A selection of English ESL silent film video quizzes

10 multiple choice questions to practice the past simple vs the past continuous tense.

Featured grammar points:

1. Use the past simple + past simple to talk about a sequence of events.

2. Use the past continuous + past simple combo to talk about an ongoing action that was interrupted by another event.

3. Use the past continuous + past continuous to describe two simultaneous events (=two events that were happening at the same time).

My lesson nicely complements the comprehensive film lesson created by Kieran Donaghy around this short film: http://film-english.com/2018/01/03/a-single-life/

A Single Life - Time Travel - Past Simple vs. Past Continuous

I made a video quiz to practice ten basic verbs through multiple choice questions. All the verbs are in the present continuous tense.



A Dog's Dinner - Basic Verbs Practice

The video lesson is built around a prediction game with 5 questions: students have to guess what is going to happen next at five points in the story. 

If you're doing this with a projector from your own computer, there are two ways you can work with this video lesson:

1. Interactive play mode: elicit answers from the students, and type in one of them. Click "Continue" and watch what really happens next in the scene. After you've seen the solution, the solution in written form will also pop up.

2. Non-interactive mode: it's the same, except that you don't have to type in any answers.

In my opinion, prediction games work on any level. 

I highly recommend it for practising the "be + going to" type future tense. It could be a quick lead-in activity to do grammar practice.

This quiz can be used to complement Kieran Donaghy's lesson on FilmEnglishhttp://film-english.com/2011/06/03/lesson-plan-on-money-and-greed/.

Black Hole - Prediction Game - Be Going To

Choose the correct answer or put the words in the correct order to create a sentence.

Snack Attack - Are The Cookies Stolen - Word Order

In this video exercise there are 11 multiple choice questions to revise the past tense forms of both irregular and regular verbs. 

Meant for Elementary (A1) learners, maybe up to Pre-intermediate level (B1).

Simon's Cat: Icecapade -Past Tense - Regular and Irregular Verbs

Students will practice the present Simple and Present Continuous through 10 gapfill questions.

Prince Harry's Popcorn Stolen By Toddler - Present Simple/Continuous

The students will answer simple questions about vocabulary, weather, emotions, and present continuous ("What is x doing?").

A Fox And A Mouse - Enemies Unite Against A Threat

10 multiple choice questions with basic adjectives fo Beginner (pre-A1) and Elementary (A1) students.

Simon's Cat - Christmas Presence - Basic Adjectives

Students watch Oktapodi and choose between past simple, past continuous and past perfect.

Oktapodi - 2 Octopuses Are Separated - Past Tense Review

Students have to reassemble present continuous sentences (and one present simple sentence). There are also several infinitive structures (clauses of purpose) in the sentences. 

Omelette - Present Continuous Sentence Unscramble

Fifteen sentences need to be transformed from Direct Speech into Reported Speech, including a mixture of statements, questions and commands, in present, past and future tenses. 

Students need to identify and tap on  9 objects in the freeze-framed screen at various points in the story.

This video quiz checks students' understanding of the key events of the story based on only visual cues (it's a silent film, so no listening practice is involved).

Feel free to check out the three related quizzes I made based on the same video:

1. https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/princess-who-never-smiled-visual-comprehension-practice

2. https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/princess-who-never-smiled-tappable-pictionary

3. https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/princess-who-never-smiled-subtitle-completion

The Princess Who Never Smiled - Reported Speech Practice

The task is to brainstorm jobs that the characters in the short film would be better off doing instead of their own. Students need to think of jobs according to the instruction in each question, e.g. "Suggest a more meaningful job for this man related to electricity."

You can have a competition among pairs or small teams: let's see who can brainstorm more relevant occupations for each question. Or you can have each pair or team just think of one or two possible professions.

This video quiz was prepared to fit into Kieran Donaghy's lesson plan for this short film on FilmEnglish: http://film-english.com/2017/03/21/the-employment/

The Employment - Short Film -Brainstorming Professions

Silent film

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

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184 Silent film English ESL video lessons