ESL Biography Lesson: Nikola Tesla – Reading & Listening
Teach your students about the life and legacy of one of history’s most fascinating inventors with this engaging ESL biography lesson on Nikola Tesla.
This lesson is ideal for B1–B2 level students and includes a mix of reading, listening, vocabulary, pronunciation, and speaking practice. Learners will explore Tesla’s contributions to science and technology, his personal life, and the lasting impact of his work.
The lesson incorporates target vocabulary for science, innovation, and personality, with activities that encourage critical thinking, peer discussion, and vocabulary development. Pronunciation work focuses on word stress, and students are supported with comprehension tasks and structured speaking practice.
Included in this lesson:
Pre-reading discussion questions
Verb and noun matching exercises
Listening gap-fill and comprehension tasks
Vocabulary pronunciation drills (word stress)
Speaking questions for pair/group discussion
Vocabulary review and word form practice.
This lesson comes with:
Fillable Fields – This worksheet can be completed digitally or printed.
Listening Materials – Includes audio files for comprehension practice.
Teacher’s Copy – Includes detailed teacher’s notes and an answer key.
Student Copy – Perfect for sharing via email for online lessons.
This is most suited to B1/B2– level.
1.5 hrs +
Why teach this ESL Biography Lesson: Nikola Tesla?
This ESL biography lesson plan offers more than just reading comprehension—it gives students the chance to explore science-related vocabulary, historical figures, and real-world innovations. Biographical texts build cultural awareness and make learning English more meaningful. Students develop fluency by discussing Tesla’s inventions, his challenges, and his lasting contributions to modern technology.
This lesson is also great for teaching vocabulary in context, especially words like engineer, invention, contribution, and legacy. The integrated listening activities help improve comprehension skills, while the speaking questions allow students to practise expressing opinions, describing experiences, and using target vocabulary naturally.
Add this ESL Biography Lesson: Nikola Tesla lesson to your class today to strengthen your students’ skills through engaging, content-rich learning.
Try this ESLBiography Lesson in class today!
For best results when printing our PDFs, open and print them through Adobe Acrobat (free).
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
