Vocabulary and speaking: movies and TV

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Watching TV, 1958 Pic: Evert F. Baumgardner

Speaking
Discuss the questions with your partner(s).
1 What was the last movie or TV series that you saw? Vocabulary 2
2 What was it about and what did you think of it? Discuss the differences between the pairs of words and
phrases below.
3 How did you watch it - on TV or in some other way?
4 Which ways of watching movies and TV do you prefer? 1 series / serial

5 The following comment was recently posted online: 2 episode / scene

'Phones have become computers, computers have 3 dialogue / plot
become TVs, and TVs have become ornaments.' 4 actor / role
What do you think this means and do you agree?
5 director / producer
6 to be made / to be set
Vocabulary 1
Match the pictures above with the movie genres (types).
Language reference: likes and dislikes
Picture 1 costume or period drama
Asking for preferences
Picture 2 war lm / movie
What kind of movies do you like?
Picture 3 cartoon Strong likes
I really like...
Picture 4 thriller
I'm really into...
Picture 5 romantic lm / movie It was really good / absolutely brilliant.
Partial likes
Picture 6 horror lm / movie I quite like...
It wasn't bad.
Picture 7 fantasy lm / movie
Dislikes
Picture 8 science- ction lm / movie I'm not really into / keen on...
I don't really like...
I really don't like...
Speaking
It wasn't very good.
1 What other genres are there? It was really bad / absolutely terrible.
2 Which kinds do you like watching most?

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Functional language: movies and TV
Question formation Language reference: talking about movies
Match the beginnings and endings of the questions about
movies and TV series.
It's about...
What's it come out?
a boy who has magic powers / a family who get
Who is it set?
shipwrecked / this* spaceship that is looking for new
What genre 's in it? planets
Where in the end? The main character is...
When did it about? a detective / a chemistry teacher / a brilliant scientist
What happens is it? It stars...
George Clooney / Samuel L Jackson / Jennifer Lawrence
(Leonardo diCaprio) plays (a guy called Jack)
Speaking: question practice It was directed by...
You are going to practise asking and answering the questions. Stephen Spielberg / Pedro Almodovar / Federico Fellini

Work in groups of three or four. It's set / takes place... in / at / during...

One person should think of a movie or TV series. (Use the American Civil War / modern-day London / China
your own ideas or use the supplementary in the Ming dynasty
set of movie cards.) It came out...
Don't tell the other members of the group the name - this year / about ve years ago / ages ago
they have to guess. It's based on...
They should use the questions in the exercise above. a true story / a book / an old legend
They can ask extra questions - they must be yes/no
questions. Basically, what happens is...

The best bit is...

Talking about movies and TV series the car chase / when she nds out that he has been lying
Tell the other members of your group about a movie or TV The ending is...
series that you have seen. (The movie or series doesn't have really sad / completely unexpected / a bit disappointing
to be in English.) What / The thing I like about it is...
Use the Language Reference box opposite and the prompts the dialogue / the way the main character never gives up
below to help decide what to say. One thing that I didn't like / isn't so good is...
When you have nished talking, the others can ask follow-up the ending / that the plot is too complicated /that it's a
questions. bit predictable

1. It's called...
I'd de nitely recommend it.
2. It's a .... movie (genre)
You really must see it.
3. It's about...
I wouldn't really recommend it.
4. The main character is...
5. ____________ (actor) plays ______________ (role)
Note:
6. It's set...
We often use present tenses to say what happens in
7. It came out...
stories.
8. It's based on...
We normally use past tenses to give details about when,
9. Basically, what happens is...
where and how movies were made.
10. The best bit is / was...
11. The ending is...
*In conversation, we sometimes use this / these instead
12. What I like about it is...
of a(n) / some to refer to characters and other elements
13. One thing that I didn't like / wasn't so good is...
of stories: this guy / this city / this planet / this alien /
14. I'd really / I wouldn't really recommend it.
these gangsters

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Word list: movies and TV
cartoon noun kind of movie or TV programme where the people and scenes are
drawings, not real

comedy noun movie, play or TV programme that aims to make the audience laugh

costume noun movie or TV drama set in the past and including clothes, buildings etc. in
drama the style of that time

episode noun single TV programme that forms part of a series or serial

fantasy noun story or movie set in an imaginary world and often involving magic

genre noun kind of book, movie or TV series - thriller, comedy, romance etc.

plot noun the story (main events) in a novel or movie

review noun article, video or TV programme that gives information and an opinion
about a movie, book, restaurant etc.

romance noun story about love between two people

romantic noun movie about a romantic relationship that is also funny

comedy

satire noun book, play, movie etc. that criticises a person, group of people or some
aspect of society by making you laugh at it.

scene noun part of a movie or TV programme that happens in one place; view of a
place etc.

science noun type of written story, movie or TV drama that involves future technology
fiction and / or imaginary worlds in the future

serial noun TV drama or printed story that is divided into parts that follow one after
another in order

series noun set of TV programmes about the same subject

spoiler noun information in a book or film review that reveals the ending or other
important information and might spoil the experience for a viewer

thriller noun exciting story, movie or TV drama, often about crime or spies

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Movies and TV: answers

Vocabulary 2
Page 1
1. A series is a set of movies or TV programmes on the same
Speaking subject; a serial is a story that continues over a number of
1. Students give their own answers. episodes.
2. Students give their own answers. 2. An episode is one programme in a series or serial; a scene
3. Students give their own answers. is part of a movie or TV programme that happens in one
4. Answers could include at the cinema, on TV, on your PC, place.
tablet or mobile phone. 3. Dialogue is the words the actors speak in a movie; the plot
5. Phones are so sophisticated that we use them for many is the story - what happens.
tasks for which we previously used computers; nowadays 4. An actor plays (acts) the role (or part) of a person in a movie
many people watch movies and TV shows on their or drama. A role is often fictional but not always.
computers; TVs are becoming obsolete. 5. The director of a movie supervises the actors and filming of
the movie; the producer is responsible for finance and other
Vocabulary 1 non-creative aspects.
6. A story is set in a place and time. This may be different from
Picture 1 the place and time a movie is made. The movie Titanic was
romantic film / movie made in 1997 but was set in 1912.
Picture 2
thriller
Page 2
Picture 3
Question formation
horror film / movie

Picture 4 What's
science-fiction film / movie it about?

Picture 5 Who
war film / movie 's in it?

Picture 6 What genre

costume or period drama is it?

Picture 7 Where
cartoon is it set?

Picture 8 When did

fantasy film / movie it come out?

What happens
Speaking in the end?
1. Other genres include action, biopic, comedy, docudrama,
martial arts, romantic comedy, and satire.
2. Students give their own answers.

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Credits and copyright
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Photo credits
Photographs and other illustrations listed below are used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) licence.
See below for individual photograph attributions. Links are given to creators' web pages where these are known. Any photographs not
listed here are in the public domain.

Movies and TV Donal Judge

https://www.flickr.com/people/27911027@N00
StarFlames / Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/users/starflames-5196428/ Merio / Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/users/merio-1480566/
Pxhere
https://pxhere.com/en/photo/999339 Kellepics / Pixabay
Arcaion / Pixabay https://pixabay.com/users/kellepics-4893063/

https://pixabay.com/users/arcaion-2057886/ Evert F. Baumgardner

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Family_
bogitw / Pixabay
watching_television_1958.jpg
https://pixabay.com/users/bogitw-851103/

Pxhere
https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1333031

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