Soap Operas (a really boring unit in Inter C - we are going to be working with movies and TV shows, not soap operas)

Age: Adults, Teens

Level: Intermediate C

Websites: imdb.com (Internet Movie Database), youtube.com

What we are practising: Family vocabulary, Simple Future Tense, Reported Speech

Skills: writing, speaking, listening, groupwork

1. In groups of 3 or 4, write a summary of what has happened in your favourite TV show so far. Write about characters and character relationships, especially family relationships.

2. Predict what will happen in the future in the TV show, using simple future tense.

3. Go to imdb.com Find the page of your favourite TV show. Go to the "memorable quotes" section and choose five memorable quotes. Translate them into reported speech.

4. Create an account on imdb.

Choose a movie you have seen recently - something you have strong opinions about, it doesn't have to be good. Or it can be a movie we've seen in class, or an episode of a TV show we've seen. Write a short review expressing your opinion on the plot, characters, film techniques, etc, and post it on imdb.

5. Find a clip or trailer of the TV show/movie on youtube and describe it to a partner.

6. Ask the students to make a list of all the websites they use regularly - eg. facebook, gmail, etc. Log on to all of them, and change the default language to English. (This is optional for students!)

7. Fun homework activity: Add the Mesmo TV application on  your facebook. You can practise your knowledge of TV Trivia, and practise your English, through quizzes. It's addictive!

I used to believe...

Age: Adults, Teens

Level: Intermediate B

Website: iusedtobelieve.com

What we are practising: the "used to" form

Skills: reading, writing, speaking

Go to the iusedtobelieve.com and find three strange stories of what people used to believe when they were children. Tell them to your partner. Think of strange or stupid things you used to believe when you were kids, and add them to the website.

Science Fiction

Age: Adults, maybe teens

Level: Intermediate C

What we are practising: future forms - simple future, future progressive and future perfect

Skills: writing, speaking, groupwork

Preparation: Get extracts from or synopses of science fiction novels, movies, and distribute them to groups

Work in groups and write an outline of a science fiction story set in the future. Think of examples of science fiction stories and movies you know. Talk about them in groups - categorise them into utopias and dystopias. Talk about whether your story is a utopia or dystopia. Do you believe this will happen in the future? Why?

Shop

Age: Adults, teens

Level: Pre-Intermediate B

What we are practising: Shopping vocabulary, modals of obligation

Skills: speaking, writing, groupwork

Preparation: Make a list of absurd and useless things - a snowball, a bucket with a hole, a dirty comb, a clock without hands, an old newspaper, etc. Write them on cards and distribute to individual students/small groups. Find advertisements from magazines and the internet - you can even show interesting advertisements downloaded from youtube. (Use www.keepvid.com to download videos from youtube.)

Pretend you are salespeople and that you have to sell these things. Prepare arguments for why potential customers must buy the item. Decide on a minimum price for your item and do not accept less than that. Work with your customers and write down a short conversation between you.

Work in groups and make an TV advertisement for a fantasy product. It can be a sports drink, cellphone, brand of condom, whatever. Decide on the background music you will use, a slogan, etc.

Newspaper report

Age: Adults, Teens

Level: Intermediate B

Website: theonion.com, news.yahoo.com/i/573, blogs.reuters.com/oddly-enough/

What we are practising: News vocabulary, Passive Voice

Skills: Speaking, Writing, groupwork

Introduction: Find absurd news headlines from these websites. (The Onion is a fake news website, while Oddly Enough has strange but true stories.)

Divide the class into two groups, and arrange the chairs so that the groups face each other, with one group with their backs to the board. Write a headline on the board and have the group facing the board mime it to the other group. Continue this activity for a few headlines, with the groups exchanging chairs. Have the students guess whether the headlines are true or false. Discuss the stories.

Give them interesting headlines in passive voice and have them write them out in complete sentences, and make a news bulletin using the headline (2 or 3 sentences about the main points of the news story).