The internet, like Soylent Green is people

The pieces are gradually falling into place as far as teaching EFL/ESL and the internet are concerned. More and more of my students have access to broadband connections, the price of laptops is falling to a little as 200 - 300 euros for basic models and there is a raft of free applications that we can utilise. As a result I have been able to put into practice lesson plans from a few years ago and see if they actually work in real life learning situations.



A couple of years ago I wrote abut using the opening sequence to the the film Soylent Green as a template for a lesson (click here). This week one of my students created his own version of the opening sequence. Check it out for yourself.

Using Kantalk

One of the biggest difficulties facing studentslearning English in a country where English is not spoken as a first language is that they do not usually have chances to practice outside the classroom. Thankfully, the internet now allows us to overcome this obstacle. Applications such as Skype, MSN Chat and Yahoo Messsenger now incorporate phone style communication. Kantalk takes this one step further by allowing language learners to get together and communicate in the language they wish to practice.

I remember me and David, the founder of Kantalk talked about how this could be used in language learning and I expressed the concern that getting complete strangers to chat at length is a bit difficult. I thought that the service would work better if people could talk about a particular topic or theme.

Now Kantalk has introduced an extra service in which anyone can invite others to follow a lesson plan. If you are feeling creative then why not add your one of your own? I added this one earlier today based on something I posted on the blog.

Students producing great stuff

Last week I asked my student (check out his blog here) to create his own, updated introduction to Soylent Green (see here for the original lesson plan). Here is his version which I think is pretty amazing.

Teaching using film

I first posted this lesson plan a few months ago however, I decided to add a twist to it today with one of my students. As well as doing the discussion I've asked him to update the opening scene of 1973 film for a modern audience using Flickr and Photo Story 3.

Lesson plan


1 This is optional. If you can find the film Soylent Green on DVD/VHS.

2 Tell students that they're going to see part of a film that talks about the future and that they should say what they think is the meaning of the sequence. Play the first three minutes. (Basically, it's a photo-montage that shows how the pace of industrial life has quickened and the effects that is having on the planet).

3 Students discuss their answers in pairs and then report back to the teacher.

4 Give out the photocopy (see below).

5 Do the warm up questions from the photocopy. Students write down their answers then form groups to discuss them.

6 Elicit answers from the groups.

7 Go through the handout, deal with any problems with vocabulary.

8 Divide the class into five groups, one for each lobby and another group who will be judges.

9 Explain to students that each lobby has to talk for two minutes, presenting their opinions on why the mill should or should not be built. The judges think of questions to ask each group.

10 Then conduct a class debate; You could use the following format, if you wish.

Back to education

I haven't been blogging much about EFL/ESL over the last week or so, and so I thought I'd make amends by posting a discussion regularly that I use regularly with FCE and post FCE classes. The exercise is based on the environment, a topic that often pops up in the various exams I prepare students for.



Lesson plan

1 This is optional. If you can find the film Soylent Green on DVD/VHS.

2 Tell students that they're going to see part of a film that talks about the future and that they should say what they think is the meaning of the sequence. Play the first three minutes. (Basically, it's a photo-montage that shows how the pace of industrial life has quickened and the effects that is having on the planet).

3 Students discuss their answers in pairs and then report back to the teacher.

4 Give out the photocopy (see below).

5 Do the warm up questions from the photocopy. Students write down their answers then form groups to discuss them.

6 Elicit answers from the groups.

7 Go through the handout, deal with any problems with vocabulary.

8 Divide the class into five groups, one for each lobby and another group who will be judges.

9 Explain to students that each lobby has to talk for two minutes, .presenting their opinions.on why the mill should or should not be built. The judges think of questions to ask each group.

10 Then conduct a class debate; You could use the following format, if you wish.

A - Each lobby presents their opinion (no other group is allowed to speak). While the group is speaking, the other notes down questions, objections etc.

B – The other groups ask their questions.

C – The judges ask questions or asks for clarifications.

The cycle is repeated again for each of the other groups.

11 When every group has had their chance to speak then the judges make their decision and explain to the class what they've chosen an why.

What you could do as a follow up.

1 Ask students to create their own eco-video using their own pictures and/or ones from the internet (they also get to choose their own music). This could be turned into a short video using Window's Movie Maker,which is on every XP equipped PC. Or you could download Microsoft's free Photo Story 3 which is a great way to get newbies creating stuff for say, YouTube.

2 Ask your students to create their own TV/radio spot which sets out their own opinion on the matter. This could be posted on the class blog, again via YouTube or as a podcast using Odeo.

3 Students write their own newspaper article, using the debate as a basis. They should also interview the various parties involved and quote them in the story. It could also be put on a blog.

Soylent Green

A lot of the course books we use have a unit on the environment (to tell you the truth a subject that bores most students silly). So here is a a short exercise that make the the subject a little more palatable.

1 Ask students if the world will be better or worse in the future. The students then get into groups according to their answer.

2 They then write down reasons why.

3 Put the students into pairs/groups (one from the "pessimists" with one from the "optimists") and ask them to discuss their opinions.

4 Explain to students that they'll see part of a film that shows a possible version of the future. They have to say what the film maker is trying to tell us.

5 Show the first three minutes of Soylent Green.

(The first part of the film is a photo - montage which shows the world becoming more over-populated and polluted.)

6 Students then discuss their answers with each other. Ask them if they agree with this prediction and why/why not.

This can be used as a warm up exercise for any kind of environmentally orientated kind of lesson. Here is the whole film on Google Video.

If you don't have access to a DVD/VHS in the classroom you can use DVD Shrink and put it on a laptop/desk top.