K

E S L L E S S O N P L A N DECEMBER 2007

Death TV
Language Function: discussing issues; reading comprehension

Vocabulary/Topic: death; TV ANSWER KEY & GUIDELINES - PAGE 4

S T U D E N T W O R K S H E E T INTERMEDIATE

focus on talking: discussion

activity 1. In pairs, ask and answer the questions
below.

• Do you often watch TV. Why yes / not?

• What is your favourite TV show now? Why do you
like it? When is it on?
• How many channels do you watch regularly?
• Why do you like them?
• Which channels do you hate? Why donʼt you watch
them? documentaries II docudramas II
game shows II variety shows II
• Would you like to have access to more channels?
soap operas II sitcoms II news II
• Do you think the proliferation of channels is a good current affairs programmes II quiz
thing? shows II talk shows II chat shows
II feature films II police dramas II
• Do you think TV can be educational? programmes for children II weather
• Which types of TV programmes listed on the right forecasts II fashion & lifestyle
would you find most and least interesting? programmes II sporting events II
cookery & food programmes II
• Nowadays, a lot of TV channels show programmes interviews II cartoons II music &
designed to discover new talent. Do you enjoy dance programmes II religious
programmes II educational
watching them. Why yes / not? programmes II infomercials

www.english-4u.com - photocopiable 1
Death TV INTERMEDIATE

focus on reading: comprehension

activity 2. The article below presents a new TV channel. Read it and answer the questions.

1. What subject is Etos-TV devoted to?
2. What kind of programmes will Etos-TV
show?
3. When will the new channel be launched?
4. What is the new channel called by some
Germans?
5. Which social change suggests that the new
channel could be successful?
6. Which organisation is supporting Etos-TV?
7. Who will sponsor its programmes?
8. How many hours of programming will the
channel broadcast?

For a higher fee a short film can be On offer, too, will be an obituary

Death TV made recording highlights from the service.

life of the deceased.
Mr Schneider said: 'Every citizen
German media entrepreneur Wolf- should have the choice of having an
set for launch Tilmann Schneider told The Times: obituary broadcast on television.
'We're planning to broadcast from W h y s h o u l d o n l y p r o m i n e n t
early next year.' personalities be honoured after their
It may not be everyone's idea of death?'
He added that a few final negotiations
essential viewing, but Death with 'strategic partners' remained after He insisted that the project would not
television is to be launched. t h e l i c e n c e w a s a p p r o v e d i n be morbid, adding 'There will be
Etos-TV will be Europe's first channel September. amusing stories too. After all this is a
devoted to death, it has been reported. channel for living people.'
The channel has already been dubbed
The schedules will include 'Good Mourning' by some Germans. Initially there will be six hours of
documentaries on cemeteries, programming a day and will be
He said German's rapidly ageing
discussions about the appropriate shown in between MTV and 24-hour
population meant there was a big
means of burial and on-screen news channels.
demand for information about death,
obituaries that can be distributed later inheritance law and insurance source:METRO.co.uk - Friday, November 2,
to friends and family on the internet. policies.
For about €2,000 (£1,400), a The newspaper reported that a
photograph of a dead friend or relative
satellite channel is being backed by
will be shown on the screen, alongan undertakers' association
with a spoken tribute. representing 3,000 funeral parlours
The 90-second obituary will be across Germany.
repeated ten times and then be Its programmes will be sponsored by
available for distribution on the residential homes and stair-lift
internet. companies.

www.english-4u.com - photocopiable 2
Death TV INTERMEDIATE

focus on vocabulary
activity 3. Write words and expressions
for definitions. All the words and phrases WORD FOCUS:
are connected with “death” and appear in Funeral parlour - term used in British English
the article on page 2. Mortuary - American English term
Funeral home - both British & American term
1. an area used for burying dead people
............................................................................
2. a ceremony of burying a dead body
............................................................................ activity 4. Here are some other words
3. an article about somebodyʼs life that is related to the same topic. Can you explain
printed in a newspaper after their death
what they mean? Use a dictionary.
............................................................................
4. an act, a statement or a gift that is intended • a coroner

?
to show your respect or admiration,
• an autopsy
especially for a dead person
• bereavement
............................................................................
• the Grim Reaper
5. a formal word for a person who has died,
especially recently • a eulogy
............................................................................ • a coffin
6. sadness that you show and feel because • a pall-bearer
somebody has died • to cremate
............................................................................ • a hearse
7. the money, property or other valuables that • a mourner
you receive from someone when they die
............................................................................
8. a person whose job is to prepare dead
people to be buried
............................................................................
9. a place where dead people are prepared for
being buried or cremated and where visitors
can see the body
............................................................................
10. having a strong interest in death
...........................................................................

www.english-4u.com - photocopiable 3
A N S W E R S & G U I D E L I N E S - Death TV

activity 1. PAIRS or WHOLE GROUP activity 4. INDIVIDUALLY

• a coroner - an official whose job is to
activity 2. INDIVIDUALLY discover the cause of any sudden, violent
1. Etos-TV is devoted to death. or suspicious death
2. Etos-TV will broadcast documentaries on • an autopsy - an official examination of a
cemeteries, discussions about the dead body by a doctor in order to discover
appropriate means of burial and the cause of death
obituaries. • bereavement - the state of having lost a
3. The new channel will be launched early relative or a close friend because they
next year. have died
4. Some Germans call the new channel - • the Grim Reaper - an imaginary figure,
Good Mourning. looking like a skeleton, who represents
5. German population is ageing rapidly, so death
there is a big demand for information • an eulogy - a speech given at a funeral
about death, inheritance law and praising the person who has died
insurance policies. • a coffin (AmE: casket) - a container in
6. Etos-TV is supported by an undertakersʼ which a dead bod is buried.
association. • a pall-bearer - a person who helps to carry
7. Its programmes will be sponsored by the coffin at a funeral
residential homes and stir-lift companies. • to cremate - to burn a dead body,
8. The channel will broadcast six hours of especially as part of a funeral
programming. • a hearse - a long vehicle used for carrying
the coffin at a funeral
activity 3. INDIVIDUALLY or PAIRS • a mourner - a person who attends a funeral
1. a cemetery
2. a burial
3. an obituary
4. a tribute
5. the deceased
6. mourning
7. inheritance
8. an undertaker
9. a funeral parlour
10. morbid

www.english-4u.com - photocopiable 4