Bend it Like Beckham

Women and sport

2008 www.teachitworld.com 9843 Page 1 of 4

Tasks

Discuss the questions with a partner.

1. Have you ever seen any women's football?
If so, what did you think about it?
If not, would you be interested in seeing some?
2. Is women's football popular in your country? Do you know any girls who play?
3. Do you think women can be as good at football as men (or better...)?

4. Before you watch the clip, match the following slang vocabulary to the
meanings.

1. to get off with someone a) courage
2. a six-pack b) not to act seriously
3. a slag c) boys
4. to piss around d) an insulting word for a girl
5. to hang around e) to kiss someone passionately
6. to whine f) a girl who's slept with lots of men
7. to bust g) parents
8. folks h) to stay somewhere for no reason
9. a bitch i) to complain
10. balls j) a well toned, muscular stomach
11. lads k) to break/injure

Bend it Like Beckham
Women and sport
2008 www.teachitworld.com 9843 Page 2 of 4

5. As you watch the clip, think about the following questions.
a) What are the girls on the bench chatting about?
b) The boys in the park make fun of the idea of a girls side what do they
say?
c) What's the coach's initial reaction to J ess?
d) How did the girls' team start?
e) What's J ules's ambition?

6. Girls
How do you think your family would react if you wanted to be a professional
footballer? Do you think they would have a different reaction if you were a
boy?
Boys
How would you react if your sister/daughter wanted to become a professional
footballer? How would you feel if your sister was better at football than you?
a) Why do you think women's football and other women's sports aren't as
popular as men's sports?
Do you think this is fair/justifiable?
b) Can you think of any sport which is more popular or equally popular for
women than for men?
Do professional sportswomen get paid the same as men?
c) Can you think of any sports where men and women compete in the same
team or equally against each other?
Do you think men and women could ever play football on the same team
professionally?
Why or why not?

Bend it Like Beckham
Women and sport
2008 www.teachitworld.com 9843 Page 3 of 4

Teachers notes

Aim: to discuss opinions about the role of women in sport
Timing: 1 hour
Film clip: the end of track 2 and beginning of track 3: Scouted and Shes got balls, or about 20
minutes into the film, from after the engagement party when J ess is playing in the park until the end
of the scene where she goes for the first training session with the team (approximately 8 minutes)
Warning: for younger learners and learners from certain cultures, the language and jokes in the
film clip may be inappropriate

Lead-in
Ask the class how many of them play football. Note how many girls and how many boys do. Then
see how many like watching football and again note boys/girls. Ask if they know who won the last
World Cup. They should say Italy. Then tell them actually it was Germany and they beat Brazil in
the final. After they protest and look at you as if you are stupid reveal that the last World Cup was
actually the women's competition that Germany won. Ask if any of them saw it or cared about it?
Why/why not?

Tasks 1-3
Hand out the worksheet and put the students into pairs. (It's better if they are in same-sex pairs at
this stage.) They then discuss the questions at the top of the worksheet. Give them about 5 minutes
and then have some feedback.

Task 4
Tell the class they are going to watch a clip of a film called Bend it Like Beckham. If any of them
have seen it get them to give a brief synopsis. If not, you can use the synopsis below. Tell them
before they watch they will check some commonly-used slang vocabulary. Get them to match the
vocabulary and definitions and then compare with a partner before feedback.
answers: 1.e 2.j 3.f 4.b 5.h 6.i 7.k 8.g 9.d 10.a 11.c
There is other slang vocabulary that you may need to explain, but it isnt included in the exercise
because it isnt so widely used:
tick =good looking; fly =cool/sexy; gori =white girl
and some abbreviations that students may or may not work out:
bod =body; V =virgin

Task 5
Check that students understand the questions. You may need to tell them that side means team.

Get them to watch it through the first time without making notes while viewing, then get them to
compare, discuss and make notes before watching again and then have feedback, expanding on
some of the questions.
1. One of the boys who they fancy.
2. Do you swap shirts at the end? Do you have a bath together?
3. He doesn't think she's serious (because she misunderstands his question about where she plays
and hasnt got any boots).
4. J ess was always asking for one and when the coach got injured he agreed to set one up.
5. To play professionally in the U.S

Task 6
Put the class into mixed sex groups of 4-5 to discuss the questions before getting some class
feedback.
Bend it Like Beckham
Women and sport
2008 www.teachitworld.com 9843 Page 4 of 4

Synopsis

J ess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is an 18-year-old Sikh girl growing up in Hounslow, West London.
J ess's father and mother would like their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional
Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy, much like her sister Pinky who is about to get
married. However, her family is unaware that J ess has a secret passion football. Although they
realise she has a passion for David Beckham due to the posters on her wall they don't know that she
likes to kick a ball around in the park with the boys. One day, while J ess playing in the park she is
spotted by J ules (Keira Knightley), who is impressed with J ess's talent and invites her to try out for
the local girl's side she plays for, the Hounslow Harriers. J ess knows that her parents would never
approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn't tell them, and her life ends up getting
increasingly complicated as she lies to both her parents and her coach, J oe (J onathon Rhys Meyers).
Her life gets even more complicated on a football trip to Germany when she kisses J oe and then
finds out that J ules has a crush on him and the two girls fall out. Eventually, the Hounslow Harriers
reach the cup final, which just happens to be on the same day as Pinky's wedding. Not only this,
but a scout from America is coming to watch J ess and J ules play.
This film works well on several levels. It shows a multicultural England, and our national
obsession with football. There is both sport and a love story so it keeps everyone interested and the
story is simple enough to follow even with low levels.