A Christmas Love Story

A Lesson Plan by Kieran Donaghy

 A Christmas Love Story

Language level: Intermediate (B1) – Upper Intermediate (B2)

Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 90 minutes
Activity: Talking about Christmas love stories, predicting the content of a
short film, watching a short film, predicting the end of a short film,
answering comprehension questions, analysing a short film, writing from
the perspective of a character in a short film and reflecting on the lesson
Topic: Christmas and Christmas love stories
Language: Vocabulary related to Christmas and narrative tenses

Overview
This ESL lesson plan is designed around a Christmas short film and the themes of Christmas
and Christmas love stories. Students talk about Christmas love stories, predict the content of
a short film, watch a short film, predict the end of a short film, answer comprehension
questions, analyse a short film, write from the perspective of a character in a short film and
reflect on the lesson.

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Step 1
Write ‘Christmas’ on the board. Ask your students what images spring to mind when they
hear the word ‘Christmas’.

Step 2
Write ‘Christmas Love Story’ on the board. Ask your students to talk to a partner about any
Christmas love stories they have read in novels or seen in TV series or films.

Step 3
Get feedback from the whole class on any Christmas love stories they have read in novels or
seen in TV series or films.

Step 4
Tell your students they are going to watch the first part of a short film titled A Christmas Love
Story which takes place on a train from London on Christmas Eve. Ask them to make notes
individually on what story they think the film will tell and what images they will see in the
film.

Step 5
In small groups students compare their notes and discuss what story they think the film will
tell and what images they will see in the film.

Step 6
Get feedback from the whole class on what story they think the film will tell and what images
they will see in the film.

Step 7
Tell your students they are going to watch the first part of the film. As they watch they should
compare their predictions with what they see in the film.

Show the film until 0:54.

Film: https://bit.ly/3Bzw8De

Step 8
Get feedback from your students on the similarities and differences between their
predictions and what they see in the film.

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Step 9
Give your students the Viewing Questions. Tell them they are going to watch the first part of
the film again. As they watch the film, they should answer the Part 1 questions.

1. Where does the young man sit? Why?

2. Why does the young woman laugh?
3. What is the young man doing on New Year’s Eve?
4. What happens when the young man and young woman are about to kiss?
5. What problem do the young man and young woman have?

Show the film until 0:54 again.

Step 10
Ask your students to compare their answers in pairs.

Step 11
Tell your students they are going to watch the first part of the film again. As they watch they
should check their answers.

Show the film until 0:54 again.

Step 12
Get feedback on the questions from the whole class.

Answers
1. Where does the young man sit? Why? He sits on the floor next to a young woman
because there are no free sits but perhaps also because he is attracted to the young
woman.
2. Why does the young woman laugh? She laughs at the young man’s mobile ring tone.
3. What is the young man doing on New Year’s Eve? He is going to a party in London on
New Year’s Eve.
4. What happens when the young man and young woman are about to kiss? As they are
about to kiss, the train arrives at her station.
5. What problem do the young man and young woman have? They don’t have each
other’s phone numbers.

Step 13
Write this question on the board:

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How is the young man going to get his phone number to the young woman?

Ask your students to look at the question and make some notes. In small groups, students
compare their notes and discuss the question.

Step 14
Get feedback from the whole class on how the young man is going to get his phone number
to the young woman.

Step 15
Tell your students they are going to watch the next part of the film. As they watch they
should compare their predictions with what they see in the film.

Show the film from 0:54 to 1:30.

Step 16
Get feedback from the whole class on how the young man going to get his phone number to
the young woman.

Answer
The young man writes his number on a piece of paper and throws it through a window.

Step 17
Tell your students they are going to watch the second part of the film. As they watch, they
should answer Part 2 of the Viewing Questions.

1. What are the first four digits of the young man’s phone number?
2. What does the young woman understand the first four digits are?
3. What does the young man write his phone number on?
4. How does the young man get his phone number to the young woman?

Show the film from 0:54 to 1:30 again.

Step 18
Get students to compare their answers in pairs.

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Step 19
Tell your students they are going to watch the second part of the film again. As they watch
they should check their answers.

Show the film from 0:54 to 1:30 again.

Step 20
Get feedback on the question from the whole class.

Answers
1. What are the first four digits of the young man’s phone number? 0778
2. What does the young woman understand the first four digits are? 0740
3. What does the young man write his phone number on? On a piece of paper
4. How does the young man get his phone number to the young woman? He pushes it
through a window on the train.

Step 21
Write this question on the board:

How are the young man and young woman going to meet again?

Ask your students to look at the question and make some notes. In small groups, students
compare their notes and discuss the question.

Step 22
Get feedback from the whole class on how the young man and young woman going to meet
again.

Step 23
Tell your students they are going to watch the end of the film. As they watch they should
compare their predictions with what they see in the film.

Show the film from 1:30 to 3:26.

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Step 24
Get feedback from your students on the similarities and differences between the story the
film tells and their stories.

Step 25
Tell your students they are going to watch the third part of the film. As they watch, they
should answer Part 3 of the Viewing Questions.

1. What happened to the piece of paper the young man wrote his phone number on?
2. How many phone calls does the young woman make?
3. How much is the unclaimed lottery prize?
4. How does the young woman feel on the train? Why?
5. Where does the young woman sit on the train?
6. How long does the young woman wait for the young man on the platform?
7. How does the young woman finally find the young man?
8. What does the young woman give the young man? Why?

Show the film from 1:30 to 3:26 again.

Step 26
Get students to compare their answers in pairs.

Step 27
Tell your students they are going to watch the third part of the film again. As they watch they
should check their answers.

Show the film from 1:30 to 3:26 again.

Step 28
Get feedback on the question from the whole class.

Answers
1. What happened to the piece of paper the young man wrote his phone number on?
The piece of paper got wet and the last three digits of the phone number got
smudged and are now illegible.
2. How many phone calls does the young woman make? She makes many calls trying to
guess the last three digits of the phone number.
3. How much is the unclaimed lottery prize? £15 million.

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 4. How does the young woman feel on the train? Why? She feels disappointed because
the young man is not on the train.
5. Where does the young woman sit on the train? She sits on the floor in the same place
she sat with the young man.
6. How long does the young woman wait for the young man on the platform? She waits
for a long time. When she gets off the train, a station clock shows 09:18 and just
before she finds the young man the clock shows 20:35.
7. How does the young woman finally find the young man? She hears and recognises his
mobile ringtone.
8. What does the young woman give the young man? Why? She gives him the lottery
ticket because he has the winning number and has won £15 million.

Step 29
Tell your students that the short film was commissioned by an organisation. Ask them to
discuss with a partner which type of organisation commissioned the film.

Step 30
Get feedback from the whole class on which type of organisation commissioned the film.

Step 31
Show the caption at 3:29:

‘The National Lottery’

Elicit or explain that the National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United
Kingdom.

Step 32
Write this question on the board:

Why do you think the National Lottery commissioned the film?

Ask your students to look at the question and make some notes.

Step 33
In small groups, students compare their notes and discuss the question.

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Step 34
Get feedback from the whole class on why the National Lottery commissioned the film.

Step 35
Ask your students how they feel about the fact the short film is a Christmas advert for the
National Lottery.

Step 36
Put your students into small groups. Give them the Post-viewing Questions. Ask them to look
at the questions and make some notes. In their small groups, students compare their notes
and discuss the questions.

1. What words would you use to describe the film?

2. What adjectives would you use to describe the young man?
3. What adjectives would you use to describe the young woman?
4. How did the film make you feel? How did it achieve this? Which elements of the film
created this effect?
5. Who do you think the intended audience of the film is? Why?
6. Who would you recommend the film to? Why?

Step 37
Get feedback on the questions from the whole class.

Step 38
Put your students into pairs. Give them these instructions:

Student A You are the young man in the film. Write a paragraph explaining your experience
of Christmas and New Year.

Student B You are the young woman in the film. Write a paragraph explaining your
experience of Christmas and New Year.

Students think about their role and write from the perspective of their character.

Step 39
In pairs, students read out their texts.

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Step 40
Get feedback from the whole class on the perspectives of the young man and young woman
in the film

Step 41
Give your students the Reflect questions. Tell them you would like them to reflect on what
they have learned from the lesson. Ask them to look at the questions and make some notes.
In small groups, students compare their notes and discuss the questions.

1. What did you learn from the lesson?

2. What new vocabulary did you use?
3. What did you enjoy about the lesson?
4. What did you find most challenging about the lesson?
5. What did you find most memorable about the lesson?
6. What would you like to share from this lesson with a friend?

Step 42
Get feedback on the questions from the whole class.

Homework
Ask your students to write a narrative about the young man and young woman at the party
on New Eve’s Year and how their relationship develops.

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 Viewing Questions

Part 1
1. Where does the young man sit? Why?

2. Why does the young woman laugh?

3. What is the young man doing on New Year’s Eve?

4. What happens when the young man and young woman are about to kiss?

5. What problem do the young man and young woman have?

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Part 2
1. What are the first four digits of the young man’s phone number?

2. What does the young woman understand the first four digits are?

3. What does the young man write his phone number on?

4. How does the young man get his phone number to the young woman?

Part 3
1. What happened to the piece of paper the young man wrote his phone
number on?

2. How many phone calls does the young woman make?

3. How much is the unclaimed lottery prize?

4. How does the young woman feel on the train? Why?

5. Where does the young woman sit on the train?

6. How long does the young woman wait for the young man on the
platform?

7. How does the young woman finally find the young man?

8. What does the young woman give the young man? Why?

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 Post-viewing Questions

1. What words would you use to describe the film?

2. What adjectives would you use to describe the young man?

3. What adjectives would you use to describe the young woman?

4. How did the film make you feel? How did it achieve this? Which elements
of the film created this effect?

5. Who do you think the intended audience of the film is? Why?

6. Who would you recommend the film to? Why?

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 Reflect

1. What did you learn from the lesson?

2. What new vocabulary did you use?

3. What did you enjoy about the lesson?

4. What did you find most challenging about the lesson?

5. What did you find most memorable about the lesson?

6. What would you like to share from this lesson with a friend?

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Copyright Information

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About the Author

Kieran Donaghy is a freelance award-winning writer, international conference speaker and

teacher trainer.
He is the author of books for students and teachers of English as a foreign language. His
publications include Film in Action (Delta Publishing), Writing Activities for Film (ELT
Teacher2Writer) and Video, The Image in ELT (ELT Council) and Language Hub (Macmillan).
He trains teachers in Barcelona and online at his specialist teacher development institute,
The School for Training.
He is the founder of the independent publisher Film English which has won a British Council
ELTons Award, an English Speaking Union Award and the MEDEA Award.
He is the founder of The Image Conference and co-founder of the Visual Arts Circle.
Find out more about Film English at: http://kierandonaghy.com/

You can contact Kieran at: kieran@theschoolfortraining.com

 About Film English

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