Dissecting TV shows

Title separator

Speaking
class

speaking lesson about TV shows

LESSON OVERVIEW

In this speaking lesson about TV shows, students do a variety of speaking activities and watch two trailers.

B2 / Upper Intermediate
C1 / Advanced
45 min
60 min
Speaking ClassUnlimited Plan

This is a Speaking Class worksheet. It includes a variety of tasks that let your students practise their speaking skills. This lesson format does not focus on grammar or vocabulary. Learn more about it here.

WARM-UP & TRAILERS

In the warm-up activity, students share how much time they spend watching TV shows and talk about the last TV show they watched. Then, they look at the titles of some popular TV shows (e.g. The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, The Crown, The Big Bang Theory) and talk about the ones they have seen. They also say whether they would recommend the shows and need to explain why. If a student hasn’t seen any of the shows listed, the teacher should encourage them to speak about other shows they have seen. After that, students watch two trailers and say whether they would watch the shows presented in them. They also say what other films or shows they remind them of, and share how they choose which shows to watch. This part of the speaking lesson about TV shows ends with a discussion on what makes a good trailer.

DISCUSSION

In this part of the lesson, students think about some successful TV shows and need to grade how important some elements are for a show to be successful (e.g. post production, relatable characters, engaging dialogues). They do it using a provided scale, and have to explain their choices. Then, students read six statements (e.g. TV shows promote stereotypes., TV shows are the new films., TV shows don’t accurately depict real-life problems.) and need to decide to what extent they agree with them. In the final part of this speaking lesson about TV shows, students have to finish five statements (e.g. The future of TV shows is…, Compared to American shows, the TV shows in my country are…). They also compare their ideas with other students, and expand on them. 

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. Irina Kramarovskaya

    Thank you for the lesson!
    Just to expand on the topic, I’ve used this article (to read before class) & it sparked some great discussion about promoting ideas through TV shows:
    https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/04/tv-shows-movies-climate-crisis

    1. Ewa

      Hi, Irina! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  2. Veronika Malkevič

    thanks

  3. Karo_G

    It would be great to have “speaking lessons” category to filter worksheets. thanks!

    1. Ewa

      Hi! You will find it here in the ‘Lesson type’ filter (top row, second category from the right).

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
speaking lesson on Thanksgiving
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Challenging historical narratives

General

In this speaking lesson on Thanksgiving, students think about the history of the celebration and its modern-day customs. They watch a video featuring Native Americans’ feelings about the holiday and have a broader discussion about challenging dominant historical narratives.

collocations to describe appearance
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Does anyone else look like you?

General

With this lesson, students talk about facial features! They practise collocations to describe appearance, watch a video on the concept of doppelgängers and discuss people who look alike.

speaking lesson on guilt
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Should I feel bad about it?

General

In this speaking lesson on guilt, students discuss guilty pleasures and varied opinions on the emotion. They also watch and discuss a video about ‘vacation guilt’. Students have an optional vocabulary activity with expressions related to guilt.

talk about supernatural phenomena
B2 / Upper Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Do you believe in ghosts?

General

Engage in talking about supernatural phenomena! With this lesson, students practise vocabulary related to mysterious and supernatural events, watch a video on why people claim to see ghosts and discuss their beliefs. They also play a quest game!

ESL lesson about animal abilities
B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

How smart are animals?

General

Students discuss animal abilities with this lesson! They talk about differing opinions on animal intelligence, learn about animal skills and hear some fascinating animal stories. They watch a video, think about an animal’s point of view, and discuss lots of questions.

C1 / Advanced
Critical Reading Club 30 min / 45 min
Loading

Gen Z’s penchant for sad music

General Lifestyle

Students read and discuss an article about Gen Z’s preference for sad music and learn vocabulary for describing sad music and listener behaviour. They also talk about changes in music trends, analyse comments, and share opinions on the topic.

talk about uncertain situations
C1 / Advanced | C2 / Proficiency
Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min
Loading

Uncertain times in business

Business General

In this lesson, students talk about attitudes towards difficult situations. They revise useful vocabulary and watch a video about VUCA, a framework to interpret challenging circumstances. Students also talk about how some difficult situations were handled in real life.

vocabulary on challenges and achievements
C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

In a league of your own

General

In this lesson, students discuss awards and famous individuals, and learn vocabulary on challenges and achievements. They explore Olympic Games quotes, watch a video about an athlete, and engage in discussions on success.

advanced prepositions
C1 / Advanced
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Advanced prepositions

General

Work on prepositions with this lesson! C1 students practise advanced prepositions in various contexts, discuss personal experiences and explore prepositional phrases. They also study verbs with dependent prepositions and prepositions in binomials.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there's no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won't be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).
Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with