Video lesson: James Bond rents a car!

This is a video-based lesson for B1 and B2 students, suitable for both teens and adults. It focuses on skill development and introduces / reviews quite a lot of functional language students might find useful. These are the three key principles underlying the activities:
1. The first viewing task should allow students to actually watch (and enjoy) the video without too many distractions.
2. Subsequent viewing tasks should enable students to “squeeze the video dry” and understand as much as realistically possible without necessarily having to watch the whole thing again. In this day and age, when video is so ubiquitous, class time should be devoted to helping students do things they’re not naturally inclined / able to do on their own. Watching for gist is what many students will do on their own, anyway.
3. Important as skill development is, it’s not tangible enough for most students to perceive as “real learning.” This is why skills development should, as a rule, be accompanied by some sort of language input: lexis, functional language, grammar, or pronunciation.

The actual lesson starts here.

If by any chance sound and image are out of sync, scroll across back to the beginning of the video and it should play fine.

A  Lead-in.

1  What are the most popular car rental companies in your country?
2  Why do people rent cars? Mention three reasons.
3  Have you / your parents ever rented a car? Where / When / Why? What was the experience like? (If more than once, think of the last time.)

B  Watch the scene. Which two words best describe RentalCo’s service? Use video 1.

[  ] very rude          [  ] old-fashioned          [  ] friendly          [  ] bureaucratic

Video 1

C  Watch a few selected excerpts. For each excerpt, choose the correct answer. Check your answers on the screen. Use video 2.

1 “Wreck” probably has a:
[  ] positive meaning
[  ] negative meaning
2 Something went wrong with one of the cars in the fleet. What?
[  ] A child felt sick inside it.
[  ] The previous driver had a minor accident.
3 Why is Bond in a hurry?
[  ] There are people trying to kill him.
[  ] He has to kill someone.
4 What is the clerk worried about?
[  ] his physical integrity
[  ] his clothes
5  Bond admits to wrecking three cars, but, in his defence, said he’s always:
[  ] paid for the damage.
[  ] remembered to fill up the tank.
6  What does he say about driving into a volcano?
[  ] He’s done that before.
[  ] He’s going to do that.

Video 2

D  Useful language: renting a car. Choose the correct answer using your intuition. Then watch video 3 to check.

1  I’ll be [soon / right] with you.
2 Thank you [for / about] being so patient.
3 I don’t have that. Could it be [in / under] another name?
4 What did you say [was your name / your name was] again?
5 Let me check your rental [history / past].
6 Do you want the additional [security / insurance]?
7 Let me just print [out / off] your contract.

Video 3

E  Memory test! Look only at the screen, say the sentence out loud (fast!), check and say it again. Use video 4.

Video 4

F  Roleplay.

Student A: You want to rent a compact car for five days – either a Peugeot 208 or a Polo. You’re very superstitious, so you want a blue car, or perhaps white. You’ve done business with this company several times this year, so you expect them to be flexible and accommodate your needs.

Student B: You’re the clerk. A customer you’ve never seen before walks in and says (s)he wants to rent a blue Peugeot 208. The only available car is a red Polo. The customer claims (s)he has done business with the company several times this year, but you have trouble finding his/her name. You eventually do, but then realize (s)he has a terrible rental history, which means his/her insurance premium will go up.