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  • Fawlty Towers

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    Clare Treleaven
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    1) The document discusses a listening activity involving a video clip from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. In the clip, Manuel, a Spanish waiter, is trying to learn English from his boss Basil, but Basil sometimes speaks to him in Spanish, confusing him. 2) The document provides discussion questions about the video clip and asks whether language can be a barrier working in a foreign country and if cultural stereotypes influence opinions of foreign people. 3) The transcript of the video clip shows Basil correcting Manuel about having too much butter on the trays, but using the Spanish word for donkey instead of butter, confusing Manuel until he realizes the mistake. Sybil questions why Basil hired Manuel if he

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    WOrksheet based on BBC series

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    1) The document discusses a listening activity involving a video clip from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. In the clip, Manuel, a Spanish waiter, is trying to learn English from his boss Basil, but Basil sometimes speaks to him in Spanish, confusing him. 2) The document provides discussion questions about the video clip and asks whether language can be a barrier working in a foreign country and if cultural stereotypes influence opinions of foreign people. 3) The transcript of the video clip shows Basil correcting Manuel about having too much butter on the trays, but using the Spanish word for donkey instead of butter, confusing Manuel until he realizes the mistake. Sybil questions why Basil hired Manuel if he

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    108 views2 pages

    Fawlty Towers

    Uploaded by

    Clare Treleaven
    1) The document discusses a listening activity involving a video clip from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. In the clip, Manuel, a Spanish waiter, is trying to learn English from his boss Basil, but Basil sometimes speaks to him in Spanish, confusing him. 2) The document provides discussion questions about the video clip and asks whether language can be a barrier working in a foreign country and if cultural stereotypes influence opinions of foreign people. 3) The transcript of the video clip shows Basil correcting Manuel about having too much butter on the trays, but using the Spanish word for donkey instead of butter, confusing Manuel until he realizes the mistake. Sybil questions why Basil hired Manuel if he

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    LISTENING ACTIVITIES:

    1) Watch this fragment of Fawlty Towers (one of the BBCs most


    popular TV series in the 80s). Manuel (the Spanish waiter working in
    a hotel in England) is trying to learn English, but Basil (his boss)
    sometimes speaks Spanish to him. Sybil, Basils wife, watches the
    scene.
    Vocabulary: do you know these words?
    butter

    keen to learn

    trays

    dialect

    hire (sb)

    Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-oH-TELcLE&feature=fvwrel

    2) Questions:
    Which 2 words sound similar at the
    beginning of the video clip?
    Which animal is Manuel imitating?
    Basils wife, Sybil, asks Basil why he
    decided to hire Manuel as a waiter.
    What does Basil answer?
    What does Sybil say in the end?
    Does she think that Manuel is a good
    waiter?

    3) Discussion time.
    a. Manuel wants to learn English. It may be difficult for him, but
    he succeeds. Can language be a barrier if you work in a
    foreign country?
    b. In other episodes, Manuel constantly makes mistakes and he
    says that he comes from Barcelona. Basil knows this and he
    usually treats him like an idiot. Do you think that cultural or
    country stereotypes influence our opinion of foreign
    people? Do you think that other people may judge you
    because of these cultural stereotypes?

    TRANSCRIPT:
    Basil: Manuel, there is too much butter on those trays.
    Manuel: Qu?
    Basil: There is too much butter on those trays.
    Manuel: No. No, no, seor. Not on, dos, treis. No, sir. Uno, dos, tres.
    Basil: No, no. Hay mucho burro al.
    Manuel: Qu?
    Basil: Hay mucho burro al.
    Manuel: Ah, mantequilla.
    Basil: What? Qu?
    Manuel: Mantequilla. Burro is i-oh! Burro i-oh! I-oh!
    Basil: Manuel, Manuel, por favor, momento.
    Manuel: S, s.
    Sybil: Basil, what happens?
    Basil: Nothing, dear. Im just dealing with it.
    Manuel: He speaks good what do you say?
    Sybil: English.
    Basil: Mantequilla. Solamente dos
    Manuel: Dos
    Sybil: But dont look at me. Youre the one who is supposed to be able to
    speak it.
    Basil: Two pieces. Two each. Arriba! Arriba!
    Sybil: Oh, I dont know why you wanted to hire him, Basil.
    Basil: Cos hes cheap and keen to learn, dear. In this day and age, such a
    Sybil: Why do you say you speak the language?
    Basil: I learnt classical Spanish, not the strange dialect he seems to have
    picked up.
    Sybil: It would be easier to train a monkey!

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