What's On Screen?
This films and cinema ESL lesson teaches genres, emotions and looks or seems with descriptive adjectives. Students interpret movie stills, connect genres with moods and practise passive forms for scenes being filmed. They write about a favourite film and perform a talk-show interview between a host and film fan.
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Lesson format
2 × 45 minutes
Level
Intermediate
Age group
Ages 12–14
Main focus
Speaking first
What students will learn
Lesson flow
Students guess emotions from movie stills ('He looks scared'), match genres to feelings ('This film is touching. It's a drama.'), and practise looks/seems + adjective describing stills. The second lesson learns film-crew vocabulary, drills passive voice ('This scene is being filmed now' / 'The movie was filmed in London'), writes a description of a favourite film including genre, scene, character and feeling, and performs a talk-show roleplay as host and film fan.
Target language
- • 'Looks/seems + adjective'
- • Passive voice: is being + verb, was + verb + place
- • 'What's it about?' / 'Who is the main character?'
- • Film genre and job vocabulary
Key vocabulary
- film
- series
- documentary
- streaming
- review
- genre
- actor
- director
- recommend
- opinion
Speaking questions students answer
- • What's it about?
- • Who is the main character?
- • What do you think of this scene?
- • Where was your favourite film filmed?
- • What's the mood of this scene?
Recommended teaching contexts
Why this lesson works
The lesson follows a clear progression: Guess emotions from movie stills in a warm-up, practise passive voice describing film scenes, write a movie description and host a talk-show roleplay. Teachers can open the materials and start immediately, while students move from supported vocabulary practice to purposeful spoken English.