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Innovation in Learning

A A ENGLISH IN VIDEO

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Lesson code: MPGQ-UG9U-8VE ADVANCED

1 Warm-up
What do you do when you receive a spam email?

2 Key vocabulary
Match the words to their correct definitions.

1. a quid a. a large structure that is filled with air so people can jump on it
2. outrageous b. dull so not interesting
3. mundane c. extremely big in amount
4. labour-intensive d. needing a lot of work to do
5. a bouncy castle e. slang for a British pound
6. immense f. something that someone has done that will continue to exist
after they die
7. a legacy g. unacceptable

3 Before you watch

You are going to watch James Veitch talk about his experience of trying to unsubscribe from marketing
emails. What do you think he is going to say? Choose the best answers then watch the talk to check
them.

1. What practical joke did James used to play on his mother?

a. he used to put spiders in her bed
b. he would pretend to be dead by lying on the ground
c. he would make prank calls to her

2. What type of company did James receive unwanted marketing emails from?
a. a supermarket b. a sports clothing c. a furniture store
store
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3. What is James's first reply to one of the marketing emails?

a. that he can't wait for the opening of the new store
b. that he will inform all his contacts about the opening of the new store
c. that he won't use the new store because they are sending him too many emails

4. What does James say that he will help with when he replies to some of the later emails?
a. marketing for the company
b. advertising the new store on TV
c. ideas for a launch party for the new store

5. James set up an automatic e-mail replier. How many emails were in the chain to the company?
a. over 5,000 b. over 10,000 c. over 20,000

4 What do you remember?

Put True (T) or (F) next to each statement below. Say why the false answers false.

1. James didn't give the real name of the store because he didn't want to embarrass them.
2. James tried more than once to unsubscribe from the company's emails.
3. The man that James wrote to didn't know how to deal with his inquiry.
4. The relationship between James and Dan got better as they wrote more emails.
5. James said that he was able to get his deposit back for a bouncy castle he had ordered.
6. James thinks that making things fun is just a matter of finding the right game.

5 Find the words

Look at the transcript of the talk. Match the underlined phrases to their definitions.

1. able to recognise a difference between things or people (verb + preposition):

2. what is really important (phrase):
3. extremely enthusiastic (collocation):
4. became worse, but not by a large amount (phrase -ed):
5. a message that contains language that some people might find rude, but is written to fix a problem
(phrase, informal):
6. moving in one direction first, and then the opposite, multiple times (collocation):
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6 Grammar: used to vs. would

Study these sentences from the text:

She told me this story that I'd completely forgotten about how, when we were driving together, she would
pull the car over.
And I remember, that was a game I used to play.
They are both used in a similar way to tell us about events that happened more than once in the past.
But they can be used in different ways:

used to + infinitive
We use used to + infinitive when we talk about things that happened in the past but do not happen
now. In the negative we say didn't use to + infinitive:
I used to live in a large city, but now I live by the seaside.
I didn't use to go swimming everyday. Did you use to live in a small or large city?
We can use this structure with both states and actions:
Paul used to be very calm when he was younger. Now he's stressed all the time. (STATE)
Paul used to work full-time, but now he only takes on part-time jobs. (ACTION)
would + infinitive
When we are telling a story or recalling a situation from a long time ago, we often prefer to use would
to describe repeated behaviour in the past, although both would and used to are possible:
I remember growing up in the countryside. It was a peaceful and simple life. I would pick vegetables
every day and from time to time I would feed the chickens with my mother.
Note that would can only describe past events and actions. It is not usually used with states. To
describe past states we can only use used to:
Paul would be used to be very calm when he was younger. Now he's stressed all the time.

Use the correct form of `used to' to complete the the gaps in the sentences. In which sentences can
you use `would' and 'used to'?

1. Adrianna believe that ghosts were real. She thought she saw one once.
2. Didn't Gustav have long hair? It's really short now.
3. When the evenings were long and it was still safe to play outside, I go
to the park with my friends.
4. I eat dairy products. But my doctor says I need to strengthen my bones.
5. Helena live in an apartment beside the river. But it's too expensive now.
6. When I was young, my grandmother bake cakes for the whole family.
7. The British swimmer Adam Peaty be scared of water. But now he's an
Olympic champion!
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7 Phrases in the video

Put the phrases from the video into the gaps in the sentences below.

lo and behold resent the fact that that would be the end of it
weighed down which shall remain nameless you guessed it

1. When Adam didn't hear back from the company for three weeks, he thought
. But they finally sent him a voucher.
2. Samira was sitting in a park when, , Taylor Swift walked past!
3. Bjorn feels by all the exams he has. He can't wait for them to finish.
4. The company, , charged customers twice more than they expected.
5. The weather in England last week was - yes, , cold, wet and windy.
6. I I have to pay extra to have ketchup on my burger.

8 Talking point
Discuss any of the questions below with a partner.

1. Would you ever consider doing what James Vetch did? Why/why not?
2. What point do you think James is trying to make?
3. What is your opinion about practical jokes? Have you ever played a practical joke like this on
someone or know someone who has?

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