Sunday, September 17, 2006

Steve McQueen - an early EFL pioneer


This is an idea that I got years ago while watching Bullitt. In the film Steve McQueen plays a detective who is tracking down a suspect. At some point they come into possession of his suitcase and try to find out as much as they can about the mystery man from the contents. Well, you can do the same thing using, say the stuff you have hanging around your home from your last holiday for example leaflets, photos, receipts etc. This is a great way of getting students to practice modal verbs (past and present) and the language of suggestion.

Lesson plan


1 – Explain to students that they are going to be detectives and that they found some important evidence about a suspect.

Here might be good time to revise or teach modals and/or the language of suggestion.

2 – Divide the class into groups of three or four students and give them each a “mystery pack” i.e. The photos, ticket stubs, flyers etc. you've chosen(see below). The students now have to find out as much as they can about the person using the clues given. For instance;

For instance;


Are we talking about a man or woman?

How old are they?

What can we say about their movements, interests, acquaintances etc?

3 - Students write down what they have found out and make sure they separate what they not for sure from what might be true about the suspect.

E.g The person has a connection with the university of Liverpool, s/he may have studied there.

4 - This would be a great warm up exercise for writing a report which is often part of the Cambridge FCE, CAE and CPE written papers.

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