Chapter 13
Watching TV Online
In This Chapter
Using TV programmes from the Internet with a variety of students
A lesson plan to stimulate vocabulary learning and practical role plays
In recent times there has been a substantial rise in the number of people watching TV online via their phones and computers. In the UK many channels offer catch-up services and online programme archives enabling viewers to watch programmes they missed on TV and even download programmes to their own devices. At present in the UK you can access scores of popular shows on services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5. There are also many shows to watch on YouTube. The availability of television programmes online is excellent for students to increase their knowledge of the English language and the cultures of English speaking countries.
Watching TV offers heaps of benefits:
- Whenever you watch a little bit of online TV in class you will pique your students’ interest. Here are some reasons why:
- When students watch what the general population do, they feel more integrated and have a better handle on popular culture.
- Internet TV services often have good subtitling options and a wide variety of programmes so there are many ways to use them.
- You can employ all the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, plus pronunciation analysis) by discussing shows and getting the learners to write about what they’ve seen.
- Because the programmes are stored online and not live you can divide one programme into short segments, or mini-episodes, very easily.
- You don’t have all the bother recording programmes yourself or getting hold of DVDs.
- Most students are TV and film fans, so it’s entirely natural for them to use modern media rather than just course books.
- Enjoying media in English is a final outcome that many students consider a mark of success. They want to be able to do what they like in their first and second language.
In this chapter I show you ways to use online TV shows with a range of classes. I demonstrate how to base a lesson plan on a popular TV show.
No TV show stays online forever. For that reason, I give you ideas here that you can transfer easily to other programmes. In this case I use an episode from a long running cooking series which reveals a great deal about how people in the UK live. In particular I show my class an episode from Come Dine With Me UK about a man called John who cooks a Filipino meal for guests but you could use a similar plan with any episode of the show.
Lesson overview
courses starter main course dessert
I’d like to invite you round/to my place for dinner on …… at ……
Can you make it? I’d love to! What should I bring?
Sorry but I’m busy on that day! Another time maybe!
We’re having … … (food items).
Doing a warmer activity
6 minutes
Procedure: Make a wordsearch using Figure 13-2 as a model. How many words connected with food can the class find in three minutes? Give students an extra minute if they haven’t found all seven, and then compare answers.
Figure 13-2: Quick pre-intermediate wordsearch using food vocabulary.
Brainstorming
8 minutes
Ask students whether they like going to a friend’s house for dinner. Explain that when you invite friends over, cook for them, and sit at the table together eating and drinking in the evening, this is called a dinner party. What do the students think makes a good dinner party? Brainstorm answers on the board. You might set the brainstorm out like in Figure 13-3 to elicit as much vocabulary as possible.
Figure 13-3: Example of board work for a brainstorm on good dinner parties.
Come Dine with Me
3 minutes
Explain the premise of the programme. Five people go to each other’s homes for five dinner parties (one each). After each dinner party they give marks out of 10. The best host (make sure you teach this word along with guest) wins £1,000.
Find out who knows this programme. Who likes this idea?
4 minutes
In preparation for the chosen episode
Courses: starter/main course/dessert
Ask students to discuss what kind of food they think British people eat for each course. Give them a couple of minutes to note down ideas, allowing the use of dictionaries. Then listen to their ideas.
The menu
and 
4 minutes
Write the four main headings and the vocabulary that features in the menu on the TV episode on the board. Here I show an example using John’s menu. Elicit the meaning of each item. Use pictures (or allow students to investigate using the Internet) and ask them to predict under which headings the items go.
|
Starter |
Main course |
Dessert Drinks |
|
flan salad |
pork |
chicken sausage |
|
rice a hibiscus flower |
vegetables |
fruit cocktail |
|
mushroom |
coconut cream |
onions garlic |
8 minutes
Students watch the video and check which items go under each Heading in John’s menu. After watching, they compare their answers.
Note down time markers for each stage of the episode so that you can go directly to the segment of the show you need.
The entertainment
6 minutes
Ask students what kind of entertainment they think would be good at John’s house. Put students in pairs to think of three things John might do. They have two minutes to share ideas. After their discussions, get some feedback.
Now ask the class to watch the two-minute video segment. Ask the students: What is the entertainment and do the guests like it? Check answers as a class after watching.
The score
2 minutes
In this episode, all John’s guests give him the same score. Write ?/10 on the board and elicit a score for John based on the clips the students have seen. Watch the video to reveal the answer.
Planning your perfect dinner party
6 minutes
In pairs students plan a dinner party for four friends from class. They must decide on date, time, and location (whose house? indoors or outdoors?), the full menu and the entertainment.
6 minutes
Elicit vocabulary for inviting friends to a dinner party and responding to an invitation:
- I’d like to invite you round / to my place for dinner on … … at … …
- Can you make it?
- I’d love to!
- What should I bring?
- Sorry but I’m busy on that day. Another time maybe.
- We’re having … (food items).
Invitation mingle
6 minutes
Get students up on their feet. Have a full class mingle in which students invite others to their dinner parties and note those who can come.
2 minutes
As feedback, find out who got the most acceptances.
Extension activities
Play more clips from Come Dine With Me and pick out key vocabulary. Then get students to do an extended role play of a dinner party, from greeting the guests at the door to seating them and serving the food. They can set up the classroom furniture to represent a dining table and spend twenty minutes or so in character as hosts and diners, discussing the meal and making polite conversation. Practise phrases such as:
- Welcome!
- Come in.
- Take a seat.
- Would you like a drink?
- Make yourself at home.
- Can I introduce? …
- Help yourself.