English through Music

Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror

Changing yourself without ignoring the world

B1–B2Approximately 34 minutesAdults

Created by Denis M., British English teacher.

01 Watch 02 Useful English 03 Quick quiz 04 Speaking

Your goal: Identify a call for personal responsibility and discuss how individual and collective action can work together.

The selected video includes distressing archival images of poverty, conflict and suffering. Preview the full montage before teaching.

01 · 8 minutes

Watch

Watch the complete video once without pausing. Focus on the overall meaning and mood; you do not need to catch every word.

Listen for who is asked to change first and what wider problem motivates that change.

If the player cannot load or reports an error, open the video on YouTube.

Open on YouTube

Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror (Official Video)

Choose one word for your first reaction. There is no correct answer.

02 · 5 minutes

Useful English

Four useful items connected with the song. Definitions and examples are original; not every item is claimed to appear in the recording.

British English vocabulary audio

Open the full MP3

Choose an item to hear its word, meaning and example.

make a difference

verb phrase

To have an effect that improves a situation.

A clear explanation can make a difference to a new learner.

turn a blind eye

idiom

To deliberately ignore something you know is wrong.

The manager should not turn a blind eye to unfair treatment.

responsibility

noun

A duty to take care of something or act appropriately.

Everyone has a responsibility to treat colleagues respectfully.

reflect on

verb phrase

To think carefully about something.

At the end of the course, we reflected on what had helped us learn.

Reflect can refer to an image in a mirror; reflect on means think carefully about something.

03 · 9 minutes

Quick quiz

Choose one answer for each question. Questions 1–2 focus on the song; questions 3–6 practise useful vocabulary.

Open the six-question quiz

1. Where does the speaker say change should begin?

With his own actions and attitude.Only with strangers who live far away.With a new hairstyle rather than any behaviour.

2. What helps prompt the speaker’s call for change?

Noticing other people’s hardship while recognising his own comfort.Deciding that other people’s lives cannot matter.Discovering that every social problem has already been solved.

3. A small action makes a difference. What does this mean?

It guarantees that every problem disappears forever.It changes nothing at all.It has a useful effect on the situation.

4. Someone turns a blind eye to unfair treatment. What do they do?

Literally lose their ability to see.Carefully investigate and challenge it.Choose to ignore it despite knowing about it.

5. You accept responsibility for a task. What do you accept?

Permission to blame everyone else automatically.A duty to deal with it properly.A guarantee that the task requires no work.

6. You reflect on a conversation. What do you do?

Delete the conversation from your memory immediately.Think carefully about what happened and what it means.Look only for your physical reflection in a window.

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteB1 · If + present, then an imperative

Turn an intention to help into practical conditional advice.

If you want to help the group, start by listening.

Original practice model, not a song lyric

An if-clause in the present can introduce a condition for advice. The main clause can be an imperative, so a real conditional does not always need will. Here start is a direct suggestion.

Choose the sentence giving practical conditional advice.If you noticed a problem yesterday, you spoke to the organiser.If you notice a problem, to speak to the organiser.If you notice a problem, speak to the organiser.

Grammar support

B1First Conditional: Real Future Possibilities

04 · 12 minutes

Speaking

Give your opinion and explain it. Different reactions are welcome. You may use invented examples instead of personal experiences.

Open the three speaking questions

1. Is changing yourself enough to address a shared problem?

Explain where individual action helps and where wider cooperation is needed.

Personal action matters because…, but…

2. Describe one realistic improvement in a school, workplace or neighbourhood.

Say who could help and how progress could be noticed.

One action that could make a difference is…

3. Give conditional advice to someone who wants to contribute.

Use if + present followed by a practical instruction.

If you want to…, begin by…

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