| LESSON OVERVIEW
The main objectives of this speaking lesson on true crime are to:
- discuss the true crime genre from a critical perspective;
- read and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of true crime;
- watch a video about how forensic linguistics helped investigators catch a criminal.
In this speaking lesson, students explore headlines, analyse types of true crime media and share their thoughts. They say to what extent they agree with opinions on the topic, read about the real-world impact of the true crime genre and discuss the ethical dilemmas surrounding true crime entertainment and tourism. Students talk about which scenarios are more likely to make a case go viral, debate how language might help investigators catch criminals and watch a video about a famous criminal case.
C2 / Proficiency45 min
60 minSpeaking 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 AND DISCUSSION
This speaking lesson on true crime starts with a warm-up. Students read headlines, choose the story that could most easily be turned into a true crime documentary and explain their choice. Following that, they can do an extra vocabulary activity to review useful words (e.g. sensationalize, fabricate, vilify) for the discussion. In the task, students do a word-building activity (e.g. sensitive – desensitize). After that, they look at different types of true crime media (e.g. books, documentaries, podcasts) and their examples. Then, students do tasks where they analyse, discuss and evaluate the true crime genre. Moving on, they read various opinions about true crime and say to what extent they agree with them.
MORE DISCUSSION AND VIDEO
In this part of this speaking lesson on true crime, students read examples of the popularity and real-world impact of the true crime genre. They then discuss the ethical dilemmas, benefits and drawbacks of true crime entertainment and tourism. Afterwards, students look at pairs of scenarios (e.g. an unsolved mystery OR a criminal being caught and punished) and discuss which ones are more likely to make a true crime case go viral. They give reasons and examples. Next, students watch a video about a famous criminal case that was solved through linguistic analysis. First, they discuss how language might help investigators catch criminals. Then, students watch the video and discuss their reactions and the impact of the crime case on police investigations.
WORKSHEETS
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