Do you want pop corn with that exercise?

Photo by Rinux

One of the most difficult areas of English grammar for Greek speakers is question forms. Unlike English questions in Greek are formed by simply adding a question word to the start of the sentence and changing the intonation. No mucking about with auxiliary verbs and the like.

As a result students need to constantly practice this area of syntax in order to get it right and so here is a pleasant exercise to help do this using film music. All you need is a DVD or soundtrack of a film and the means to play it in class.

Lesson Plan

1 Ask students if they can hum a piece of film music (give them an easy example such as the Star Wars soundtrack).

2 Students do this in pairs and the other one has to guess the film.

3 Explain to them that they are going to hear part of a movie soundtrack and they have to ask questions about what is happening at that particular moment in the film.

You can handle this in two ways;

A - Choose a well know known film and divide the students into two group; those who've seen it and those who haven't.

B - Choose a less well known film that your students are unlikely to have seen.


4 Play the extract.

5 If you choose a well-known film the students who've seen it discuss with each other about what was happening. The others write out five questions using;

who
what
where
when
why

If you choose an obscure film students write their questions and ask each other. Remind them that there is no such thing as a correct answer in this situation. They then ask you their questions.

(In either case make sure you move around the class dealing with any problem in grammar).

6 Students get in pairs and ask each other.

7 If you have time play the movie so that they can see the scene.

Alternatively

You can turn this into a 20 questions exercise. Students then guess the film.