1) Website chosen

Film English: http://film-english.com/

2) Video chosen
My Shoes: http://film-english.com/2013/09/04/my-shoes/ Lesson Plan (see appendix)

3) Answer the following questions:

1. What skill(s) does this activity develop?
These activities are centered around a listening activity by watching the short film My Shoes by Nima Raoofi. Moreover, students are supposed to develop their production skills by writing short stories and then sharing it with their classmates and teacher by speaking about them. Students are also expected to discuss the short film and some idiomatic expressions.

2. What level would this activity be appropriate for?

These activities are appropriate for intermediate, upper intermediate levels and higher.

3. How suitable is this lesson plan from your context?

In my context (Melisas), the lesson plan is suitable as long as I modify it by encouraging the listening and speaking skills but by leaving out the writing skill. My students are in 3rd and 4th form and their level is Movers, according to the Cambridge ESOL exams, and A1, according to the CEF level. They are 8, 9 and 10 years old. I could present the video with a pre-listening task by showing them the picture provided in the plan but instead of telling them to write a short story explaining what happened before the picture and what happened after, I could ask them to imagine that and say it orally. I could tell them to write it down, but their written level is lower than their speaking level, so they might say much more because they know how to pronounce better than they know how to spell, and also they can use speaking strategies, such as body language, to get their message across, which they cannot do while writing. Moreover, if we do it orally, we can do it as a whole group and collectively create the background for that picture. Then, after watching the video we can discuss it and we can even discuss some of the

idioms because some are similar to Spanish. We can discuss it by talking about the topics of envy and empathy and also to retell the story. Perhaps they can share their personal experiences, if they want to, but I wouldnt ask them to create any other story, like the plan suggests. There is a problem, though. This video is not suitable for all ages due to its strong content, and I think that since it is probably not recommended for a younger audience I would need the schools, my bosses and the childrens parents authority to show them the video.

In my context (Florencias), the lesson plan is quite suitable in term of level of English. My students should be able to write stories and discuss these topics in class. The video could be seen at home or at school. However, I think it may be too strong in content, as they are only 11 years old and I wouldnt use it without asking for the coordinators and headmistress authorisation first. Id rather use this lesson plan and the video with older groups, that may be able to appreciate it more. Nevertheless it would be interesting for them to watch it and discuss the topic of envy, so that they are able to empathise with the characters as they may act in the same way on many occasions. The tasks that deal with the analysis of the reception of this short film (youtube comments), are supposed to encourage students to give their opinions, argument in favour of them and think critically, which may be done by older students, who not only are able to do so because they have a better level of English, but also because as being older they are able to understand the topic better and discuss it more seriously. I would modify the activity on the youtube comments, instead of making them reflect upon different comments there, I would ask them to write comments themselves, in terms of what they liked about the video, what they thought of it, how it made them feel, etc.

4. How would this activity fit into the syllabus?

In my case (Melisa), these activities wouldnt fit into the syllabus because no activities that involve working with values are included. As the teacher, my bosses give me the freedom to innovate and use extra material, but they would consider the topics of envy and empathy to

be something the schools should deal with, and not us, the English department. I could suggest including something like this if these topics were serious issues in the classroom that hindered the correct flow of the classes, but still they would have to authorise it. In my case (Florencia), it wouldnt, it could be included as an extra activity that involves working on values or as a trigger for creative writing. As Melisa explained, I would recommend using it if the class required the working on envy or empathy because of problems that may be going on among students.

5. Considering the pros and cons of using video content, what issues should you consider when using this activity?
Mainly, what should be taken into account is the effect it may produce on our students. The content is strong and some people may know someone in that situation, or they may feel guilty or sad, and we need to be prepared for that. Moreover, our students are really young and we would need to discuss these topics with their parents and the schools authorities before jumping into this type of project. On the other hand, what could be considered as a pro, is that students may learn from the video and be able to change certain attitudes they may see in themselves. Furthermore, students may find the discussion as a way to express their feelings on the topic, and it may encourage reflection and a communicative atmosphere within the classroom.

4) Would you adapt it? Consider delete, omit, add.

We would not adapt the video. We believe that it conveys its message as it is and that adapting it would change the whole idea of the video. However, we thought that for young learners we may delete the ending and leave it up to them to decide what happens after the

first child wishes to be the other one, but in doing so we would be dealing with the topic of envy in a more superficial way and not even showing the value of empathy. Therefore, adapting the video would modify its essence in such a way that we wouldnt feel comfortable doing so. We would adapt, nonetheless, the lesson plan. Taking into consideration that we will leave the video as it is, we would make the following adjustments on the lesson plan: We would modify step 2 by making them discuss orally their guesses and not asking them to write a short story. We would omit step 3 and 4 , since they are irrelevant without the story. As regards step 7 we would modify it by telling students this video was posted on youtube and we would add a task that would entail asking students to write a comment on the video and later on share the comments with the rest of the class. Finally, we would not omit or modify any other step.

Appendix
This EFL lesson plan is designed around a short film called My Shoes by Nima Raoofi, and the themes of envy and empathy. Students write a story, watch a short film, talk about empathy and envy, discuss comments on a YouTube video , and practise idiomatic expressions. Language level: Intermediate (B1) Upper Intermediate (B2) Learner type: Teens and adults Time: 60 minutes Activity: Writing a short story, watching a short film, and speaking Topic: Envy and empathy Language: Narrative tenses and idiomatic expressions related to empathy and envy. Materials: Short film Downloadable materials: my shoes lesson instructions Step 1 Write the words My Shoes on the board and tell your students that they are going to watch a short film with this title. Ask them what they think the film will be about. Step 2 Show students the picture below.

Tell them that this picture comes from the middle of the film. Put them into pairs and ask them to write a short story which explains what happened before this picture and what happens after. Give them 10 minutes to complete their stories, walk around the classroom and help students with any language they need. Step 3 When students have finished their stories ask each pair to explain their story to another pair. Step 4 Ask one student from each pair to read out their story and ask students to discuss the stories. Step 5 Tell students they are going to watch the film and that they should compare their stories with the one told in the film. Step 6 Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss the following questions: What is the message of the film? How does the film make you feel? What adjectives would you use to describe the film? Do you think that the film is moving or poignant? Why / why not? Do you think that the film is corny or cheesy? Why / why not? This short film has been watched nearly 2 million times on You Tube. Whats the appeal of this kind of short film? You may need to explain the adjectives moving, poignant, corny and cheesy. Step 7 Ask students if they ever write comments or read the comments about videos on YouTube. Ask them what they think of the comments. Now tell them that My Shoes has got almost 1,000 comments. Show them these 2 contrasting comments about the film. Too simple.too easy.too commonplace, what kind of message is this? Its like: Eat your dinner cause you know that in Africa there are children dying of hunger. Ok.and so? Is that allis this the message? And you need to make a movie about that?

First Lesson: You cant really have everything in life. Some people may seem to have MOST of it but NOT everything. Second: Be grateful for all the things you have. Do not compare your life with others. You dont know the story behind theirs and what they are going through. Third: Sometimes, we tend to think that others have it better than us, not realizing how much more we are really blessed compared to them. Love yourself. Make the most of it. In the same groups ask students to read both comments, discuss them and say which one they most agree with. Step 8 Write the following proverbs and idiomatic expressions on the board: The grass is always greener on the other side. Walk a mile in someone elses shoes. Put yourself in someone elses shoes. Dont judge a book by its cover. Count your blessings. In the same groups ask students to try and work out the meaning of each proverb and idiomatic expression. If necessary help students and give examples of the proverbs and idiomatic expressions in context. Step 9 Now ask students which of the idiomatic expressions they think best describes the message of the film. Homework Tell students that you would like them to choose one of the proverbs or idiomatic expressions in Step 8 and write a short story to illustrate its meaning.