Uploaded August 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How do you introduce your activities? I bet you say something like ‘Now we are going to do a listening task…’ OK – why not change this a little? How about ‘Now we are going to do an amazing listening task…’ or ‘This fantastic game is hugely popular with all my students…’ (the same goes for books / stories / songs / projects etc. of course).
Does it matter though? Would it make any difference? Well, research suggests that it does. Take food for instance: you wouldn’t think that relabelling ‘Vegetable Chilli’ as ‘Garden Fresh Vegetable Chilli’ would affect the taste of the dish, but just watch this clip… (And surely, any parent would be more than willing to rebrand peas as ‘Power Peas’ if it meant the little ones would eat them… )
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
How do you introduce your activities? I bet you say something like ‘Now we are going to do a listening task…’ OK – why not change this a little? How about ‘Now we are going to do an amazing listening task…’ or ‘This fantastic game is hugely popular with all my students…’ (the same goes for books / stories / songs / projects etc. of course).
Does it matter though? Would it make any difference? Well, research suggests that it does. Take food for instance: you wouldn’t think that relabelling ‘Vegetable Chilli’ as ‘Garden Fresh Vegetable Chilli’ would affect the taste of the dish, but just watch this clip… (And surely, any parent would be more than willing to rebrand peas as ‘Power Peas’ if it meant the little ones would eat them… )
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
![Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 5 [Sexuality]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vit0IsrlL74/mqdefault.jpg "Comedy for ELT - Frank Dad 5 [Sexuality]
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 why his mother seemed reluctant to take him on holiday with her… 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 / Sex / Sexuality.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
D: Paul, what are you doing up here?
S: Thinking…
D: Careful! Your head might fall off!
S: Dad…
D: Go on son, spit it out…
S: Why didn’t mum want me to go on holiday with her?
D: What – is that all this is about? Well, the thing is… it’s nice for your mum and Jill to go on their own… You see, when you’re in the first throes of big, passionate, lesbian relationship * the last thing you need is some little kid wandering in, saying ‘Mummy, can I go to the swimming pool?’ is it? * You see… your mum was never really satisfied by me – sexually, so it’s nice for her occasionally to get the full treatment from someone on the home team… (he winks at Paul) * I mean, don’t get me wrong, I tried… but when it came down to it, I was just extremely lazy in bed… And your poor, old mum sometimes had to sort herself out… * But where would you rather be? With a couple of rug munchers in Ibiza or here with me watching the ‘Top Gear’ DVD, hey? * Go on – race you to the telly! *")
![Comedy for ELT - Homo Devis 3 [Tottenham]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ybkqUWw3i5o/mqdefault.jpg "Comedy for ELT - Homo Devis 3 [Tottenham]
[To download a worksheet (+ KEY, + Script) just click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByC3QwWZuGXdQkwxY3RheVJDVHM/view?usp=sharing ]
Scientists have recently discovered a new human (sub-)species. It’s called ‘Homo Devis’. Most of us plebs refer to them as ‘the super posh’ and ‘the filthy rich’, though people have been known to use other names as well… These people live differently, they think differently, they speak differently.
A brilliant comment on class stratification by the very talented Catherine Tate. Taken from the BBC TV Series ‘The Catherine Tate Show’. Level: C1 – C2 Topics: Rich – Poor / Class / Discrimination / Values.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this audio clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
SCRIPT
A: And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon Englands mountains green?
S: Oh mummy, I do enjoy our visits to Gillaume.
D: He really is the greatest ….charcutier (sic).... in London – if not the home counties!
M: (suddenly concerned) Good God in heaven above!
D: What is it?
M: I must have taken a wrong turning… We seem to have driven into a place called ‘Tottenham’! *
S: Mummy, look! What’s that?!? * Can we feed him?
M: No, if you do that he may follow us, so… *
S: Mummy, this is scary… I’m looking but everyone is wearing brogues! *
M: Calm down, we must remember the time when we were on safari in the Serengeti. * We keep the windows and doors locked, and don’t let the locals see the windscreen wipers moving, in case they try to rip them off… *
S: Mummy, look at this! (sign says ‘Iceland.co.uk’) *
M: Yes, I’ve heard of that; * I think they sell…
D: Sell what, mummy?
M: …frozen food… * Now try not to panic, but the traffic lights are red, and there’s a man standing next to them with a bucket of dirty water and a sponge… * Just smile and look out front. .... * (the man knocks on the windscreen) * Don’t look him in the eyes! He wants you to look him in the eyes, but you mustn’t! *
S: He’s going away – we did it!
D: I can’t wait to tell them at school – ‘My Day in Tottenham’… *
A: (the man splashes soapy water on the windscreen and they all scream) We’re all going to die!! **")
