Film and TV
Film / Romance movies
Age: Teenager/Young adults
Level: Intermediate / Upper intermediate (B1/B2)
Time: 90 minutes (+ 30 minutes optional for
‘Write a chat’)
Activity: In this lesson, students will:
1. practise speaking about romance and
relationships;
2. improve listening comprehension of
real-life English from movie trailers;
3. incorporate new vocabulary, phrasal
verbs and idiomatic expressions for
describing relationships;
4. utilise new language from this lesson in
order to write an imaginary chat on an
online dating app.
Language focus: speaking, listening, vocabulary,
reading
Materials: one copy of the worksheet per student,
one copy of the ‘chat’ template per pair of students,
a PC or projector, an internet connection in
the classroom.
Notes:
1. WARNING: This lesson refers to two online trailers
for romance movies. While these videos don’t
contain explicit material, you should watch the
videos before the lesson to judge whether they are
appropriate for the particular group of students.
2. W
 ARNING: As the topic of romance is central to
this lesson, it contains some questions which some
students could find personal. Some questions ask
students to talk about relationships from their own
lives or from people they know. Other questions
ask students to give their opinions on relationships.
As a teacher, you should read through the student
worksheet before using it and judge if all parts are
suitable for your particular group of students.
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Teacher’s notes
3. T
 his lesson contains exercises which focus
on listening, speaking and vocabulary. If you
wish to maximise class time for listening and
speaking, you could ask students to complete
the grammar and vocabulary exercises as
preparatory homework before the lesson.
It would then only be necessary to quickly
correct these parts in class. The exercises which
could be done as preparatory homework are
marked with a symbol.
1. Speak (10 minutes)
Aims: to develop interest in the topic of the lesson, to
provide spoken practice, to identify target language
related to romantic relationships which students might
already know
Procedure: Ask students to briefly discuss the questions
in pairs. Monitor their responses. If there are students who
are not interested in romance movies, explain that the
lesson will contain useful language which can be used in a
variety of non-movie situations (e.g. talking about human
relationships in general). At the end of the activity give
some feedback, drawing attention to good language which
students used. Focus particularly on language that was
used which will be useful for the lesson (phrasal verbs,
emotions, etc).
2. Vocabulary (15 minutes)
Aims: to introduce adjectives of feelings and
expressions which will allow students to describe
romantic relationships.
Procedure: Students work in pairs. Give them about five
minutes to complete 2a. Monitor the class, and for weaker
pairs perhaps help them to find the words and then decide
amongst themselves which definition corresponds. Remind
students not to worry if they don’t understand all the
vocabulary from the definitions at this stage. Elicit the
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 Film and TV
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Teacher’s notes
Key: Key:
+ + + + + R E T T I B + Expression Definition
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
1. To go on a date with D. To have a romantic
+ + + + + + + + + + + + somebody meeting with somebody
T R U S T F U L + + + + (e.g. going to the cinema
D E T A U T A F N I + H or a restaurant)
F R U S T R A T E D + O
2. To take revenge on C. To do something bad to
+ E X C I T E D + + + P somebody a person because in the
+ + + + + + + + + + + E past he/she did something
V I N D I C T I V E + F bad to you
H E A R T B R O K E N U 3. To have a crush on E. To find somebody very
+ + + + + + + + + + + L somebody attractive and dream
about having him/her as
your partner
1. hopeful = optimistic; when you feel positive about
the future 4. To dump somebody A. To tell your partner that
you want to finish the
2. frustrated = when you feel irritated because you can’t relationship
change a situation
5. To cheat on somebody B. To be in a relationship
3. excited = enthusiastic; when your heart is beating very with somebody but having
fast, perhaps because you’re going on a date with an a secret affair with a
interesting person different person

4. vindictive = when you feel angry and want revenge
5. infatuated = when you feel a little obsessed with a
person and can’t stop thinking about them (e.g. when a
teenager has a crush on their favourite popstar)
6. heartbroken = when you feel very sad, maybe because
your partner has dumped you and now your relationship
is finished
7. trustful = when you believe that you can completely
depend on another person
8. bitter = when you feel angry and sad, perhaps because
your partner has cheated on you (this word is also the
opposite of ‘sweet’)
Allow another few minutes for students to complete 2b.
Elicit the answers to 2b. To ensure correct understanding,
perhaps you could also elicit examples of the various
expressions (e.g. ‘When Brad Pitt was with Jennifer
Aniston, he cheated on her!’). In a monolingual class,
students could decide if they have similar expressions in
3. Listen and speak (15 minutes)
Aims: to provide listening practice of understanding
dialogue from a movie, to allow students to hear correct
usage of expressions which they have just studied, to
provide practice of speaking about relationships
Procedure: Play the trailer. Ask students in pairs to briefly
compare answers to the four questions. Play it again and
let students decide their final answers in pairs. Elicit the
answers. Ask students to briefly discuss the final questions
in pairs. Encourage them to use vocabulary from Task 2.
Give feedback.
Key:
a. She needs to borrow the boy’s car because she has
various things that she needs to do.
b. Her boyfriend cheated on her so now he is her
ex-boyfriend and she wants revenge.
c. She leaves little clues like a poster near her window and
small messages on pieces of paper.
d. She believes that people need to take risks and not
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their own language. live their lives in a safe way.

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4. Read and vocabulary (20 minutes)
Aims: to practice reading for gist, to introduce new
expressions related to relationships and dating, to focus on
the exact meaning of these expressions
Procedure: Tell the students that they are going to read
a short text which describes online dating apps. Ask them
if these apps are common in their country and whether
they know the names of any famous such apps. Give the
students a time limit of about five minutes to read the text,
emphasising that they are only reading for gist so not to
worry about missing words or difficult parts. Monitor their
progress. For weaker students, help them to understand
the text by giving them short explanations for certain words
from the text. Put students in pairs. Ask them to decide the
answers to 4a (a–d). Then elicit the correct answers.
Key:
a. She thought that she would meet a man in a more old-
fashioned, spontaneous way.
b. She saw him on a dating app and asked him to go on
a date.
c. No. He decided to return to his ex-girlfriend.
d. She thinks they’re fun but she doesn’t know if they will
help her to find her dream man.
In the same pairs, students complete 4b. Tell them that
they should arrive at the correct answers by reading the
context of the sentence and also by elimination. Elicit the
correct answers and focus on the exact meaning of each
expression. For difficult expressions, elicit further examples
(e.g. ‘live up to’ – ‘I had been very excited about the new
Star Wars movie, but when I saw it, it didn’t live up to
my expectations’).
Key:
1. dreams; 2. chemistry; 3. sense; 4. out; 5. up; 6. me;
7. up; 8. back; 9. true; 10. life
5. Listen and speak (15 minutes)
Aims: to provide further listening practice of understanding
dialogue from a movie, to consolidate ideas and vocabulary
from the previous task, to provide practice of speaking
about dating and love
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Teacher’s notes
Procedure: Play the trailer. Ask students in pairs to briefly
compare answers to the four questions. Play it again and
let students decide their final answers in pairs. Elicit the
answers. Ask students to briefly discuss the final questions
in pairs. Encourage students to use expressions from the
previous task. Give feedback, focusing on language related
to relationships.
Key:
a. The computer saw that the man had recently broken up
with somebody.
b. She wants to learn a lot of things and discover herself.
c. His ex-wife says that the man has always wanted a
relationship with an imaginary person because he isn’t
capable of interacting with a real person.
d. She says that she wants to allow herself to feel joy
because life is short.
6. Speak (15 minutes)
Aims: to provide spoken practice of relationships
vocabulary studied in this lesson, to allow students to give
more in-depth explanations of relationships by referring to
relationship stages
Procedure: Tell students that they are going to describe
the different stages of a relationship. Ideally, they would
do this to tell the story of a couple from a movie, but if
they don’t know any plots well enough, they could use an
example from their own lives. Tell them to think and decide
which couple they are going to talk about. Put students
in pairs. First ask them to read the stages diagram and
clarify any doubts which they may have. Then tell them
that they each have about 3–4 minutes to describe these
stages with regard to the particular couple that they have
chosen. Encourage the use of new language which has
been studied in this lesson. Monitor the speaking task and
provide feedback.
7. Write a chat (optional, 30 minutes)
Aims: to consolidate new language from the lesson, to
provide a safe environment to practise the written use of
language related to dating and flirting, to potentially upload
an online chat which will aid long-term recall of language
from the lesson
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 Film and TV
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Procedure: Divide students into pairs and tell them
that they are going to see six profiles from an imaginary
dating app. Allow them a few minutes to read the six
profiles and formulate opinions about each character
(e.g. whether this person’s profile makes them seem
sincere, pretentious, friendly, etc). Give students a few
minutes to read the instructions and chat from Step 2.
Ensure that they have understood the chat correctly
by asking questions like ‘Why did Sandra finish the
conversation?’ and ‘What type of person does Tom seem
to be?’ Ask students to follow the instructions in Step 3
Teacher’s notes
to complete the chat in pairs. If your class know each
other quite well, you could suggest that each pair swap
telephone numbers so that they could complete the chat
on their smartphones (rather than using the photocopied
template). Set a time limit of about 7–8 minutes to write
the chat. Monitor the progress of each pair as they
write, helping them with colloquial expressions and
reminding them not to write formally. Once the chats have
been completed, ask students to mix and allow other
classmates to read their chat. Provide feedback and
perhaps select the funniest or most romantic chat.

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Worksheet
1. Speak
Discuss the questions below with your classmate.

Think of a couple you know (e.g. your parents, grandparents, friends). Describe the story of how they met.
Are you a fan of romance movies? If so, name some of your favourites. If not, explain why.
Do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? Explain.

2a. Vocabulary
The grid below contains eight words. They are all adjectives which describe common feelings in a relationship (positive
and negative). Look at the clues below to help you find each word.

D O U Z S R E T T I B M
I U D P Y D T F X A Y O
P G S T Q N W W V K Y M
T R U S T F U L S E Y B
D E T A U T A F N I Q H
F R U S T R A T E D I O
S E X C I T E D E I U P
G G E Z Q K G O P Q J E
V I N D I C T I V E A F
H E A R T B R O K E N U
F B H S W Y L H K Y R L
X Q A J J A C T T Q I K

* The words go up, down, forwards and backwards

1. ____________ = optimistic; when you feel positive about the future

2. ____________ = when you feel irritated because you can’t change a situation

3. ____________ = enthusiastic; when your heart is beating very fast, perhaps because you’re going on a date with an
interesting person

4. ____________ = when you feel angry with somebody and now you want to take revenge on that person

5. ____________ = when you feel a little obsessed with a person and can’t stop thinking about them (e.g. when a
teenager has a crush on their favourite popstar)

6. ____________ = when you feel very sad, maybe because your partner has dumped you and now your relationship
is finished

7. ____________ = when you believe that you can completely depend on another person
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8. ____________ = when you feel angry and sad, perhaps because your partner has cheated on you (this word is
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Worksheet
2b. Vocabulary
The previous exercise contains five expressions for talking about relationships. Match each expression to its definition.
Expression Definition
1. To go on a date with somebody A. To tell your partner that you want to finish the
relationship
2. To take revenge on somebody B. To be in a relationship with somebody but having a
secret affair with a different person
3. To have a crush on somebody C. To do something bad to a person because in the past
he/she did something bad to you
4. To dump somebody D. To have a romantic meeting with somebody (e.g. going
to the cinema or a restaurant)
5. To cheat on somebody E. To find somebody very attractive and dream about
having him/her as your partner

3. Listen and speak

Watch the trailer for Paper Towns, a movie about teenage love. Listen carefully and then answer the questions below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFGiHm5WMLk

a. Why does the girl enter the boy’s bedroom?

b. Why does the girl want to take revenge on her ex-boyfriend?

c. When the girl disappears, what does she leave for the boy?

d. What does the girl believe about risks?

Discuss with your classmate:

It is said that teenagers fall in love very easily. Describe a teenage love story, perhaps from your own experience or

somebody you know.

Do you think it’s possible for a relationship to last and remain happy if the two people meet when they are still

teenagers? Explain.

Would this trailer convince you to see the movie? Explain.

4a. Read
The text below describes the experience of online dating apps. It is missing ten words. First, read the text but don’t fill in

the gaps. In pairs, decide the answers to the questions below.

a. How does the writer’s dating life compare to her childhood expectations?
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b. How did she meet Leo?

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Worksheet

c. Is Leo now her boyfriend? Explain.

d. What is her conclusion about dating apps?

Dating apps: for better or for worse

As a little girl, I had many ideas about how I was going to meet the man of my _________ (1). I imagined chatting to

a handsome new neighbour or meeting a charming new doctor. What I didn’t imagine was swiping right on a photo in

cyberspace. What would Emily Bronte think of 21st century romance?

I’ve met various men from dating apps. There was Steve, who was friendly and funny but we had no ___________ (2)

together. There was Rob who was totally gorgeous but had zero personality. There was also Jeff who I suspected was

married and just wanted to cheat on his wife! And most recently, there was Leo. When I first saw Leo’s dating profile,

I knew I was going to like him. He was exactly my type: tall, dark and handsome with a good _______ of humour (3)

and an optimistic attitude. After a few flirtatious messages, I gathered up the courage to ask him _________ (4) to see a

movie. And for once reality lived _______ to my expectations (5). Our first date quickly led to a second, then a third. I

tried to tell myself not to get too hopeful but what could I do when he seemed so perfect?

Perfect he remained for a full nine days. There were flowers, romantic dinners and goodnight kisses. And then came

the message that nobody ever wants to get. The one that says: ‘It’s not you, it’s _____ (6).’ The one that very politely

explains that: ‘I broke ______ with (7) my girlfriend a month ago but I think I’m still in love with her. We’ve decided to get

______ together (8).’ It seems that Leo was too good to be _______ (9) after all.

Despite it all, I haven’t lost faith in dating apps. I don’t know if it will help me find the love of my ________ (10) but at

least I can have fun trying.

4b. Vocabulary
Read the text again and complete the gaps using the ten missing words.

out   true   dreams   up   me   chemistry   life   back   sense   up

With your classmate, try to decide the meaning of each of the ten expressions.
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Worksheet
5. Listen and speak
Watch the trailer for Her, a futuristic movie about a man who falls in love with an artificial-intelligence computer. Listen

carefully and then answer the questions below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6p6MfLBxc

a. What information did the computer discover in the man’s emails?

b. What does the computer want from her relationship with the man?

c. What accusation does the man’s ex-wife make when he tells her about his new relationship?

d. What does the man’s friend say about joy?

Discuss with your classmate:

What comment do you think the movie Her is trying to make about modern society?

Do you think it would be possible to have a happy relationship with a person who you have never met in person?

Do you think that long-distance relationships can work? (When the two people live in different countries/regions and

don’t meet regularly.) Explain.

6. Speak
Most psychologists agree that almost all relationships have similar stages. Look at these stages in the diagram below.

the
relationship
first ends or
meeting survives one or both
characters are
changed by the
relationship
initial the couple
confusion of experience
appearances challenges
vs reality

the
permanent
effects of the
the significant events: relationship
relationship anniversary
starts engagement
wedding baby

Talk to your partner about a relationship, describing as many of the above stages as possible. This could be a relationship
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from your own life or between characters from a movie (see box on the next page for suggestions).
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Worksheet
When? Movies
Recent movies One Day, The Fault in Our Stars, Moonrise Kingdom, Bridget Jones, Twilight
Movies from ten years ago or more Titanic, Love Actually, Pretty Woman, Brokeback Mountain, Notting Hill
Old, classic movies Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Dirty Dancing, Grease, Annie Hall, Groundhog Day

7. Write a chat (optional)

Step 1: Work in pairs. Imagine that you have access to various profiles on Mixer, a new dating app. Below there are six

profiles. First read the profiles and try to imagine more about the personalities of the characters.

Name: Tom Name: Irene Name: Don

Age: 32 Age: 41 Age: 53
Appearance: Tall, brown eyes, Appearance: Very tall, brown eyes, Appearance: Really tall, brown eyes,
black hair brown hair black/greyish hair
Body type: Slim Body type: Curvy and athletic Body type: Well-built and athletic
Interests: Football, going to the pub Interests: Football, pop music, Interests: Opera, Poetry, Latin music
with friends fashion
Ideal first date: Cocktails, then
Ideal first date: Going to a football Ideal first date: Food and drinks at dancing
match, then burgers and beers home
Ideal partner: Curvy body type,
Ideal partner: Tall, funny, intelligent, Ideal partner: Red hair, interested in younger than him, funny
blonde football and TV
Can’t stand: Football
Can’t stand: Dancing Can’t stand: Rock music
Name: Sandra Name: Stephen Name: Carla
Age: 25 Age: 28 Age: 37
Appearance: Medium height, blue Appearance: Medium height, blue Appearance: Medium-height, brown
eyes, blonde hair, works as a model eyes, red hair eyes, black hair
Body type: Slim and athletic Body type: Stocky Body type: Curvy
Interests: Yoga, Philosophy, Long Interests: TV series, rock music, Interests: Literature, salsa dancing,
walks skateboarding football
Ideal first date: Cooking a vegetarian Ideal first date: Netflix and pizza Ideal first date: Beer and pizza in the
meal together local pub
Ideal partner: Good sense of
Ideal partner: Athletic, serious, very humour, interested in music, not an Ideal partner: Good sense of
intelligent intellectual humour, very attractive, sporty
Can’t stand: The pub Can’t stand: Sports Can’t stand: Tall men
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Worksheet

Step 2: In the same pairs, imagine two people from the profiles who would be an interesting combination. You are going

to create a short online chat between these two characters. Before you begin, read the short chat below between the

characters Tom and Sandra.

Sandra

Tom
Hi. 9:55 PM

Sandra
Hello. 9:57 PM

I Like your profile photo. 9:58 PM

Oh, thanks. Your photo is… interesting! 9:58 PM

I’m an interesting guy. Your profile

says that you like yoga. 9:59 PM

Yes! I’m actually a professional instructor.

Have you ever done yoga? 9:59 PM

I’ve always wanted to. 10:00 PM

Really? But you’ve never done it? 10:00 PM

No but I’m thinking of starting a course.

Where do u teach it? 10:01 PM

Wait. I’m reading your profile. 10:02 PM

Oh, I wrote that a long time ago. I need

to update some of the information. 10:02 PM

It says you like the pub and football.

Eww! Not my type. 10:05 PM

Ok, I’m a football fan. But I did yoga once

with my ex. And I admit, I’m not a
vegetarian but I like vegetables! 10:06 PM
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Worksheet

You also like blondes… 10:06 PM

What can I say? I think we’d

have good chemistry! 10:07 PM

In your dreams. 10:07 PM

We should go on a date.
I’ll cook you some tofu! 10:08 PM

Goodbye. 10:09 PM

Step 3: Now begin to write your chat. Use the template at the end of this worksheet. You should write the messages

for one character and your partner will write the other, passing the page to each other to complete the story. Try to

incorporate some new expressions from this lesson.

Step 4: Allow your other classmates to read the chat you have created.

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Chat template

XXXX XX

XX II OO XX
9:55 PM

XXXX XX
9:57 PM

9:58 PM

9:58 PM

9:59 PM

9:59 PM

10:00 PM

10:00 PM

10:01 PM

10:02 PM

10:02 PM

10:05 PM

10:06 PM

10:06 PM
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