Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.

indd 1 20/2/09 11:12:56

 Techniques for teaching with video
1 Sound off
This activity helps to activate simple language the students may already know
(e.g. hello, good-bye). Use the mute control to show a short part of one segment
with the sound off (for example, the scene in Segment 1 where Terence registers
at the college). Play the recording at least twice. Then, ask the students to work in
pairs and decide where the characters are and what they are saying. Ask them to
write at least four lines of dialogue. Then, play the recording with the sound on and
ask students to compare their version with the original. This activity works best as
an introduction (when they haven’t heard the dialogue before) and will only work
where the type of interaction and the topic is clear from the video.

From Segment 2: intonation of

2 Work on pronunciation questions
This activity gives the students practice in stress Rising intonation:
and intonation. Choose a short section of dialogue Is this your street? 
and pause the recording after each line. Ask the And is this your house? 
Falling intonation:
students to repeat chorally and individually. Repeat
How about your weekend? 
several times until they can say each line well. What about school? 

From Segment 2:
3 Focus on a short section of dialogue
This gives the students practice in the skill A (correct order) B (jumbled)
of listening for detail. In the video script, find
S: Come in. S: Yeah.
a section of dialogue that you think will be
particularly useful for your students. Select five C: Hi. Everything C: Do you need
to six lines and put them on the board or copy OK? anything?
them onto a sheet of paper, but in a different
S: Yeah. S: Come in.
(jumbled) order.
Ask your students to work in pairs or small C: Do you need C: Hi. Everything OK?
groups to put the sentences in the correct order. anything?
Then, play the video extract and let them check
their answers. S: No, I’m fine. S: No, I’m fine.

4 Correct the error From Segment 1:

This exercise helps students to listen for A (correct dialogue) B (incorrect dialogue)
specific words. Select five or six lines from
the video script and write them on the T: How old are you? T: How old are you?
board or copy them onto a sheet of paper. A: I’m in my senior A: I’m in my senior
Change two or three words in the extract year. I’m twenty-one. year. I’m twenty-four.
(as in column B). Ask students to work T: Wow. That is old! T: Wow. That is young!
individually or in pairs to find and correct A: And how old are A: And how old are
the mistakes. Then, play the video and let you? you?
them check their answers. T: I’m eighteen. T: I’m sixteen.

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 2 20/2/09 11:13:05

 5 What’s the response?
This activity aims to activate simple language the students may already know and
then to give practice in listening for detail. In a short section of the video script,
find several examples of basic questions. Write the questions on a sheet of paper
or on the board. Ask the students what the responses could be. Write their answers
on the board (e.g. No, it’s not. – I love it. – Yes, please. / No, thanks. / Sure.). Then,
play the video segment and ask the students to write down the answers they hear.

From Segment 2: Is this your street? __________ Do you like it? __________
And is this your house? __________ Coffee? __________

6 Shadow reading
This gives the students practice in rhythm and intonation. After the students have
watched the video, give them a copy of a short section of the script. Give them a
few minutes to read it through silently. Get them to practice reading the text aloud
in small groups. Then, play the recording again and ask the students to read the
script aloud in time with the recording. This can be very difficult for learners at first,
but with practice, it can really help with stress, weak forms, and rhythm. Start by
doing this with short sections and gradually increase their length.

7 Video dictogloss
This gives the students practice in grammar and vocabulary, with emphasis on
sentence building. Use a short part of a video. Tell the students to watch and
listen carefully as you play the extract. Play it once and ask them to write down
in any order any words they can remember from the dialogue. Then, ask them to
work first in pairs and then in small groups and to use the words they have written
to recreate as much of the dialogue as possible. This activity works better with
practice!

8 Role-play
This activity gives the students the opportunity to practice some of the language
in the unit. Show the students a short part of one segment two or three times (for
example, the scene in Segment 7 where Sunny Day and her manager, Bill Masters,
meet and talk to Amanda, the radio producer). Elicit from the class some key
phrases from the dialogue (e.g. you look terrific, nervous, friendly, 50,000 listeners,
etc.) and write them in random order on the board. Then, ask the students to work
in pairs and role-play the dialogue. They will probably need to practice doing this
several times. Ask them to change roles and/or change partners.

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 3 20/2/09 11:13:14

 Synopses of the video segments
1 Hello, How Are You?
Terence, a new student, registers on his first day at
State College. The registrar, Margaret, asks him to
spell his last name and then asks where he is from.
Next, Angela registers. She is not a new student and
is returning to college after the vacation. At first,
Margaret doesn’t recognize Angela because she
looks different. Later, Terence and Angela meet. They
introduce themselves and talk about how old they
are. Then, Angela asks Terence if he would like to go
have coffee. They meet a friend of Angela’s called
Elizabeth. Angela introduces Terence to Elizabeth.

2 My New Home
Sonia comes to stay with her friend, Cathy, who has
been in college for three months. They walk down
Cathy’s street to her apartment building, and then Cathy
shows Sonia around her new apartment. Later, Cathy
comes to Sonia’s room to ask if she has everything she
needs. Sonia shows the things she brought with her,
including a picture of her boyfriend, Terry. Next, Sonia
asks Cathy about her life and school. Cathy talks about
her daily life, but she has a problem. She doesn’t have
any friends yet. Sonia wants to help, so she decides
they will go out – to downtown – to meet some people.

3 My Family
Sam and his friend, Peter, make a home movie called “Me
and my family” for a college project. At his home, Sam
introduces Peter to his dad, Chuck. Sam’s mom is at the
market and his sister, Amy, is at her Spanish class, so they
interview Chuck for the movie first. Chuck talks about his
job as an architect and the different countries his clients
come from. When Sam’s mom and sister return, they
are interviewed, too. His mom, Barbara, talks about her
part-time job as a high-school teacher and which days she
works. Amy talks about being an architecture student. It all
ends with the preparations for a family lunch.

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 4 20/2/09 11:13:18

 4 What Would You Like?
Lucinda meets her friends, Jenny and Brad, in a pizza
restaurant. They talk about what they would like to
eat and drink. The server arrives to take their order.
Brad is very hungry. First, they order drinks and then
they talk about the different types of pizzas. Lucinda
is on a diet. After talking about the different sizes
and prices of the pizzas, Jenny orders for herself and
Brad. Lucinda decides not to eat anything. When
they finish the pizzas, they order coffee and dessert.
Then, Lucinda changes her mind and makes one final
order.

5 The New Season

Members of the Miami City College soccer team are
interviewed at the start of the season. During an
early morning session in the gym, Joe, the captain
of the team, talks about their training routine. The
coach talks to the team members about their next
game against Orlando College. Then, he tells the
interviewer about the problems with his team’s
fitness after the vacation. Later, on the running track,
Joe talks about the afternoon training session. Finally,
Joe’s teammate, Charlie, describes how he feels at
the end of a hard day’s training.

6 Who are You Rooting for?

If you are “rooting for” a team or a person, it means
that you are supporting them and want them to
win. Ronnie and Marisa prepare to watch a soccer
game on TV. Marisa is excited, but Ronnie doesn’t
understand sports and isn’t interested in watching
the game. Then, Victor and his sister, Adriana, arrive.
They want to watch the game and talk about which
team they are “rooting for.” As they eat Chinese
food and watch the game, Ronnie starts to enjoy
it, and by half-time, he seems to have changed his
mind about soccer.

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 5 20/2/09 11:13:21

 7 An Interview with a Star
A singer called Sunny Day is interviewed for a radio
show. She arrives at the studio with her manager, Bill.
They talk to the producer of the radio show, Amanda,
before meeting the presenter, Mark. He recognizes
Sunny as a friend of his sister, although she has changed
her name. Before the interview begins, Mark tells Sunny
the four questions he is going to ask her. During the
interview, Sunny talks about her songs, the dates of her
concerts, the musicians she is working with, and the
types of music she likes. She talks about how she has no
time in her busy life to relax and go out with friends.

8 Shopping with a Friend

Two friends, Emma and Michael, are on their way to
watch a movie. They walk past a clothing store and
Emma wants to go in. Michael is worried about the
time, as the movie starts soon. The sales assistant
asks Emma what she is looking for and shows her
some dresses and skirts in different colors. As Emma
tries on more and more clothes, Michael becomes
more and more impatient. Finally, she buys a dress
and a purse that she is happy with and is ready to go
to the movie, but now Michael has noticed the men’s
clothes and just wants to take a look...

9 Visiting Fort Worth

Sharon and Jimmy are staying with their friend, Lisa, in
Fort Worth, Texas. At breakfast, they make plans for
the day. Lisa recommends they visit a local art museum,
the Kimbell. She tells them where it is and describes
how to use the trains (the “T”) and buses. Sharon and
Jimmy decide to have lunch at the museum restaurant.
Then, they agree to go to the zoo in the afternoon,
and Lisa suggests a visit to an amusement park for
the next day. Jimmy also wants to see a baseball
game. Lisa takes them to the station and shows them
where to get their tickets before they get their train.

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 6 20/2/09 11:13:24

 10 My Greek Vacation
Elena shows her friends, Josie and Tom, photos and
describes her vacation in Greece. She talks about the
two weeks she spent on the Greek island of Rhodes
where she swam, fished, and took boat trips to
different islands. She also tells them that her mom
was born on Rhodes. Then, she describes her visit to
Athens and shows them pictures of the Parthenon (an
ancient temple on a hill called the Acropolis) and of
Greek soldiers (called evzones) in traditional uniforms.
She talks about her plans to go back next summer,
and now, her friends would like to go with her.

Viewp ints
Viewpoints Essentials Booklet

Text, design and illustration D.R. © Macmillan Publishers S.A. de C.V. 2009
Techniques for teaching with video written by Tim Bowen
Synopses of the video segments written by Helen Corbett

Concept design: Macmillan Publishers S.A. de C.V.

Page make-up: Macmillan Publishers S.A. de C.V.
Cover concept and design: Wild Apple Design Ltd.
Cover photo: Photolibrary
Background photo: Photolibrary

Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 7 20/2/09 11:13:25


Grammar and Vocabulary Map
# Video segment title
1 Hello, How Are You?
2 My New Home
3 My Family
4 What Would You Like?
5 The New Season
6 Who are You Rooting for?
7 An Interview with a Star
8 Shopping with a Friend
9 Visiting Fort Worth
10 My Greek Vacation
20/2/09 11:13:25
Grammar Incidental Grammar Vocabulary
Verb be wh-question with be the alphabet, numbers
Possessive adjectives: my, your How old are you?
Verb be Is this? Is that? personal possessions, rooms
Simple Present with I and you nouns in a house, general adjectives,
Possessive adjectives: my, your, daily routines
his
Simple Present Adverb of frequency: occupations, family words,
usually days of the week
Simple Present adjective + noun food, drinks,
What would you like? I’d like a… It’s + adjective prices
Simple Present Imperatives the time,
Adverbs of frequency It’s + adjective parts of the body,
can for ability love + -ing sports terms
Present Progressive can for requests sports, countries, nationalities
Present Progressive vs. Simple Present Progressive for the time,
Present future dates, ordinal numbers,
Viewpoints Essentials Booklet Final.indd 8
like + noun, like + -ing music
Simple Present & Present can for requests clothing, colours
Progressive
there is / there are really + adjective directions
Simple Past so + adjective leisure activities,
want to + inf. months