Talking point: Cinema

This week's talking point deals with cinema. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below to think about the topic and work out possible vocabulary issues.

Think of a film for each of the genres below.
What kind of genres are your favourite?
Which ones  do you dislike?

How often do you go to the cinema?
What was the last movie you saw? Would you recommend it to others?
What’s your all-time favourite movie? And what’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
With foreign films, do you prefer dubbing or subtitles?
Do you prefer domestic movies, European ones or films made in US?
Have you ever walked out of the cinema before a movie ended? (Why?)
When movies get made from books, do you like to read the book first or viceversa?
Do you ever watch black and white movies?
Are you in favour or against subsidized cinema?
Are you in favour or against actors taking part in politics?
How are the Internet and the new technology in general influencing cinema?
If someone made a movie of your life, what major events should it include? Who should play the lead?

To illustrate the topic, watch the trailer of the 2010 film Conviction, starred by Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, based on a true story on a miscarriage of justice.



Answer these questions about the trailer:
a) What genre of movie is it?
b) Who is the hero?
c) What problem or challenge are they facing?
d) What other characters do we see and how are they related to the hero?
e) What happens to the hero?
f) Do you care about the hero or not? (Why?)
g) How might the story end?
h) Do you want to see this movie? (Why/Why not?)

Watch the trailer again. Answer these questions now:
a) What’s the crime?
b) What’s the relationship between Hilary Swank and the criminal?
c) What was the sentence?
d) How long did the struggle to set him free last?
e) What lengths did she go to achieve that?
f) How many clients does she have when she becomes a lawyer?
g) What’s the one thing they haven’t tried after sixteen years?
h) What does Hilary threaten to do if he doesn’t co-operate?

This is the same trailer with Spanish subtitles. It will help you check your answers to the questions above.



I got the idea of using trailers for the English class -and the first batch of questions on the trailer of Conviction, which you can literally use with any trailer- from Vicki Hollett and her extraordinary Simple English Videos.

Simple English videos

In mid August ESL/EFL teacher Vicki Hollett launched Simple English Videos.

Here you will find trailers of different genres (action, animation, comedy, documentary, drama, family and so on) with new additions every week. A transcript of the trailers is always provided.

You can watch Vicki Hollett explaining the ins and outs of her site on this video.

Simple English Videos seems like a great place for English students, especially those at an intermediate and advanced level, to develop their autonomous learning through authentic film-related material while having a good time.

H/T to Larry Ferlazzo.

Talking point: Bullying

What is a bully?
Describe a bully from your school days.
What are some different types of bullying?
Why do bullies behave this way?
When does bullying become criminal behavior?
What personality traits do bullies typically have?
Have you ever witnessed or taken part in bullying? What did you do? Do you wish you had acted differently?
What type of bullying is worse, online bullying or bullying that is face-to-face?

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?
Bullies are typically people who have more confidence than others.
Banning social media networks on school campuses will help prevent bullying in schools.
Students who are bullied need more help from teachers than their bullies do.
Gossiping is one of the worst forms of bullying in schools.
If a victim commits suicide, the bully should be charged with murder.

Today's conversation topic is about bullying. Get together with the members of your talking group and discuss the questions above.

In preparation for your talking session, you can read the article from The New York Times Behind Every Harassed Child? A Whole Lot of Clueless Adults, which reviews Bully, a documentary by Lee Hirsch released in the US in late March. Here's the trailer of the film.



Here's the transcript for the trailer.

The last couple days, we had heard that Tyler had his head shoved into a wall locker.
They said he's a geek.
My concern is that you are making someone feel so uncomfortable, that they didn't want to be in school.
I feel kinda nervous on school days. I like learning, but I have trouble with making friends.
They said he's a geek, and some kids told him that he's worthless, to go hang himself.
And I think he got to this point to where, enough was enough.
Tonight a tragic situation... A Perkins boy, just 11 years old, believed to have been desperate enough to take his own life.
This is an awfully complicated and difficult issue.
Kids will be kids, boys will be boys.
They're just cruel at this age.
Here, what we get, is "nothing's wrong"? We didn't do anything? Everything's fine.
They punch me, strangle me.
Take things from me. Sit on me.
Give it to him hard!
He's not safe on that bus.
I've been on that bus. They are just as good as gold.
My voice is not going to fall silent.
I will go to my grave, until a difference is made.
I reached out to parent's who've lost kids, parents of kids being bullied all over the world, and it took off like wildfire.
All it takes is for one person to stand up.
Be the difference. Go out and find that one child, that new kid, standing over there by himself. Be willing to stand up for him.
Everything starts with one, and builds up. Eventually, we have an army.
If we all do it together, we will change the world.

The Artist

This is the trailer for The Artist.

Self-study activity:
Watch the clip and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words. The activity is suitable for Básico 2 and Intermedio 1 students.



STOP; LISTEN; CAN YOU HEAR IT?
SOMETHING BIG IS HAPPENING AT THE MOVIES.

It represents (1) ... and (2) ... .
Completely (3) ... ! It just blew me away.
It’s a great way to tell a story. You really can’t take your (4) ... off it, it’s simple, great film making.
Winner of Golden Globe for best picture.
This truly is a great film – whatever (5) ... .
It’s (6) ... .
It’s about the (7) ... of movies and it’s about how movies are (8) ... .
On the top ten list of over 200 critics, (9) ... .
Beautiful, (10) ... , Hollywood love story.
And now it’s been nominated for 10 Academy (11) ... , including:
BEST ACTOR
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST (12) ...
And BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR.
I think it’s a movie for everybody.
It’s movie magic, that’s where it all happens.
The ARTIST – Rated (13) ... 13

Key:
1 hopefulness 2 possibility 3 amazing 4 eyes 5 era 6 powerful 7 magic 8 timeless 9 nationwide 10 intense 11 Awards 12 SUPPORTING 13 PG

My week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn is a 2011 film directed by Simon Curtis and starring Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh.

This is the storyline IMDB offers:

Sir Laurence Olivier is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark, an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When film star Marilyn Monroe arrives for the start of shooting, all of London is excited to see the blonde bombshell, while Olivier is struggling to meet her many demands and acting ineptness, and Colin is intrigued by her. Colin's intrigue is met when Marilyn invites him into her inner world where she struggles with her fame, her beauty and her desire to be a great actress.

You can watch the trailer below and read the transcript here if you want to understand everything.

One day on Earth

ONE DAY ON EARTH creates a picture of humanity by recording a 24-hour period throughout every country in the world.

They follow characters and events that evolve throughout the day, interspersed with expansive global montages that explore the progression of life from birth, to death, to birth again. In the end, despite unprecedented challenges and tragedies throughout the world, we are reminded that every day we are alive, there is hope and a choice to see a better future together.

Founded in 2008, ONE DAY ON EARTH set out to explore our planet’s identity and challenges in an attempt to answer the question: Who are we?

Here’s a trailer to the movie I got through Larry Ferlazzo but, more importantly, here is a link to the map where you can pick a video from just about anyplace in the world and watch it.


One Day on Earth - Motion Picture Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

It's like, it is as though you were standing outside the universe looking in. We are not just a speck here. We are not even a speck in a speck. Ok? Were a speck in a speck in a speck.
May the 7000 actions of our brothers and sisters from around the globe, on the most wide spread day of environmental action in the planet's history make a significant difference.
One community trying to exist apart from all other communities is not in any way acknowledging the entirety of existence and how it depends, everything depends on everything.
All these... thousands, thousands of different minds, different views, different thoughts interconnected.

What is your online life like?

Do you use social media?
What do you use social media for?
Do you have many 'social media friends'?
How did you meet them?
How well do you know them?
Have you ever thought how odd your online life is?
Have you ever thought what could go wrong with it?

Two Boys is the latest Nico Muhly's opera and this is the YouTube trailer they have used to advertise it. The opera tries to warns us about the dangers of living our life online.

Good neighbours

Good neighbours is a thriller released in 2010.

The action takes place in 1995, the year of the second referendum on the separation of Quebec. In the dead of winter, a serial killer is on the loose in the small Montreal neighborhood of Notre Dame de Grace. The tenants of an old apartment house must figure out who they can trust and who they can't.

Self-study activity:
This is the promotional trailer. Complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.



Please don't!
In a city (1) ... by fear... Should I be (2) ... for my safety? A woman should always be (2) ... for her safety. It's a nasty world. ...three neighbors...
I'm Victor, nice to meet you.
Spencer, Louise.
...are getting to know each other
Car accident. Last winter, my wife died.
Three dead and (3) ...  .
There's a lot more detail there.
Why do you think you're so interested in all this (4) ...?
When everyone is a suspect,...
Were you alone?
Yeah.
No! No, no. Louise, you were here with me.
...they'll discover that the real danger isn't on the street. It's much closer to home.
You have got a serial rapist vibe off of him?
I'm so sorry. It's (5) ...-... outside, you're coming home by yourself and I just leap out.
I saw him, walking outside that night.
I think we have a common problem, Louise: Victor.
Just moved back to town. He's (6) ...  .
Where were you last Tuesday night?
Home.
How come you didn't tell me you knew that last victim?
Wait, what's going on exactly?
You tell me.
Hi there
Do you ever like dancing?
I always like watching.
Something's going on with these people.
He's just waiting for any (7) ... to get rid of me.
I have a surprise for you.
Oh, Louise! You always wanna see the best in people, don't you?
Louise

Key:
1 gripped 2 concerned 3 raped 4 stuff 5 pitch-black 6 lonely 7 chance

Assassin's Creed

Self-study activity:
This is the trailer to Assassin's 2 video game. Watch the clip and fill in the missing words in the transcript below with just one word.



Italy, (1) ......... century, the age of Renaissance. A time considered to be the rebirth of (2) .......... Yet, behind humanity’s expanding consciousness, a (3) .........was taking place. A conspiracy by a corrupt (4) .........to overthrow the powerful Medici dynasty and destroy a (5) .........Italy. But, there were still some who (6) .........for justice, and followed an ancient creed. And it was with them that our (7) .........begins.

Apparently the computer game has been a success, and the story line sounds really interesting and intriguing: The Duke of Millan is brutally murdered and Assassin Giovanni is dispatched to investigate the crime. What he finds out implicates Italy's most powerful families. But as Giovanni get closer to the truth, he becomes hunted himself. He must expose the conspirators before he also becomes a victim.

Key:
1. 15th   2. man   3. movement   4. family   5. unified   6. fought   7. story

The Social Network trailer

Watch the trailer of the film The Social Network on the life of the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. If you are interested in what is actually said you can read the transcript here.

Waiting for Superman

Watch the trailer of the documentary Waiting for Superman, which deals with key issues of education in the US.



Self-study activity: Watch the trailer again and answer the quiz.



You can read the transcript of the trailer here.

Self-study activity: How does the situation of education in the US as shown in the trailer compare with Spain? What are your ideas about this topic? Discuss with an English-speaking friend.

Home

Watch this trailer on the release of a DVD on planet Earth and answer the question that follows.



What do these figures refer to? 4 billion; 200,000; 50

You can watch the full feature film with English subtitles here. But be warned. It takes over one and a half hours.

You can read the transcript of the video here.

Key: 4 billion years ago life appeared on earth; 200,000 years ago human life started; in the last 50 years the earth has been more changed than by all the previous generations.