________________
• She was the first woman who won the prize. (to) → ______________________________
• Under the new system, students pay by phone. (whereby) → There is a new system ______________________________
• It is not clear how much the scheme has helped farmers. (extent) → The extent ______________________________
• You may lose your ticket. If so, you must buy a new one. (in which case) → You may lose your ticket, ______________________________
• We arrived at 10. The film had already started. (by which time) → We arrived at 10, ______________________________
• I need someone I can rely on. (whom) → I need someone ______________________________
• The thing what I need is more time. ______________________________
• He was the only player who score twice. ______________________________
• This is a hotel whereby you can see the sea. ______________________________
• Whatever told you that was wrong. ______________________________
• The extent which it worked is unclear. ______________________________

Write a paragraph (about 150 words) evaluating the impact of one innovation. Use at least six structures from today.

Planning notes (choose one)

Useful starters

Your paragraph:

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..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

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• What makes ... so important is ...
• ... is a system whereby ...
• The extent to which ... is ...
• ... was the first ... to ...
• ..., in which case ...

Handout 2

Handout 3, Exercise A

Handout 3, Exercise B

Common errors to watch for

• what + clause: What makes an innovation truly important; What these stories show · the extent to which: the extent to which it changes ordinary lives · whereby: a system whereby people send and receive payments · whoever / whatever: Whoever has a phone; whatever they need · the way in which: no safe way in which children could study · first + to-inf: the first Sri Lankan to climb Mount Everest · prep + whom + to-inf: no one on whom to rely · by which time / in which case: by which time several climbers had already turned back; in which case even the best idea changes nothing
• The thing that makes an innovation truly important is ...; the what version is more emphatic and concise. · 2. by which / through which; no, where refers to a place. · 3. light which they can read by / by which they can read.
• What worries me is the cost. · 2. Whoever finds the keys should take them to reception. · 3. She was the first woman to win the prize. · 4. whereby students pay by phone. · 5. to which the scheme has helped farmers is not clear. · 6. in which case you must buy a new one. · 7. by which time the film had already started. · 8. on whom I can rely / on whom to rely.
• The thing (that) I need is more time. / What I need is more time. · 2. He was the only player to score twice. / ... who scored twice. · 3. This is a hotel from which / where you can see the sea. · 4. Whoever told you that was wrong. · 5. The extent to which it worked is unclear.