brightlivesenglish.com/lessons/soichiro-honda-failure/
45-minute lesson plan
| Time | Stage | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3′ | Warm-up | Ask the class: “Think of something you failed at first. Did you try again?” Let a few students answer. |
| 3–11′ | Words | Pre-teach the 5 words with the flashcards: failure, reject, engine, motorcycle, success. Say each word, show the meaning, and ask for a quick example. |
| 11–18′ | Video | Play the video (4:17). Students follow the transcript. Play it a second time if needed. |
| 18–26′ | Comprehension | Worksheet C (or the online Story Challenge): check answers together. Ask “How do you know?” |
| 26–34′ | Grammar | learn from your mistakes: to say that someone understood what went wrong and did better next time. Show “He learned from his mistakes.”, then do worksheet E together. |
| 34–42′ | Worksheet | Students do worksheet A, B and D alone or in pairs. Check with the answer key. |
| 42–45′ | Speaking | In pairs: “Honda once said that success is 99 percent failure. Do you agree? Why, or why not?” |
Homework: students finish the lesson online (flashcards + Story Challenge). With your class link, you see who finished.
Words and grammar
- failure (noun): something that does not work or does not succeed. “His first piston rings were a failure.”
- reject (verb): to say no to something because it is not good enough. “Toyota rejected most of his piston rings.”
- engine (noun): a machine that makes something move, like a car or a boat. “He put small engines on bicycles.”
- motorcycle (noun): a bike with an engine. “In 1949, he made his first real motorcycle.”
- success (noun): getting the result you wanted; something that works very well. “The Super Cub was a huge success.”
Grammar: learn from your mistakes — to say that someone understood what went wrong and did better next time. “He learned from his mistakes.”
Discussion questions
- Honda once said that success is 99 percent failure. Do you agree? Why, or why not?
- What was the hardest moment in Soichiro Honda's story? What did Soichiro Honda do?
- Make two sentences about your own life with “learn from your mistakes”. (From the story: “He learned from his mistakes.”)
Student worksheet
A Match the words to their meanings
- failure (noun)
- reject (verb)
- engine (noun)
- motorcycle (noun)
- success (noun)
- piston ring (noun)
- bicycle (noun)
- workshop (noun)
- a machine that makes something move, like a car or a boat
- a room where people make or repair things
- a metal ring that fits around a piston inside an engine
- a bike with two wheels that you move with your feet
- getting the result you wanted; something that works very well
- to say no to something because it is not good enough
- a bike with an engine
- something that does not work or does not succeed
B Complete the sentences from the story
workshop · bicycles · success · motorcycle · rejected · failure · engines · piston rings
- The Super Cub was a huge .
- In 1949, he made his first real .
- His factory made .
- His first piston rings were a .
- Toyota most of his piston rings.
- He put small on bicycles.
- He put small engines on .
- In 1946, he opened a small .
C Did you understand?
- His first piston rings were very good.True / False
- How many of his fifty rings were good enough for Toyota?
- Fifty
- Twenty
- Three
- None
- What did he use as a fuel tank in 1946?
- A teapot
- A hot-water bottle
- A metal box
- A glass bottle
- More than 100 million Super Cubs have been made.True / False
- What happened at the Isle of Man TT in 1961?
- Honda did not race
- Honda finished last
- The race was cancelled
- Honda bikes took the first five places in two races
D Put the words in order
- mistakes / He / learned / from / his
E Grammar: learn from your mistakes
We use it for to say that someone understood what went wrong and did better next time. He learned from his mistakes. · They learned from their mistakes.
Example from the story: He learned from his mistakes.
- He learned his mistakes. (from / of / at)
- They learned from mistakes. (their / them / they)
- I failed the test, but I from my mistakes. (learned / taught / made)
F Your turn
Retell Soichiro Honda's story in 5–6 sentences. Use at least three words from exercise A.
Answer key
A. 1h 2f 3a 4g 5e 6c 7d 8b
B. 1 success · 2 motorcycle · 3 piston rings · 4 failure · 5 rejected · 6 engines · 7 bicycles · 8 workshop
C. 1 False · 2 c · 3 b · 4 True · 5 d
D. 1 He learned from his mistakes.
E. 1 from · 2 their · 3 learned
Transcript
A small boy saw a car in his village.
When it stopped, he put his nose to the oil on the ground.
He loved the smell.
This is the story of Soichiro Honda.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
Failure. A failure is something that does not work or does not succeed.
His first piston rings were a failure.
Reject. To reject something means to say no to it, because it is not good enough.
Toyota rejected most of his piston rings.
Engine. An engine is a machine that makes something move, like a car or a boat.
He put small engines on bicycles.
Motorcycle. A motorcycle is a bike with an engine.
In 1949, he made his first real motorcycle.
Success. Success means getting the result you wanted.
The Super Cub was a huge success.
Now, one pattern: learn from your mistakes.
When something goes wrong, you understand why, and next time you do better.
He learned from his mistakes.
Ready? Let's begin.
Soichiro Honda was born in a village in Japan in 1906.
His father was a blacksmith who also repaired bicycles.
As a young schoolboy, he ran after a car through the village.
At fifteen, he went to work at a car repair garage in Tokyo.
At first, he only looked after the owner's baby.
But he became a skilled mechanic, and later he opened a branch of the garage in Hamamatsu.
In the 1930s, he started a small factory to make piston rings, small metal rings for engines.
His first piston rings were a failure.
So he went back to school to study metal.
Toyota tested fifty of his rings.
Only three were good enough.
Toyota rejected most of his piston rings.
But he learned from his mistakes, and later his factory made parts for Toyota.
Then came the war.
Bombs destroyed one of his factories, and in 1945, an earthquake brought down another.
He sold his company.
Would he ever start again?
In 1946, Japan was poor, and people needed a cheap way to travel.
He bought about 500 small engines from old army radios.
He put small engines on bicycles.
For a fuel tank, he used a hot-water bottle!
Many people wanted one.
When the old engines ran out, he built his own.
In 1948, he started the Honda Motor Company.
In 1949, he made his first real motorcycle.
In 1958 came the Super Cub, a small, easy motorcycle for everyone.
The Super Cub was a huge success.
More than 100 million have been made.
In 1959, his team raced at the famous Isle of Man TT, and they did not win a race.
They learned from their mistakes.
Two years later, Honda bikes took the first five places in two races.
He died in 1991.
He once said that success is 99 percent failure.
Let's review. His first piston rings were a failure.
Toyota rejected most of his piston rings.
He put small engines on bicycles.
In 1949, he made his first real motorcycle.
The Super Cub was a huge success.
And remember: he learned from his mistakes.
Soichiro Honda's story teaches us: every failure can teach you something.
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