Learning English through

Popular Culture
NSS Network Informal Gathering
June 25th 2010
Promote sharing of
experiences
ideas
resources
 NSS Network E-group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NSSnetwork/

handout
Getting to know one another
• Tell your group members:
– Your name
– Your school
– Levels and no. of classes
you’re teaching
 Warm-up activity
• Follow the instructions to play the game.
• Listen carefully!
• Slap/escape when you hear the word
“module(s)”
 School sharing:
GCC&ITKD Lau Pak Lok Sec School
Ms Au Yong Tan Fung
Ms Luk Wing Yan
Ms Ma Ho Yan
Ms Lai Wing Yee
 School background
Background

Students:
• Average ability
• Weaker in this year’s S4

Teachers:
• Experienced in teaching LA
• Developing expertise in
designing materials
• Planning group set up
 Rationale
• Variety of text types
• Interesting topics for students
• Can include SBA tasks
• Not much ready-made material available

School-based module on
popular culture
Arrangement for teaching the electives

Year Term 1 Term 2

SS1 Core Popular Culture

Workplace
SS2 Poems and Songs
Communication

SS3 Core Core

 Module overview
No of
Content
lessons
2 Defining popular culture
4 Introducing heroes and villains
10 Superhero movie review and discussion
8 Real life heroes and villains
6 Advertising and movie trailers
Final task – writing a scene from a movie
6

Extra-curricular
programme
 Activities
Defining popular culture
1. Categorising pictures
2. Class survey
3. Report and definition
Introducing heroes and villains
1. Categorising famous people
2. Reading about comic book
heroes
3. Creating a superhero
Objectives
• Defining popular culture
• Asking questions
• Reporting
• Supporting decisions
• Vocabulary related to
superheroes
• Describing appearance
and character
Categorising pictures

Report and definition

 Activities Objectives
Superhero movie review and
discussion
1. Commenting on characters • Describing character,
in a movie justifying opinions
2. Evaluating a student • Discussion skills and
discussion language
3. Writing a review • Vocabulary for giving
4. Comparing two movies opinions of a movie
 Work on “Spiderman”
Discussion
• Plot summary, setting
and characters • Which is the most important
event in the story?
• Vocabulary work on • Who is a better boyfriend
the plot summary for MJ – Peter or Harry?
• Comparing the • What kind of superpowers
characters of Peter and would you like to have?
Harry
• Discussion questions
• Writing a letter to Mary
Jane
 reading and writing a review

SBA task

watching a student interaction

assessment rubric

http://www.hkedcity.net/article/project_sba_eng_present/ep4/
 Activities
Real life heroes and villains
1. Watching an interview with a
famous person
2. Reading a biographical article
3. Writing a biographical article
4. Giving a presentation
Advertising and movie trailers
1. Reading about advertising
techniques
2. Analysing a movie trailer
3. Writing a voice-over
Objectives
• Listening and reading
skills
• Language features of a
biographical article
• Presentation skills
• Reading and listening
skills
• Speaking
 preparing presentation

biography

sample presentation
adverts

movie trailers
 Activities Objectives
Final task – writing a scene from a
movie
1. Learning features of a • Dialogue writing
screenplay • Understanding assessment
2. Watching and evaluating a criteria
student movie
3. Writing a scene from a movie in
the format of a screenplay
4. Recording the scene (optional)
With thanks to staff and students at NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

assessment rubric students’

work

The Metalmen

sample screenplay
School Hero
Assessment – Portfolio Contents
1 A paragraph about popular culture in Hong Kong
2 Letter to Mary Jane
3 Movie discussion evaluation
4 Movie review (with evaluation rubric)
A biography of a famous person (with evaluation
5
rubric)
6 Presentation about a famous person evaluation
7 Movie trailer voice over (with evaluation rubric)
8 Movie screenplay (with evaluation rubric)
9 400 word essay
10 My reflections an this module
Letter to Mary Jane

Do you remember that Harry’s father said

bad things about you. Harry didn’t speak
up for you. That shows that he was
cowardly and weak. A good boyfriend
shouldn’t do it
Extract from movie review
 Assessment
The marks for the portfolio relate to students term
marks for English:
- Two pieces of writing (Letter to Mary Jane and a
movie review)
- Movie Clip
- SBA (Group Discussion)
Examination
- Writing Paper
Write one long essay in about 400 words
 Responses from students and teachers
Teachers
• Watching the sample
group discussion is
particularly useful
• Students learn many useful
phrases and expressions
from the movie reviews
• Too much focus on
movies, may include issues
like social networking
• Students need more help in
writing a persuasive letter
and a voice-over
Students
• Love to make a movie clip
• Find the topics interesting
• Particularly interested in
analyzing the technical
aspects e.g. camera angles
• Advertising skills like use
of humor can attract
students’ attention
• Writing a voice-over for a
movie trailer is too
difficult for them
 Improvements for the future
• Provide a wider variety of text types and media
for students to study (eg social networking
media, etc)
• Need to introduce new elements each time –
after all, this is popular culture……
• Include an exam-type writing task at the end of
the module
 Thank you!
Any questions?
For downloading worksheets etc:
http://cd1.edb.hkedcity.net/cd/languagesupport/reso
urce/english/88S/index.htm
 Sharing resources

Refer to the form and material

Check out the
you brought with you recommend-
ations on the
NSS Network
E-group!

Share your texts with the group

Useful websites (from e-group)
 Thank you!
Please don’t forget the
evaluation form