How are you today?
“To be, or not to be, that is the question”
Give students an explanation and let them guess the word from vocabulary.
What (if anything) do you know about the English playwright William Shakespeare? How many of Shakespeare’s plays can you name? Do you know which ones are comedies, tragedies or histories? Have you ever seen a Shakespeare play performed at a theatre? Which language was it performed in? What do you remember about the story? Can you find out what Shakespeare plays are due to be performed near you in your country soon? Have you ever seen a film version of a Shakespeare play? What did you think about it? What do you remember about the story? Are you sure? Have you not seen The Lion King? Have you ever read a Shakespeare play? If yes, which one was it? Do you know any quotations from Shakespeare? Have you visited either Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon and/or the replica Globe Theatre in London? If yes, what was your experience? If no, would you like to go? What information can you find about these tourist destinations? How is Shakespearean English different from contemporary English? How easy is it for you, as a second language learner, to understand Shakespearean English? Shakespeare is widely considered the most important author of the English language, due to his antiquity and the quality of his work. Can you think of a similar figure in the history of your own language? What do you know about them? What did they write? Have you read any of their works, or seen any of their plays, etc? How old do children need to be before they can truly appreciate great literature? In the UK, schoolchildren are often made to study Shakespeare. Do you think this is a good idea? Why? Give students feedback on their mistakes.
Shakespeare