he other week almost everyone talked about the biggest cinema event of 2023 – the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the very same day. This definitely seeped into your lessons, and even if it didn’t, you can bring up the topic and talk about students’ favourite films and TV shows, while using this C1 film vocabulary lesson to teach the language needed to describe said motion pictures.
I’m still on the wave of producing C1-level lesson plans with most of my students being of this level. Just like in the lesson plan that inspired my B1 – Dating app ‘Hater’ plan, this idea also came from English File Advanced 4th Edition by Oxford University Press. I had a lesson about books and a discussion about whether spoilers can enhance our enjoyment. I decided to leave vocabulary to describe books and films for later. Since the exercise in the coursebook was too short to be its own lesson, I sandwiched it between two discussions to give it more substance and make it stand out. It’s also based on everything I know about my students and their TV show preferences, so it’s a lesson that should be done with a group that you know fairly well.
As always, at the end of the post, you can find the presentation, the worksheet and the teacher’s notes available to download for free.
Warmer: Predicting Teacher’s Preferences
I decided to start a lesson in a way, which reminded me of one of the CELTA observation classes taught by my tutor, Scott. Show six TV shows (or films, if you want!) that you like, dislike, or feel indifferent about. Ask if students know them, and based on their knowledge of you, ask them to talk together and predict which of them you (don’t) enjoy or don’t care about. Students present their guesses and compare them with your opinions. I included The Office, Game of Thrones, HIMYM, Lost, Friends, and Squid Game. If these shows aren’t your cup of tea, click the link to the Canva file and edit it as needed!
Reading: Identifying the Reviewed Shows
Say that students are going to read six reviews about three TV shows mentioned in the previous part of the class. There is one positive and one negative review for each TV show. Students read them and work out which TV show they think it might be. I thought it might be fun to trick them a little and included Rotten Tomatoes reviews of Squid Game, Game of Thrones season 1 and Game of Thrones season 8. If you have some extra time, discuss whether students agree with the positive or a negative review and explain why they feel this way.
Vocabulary: Exploring Expressive Phrases
Present students with three sentences from the reviews, which you read before. Look at the highlighted words and phrases, and think about their meanings and synonyms. The words and phrases include intriguing (captivating, exciting, fascinating), grab someone’s attention (absorb, engage, spark interest), and a battle not to fall asleep (boring, exhausting).
Practice: Matching Adjectives and Using Them
Continue with the next activity that inspired this whole lesson plan. Firstly, match the adjectives to their definitions. This serves as an introduction and explanation of the target vocabulary. Then just like in the coursebook, put these adjectives into sentences to verify students’ understanding of the words. You can find the original sentences in the book, or look at the sentences that I have created using ChatGPT.
Speaking: Describing Personal Favourites
I was wondering about how I could finish this class. I could have taken two routes: the writing route, asking students to think about their favourite movies or TV shows and plan their reviews, or the second route—using the words from before and having another discussion. Eventually, I decided on the latter one. As I teach 1:1 students, having them write in class often feels like a waste of time. This C1 film vocabulary lesson ends with students reflecting on films or shows they’d describe, using the target adjectives. Put students into pairs or small groups to discuss their answers. Once you finish, share responses with the class and wrap up with speaking feedback.
Do you write movie or TV show reviews? Do you read them before you decide on your next watch? Why (not)?
