Love Lockdown

Got any lovestruck students looking for a touristy way to immortalize their love? Today we are adding to our treasure trove of love and romance activities with a discussion about love locks and other romantic gestures. It is meant to be a 60 minute discussion.

Latching locks to bridges to symbolize eternal love has become a cliché romantic gesture the world over. I still have the key to a small padlock latched to some railing on a bridge in Reykjavík. It’s on my keychain right now, and that lock has I + J sloppily scrawled in permanent marker. Is it still there? Who knows. But she is 🙂

You might think the trend has been around for ages, even centuries, but further research proves it’s a trend with less than 20 years on its belt. And it looks like it may not be around forever. The authentic material used for this lesson is a bit dated but takes us back to the fashion’s heyday in Paris on the Pont des Arts when a citywide debate took place about the possible removal of the locks.

Your students will have have a discussion about love locks and other romantic gestures and then do a short writing exercise wherein they will choose a side of the debate and write to the mayor. Are they horrible ecologically unfriendly eyesores, or eternal symbols of love and affection?

This discussion lesson can be used with your B1 or ambitious A2 students. Don’t miss the useful vocabulary on the bottom left!