We have already seen how clips can be used to address the present simple by showing them to students and asking them to predict What happens next? For each video clip, students were asked to consider unintended, unexpected or unpredictable incidents or outcomes (a baby panda sneezing, an Inuit fisherman being grabbed by an orca, a George Bush blunder).
In this activity, we see three individuals perform three different feats. In each clip, the viewer is aware that there is an intention in the air and there may be a tendency to use ‘going to’ rather than the present simple in order to guess what it is. As before, this activity could be given a competitive edge.
The longest escalator in Europe
Ask your students if they can guess where the longest escalator in Europe is. After a few attempts, tell them that it is in the London Underground (Angel station). Show them the following clip and stop it after exactly 30 seconds - just as the young Norwegian with a camera strapped to his head reaches the top.
Now ask your students what they think he is going to do. Perhaps they noticed his skis. Tell them that you are not going to play the clip until you have had 3 or 4 suggestions from your class. Help your students with the language and write the guesses on the board.
- (We think) he is going to throw something down the escalator.
- He is going to push the emergency stop button.
- He is going to ski down the escalator.
Play the whole clips and see who got it right.
Follow up: this article from the Guardian could be used for a reading activity.
Maths teacher
Turn the sound on your computer down and play the video clip below in which you will see Canadian maths teacher Alexander Overwijk cleaning the blackboard in front of his class. Pause the clip after 35 seconds and tell your students that Alexander has a special talent that he is going to demonstrate to his students. Ask them if they can guess what he is going to do.
Again write your students’ suggestions on the board concentrating on the ‘going to’ form. Continue with the clip and you will see Alexander doing some strange warm-up exercises that should get your students thinking even more. Pause the clip a second time after 1 minute and elicit more suggestions before watching it through to the end.
Follow up: Get a few volunteers to come to the front of the class and attempt to draw perfect circles on the classroom blackboard or whiteboard. Have a class vote to decide who drew the best circle and who drew the worst circle.
Christmas stunt
Play the following clip and stop it after exactly 18 seconds.
Point to the individual on the left in the grey hooded top and ask your students what they think he is going to do. Write all suggestions on the blackboard (again you can refuse to continue until you have 3 or 4 ideas).
Continue the clip for another 10 seconds, pause it again and allow your students to reconsider their ideas or offer new ones.
Pause the clip just before the student jumps and ask your class to guess what happens next (does he get injured, does he get caught, etc). You could use this opportunity to demonstrate the difference between ‘going to’ and the present simple.
Follow up: Have your class role play a situation in which the Christmas tree jumper has to explain his actions to a disciplinery panel who in turn must decide what action they are going to take against him.
I got it “explained to me” that your follow-up won’t use the target language ‘going to’ and that if it did would be a very un-natural way to speak.
Left by Darrell on August 25th, 2008