Doodles: Psychoanalysis

Level: A2+

Age: Adults or Senior YLs

Preparation
Make one copy of the worksheet per student.

Procedure

• On the board write Do you doodle? When do you doodle? Ask students if they know what doodle means. If nobody knows, invite students to speculate. Offer a few clues: Most people doodle when they are waiting or bored. You need a pencil or a pen to doodle. Finally explain the meaning or invite a student to look up the word in a dictionary and explain to the rest of the class.
• Give each student a copy of the handout and tell them to spend three minutes doodling. They should doodle in each box. They should concentrate on their doodling and not copy or speak.
• When students have finished doodling, put them into pairs; A and B.
• Draw this key on the board:

1 = The way you see yourself

2 = The way other people see you

3 = The way you want to be seen

4 = The real you

• Explain that they are going to pretend to be psychoanalysts. They should take turns to analyse each other’s doodles, using the key as a guide.
• Put students into new pairs to repeat the speaking part of the activity.

Extension

Collect the worksheets in and then hand them out again in a random order. Students write a brief analysis of their doodler using the key as a guide.