Uploaded January 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
OK – the first one is good, the second one is simply brilliant! In the first phone call, we have Yoda calling 192 (Directory Enquiries). The bemused operator is asked to find Obi Wan Kenobi’s number… In the second phone call, Obi Wan Kenobi calls the Dorchester Hotel (one of the best in the whole galaxy!). He wants to book a room, but there are a number of things he needs to check first… Enjoy!
NB: The phone calls are real! The actors make a number of calls and record them; then they go through them all, they keep the funniest and they just add the laughter tracks… [You can imagine how the guys at the other end feel… They realise it’s some kind of practical joke, but they cannot very well hang up… :-) ]
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
OK – the first one is good, the second one is simply brilliant! In the first phone call, we have Yoda calling 192 (Directory Enquiries). The bemused operator is asked to find Obi Wan Kenobi’s number… In the second phone call, Obi Wan Kenobi calls the Dorchester Hotel (one of the best in the whole galaxy!). He wants to book a room, but there are a number of things he needs to check first… Enjoy!
NB: The phone calls are real! The actors make a number of calls and record them; then they go through them all, they keep the funniest and they just add the laughter tracks… [You can imagine how the guys at the other end feel… They realise it’s some kind of practical joke, but they cannot very well hang up… :-) ]
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
![Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 2 [Friends]
He is male, he is a father and he is divorced. He is also very frank… So when his son asks him about things, he is only too happy to reply. It’s just that one wonders whether his son might not have been better off not asking questions in the first place… In this clip, Paul is a little upset because he feels socially excluded… Enjoy!
Quite apart from the entertainment value, these little sketches contain very real-life language, including discourse markers and idioms. Taken from the BBC Series ‘The Armstrong and Miller Show’. Level: C1 – C2. Topic: Family / Parents – Children / Friendship / Social Exclusion.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
D: You’re all right, old fellow?
S: I can’t sleep…
D: Something on your mind?
S: No…
D: Come on Paul, I’m your dad… What did we say? No secrets…
S: Dad….why don’t I have any mates?
D: What?
S: Well, it’s Craig Higson’s birthday this weekend and he’s invited all the boys in my class… except me… Why doesn’t anyone want to be my friend?
D: Well, they don’t mean to hurt your feelings… It’s just you are quite boring. * I mean, I love you cause I’m your dad; but the chances are other people aren’t really going to see the attraction. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love all the little stories about what happened to drama club, or how mum nearly left the gas on when you went to the shops but, let’s face it, you’ll never get work as an after-dinner speaker… * And that lack of animation or anything interesting to say can have the knock-on effect that you leave very little impression on people… * I mean, if I’m brutally honest, after I’ve dropped you off at your mum’s on a Sunday, well, by Wednesday, even I have trouble remembering what you look like… * Do you want a hot milky drink? I can’t remember… do you take sugar? * Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 2 [Friends]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OFHxvZ3JrOE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Psychology and ELT - Triggers, Habits and Virtuous Cirles
OK – here is a Q for you: How do you get people to eat in a more healthy way? A: Make sure there is always a banana on the table!! But why would this make a difference? The answer is that it serves as a reminder – it triggers thoughts of healthy eating, so naturally you eat less, you are careful with dessert and you go easy on the salt.
Notice two more things: to bring about change, it is important to establish habits. These habits can be something seemingly insignificant, such as replacing sugar with sweetener for instance. The most important point thing is that this leads you to change your perception of yourself – ‘I am a person who takes care of their diet’!
And this leads to the third point; once you start with a simple habit, it is very rare that you will stop there. Your changed self-image with lead you to adopt other habits (such as switching to red wine!) and this will produce a cascade effect! Brilliant!!!
Naturally, we can use the same idea in Education. All we need to do is to get students to adopt a simple habit – to be pro-active in the way they learn English (or anything else come to that…)
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Psychology and ELT - Triggers, Habits and Virtuous Cirles](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OYK7d96qnUI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Psychology and ELT - Framing I
The great writers had a profound instinctive grasp of human psychology. And Mark Twain was certainly one of them. Here is Professor Dan Ariely relating that incident where Tom Sawyer had to whitewash his aunt’s fence (on a Sunday, too!). There were two options for him: either he could meekly submit to his fate and endure the taunts of his friends, OR he could re-frame the whole experience. ‘It’s not every day a boy gets the chance to paint a fence…’ The Moral: In ambiguous situations the subjective evaluation of an experience depends heavily on the way it is framed. And if you doubt that this applies in real life, just watch the next video (Framing II).
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Psychology and ELT - Framing I](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P6e_jgoFPzM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Psychology and ELT - Short Term Goals
Q: How do you get people to improve their performance in whatever it is they might be doing? A: Simply get them to set themselves a short-term goal and write it down. According to Professor Jonah Berger, it helps focus our efforts.
So what this means is that it is fine to sit down to do a listening task or a gap-filling activity say, but it is much better if before starting we tell ourselves: ‘I am going to get at least 7 out of the 10 questions right’ or ‘I am aiming for filling in 15 out of the 20 gaps correctly’. The ratio of effort expended in this small tweak in relation to the benefits is simply huge!
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Psychology and ELT - Short Term Goals](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PBAfx-iWr74/mqdefault.jpg)
![Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 4 [Birds and Bees]
He is male, he is a father and he is divorced. He is also very frank… So when his son asks him about things, he is only too happy to reply. It’s just that one wonders whether his son might not have been better off not asking questions in the first place… In this clip, Paul asks his dad how he came into this world… Enjoy! :-)
Quite apart from the entertainment value, these little sketches contain very real-life language, including discourse markers and idioms. Taken from the BBC Series ‘The Armstrong and Miller Show’. Level: C1 – C2. Topic: Family / Parents – Children / Marriage / Sex.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
D: How are your dippers?
S: They’re great! Can I have some more ketchup?
D: Oh, go on then…
S: Dad, where do I come from?
D: Ipswich. *
S: No, I mean… How did I get born?
D: Oh, right… Well, I met your mum at work. We bumped into each other in a corridor – literally. Then we had a few dates, got to know each other and found out we got on really well. And then eventually, we fell in love and got married and, yeah I know, icky stuff… And then in November 1994, your mum got drunk and had sex with two builders. * And nine months later, out you popped… I’m not sure which of the builders is your real dad… * I’m guessing it’s not the Chinese one… * Right! Choc ices?!? * Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 4 [Birds and Bees]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PDrLKAByJrM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Human Sexuality - What gay men can teach us
It was the great Don Symons who first gave us this tip: ‘If you want to understand Male and Female sexuality, look at gay people’. The reason is that heterosexual people are constrained by the preferences of the opposite sex and that distorts our understanding of what they are really like. This is not the case with gay men and lesbians. So – what have studies shown about gay men? i) They are far more promiscuous than lesbians; ii) they have a higher libido; iii) they are more visual; iv) they are more active in seeking sex; v) they use pornography more; vi) they seek more casual sex. Notice the similarities that Dr Gaddam points out here: it is funny that one should fantasise about being cheated on, right? (Women do not share this fantasy). Why does that happen? Well, you’ll have to read the book (‘A Billion Wicked Thoughts’ – it’s excellent!)
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Human Sexuality - What gay men can teach us](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PRUXLqrxrnc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Human Nature - Happiness and the Workplace [3]
Some fascinating insights on happiness by Tony Hsieh. The important bits are the four elements that contribute to happiness (Perceived Control – Perceived Progress – Connectedness – Vision/Meaning [0:09]), and the 3 types of happiness(Pleasure – Engagement - Meaning [1:27] – see also Seligman). Another interesting thing is how little tweaks can significantly contribute to people’s levels of happiness. Needless to say, all these things have serious implications for Educators, not only in terms of creating schools that keep teachers happy, but also in applying these principles in the classroom.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Human Nature - Happiness and the Workplace [3]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pf-e92b8Sf0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Comedy for ELT - Just a Minute
[Warning: Do NOT use in class, unless you have a back-up job! :-) ] A cat, Monica Lewinski and socks how are they all connected?!? Find out in this very short, hilarious clip. Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 game that has been going on since 1967! The idea (a great one for developing fluency by the way) is that participants have to speak on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation. Here, Graham Norton is asked to talk about Socks... :-)
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this audio clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Comedy for ELT - Just a Minute](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PqeAmm772aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Ads for ELT - Little Angels
Why would someone want to kill a child? They are so sweet and innocent… aren’t they? This is a fantastic series of 3 ads on the same theme which your students will love. You can use them in a number of ways. Here are two ideas: i) Split viewing: students are supposed to be advertising agents; each of them watches one of the ads, describes the concept to the others and tries to convince them that his/her idea is best. Then the whole class can watch them together and vote on the one they like best. ii) What next?: students watch each of the ads and then write a short paragraph about what happened next…
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Ads for ELT - Little Angels](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pxg_7W4fIyc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Psychology and ELT - Temptation Bundling 1
You need to do something, but you keep putting it off. It’s either boring or unpleasant. Is there something you can do about it? Yes, there is according to Dan Ariely. In this short clip he shares with us a personal story about how he managed to stick with his medication regime. Listen and take heed!
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have only uploaded it here for educational purposes]. Psychology and ELT - Temptation Bundling 1](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QDJSa2Jl6EI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 6 [Remarrying]
He is male, he is a father and he is divorced. He is also very frank… So when his son asks him about things, he is only too happy to reply. It’s just that one wonders whether his son might not have been better off not asking questions in the first place… In this clip, Paul has had a good time with his dad and his dad’s new girlfriend, so he asks him whether he intends to tie the knot… Enjoy! :-)
Quite apart from the entertainment value, these little sketches contain very real-life language, including discourse markers and idioms. Taken from the BBC Series ‘The Armstrong and Miller Show’. Level: C1 – C2. Topic: Family / Parents – Children / Relationships / Divorce / Remarrying / Sex.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
D: (Having a picnic by the river) Well, we’d better think about being on our way…
S: Oh, dad, can’t we stay a bit longer?
D: Well, I think your mum said she had people coming round tonight, so I’d better get you back in good time…
G: Well, what about I go and get us all an ice-cream?
S: Oh, yeah! (She asks Dad too)
D: Oh, please, Zuki… (She goes off)
S: I like Zuki…
D: Yeah? Me too…
S: Dad…
D: What is it me old china? *
S: Are you and Zuki going to get married?
D: Well, that’s a big question… And one that deserves to be treated seriously. * I suppose marriage is, kind of like the next step when you’ve been together for a while like we have… And in order to know if it’s the right step, you have to ask yourself all sorts of other questions – you know: How would it affect our relationship? Am I ready to settle down again? Is she the right one for me to settle down with?.... You know, when I think about it like that, I realize that… No. * With Zuki it’s all about the sex… * And we are at it like rutting stags every minute you are out of the room. * And a couple of times when you were there… * I mean, don’t get me wrong, Zuki is brilliant and everything and I love that she is fond of you and she goes off to get ice-creams and what have you… But if I’m honest Paul, after some of the things she’s done to me in the bedroom I couldn’t take her into a church… *
G: Well, here we are… Here’s yours… Now Paul, I’m afraid yours was dripping all over my hand so I had to give it a bit of a lick… * (she give it to him, then licks off the cookie… both the adults groan with pleasure…) Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 6 [Remarrying]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RGuYMPJf0RY/mqdefault.jpg)