Breaking News English

        

1. E-BOOKS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about eBooks. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

movie fan / studying English / initiative / Hollywood / diagrams / valuable tool / selection / digital / distribution / details / enjoyment / classic movies / coincides with

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. STUDYING ENGLISH: How best to do it? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Using…	Ideas for speaking	Ideas for vocabulary
movies
e-Books
songs
textbooks
the Internet
games

4. DIGITAL: Students A strongly believe digital books will replace paper books one day; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. READING: What do you most like reading? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

movie screenplays poems non-fiction newspaper articles

novels e-mails grammar books instructions

6. FAN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'fan'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The article said all English students are movie fans.	T / F
b.	A Hollywood studio has released some of its screenplays as e-Books.	T / F
c.	The article said teachers are a valuable classroom learning tool.	T / F
d.	The e-Books are not yet available for download via Apple products.	T / F
e.	Warner Brothers has released a huge selection of screenplays.	T / F
f.	A movie exec said the screenplays will let people enjoy movies more.	T / F
g.	The screenplay e-Books are currently just for classic movies.	T / F
h.	There is no immediate plan to release the e-Book and movie together.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	fan	a.	seldom
2.	initiative	b.	presently
3.	series	c.	strategy
4.	valuable	d.	entirely
5.	currently	e.	enthusiast
6.	so far	f.	happens together
7.	rarely	g.	precious
8.	whole	h.	a while
9.	some time	i.	set
10.	coincides	j.	until now

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	you might just	a.	from the films
2.	classic	b.	small selection
3.	conversations and dialogues	c.	be downloaded
4.	a valuable new	d.	prove popular
5.	The books can	e.	at the moment
6.	only a	f.	be interested
7.	the new products will	g.	with the movie release
8.	we can give fans rarely	h.	movies
9.	the eBooks are just for classic movies	i.	tool to use
10.	the eBook coincides	j.	seen details

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

If you are a movie (1) __________ and you like studying English, you might just be interested in the (2) __________ initiative of the Hollywood movie studio Warner Brothers. The company has released a (3) __________ of screenplays of its classic movies as eBooks. The scripts are full of images, diagrams and facts in (4) __________ to the conversations and dialogues from the films. Now English students can read (5) __________ on the movie and read along while they watch it. The digital scripts also give English teachers a valuable new (6) __________ to use in the classroom. Many students like to learn English (7) __________ movies. The eBooks are currently on sale on Amazon.com at around $8. The books can be downloaded on Apple's iBookstore and are (8) __________ for the Nook eBook reader.		up series via tool fan available latest addition
So far only a small (9) __________ of movie scripts has been released. These include An American in Paris, Ben Hur, Casablanca and North by Northwest. President of Warner Brothers digital distribution Thomas Gewecke (10) __________ why he thinks the new products will (11) __________ popular: "People love movies because of the stories they tell," he said. "Now we can give fans (12) __________ seen details of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a (13) __________ new level," he added. Mr Gewecke said the eBooks are just for (14) __________ movies at the moment but that books for newer movies will be (15) __________ in the future. It will be some time however before the eBook (16) __________ with the movie release.		whole coincides explained rarely classic selection released prove

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

If you are a movie fan and you like studying English, __________________ interested in the latest initiative of the Hollywood movie studio Warner Brothers. The company has __________________ of screenplays of its classic movies as eBooks. The scripts are full of images, diagrams and facts in addition to the conversations __________________ the films. Now English students can read up on the movie and read __________________ watch it. The digital scripts also give English teachers a __________________ to use in the classroom. Many students like to learn English via movies. The eBooks are __________________ on Amazon.com at around $8. The books can be downloaded on Apple's iBookstore and are available for the Nook eBook reader.

So far only __________________ of movie scripts has been released. These include An American in Paris, Ben Hur, Casablanca and North by Northwest. President of Warner Brothers digital distribution Thomas Gewecke explained why he thinks the new products __________________: "People love movies because of the stories they tell," he said. "Now we can give fans __________________ of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a __________________," he added. Mr Gewecke said the eBooks are just for classic movies __________________ but that books for newer movies will be released in the future. It will be some time however before the eBook __________________ movie release.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'screen' and 'play'.

screen

play

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

fan series full read tool sale

small include explained love whole release

E-BOOKS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about eBooks in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

 
 

E-BOOKS & MOVIES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'eBook'?
c)	What do you think of eBooks?
d)	Do you think eBooks will replace paper books one day?
e)	What are the advantages of eBooks over paper books?
f)	Do you like studying with movie screenplays?
g)	Do you think the screenplay eBooks will be useful for English learners?
h)	What do you think of the $8 price tag?
i)	How useful is movie English?
j)	Is it better to learn English using movies or songs?

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STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	What do you think of the selection of movie screenplays released?
c)	Do you think the new products will prove popular?
d)	Why do you love movies?
e)	Would you like to know more about how each movie was made?
f)	Would background knowledge of a movie make you like it more?
g)	What would take your enjoyment of films to a whole new level?
h)	Do you like classic movies?
i)	Do you prefer American movies or those from your own country?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Thomas Gewecke?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

If you are a movie (1) ____ and you like studying English, you might just be interested in the latest (2) ____ of the Hollywood movie studio Warner Brothers. The company has released a series of screenplays of its classic movies as eBooks. The scripts are full of images, diagrams and facts in addition (3) ____ the conversations and dialogues from the films. Now English students can read         (4) ____ on the movie and read along while they watch it. The digital scripts also give English teachers a valuable new tool to use in the classroom. Many students like to learn English (5) ____ movies. The eBooks are currently on sale on Amazon.com at around $8. The books can be downloaded on Apple's iBookstore and are (6) ____ for the Nook eBook reader.

So far only a small selection of movie scripts has been released. These (7) ____ An American in Paris, Ben Hur, Casablanca and North by Northwest. President of Warner Brothers digital distribution Thomas Gewecke explained why he thinks the new products will (8) ____ popular: "People love movies because of the stories they (9) ____," he said. "Now we can give fans rarely seen details of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a (10) ____ new level," he added. Mr Gewecke said the eBooks are just for classic movies at the (11) ____ but that books for newer movies will be released in the future. It will be some time however before the eBook coincides (12) ____ the movie release.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	fun	(b)	fin	(c)	fen	(d)	fan
2.	(a)	inaction	(b)	initiated	(c)	initiative	(d)	intuitive
3.	(a)	at	(b)	to	(c)	of	(d)	by
4.	(a)	up	(b)	down	(c)	along	(d)	over
5.	(a)	trivia	(b)	aria	(c)	via	(d)	diva
6.	(a)	voluble	(b)	audible	(c)	avail	(d)	available
7.	(a)	conclude	(b)	include	(c)	preclude	(d)	secluded
8.	(a)	prove	(b)	proof	(c)	proofread	(d)	proven
9.	(a)	say	(b)	tell	(c)	speak	(d)	talk
10.	(a)	even	(b)	seldom	(c)	whole	(d)	entirely
11.	(a)	moment	(b)	meantime	(c)	current	(d)	presently
12.	(a)	to	(b)	at	(c)	of	(d)	with

 
 

WRITING

Write about eBooks for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about the screenplay eBooks. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. E-BOOKS: Make a poster about eBooks. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. SCREENPLAYS: Write a magazine article about screenplays and how they can improve your English. Include imaginary interviews with some teachers.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to a Hollywood studio boss. Ask him/her three questions about screenplays on eBooks. Give him/her three of your opinions on them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

T

g.

T

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	fan	a.	enthusiast
2.	initiative	b.	strategy
3.	series	c.	set
4.	valuable	d.	precious
5.	currently	e.	presently
6.	so far	f.	until now
7.	rarely	g.	seldom
8.	whole	h.	entirely
9.	some time	i.	a while
10.	coincides	j.	happens together

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	you might just	a.	be interested
2.	classic	b.	movies
3.	conversations and dialogues	c.	from the films
4.	a valuable new	d.	tool to use
5.	The books can	e.	be downloaded
6.	only a	f.	small selection
7.	the new products will	g.	prove popular
8.	we can give fans rarely	h.	seen details
9.	the eBooks are just for classic movies	i.	at the moment
10.	the eBook coincides	j.	with the movie release

GAP FILL:

Movie screenplays released as eBooks

If you are a movie (1) fan and you like studying English, you might just be interested in the (2) latest initiative of the Hollywood movie studio Warner Brothers. The company has released a (3) series of screenplays of its classic movies as eBooks. The scripts are full of images, diagrams and facts in (4) addition to the conversations and dialogues from the films. Now English students can read (5) up on the movie and read along while they watch it. The digital scripts also give English teachers a valuable new (6) tool to use in the classroom. Many students like to learn English (7) via movies. The eBooks are currently on sale on Amazon.com at around $8. The books can be downloaded on Apple's iBookstore and are (8) available for the Nook eBook reader.

So far only a small (9) selection of movie scripts has been released. These include An American in Paris, Ben Hur, Casablanca and North by Northwest. President of Warner Brothers digital distribution Thomas Gewecke (10) explained why he thinks the new products will (11) prove popular: "People love movies because of the stories they tell," he said. "Now we can give fans (12) rarely seen details of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a (13) whole new level," he added. Mr Gewecke said the eBooks are just for (14) classic movies at the moment but that books for newer movies will be (15) released in the future. It will be some time however before the eBook (16) coincides with the movie release.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - c

3 - b

4 - a

5 - c

6 - d

7 - b

8 - a

9 - b

10 -c

11 - a

12 - d

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