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MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Department of English Language and Literature









Sitcoms as a Tool for English Language Teaching





Diploma thesis






Brno 2013





Author: Supervisor:
Bc. Markta Hlokov Ailsa Marion Randall, M. A.

Bibliografick zznam
Hlokov, Markta. Sitcoms as a Tool for English Language Teaching. Brno: Masaryk
University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature, 2013.
Supervisor Ailsa Marion Randall, M. A.

Anotace
Diplomov prce se zabv situanmi komediemi jako nstroji ve vuce anglickho
jazyka na stednch a jazykovch kolch. Teoretick st prce se zamuje na vymezen
nru situan komedie a jeho potencil pro vyuit v hodinch anglickho jazyka.
Praktick st spov ve vzkumu, kter se zabv vyuitm situanch komedi
v hodinch anglickho jazyka a vytvoenm metodickho nvodu pro uitele anglickho
jazyka. Vsledn produkt prce obsahuje soubor aktivit zaloench na vybranch
situanch komedich a metodick nvod pro uitele anglickho jazyka.

Klov slova
Situan komedie, autentick jazyk, aktivn uen, metodick nvod pro uitele, vuka
anglickho jazyka.

Annotation
This diploma thesis deals with sitcoms as a tool for English language teaching at secondary
and language schools. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on a sitcom as a genre
and its potential for exploitation in English lessons. The practical part consists
in the research on using sitcoms in English lessons and the production of guidelines
for English teachers. The final product of the thesis includes the set of activities based
on the selected sitcoms and the guidelines for teachers of English.

Key Words
Sitcom, authentic language, active learning, guidelines for teachers, English language
teaching.



















Prohlen
Prohlauji, e jsem tuto zvrenou diplomovou prci vypracovala samostatn, s vyuitm
pouze citovanch literrnch pramen, dalch informac a zdroj v souladu
s Disciplinrnm dem pro studenty Pedagogick fakulty Masarykovy univerzity
a se zkonem . 121/2000 Sb., o prvu autorskm, o prvech souvisejcch s prvem
autorskm a o zmn nkterch zkon, ve znn nkterch pedpis.



V Brn dne 19. dubna 2013 ..
Bc. Markta Hlokov


























Acknowledgements
With many thanks for the valuable guidance provided to me by my supervisor Ailsa Marion
Randall, M. A.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................1
2. The Sitcom as a Genre.....................................................................................................3
3. Using Sitcoms in English Lessons...................................................................................6
3. 1. Technical Support...............................................................................................6
3. 1. 1. Hardware.............................................................................................6
3. 1. 2. Software Applications and Video File Formats..................................8
3. 1. 3. Media and Sources of the Sitcoms....................................................10
3. 2. Sitcoms in Relation to Framework Education Programme for Secondary
General Education...........................................................................................11
3. 2. 1. Communication Competency...........................................................11
3. 2. 2. Educational Area Language and Language Communication
Foreign Language...........................................................................12
3. 2. 3. Cross-Curricular Subjects.................................................................13
3. 3. Sitcoms and Motivation....................................................................................14
3. 4. Sitcoms and Humour in the Language Classroom............................................15
3. 5. Sitcoms and Real English.................................................................................18
3. 6. Sitcoms and Culture.........................................................................................20
3. 7. Sitcoms and Pragmatics....................................................................................23
3. 8. Visual and Verbal Components of Sitcoms......................................................25
3. 8. 1. Auditory and Visual Learners...........................................................26
3. 8. 2. Subtitles............................................................................................26
3. 9. Building a Lesson around a Sitcom..................................................................27
3. 9. 1. Ways of Exploiting a Sitcom in the Lesson......................................27
3. 9. 2. Video Selection.................................................................................28
3. 9. 3. Video Exploitation............................................................................28
4. Research on Using Sitcoms in English Lessons...........................................................30
4. 1. Research Aim...................................................................................................30
4. 2. Definition of the Research Topic......................................................................30
4. 3. Hypotheses.......................................................................................................31
4. 4. Experimental Group.........................................................................................31
4. 5. Research Method..............................................................................................31
4. 6. Interpretation of Results...................................................................................32
4. 6. 1. Analysis of the Questionnaires.........................................................32
4. 6. 2. Analysis of the Interviews................................................................37
4. 7. Verification of Hypotheses...............................................................................41
4. 8. Conclusion and Evaluation of the Research Results........................................42
5. Guidelines for English Teachers...................................................................................43
5. 1. Target Group....................................................................................................43
5. 2. Classroom Technology Equipment..................................................................44
5. 3. Selection of the Sitcoms...................................................................................44
5. 4. Scripts...............................................................................................................45
5. 5. Compilation of the Activities...........................................................................45
5. 6. Activities Layout..............................................................................................46
5. 7. Exploitation of the Activities............................................................................47
5. 8. Activities with Sitcoms.....................................................................................47
5. 8. 1. Pre-viewing Activities......................................................................47
5. 8. 2. While-viewing Activities..................................................................52
5. 8. 3. Post-viewing Activities.....................................................................57
6. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................62
Resum................................................................................................................................64
Summary.............................................................................................................................64
Works Cited........................................................................................................................65
Appendices..........................................................................................................................70





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1. Introduction
This diploma thesis deals with the use of situation comedies in English language
classes at secondary and language schools. The work focuses on the various ways in which
teachers and students can take advantage of sitcoms in English lessons. Thanks
to the technical equipment and the Internet available at modern schools, exploiting videos
such as situation comedies in English classes is more accessible than it used to be.
Moreover, sitcoms are a powerful source of authentic language with a reference
to the cultural background of the characters. It goes without saying that the potential
of sitcoms lies in their ability to motivate students to learn English. The aim of my diploma
thesis is to demonstrate the ways sitcoms can be utilized by English language teachers
in their lessons. The product of the thesis will be guidelines for English teachers
and a collection of tasks including pre-viewing activities, activities connected to watching
the sitcom and follow-up exercises.
The thesis itself consists of the theoretical and the practical part. The theoretical
part is based on the printed as well as electronic sources. A theoretical framework
of the thesis is provided by Sherman's Using Authentic Video in the Language Classroom.
Analysed sitcoms have been obtained from YouTube. As the use of the situation comedies
and other video materials in Czech schools have been also ascertained, one part of the
thesis is devoted to English teachers' responses to this topic.
First of all, the theoretical background based on the printed and electronic sources
has been set. At this stage, various cultural as well as linguistic aspects of the sitcoms have
been analysed. Next, a questionnaire and an interview dealing with the use of videos
in English classes have been created and several English teachers in the Czech Republic
have participated in the research. Following the interpretation of the research questions,
appropriate sitcoms have been chosen. After watching suitable scenes or episodes, sitcom
scripts have been provided. Finally, teacher's guidelines and worksheets based on the scene
or episode with a view to the topic, language, culture, pragmatics and humour have been
created.
I expect that the diploma thesis will bring useful and highly motivating set
of teaching materials which can be exploited in the English lessons at secondary
and language schools, especially by students of pre-intermediate and more advanced levels
of English. The main purpose of the practical part is to provide complex teaching materials
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where English language and its culture do not stay apart but interact. Therefore, each set
of activities based on the particular sitcom conveys universal situations, humour, cultural
references, varieties of English, useful and interesting vocabulary.
The potential of the activities and the thesis itself consist in the use of authentic
everyday English in an enjoyable way which motivates students to learn English. The work
provides a valuable source for English teachers and students at secondary and language
schools. According to my knowledge, there is no previous teaching material on that topic.


























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2. The Sitcom as a Genre
Television has been called many things, most of them unflattering: chewing gum
for the eyes, the vast wasteland, junk food for the mind, the boob tube, the vidiot set.
However, no matter what is said about it, it cannot be denied that television is the most
pervasive single element in American society, dominating time, conversation, attitudes,
thought, and the entertainment industry.
Richard F. Taflinger
For several decades, people coming home from work or school have been tempted
by their televisions to watch sitcoms, or situation comedies. Sitcoms have been the source
of relaxation and entertainment since the 1950s, when they moved from BBC Radio
transmission to BBC TV channel in the United Kingdom ("What Is A Sitcom?"). Sitcoms
are often perceived to be less valuable than more serious and factual programmes such as
news or documentaries. It is said that their main function lie in relaxation
and entertainment (Mills 5). Thanks to their lack of originality, stability and tradition,
sitcoms as a hybrid genre are believed to be a part of low culture (Mills 27).
Sitcoms are usually a half-hour series segmented into episodes, where the same
characters appear in the same settings. The episodes are finite, what happens in the episode
is explained and solved. "The most important feature of sitcom structure is the cyclical
nature of the normalcy of the premise undergoing stress or threat of change and becoming
restored" (Mills 28).
In comparison with other series of stories, sitcoms are funny. Each episode
the same central characters in the same setting are exposed to a new unexpected comic
situation (Sherman 38). The comic aspect is therefore the most important distinguishing
feature of the sitcom as a genre (Mills 49). Sherman (38) claims that "what makes people
laugh often has to do with 'in-knowledge', with making quick connections and coming
close to sensitive issues. We laugh because we are in the know when a brief cultural
reference taps a pool of knowledge. We laugh when we suddenly see the hidden
implications and can close the gap that the actors have set up for us. We laugh, perhaps
out of a sense of protected shock, when we come dangerously close to taboos, like death
and cruelty, or when we see incongruities created by juxtaposition." Laughter is
an indicator of participation, since the sitcom is a social event "the audience perceptions
are quick, shared and simultaneous" (Sherman 38). A typical feature of some
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of the sitcoms (for example How I Met Your Mother) is the recorded laughter, which
emphasizes the funny places and draws the audience's attention. Taflinger claims that
the sitcom provides four criteria for humour: 1) appeal to the intellect rather than emotion,
2) established societal norms, 3) disagreement with those norms, and 4) the perception
by the audience that the events are essentially harmless to both the characters and to
the sensibilities and beliefs of the audience.
Besides the source of humour, the sitcom is a mirror of society. Therefore, most
sitcoms are set in the present, not in the past. Creators of sitcoms suppose that the sitcom
relates to its audience, in other words that the characters represent and resemble
the audience (Berman). Nowadays, the sitcom is one of the most numerous forms
of program on television (Taflinger). Hence, there are various sitcoms which are suitable
for different age groups from children (Alf), through teenagers (Step By Step) to adults
(How I Met Your Mother). Up to date sitcoms deal with social change and modern social
themes such as homosexuality (Will & Grace) or everyday living influenced
by information, communication and high technologies (The Big Bang Theory, The IT
Crowd). Not only do sitcoms present current social problems but they also suggest
solutions to them; they are full of advice about hot social issues. Since the sitcom is
interconnected with its audience it tries to socialize us, change our habits and make us
better (Berman).
Richard F. Taflinger distinguishes three types of sitcoms: action comedy, domestic
comedy and dramatic comedy. The most widely spread kind of sitcom is the action
comedy, which can be based on variety of themes such as family (I love Lucy), gimmicks
(Alf), places ('Allo 'Allo!) or occupations (The Big Bang Theory). In the case of action
comedy, the emphasis is put on verbal and physical action. The second type of sitcom is
the domestic comedy, which is more expansive, have a wider variety of events and greater
sense of seriousness than the action comedy. In comparison with the action comedy,
the domestic comedy involves more characters. "The greatest emphasis in a domcom is
on the characters and their growth and development as human beings. This type of sitcom
is called a domestic comedy because it is almost invariably set in and around a family unit:
a mother and/or father, and most definitely, children. A major factor in motion picture
and theatrical drama is that the events portray the most important thing to happen
in the protagonist's life. Concepts of peace, love and laughter are emphasized, as are
concepts of family unity" (Taflinger). The examples of domestic comedy are Step by Step,
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The Cosby Show or Roseanne. The rarest and most serious kind of sitcom is a dramatic
comedy. The dramatic comedy often depicts topics that are not humorous at all such
as death, war (M*A*S*H), crime, aging, unemployment, racism or sexism (Taflinger).
According to Taflinger three types of characters act in sitcoms: main, supporting
and transient. The main characters appear in every episode and their actions are
fundamental for the whole series. There may be one as well as five main characters (Ted,
Marshall, Lily, Barney and Robin in How I Met Your Mother). Supporting characters
regularly appear in the sitcom and support the main character (Lily's father in How I Met
Your Mother). Transient characters are necessary for the continuity of the plot, but they
contribute little as characters. They may be performed by the guest star, messengers, shop
assistants or customers. Most of the characters in the sitcom are likeable and nice, but
in order to provide necessary conflict, there is at least one character, usually a supporting
one, who is unpleasant and unfriendly like Frank Burns in M*A*S*H (Taflinger).
Nowadays sitcoms are very popular among all generations of people, since they are
entertaining and funny; mirror modern society and reflect social changes; characters'
and audience's problems are interconnected; and sitcoms are not time consuming due
to the fact that each episode takes 30 minutes at longest. It goes without saying that
a sitcom is a valuable and motivative source of authentic English language which can be
exploited in English language teaching and learning.









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3. Using Sitcoms in English Lessons
3. 1. Technical Support
Since we are living in the Information Age and technological devices determine our
actions, education cannot stagnate and has to follow progress in technology. Nowadays
schools in the developed countries, including the Czech Republic, are making an effort
in equipping their classrooms, teachers and students with the modern technologies in order
to stand the competitive struggle in the Digital Age. Therefore many of these schools
utilize hardware devices such as computers, data projectors, televisions and DVD players;
application software; the World Wide Web; and portable storage media such as CDs,
DVDs and USB flash drives. All of this electronic equipment may be exploited
in the lesson built around the sitcom. Moreover, at this time when the large number
of households possesses audio visual equipment, students are able to watch situation
comedies at their homes.

3. 1. 1. Hardware
The first and most widely spread hardware for watching sitcoms in the classroom
have been televisions, which have primarily served as a source of news and entertainment
(Moore 172). As television came into the classrooms, it became obvious that
for educational purposes viewing the sitcom from a videotape would be more effective
than real-time broadcasts, because a teacher might chose an episode or a scene which suits
his/her lesson objectives. Moreover, the teacher might pause and rewind the scenes he/she
is going to deal with (Barnes). In the past, a television receiver or a monitor used to be
linked to a videotape recorder (VTR), a videocassette recorder (VCR) or a videodisc player
(Allan 1-2). Although these devices may still be found in some classrooms, they have been
widely replaced by DVD players. As Katchen points out, videotapes have become
obsolete; the switch from analog to digital video media is inevitable. In her article
"Developing Digital Alternatives to Videotape" Katchen advises how to digitalize old
videotaped material. Both the videocassette recorder and the DVD player are capable
of freeze framing, or pausing, and choosing the scene thanks to a counter. A disadvantage
of the VCR is that the videotape may be distorted by pausing and rewinding. On the other
hand, exploiting the functionality of the DVD player is harmless to the DVDs. Moreover,
the DVD player not only enables to move around the sitcom but also to call up subtitles
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in several languages, to choose the dubbing or subtitle language and to enlarge details
in the frozen pictures (Sherman 3).
Besides the television linked to the DVD player, a computer or a laptop linked
to a data projector (fig. 1.) may also be employed in presenting sitcoms these days. PC
Magazine Encyclopedia defines the data projector as "a device that projects computer
output onto a white or silver fabric screen that is wall, ceiling or tripod mounted. It is
widely used in classrooms and auditoriums for instruction and slide presentations" ("data
projector"). It arises from the definition that the data projector enables to show an extended
frame of the computer screen in the same resolution and image quality. Since the speakers
of the data projector, computer or laptop are usually inadequate for audio playback
in the classroom, external speakers which are connected to the computer or laptop are used
instead ("Audio playback in your classroom"). These external speakers manage adequate
volume for the classroom. In comparison with the TV and DVD player, the computer, data
projector and external speakers offer a bigger display size, and clear and loud sounds.
The TV, VCR, DVD players as well as the data projector are usually supplied with
a remote control which enables to manipulate with the machine from a certain distance.

Fig. 1. Interconnection of the computer and the projector by VGA cable
("Setting up your data projector")
Plenty of current secondary and language schools are either provided
with a multimedia language classroom (fig. 2.), where the hardware is installed
permanently, or equipped with trolleys (fig. 3.), which enable removal of the TV and DVD
player or the laptop and data projector from one classroom to another (Allan 6).
The devices should be installed or placed so that all students can see and hear the sitcom
properly. If the teacher wants to take advantage of using hardware in his/her lesson, the
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teacher should try the machine out in advance; video in the classroom creates heightened
expectations and difficulties with the machine may destroy the whole lesson (Sherman 4).
Barnes recommends that the teacher should not turn off the lights in order to distinguish
classroom active watching the sitcoms from the passive home watching TV.

Fig. 2. Multimedia classroom (Google Images) Fig. 3. Multimedia cart (Google
Images)

3. 1. 2. Software Applications and Video File Formats
Although the hardware equipment is the basis for playing the video, the software
applications and media are coessential. In the case of software, we are going to deal
with the computer software for playing and editing the video. Probably the most widely
used digital media player and media library application is Windows Media Player (WMP)
which has been developed by Microsoft and is an intrinsic component of the Microsoft
Windows operating system. The latest version of the WMP is Windows Media Player 12
which is compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems. WMP supports
Windows Media Video (WMV), which is its default video format ("Windows Media Player
12"). Among the most widely used video players also belongs VLC Player, which is able
to run most video formats ("VLC media player"). The next video player is QuickTime
media player developed by Apple, whose native format is QuickTime (.mov) and its latest
version is QuickTime 7 ("QuickTime"). Another media player is RealPlayer, which in its
basic and free version enables not only playing but also downloading MP4 and flash video
(FLV) formats, converting, copying, editing and sharing of the video (RealPlayer). Other
widely used multimedia players are for example BS.Player and Winamp. All video players
in question may be downloaded for free.
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When a teacher needs to cut or edit the sitcom he/she is going to work with
in the lesson, the teacher can use one of the video editing software for free download
compatible with the Windows operating system (see tab. 1.).
Tab. 1. Examples of video editing software for free download ("18 Best Video Editing
Software For Free Download")
Video editing software Source for download
Windows Movie Maker 2.6 windows.microsoft.com/cs-CZ/windows-live/movie-maker-get-started
VirtualDub virtualdub.sourceforge.net
Wax www.debugmode.com/wax/download.htm
AVI Trimmer avi-trimmer.en.malavida.com
Blender www.blender.org
Avidemux avidemux-mswin.sourceforge.net
MovieStorm www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/download
DVDVideoSoft Free www.dvdvideosoft.com
The media players mentioned above are able to play a large number of video
formats (fig. 4.). The first video file format is Windows Media Video (.wmv), which is
a native format of Windows Media Player. In comparison with other video file formats,
WMV files are tiny, that means they are compressed so much that the picture resolution is
too low. The advantage of the small size is that WMV file may be easily sent by e-mail.
The second video file format is Audio Video Interlaced (.avi), which is huge in contrast
to WMV file. Because of its size, AVI is not a sharing format suitable for the Internet.
The third video file format is Flash Video Format (.flv), which has been the most common
sharing format on the World Wide Web. FLV files can be played thanks to the Adobe
Flash Player, which is installed in the browser and has become the most common online
video viewing platform. The advantage of FLV is its greatest compatibility
with the highest number of Internet viewers and its small file size after compression
retaining quite good quality. The fourth is QuickTime video format (.mov), whose picture
is of very good quality but the file sizes are big. Next file format is MPEG-4 Part 14
(.mp4), which has been developed by Motion Picture Experts Group. MP4 file format is
widely used for sharing on the Internet. Although its size is small, it has quite high picture
resolution. Similarly like FLV, MP4 has been used for streaming video on YouTube. Last
but not least, Advanced Video Codec High Definition (.mts) is a high-definition (HD) file
format. Since AVCHD is very huge, it is not suitable for the sharing on the Web (Grula).
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Fig. 4. Most widely used video formats (Grula)

3. 1. 3. Media and Sources of the Sitcoms
Prior to watching the sitcom in the lesson, a teacher has to check its availability.
Old sitcoms (until the 1990s) are usually stored in an analog form on videotapes, new ones
(after the invention of VCD in 1993 and DVD in 1995) have been recorded on optical discs
such View CD (VCD) or more frequently on Digital Video Disc (DVD) (Katchen).
The successor of VCD and DVD is a Blue-ray Disc whose storage capacity is 25 to 50 GB
(5-10times bigger capacity than DVD) and hence allows distributing and recording high
definition video in the highest possible quality ("History of Blu-ray Disc"). Since
the Blu-ray Disc requires Blu-ray player, it is more expensive than DVD or VCD and its
technical requirements are high, Blu-ray Discs have not been spread at schools yet.
Probably the most significant media for the storage of sitcoms is the World Wide Web,
which enables uploading, downloading and sharing the video.
When a teacher searches for the suitable sitcom or a single episode, there are plenty
of options. He or she can visit a DVD store and a DVD rental shop, or buy the sitcom via
the Internet. If the teacher is unwilling to pay extra money for the sitcoms, he/she can
record the episode from international satellite channels or browse the Internet in order
to find the episode free of charge. But in the case of downloading the sitcom from
the Internet, the teacher should be aware of legal position and copyright. Some TV
channels make available transcripts and recordings of some of their programmes;
unfortunately, many of these programmes are available online for a restricted area such as
the USA (Sherman 4). YouTube is a very valuable source since a teacher may find a whole
episode of a sitcom there (for example an episode of Black Books). If the teachers have
the Internet access in the classroom, they can stream the sitcom from YouTube
under the condition that they do not download this video. Teachers can exploit sitcoms
available at YouTube free of charge for non-commercial purposes (YouTube).

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3. 2. Sitcoms in Relation to Framework Education Programme for Secondary General
Education
In the Czech Republic, Secondary schools are obliged to follow Framework
Education Programme for Secondary General Education (FEP SGE). Therefore,
if a teacher intends to build a lesson around the sitcom, he/she should bear in mind its
effect on the learners in respect to FEP SGE.

3. 2. 1. Communication Competency
When using a sitcom in his/her lesson, the teacher should bear in mind its positive
effect on forming students competent to communicate in an efficient way. Exploiting
sitcoms in English language teaching helps students to employ available means
of communication with respect to the situation and involved participants; using specialised
language of various types with comprehension; expresses himself/herself clearly,
comprehensibly and adequately with respect to his/her partners in communication; and last
but not least, understand messages of various types in various communication situations
and is able to interpret the messages being received (Balada et al. 10).
According to Bachman (81) the competence to use language communicatively
involves both the knowledge of the language and the ability to implement this competence,
in other words, language competence and strategic competence. As demonstrated in fig. 5.,
language competence is divided into two main groups; organizational competence dealing
with morphology, syntax, vocabulary, cohesion and organization; and pragmatic
competence consisting in knowledge of relationships between speaker's utterances
and intentions, appropriateness, speech acts, language functions and sociolinguistic
competence. Strategic competence is an ability to interconnect organizational
and pragmatic components in an efficient way (Bachman 81).
Making use of sitcoms in English language teaching develops every element
of communicative competence, especially grammatical competence (3. 5.), sociolinguistic
competence (see 3. 6.) and illocutionary competence (see 3. 7.).
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Fig. 5. Components of language competence (Bachman 87)

3. 2. 2. Educational Area Language and Language Communication Foreign
Language
Working with sitcoms in the English lessons may contribute to the development
of all language skills from receptive, through productive to interactive. In the case
of receptive language skills, sitcoms help develop students' understanding of main ideas
of an authentic oral expression on an up to date topic; distinguishing between individual
speakers in the speech, recognizing various styles, tones, opinions and attitudes of these
speakers; and inferring the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary based on familiar words
and context. Development of productive skills via sitcoms may be performed by the ability
to describe and convey the events in the episode. Oral or written expression and defence
of ideas, opinions and attitudes reflecting the events in the sitcom also support interactive
language skills (Balada et al. 16-17).
Moreover, the sitcom, as a source of authentic English language, also broadens
learners' awareness of language means and functions such as collocations, proverbs,
idioms, phrasal verbs, specialised terms and phrases on common topics in the area
of lexicology; nominal and verbal phrases, morphemes, prefixes, suffixes, complex
and compound sentences, further ways of expressing the present, past and future in the area
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of grammar; and last but not least the phonetic structure of a word and sentence in the area
of phonetics (Balada et al. 17).
In relation to communicative function of the language, sitcoms enable learners
to gain information from the media. Via these authentic materials students learn about facts
of English speaking countries like characteristics of the economy, society and culture;
lifestyle, pastime activities, traditions, family, education; and language differences and
varieties (Balada et al. 18-19).

3. 2. 3. Cross-Curricular Subjects
English sitcoms serve as an educational tool not only in the area of Language
and language communication but also in cross-curricular subjects such as Education
towards thinking in European and global contexts, Multicultural education and Media
education. Therefore, if the English teacher wants to incorporate sitcoms into his/her
lessons, besides the language distinctive features may become in focus (Balada et al.)
When the teacher is going to deal with the thinking in European and global
contexts, he/she may exploit the sitcom for raising awareness of cultural differences
and learning to respect different opinions that other people hold in the world. Via working
with sitcoms, students gain the ability to compare the differences and similarities
between the cultures and lifestyles in Europe and in the world (Balada et al. 69-72).
Sitcoms present otherness not only on the level of culture and nation but also
on the level of individuals. Multicultural education may involve watching sitcoms in order
to lead students to understand that all people are different independent of their origin
and socio-cultural patterns; the importance of the family, peer and professional
relationships; that multiculturalism is a mean of cultural enrichment; linguistic specifics
of other ethnic groups in the multilingual world; how socio-cultural diversity is manifested
in the world; what models of coexistence of different socio-cultural groups exist; and how
prejudice and stereotypes influence the relationships between the majority and minorities
(Balada et al. 73-75).
Finally, working with sitcoms in the lesson also relates to media education. Thanks
to sitcoms, learners realise the differences and similarities between own lifestyle
and the consumer lifestyles in the media, unmediated interpersonal relationships
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and stereotypical representation of the relations in the media. Generally, the students
should be able to understand the relationship between the sitcom and reality, stereotypes
presented in the sitcom and what values and lifestyles are and are not presented by sitcoms.
At the end, learners should be able to express their opinions on the events and situations
presented in the episode (Balada et al. 77-81).
To sum up, the sitcom should be included in the English language education not
only for making the lesson more interesting but especially because of its power to develop
learners' language skills and understanding the world of English speaking countries.

3. 3. Sitcoms and Motivation
Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they
want to do it.
Dwight David Eisenhower
Sitcoms are a highly motivating tool for English learning since watching sitcoms is
a very popular way of spending free time nowadays among teenagers and young adults.
Therefore, if teachers want to employ sitcoms in their English lessons, they are suggested
to take their learners' interests and preferences into consideration. Another motivational
factor in learning English via sitcoms is the challenge and the sense of achievement
connected with exposure to the authentic language. Furthermore, sitcoms are powerful
means for supporting students in autonomous and lifelong learning.
Regarding motivation, there are plenty of arguments for using sitcoms in English
lessons. First, sitcoms distinguish themselves from other traditional types of teaching
materials such as course books or audio recordings (Chen 21). Second, sitcoms are part
of the popular culture, hence many nowadays teenagers and young adults are familiar
with the sitcoms and their characters (Murray 6). Third, sitcoms deal with issues of modern
society and learners may identify with the sitcom protagonists' experiences (Chen 23).
Next, students are exposed to authentic English in real media intended to native speakers.
Therefore, they want to get information, understand and enjoy sitcoms like native speakers
do (Sherman 2). Last but not least, learners experience sense of entertainment, satisfaction
and achievement since understanding the authentic language is very challenging. Besides
the motivation nature of the sitcoms as such, the teacher may raise students' interest
15

and involvement in English learning by using activities and materials around the sitcom
that students find engaging (Murray 6).
Intrinsically highly motivated learners are capable of learning English language
via sitcoms on their own at home. English teachers' task is to promote these learners'
autonomy and support self-directed language learning (Murray 1). These learners may be
either enthusiastic about a target culture or desire to achieve native speakers' understanding
of English. Moreover, they learn authentic language at home in an enjoyable way.

3. 4. Sitcoms and Humour in the Language Classroom
School without laughter is sheer torture.
Pter Medgyes
Humour and laughter are part of everyday life, therefore, they should not be
omitted in the English classes either. Unfortunately, modern society often perceive humour
in the classroom as unproductive and believes that a teacher's job is to educate not
to entertain (Lovorn). As a matter of fact, humour is getting to be exploited as a powerful
educational tool at these days. Thanks to its humorous nature, active watching sitcoms
in the English lessons may enhance and intensify student's learning.
There are plenty of reasons why a positive environment in the classroom may be
more effective and beneficial than a strict and serious one. From a social and psychological
point of view humour helps to relax, relieve stress, create a comfortable classroom
atmosphere, bring enthusiasm and optimism, evoke positive feelings, create bonds
among students, support student-teacher relationship, break the ice, raise student interest,
motivate and engage students, improve student attention, enhance and activate learning,
and make learning more enjoyable (Bell 241, McNeely, Nettleton). It is said that humour
and laughter turn out more areas in our brain, maximize learning and also strengthen
memory. In addition, it is assumed that there is a close relationship between being smart
and funny. On this account humour in the classroom becomes a serious issue ("How
Humour Affects Learning").
The same patterns work in the English classes. Medgyes (5) introduces additional
ideas why English teachers should involve humour into their lessons. He believes that
"humour is a good vehicle for providing authentic cultural information, builds bridges
16

between cultures, practices language items in genuine contexts, develops creative thinking,
provides memorable chunks of language, reinforces previously learnt items, enriches
textbook-based courses and introduces a refreshing change from routine language-learning
procedures." According to Bell, second language speakers may learn vocabulary, syntax,
semantics, discourse conventions and culture of the target language via humour (241).
Medgyes (5) believes that a teacher can teach the language of humour in order to make
humour accessible for students; and vice versa, the teacher uses humour to make the
language accessible. If students are able to understand the point of a joke, they experience
achievement and are motivated to learn English; in contrast, if they do not understand the
point, they face frustration and are discouraged in their effort.
There are various genres of humour which may be integrated into English lessons
from puns, teases, insults, self-deprecating jokes to cartoons, comedy sketches, poems,
songs, proverbs and anecdotes (Bell 243, Medgyes 2). Since sitcoms show the real life
situations, many of these types of humour appear in each episode. Another division
of humour is based on the audience who understand it; universal humour is usually
understood all over the world, while culture-bound humour may be understood only
by people of certain cultural background or experience, and idiosyncratic humour may be
understood only by people with the similar sense of humour (Medgyes 2). Bell (244)
distinguishes so called linguistic humour, which may be demonstrated by wordplay. The
sitcom is a powerful means for teaching and learning English through humour, because
while acquiring the language, the students are learning about culture of the target language
and improve in understanding the humour of the culture. In this sense, there is no apparent
distinction between language and culture (Bell 247). Not only do the students get to
understand the target culture but they also learn in what way humour works in various
settings and situations, in other words how it makes use of a particular style or register
(Bell 251).
But not everything which seems to be funny is appropriate. Medgyes (4) warns that
teachers should avoid jokes which are offensive; rude; insulting the poor, ethnic
communities, the ugly, women, the disabled or the elderly. Some learners may find jokes
violating taboos such as death, murder, divorce, drinking, religion, evolution, sex
and sexual orientation uncomfortable. Moreover, students should never be selected
as the target of the joke (Medgyes 4, Nettleton). The teacher should be careful when
choosing the episode of the sitcom that would be suitable for his/her students; their age,
17

beliefs, background and experience. While an episode may work in one group of learners,
it does not have to be appropriate in another one.
Although most humour in the language classroom is performed via jokes,
the situation with the sitcoms differs. Corke argues that when watching a sitcom we are not
laughing at jokes but at ingredients which are mixed in a particular way. One of these
ingredients is a characterisation, the way in which a character behaves and interacts
with other characters and their surroundings. The aspect of humour lies in the character as
an individual (Mr. Bean), but mainly in the character's relationships with the others (How I
Met Your Mother). People usually enjoy characters' temperament, speech styles and
mannerisms, their interactions, the fact that these characters are trapped in relationships,
insults and responses to these insults such as misunderstanding, insult taken as
compliment, insult understood but ignored or witty answer. Another funny aspect
of watching characters of the sitcom is that they hardly ever laugh since they do not find
the situations they encounter enjoyable. The next aspect which makes the audience laugh is
the fact that the character is unable to solve the problem he or she is facing to in a clear
and effective way; on the contrary, the situation gets usually even worse. Additional
ingredients supporting humorous aspect in the sitcom are catchy title, theme, situations,
locations, pace and irregular expressions such as the character's gestures, facial expressions
or unexpected noises (Corke).
In conclusion, humour not only brings the people together but it may serve
as a valuable educational tool, which can be included in every stage of learning process.
English learning and teaching via authentic humour in sitcoms is like an inseparable
infinite circle, when the language and culture are taught through humour, and vice versa
(fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Infinite circle of humour, culture and language
18

3. 5. Sitcoms and Real English
As second language learning aims at developing four language skills (listening,
speaking, writing and reading), mastering grammar and vocabulary out of the context has
not been sufficient. Educators should expose their students to authentic English language
in order to lead them to communicative competence (3. 2. 1.) and not to teach only
according to course books and audio/video recordings for educational purposes which
present the English language in isolation and artificial situations. By using authentic video
in his/her lessons, the teacher can enhance students' perceptive as well as productive skills.
In other words, learners may not only understand authentic English but also utilize it in real
communication.
First of all, it is necessary to define what authenticity refers to. According
to Gilmore (98), terms 'authentic', 'genuine', 'real' or 'natural' English relates to "the
language produced by native speakers for native speakers in a particular language
community"; and "the language produced by a real speaker/writer for a real audience,
conveying a real message." Since the authentic English is natural and spontaneous, it puts
the learners in the same position as native speaking audience and requires the same
exercise of language skills (Allan 30). Via watching sitcoms from English speaking
countries such as the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia, and even South Africa, India or Nigeria,
students are exposed to a different speaking speed, tempo, accent, intonation, vocabulary,
or slang (Canado 6, Chen 23).
Like any other languages, English has been developing all the time. Thanks to its
expansion across the world, English has diversified into abundance of forms, varying
in pronunciation, intonation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and usage in different
environments (Gilmore 103). New words, meanings of words and idiomatic phrases come
into the English language. Unfortunately, textbooks, dictionaries and even corpora have
become obsolete because they are not capable of keeping up to date with vocabulary which
is currently employed in English speaking countries (Canado 3). Moreover, English
presented to students by the teacher and in textbooks has nothing in common with real,
informal kind of English which is used during a normal conversation. "Safe, clean,
benevolent, harmonious and undisturbed world presented to learners in textbooks"
contrasts with "evaluative, vague, intense or expressive language in informal" everyday
19

real life situations (Gilmore 99). As many English teachers work mainly
with non-authentic materials in their lessons, it seems difficult to encounter natural English
language models in the classroom. Then, non-native learners may face difficulties
in distinguishing what is natural from what is grammatically possible but non-idiomatic
(Gilmore 100). Sherman (14) argues that "learners who have not stayed
in an English-speaking country or community are often unable to produce natural spoken
English. When asked to role play or script a dialogue, they frequently produce strange
scholastic language, inappropriate tone, distorted idioms, unlikely collocations
and a limited repertoire of functional language and colloquial phraseology." But not every
learner is enabled to study abroad and be in direct contact with native speakers of English.
Therefore, the teacher can take advantage of a sitcom as a source of authentic language
in his/her lessons. Via sitcoms, learners become familiar with collocations, phrasal verbs,
means for expressing functions, idiomatic expressions, lexical phrases and acronyms used
in nowadays English (Canado). Sherman (2) points out that the sitcom may serve
as a language model for specific language item or a general pool for students to pick up
from as it provides up-to-date linguistic resource of accents, vocabulary, grammar
and syntax.
According to Framework Education Programme for Secondary General Education
(FEP SGE) one of the educational aims is forming learners who are communicatively
competent. It is important to realize that communicative competence involves much more
than knowledge of language structures and that contextualised communication has become
superior to form (Gilmore). A teacher's objective is to make his/her learners' lexical
competence approximate that of native English speakers. That is the reason for keeping up
with 'real' English expressions; teachers should make these lexical phrases not only the part
of learners' receptive but also productive vocabulary. Every teacher should ensure that
his/her students do not stick to obsolete and 'posh' expressions. Weyers (339) emphasizes
that authentic video is significant not only because of high level of input but also for its
improvements in learners' output. It is believed that watching sitcoms enhances language
acquisition process; in other words, students make rapid progress in listening
comprehension, extension of vocabulary stock and oral production. In addition, learners
gain confidence in speech, improve in communicative techniques and produce the message
in more effective way (Weyers 340, 342).
20

On the other hand, utilizing sitcoms in the English lesson can be frustrating
and discouraging, if the students do not understand the language. Comprehension of 'real'
English may be complicated by high density of language, when there is a lot of speech
with little action in the scene; words which do not match the action; quick speed
of the speech; swallowing the words; unfamiliar dialects and regional accents; background
noise; and a high degree of naturalism in the speech, for instance overlap in speech,
mumbling or characters with their backs to the camera (Allan 23, Sherman 15). Sherman
(16) suggests that when the teacher wants to support his/her students understanding
of genuine English, he/she should take advantage of some properties of sitcoms. Especially
elementary students would appreciate visual support and unambiguous action, where there
is a close link between what the picture shows you and what is said; clearly pronounced
speech in standard accents; and anything which slows down the diction (Allan 23, Sherman
16). Chen (22) believes that providing a learner with comprehensible input, which is
slightly above the learner's language level, is crucial in acquiring the English language.
If the teacher wants his/her students to focus on authentic language, he/she should avoid
watching long sequences because it is too difficult for learners to keep concentrated.
Another means for helping learners with understanding the sitcom is to provide them
with subtitles; this issue is discussed in chapter 3. 8. 2.
To sum up, it is evident that taking advantage of sitcoms in the English lessons can
be highly beneficial since learners are exposed to authentic language. Perception
and comprehension of modern English expressions lead to practice of these words
and phrases in oral as well as written production. As a result, students' communicative
competence in English becomes closer to native speakers'. Despite the fact that there are
some obstacles in clear comprehension of 'real' English, teachers can arrange the lesson
around the sitcom in a way which would lead to progress in learners' language acquisition.

3. 6. Sitcoms and Culture
Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from
and where they are going.
Rita Mae Brown
As I have already mentioned in the previous chapter (see 3. 4.), if we want to learn
the English language we have to learn about cultures of English speaking countries,
21

and vice versa if we want to comprehend the culture we need to learn language. It goes
without saying that language learning is inseparable of its culture. Since it might be
impossible to travel to every single English speaking country in the world, sitcoms can be
valuable source of a cultural reference. Thanks to watching sitcoms, students encounter
various customs, attitudes, beliefs and ways of life; furthermore, they can compare
and contrast the culture of English speaking countries with the culture of their mother
tongue.
First of all, it is necessary to define what culture means in today's language
teaching. Kramsch ("Culture in Language Teaching" 11) defines three approaches to
teaching culture in language classes. The first approach predominated prior to World War
II and it was interested in general knowledge of literature and arts, in other words in so
called "Big C" or "high" culture dealing with the great artists, musicians, writers and
the moments in the culture's history (Garza). From 1980's teaching culture in language
classes is rather associated with "Little c" or "low" culture concerning the way of life,
popular culture, social mores, everyday behaviours, memories and aspirations of people
speaking by the target language. Learners familiarize themselves with typical
and stereotypical native speakers' way of behaving, eating, talking, dwelling, their
customs, celebrations, beliefs and values. This approach focuses on the dominant group
of native speakers who constitute one homogeneous national culture (Garza, Kramsch,
"Culture in Language Teaching" 11-14). Thanks to the globalisation caused by mobility of
people, global markets, television and the Internet, the concept of national homogeneous
culture connected with geographical location is not valid anymore and the idea of hybrid
and changing cultures has arisen. As English has become a lingua franca spoken by many
nations, nowadays English language teaching places more emphasis on individual than
the collective, perceiving culture as individual. In other words, learners of English develop
understanding of speakers behaviours and worldviews, and the way they position
themselves in the society (Kramsch, "Culture in Language Teaching" 16-20). Kramsch
("Culture in Language Teaching" 20-21) argues that "foreign language studies must learn
to conceive of culture as an open, multi-voiced and dialogical interaction full
of contradictions, rather than as the deterministic, homogeneous and closed structure that
belonged to the era of national state."
Culture is often perceived as making the study of English more attractive
and providing a relief from vocabulary and grammar exercises, in other words as standing
22

out of English language learning. On the contrary, culture is inseparable of language
and culture, together with language form so called linguoculture; in other words, the union
of language and information relating to national culture in the process of language learning
(Garza, Kramsch, "Culture in Language Learning" 218-221). Garza states that "Learning
a language in isolation of its cultural roots prevents one from becoming socialized into its
contextual use. Knowledge of linguistic structure alone does not carry with it any special
insight into the political, social, religious, or economic system." He claims that even people
who are proficient at grammatical structures of English and master a great deal
of vocabulary are incapable of proper communication, if they misunderstand the target
culture. Put differently, language acquisition cannot be accomplished without cultural
understanding (Chen 23). Besides reading, writing, speaking and listening, he proposes
culture as a fifth skill. In his view, cultural literacy refers to a set of abilities: "the ability to
perceive and recognize cultural differences, to accept cultural differences and to appreciate
and value cultural differences" (Garza).
Teaching English via culture enhances not only a learner's level of proficiency
but also contributes to his/her communicative competence, especially cultural, intercultural
and sociolinguistic competencies (Kramsch, "Culture in Language Learning" 217, Herron
518, Gilmore 106). English teachers should teach their learners discourse behaviour
of native speakers in order to realize how they think and see the world (Kramsch, "Culture
in Language Teaching" 15). Thanks to teaching culture in his/her English lessons,
the teacher encourages the students in international understanding, taking responsibility
in the globalised world, and awareness of and respect to cultural differences. Cultural
education should lead towards acceptance of people of different race, sex, ability, cultural
background, origin and religion; moreover, students should respect other people's values,
attitudes and beliefs (Kramsch, "Culture in Language Teaching" 221-226). By exploring
the target language culture students not only heighten understanding of the foreign culture
but they can also compare and contrast foreign culture with their home culture.
Furthermore, learners may discover own cultural heritage and maintain Czech cultural
values.
It is generally agreed that a picture is worth a thousand words. The same applies
to sitcoms which provide access to a cultural reference about the target language's culture.
Thanks to learning more about the culture of English speaking country, learners become
to understand the language's links to its culture; "the more we know about the culture
23

of the language we are learning - the better our understanding of that language will be"
(Bilsborough, "Sitcoms as a Tool for ELT"). Chen (22) calls this way of language
acquisition "acculturation model". Sitcoms are a powerful resource for teaching culture
since they present "living vibrant people who use the target language for daily
communication" (Herron 519) from settings such as the stock exchange, court, American
suburbia and army life through dressing, table manners, gender roles to reflection of major
cultural movements like changing perception of women or homosexuality in the society
(Sherman 12). In general, sitcoms familiarize learners with a target culture's sites, authentic
discourse, native speakers' lives, and their social behaviours. Furthermore, students may
find differences and similarities between their home culture and the target culture (Chen
22-23). Therefore, the tasks accompanying watching sitcoms should take the differences
between these cultures into consideration (Gilmore 103).
Since every language is culturally bound, it is obvious that it cannot be learnt
in isolation of a target language's culture. Teachers should be aware of the fact that not
every modern textbook contains supportive materials for teaching culture. If the teacher
wants to incorporate teaching culture in his/her lessons, he/she should make use
of authentic materials like sitcoms. The sitcom is a valuable source not only for acquiring
language through the culture but also for broadening learners' views of people differences,
attitudes and beliefs.

3. 7. Sitcoms and Pragmatics
It is widely believed that English language is a means of communication, thanks
to which second language learners may interact with native speakers or other learners
of English. However, it is necessary to master more than vocabulary and grammatical
structures in order to accomplish a meaningful dialogue. Unfortunately, nowadays course
books do not often supply learners of English with sufficient information about real life
conversations. If a teacher wants to teach pragmatics in his/her English lessons, sitcoms are
one of the most demonstrative tools serving this educational purpose as they learn
pragmatics in a context.
Pragmatics deals with the ways of people's communication and interpretation
of intentions. It also focuses on ways of appropriate use of the language in various
situations depending on relationship between the participants, the setting and the context
24

of the situation. Pragmatics operates at the level of meaning and how other people
understand those meanings in spoken conversations. If we want to hold a productive
conversation, we are supposed to understand and follow the partner's intention
in expressing the utterances, the level of directness of his/her utterances, and last but not
least the strategies used by the speaker to convey his/her message (Koike, Washburn 21).
Although pragmatic competence is an integral part of language competence
(Bachman 87) and hence one of English teachers' priorities should be development of this
competence, teaching and learning pragmatics at nowadays secondary and language
schools is neglected. Moreover, the pragmalinguistic information available in English
course books is missing. These textbooks often produce artificial, simplified and direct
dialogues lacking contextualisation which have nothing in common with real life casual
conversation (Gilmore 100). As a result, students are unable to make productive
conversation appropriate to the certain situation and the partner; they violate the norms
of an appropriate dialogue as they often cannot properly open or end the conversation,
change the topic, keep floor or take turns (Chen 22, Gilmore 101, Washburn 21).
If the learner does not understand principles of the real conversation, even the perfect
mastery of vocabulary and grammar would not help; vice versa, knowledge of pragmatic
features requires knowledge of vocabulary and grammar in order to communicate
effectively (Koike).
Teaching pragmatics with the aid of sitcoms can lead to learners' attainment
of pragmatic competence as sitcoms present real life face-to-face conversations and speech
acts in the certain context. Thanks to its visual component, sitcoms are a valuable source
of training non-verbal communication. Students learn reading characters' intentions,
feelings or attitudes from their postures, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact;
and types of relationships and formality from characters' distance from each other. These
paralinguistic features, clear and distinct in sitcoms, are along with the linguistic features
the integral part of the real life conversation (Chen 22). Thanks to watching sitcoms,
learners of English also realize that a casual dialogue does not insist on perfect fluent
non-interruptive utterances. By contrast, such conversations are full of repetition,
hesitation, pauses, overlaps, false starts and back-channels. Besides these non-fluencies
in conversation, students can gain knowledge of turn-taking, floor keeping and adjacency
pairs (Gilmore 101). On the basis of the sitcom, students may produce role plays
and discuss the characters' intentions, attitudes and feelings.
25

Sitcoms are a valuable resource for teaching pragmatics in English lessons
since they provide live face-to-face interactions in the given context. In comparison
with textbooks, sitcoms operate with verbal as well as non-verbal ingredients of spoken
communication.

3.8. Visual and Verbal Components of Sitcoms
A sitcom is a very powerful tool in English language teaching since it transmits
visual and verbal components at the same time. Therefore, if learners misunderstand some
parts of the video, they can rely on the visual element in the sitcom. Listening to real
conversations with a visual support is generally perceived as more helpful in comparison
with audio recordings. Moreover, a visual component of sitcoms puts learners in context
of casual conversations.
As already mentioned, sitcoms differ from other traditional types of teaching
materials such as audio recordings or written texts. Since a sitcom contains picture
and sound simultaneously, it presents the conversational process as a whole. The visual
component may include lot of additional information to verbal and vocal elements
of speech (Chen 21). Thanks to visual element of the sitcom, learners get familiar
with the setting of the plot; they not only learn about culture of the certain place or country
but also have some expectations of how people behave in given physical surroundings such
as an office, a pub or a shop. Appearance of the characters such as dress, hairstyle
and property are other visual components reflecting a character's life style and community
belonging. The next group of visual features, including gestures, facial expressions, eye
contact, body language or proximity, conveys characters' relationships and attitudes to each
other in the conversations (Allan 68-70).
Regarding the audio elements, including verbal as well as vocal, English teachers
should exploit sitcoms in a different way than the audio recordings. Utterances in sitcoms
are always interconnected with the picture and protagonists' actions, while in the audio
recordings learners have to rely only on the lexical meaning and paralinguistic features
such as accent, intonation, stress, tone or pitch of the speech (Allan 72).
It goes without saying that the prominent feature of sitcoms is their
contextualization of verbal components via visual components. As Willis (41) claims: "It
would be impossible to study each visual element as a discrete item, out of context; it is,
26

after all, the network of interrelated aural and visual lines that make up 'communication'"
(Chen 32).

3. 8. 1. Auditory and Visual Learners
Since sitcoms integrate both verbal and visual elements, they are appealing
to audio-visual learners in particular. Lojov and Vlkov (47) point out that although
non-disabled people have all their senses developed, they differ in preferences of their
perceptual channels. It is believed that 50-80% of people prefer visual learning style,
the rest prefer either auditory or kinaesthetic learning, or they do not prefer any particular
perceptual channels.
Since visual learners require visual inputs, watching sitcoms is a suitable way
of learning English for them. These learners also prefer reading to listening in language
acquisition. It is suggested that a teacher asks his/her visual learners to describe what they
saw in the sitcom, to view silent video before listening and to watch videos with subtitles
when utilizing a sitcom in his/her lesson (Lojov and Vlkov 48-50).
As sitcoms incorporate visual as well as verbal elements, they are useful
educational tools not only for visual but also for auditory learners who prefer learning
English language via listening. It is suggested that these learners are exposed to authentic
spoken language in real communication situations as much as possible. Suitable activities
for auditory learners are prediction of the episode plot from listening to its part without
picture and gap filling based on the listening (Lojov and Vlkov 50-52).
Despite the fact that audio-visual learners predominate, kinaesthetic learners can
take advantage of sitcoms as well. Especially the activities based on a role playing
after viewing the episode are very suitable educational tool for kinaesthetic learners
(Lojov and Vlkov 53-55).

3. 8. 2. Subtitles
Since I am focusing on English language teaching via sitcoms, I am not going
to deal with Czech dubbing in this subchapter. As already mentioned in 3. 8. 1.,
the majority of people prefer visual to auditory stimulus; that means that learners watching
sitcoms with subtitles tend to read the written text instead of listening to authentic English,
27

even if they have no need of subtitles (Sherman 16). Therefore, there is a danger of very
little learning of English when providing learners with Czech subtitles; they can rely
on the subtitles and completely disengage reception of spoken English (Sherman 17).
Nevertheless, students may acquire some new vocabulary and familiarise themselves
with pronunciation, even when watching sitcom with Czech subtitles. Watching sitcoms
with English subtitles is believed to be much more beneficial for English language
acquisition than watching video with Czech subtitles. However, learners of English
improve their reading rather than listening skills (Sherman 17).
To sum up, watching sitcoms with subtitles promotes learners' understanding
of the English language. On the other hand, if a teacher wants to focus on listening
comprehension, he/she is suggested to avoid subtitles at all.

3. 9. Building a Lesson around a Sitcom
In order to make English learning as efficient as possible, teachers of English
should prepare such a lesson based on the sitcom that leads students towards active
learning process. Thus, a teacher's task is to choose the way he/she wants to exploit
the sitcom in the lesson, selection of the suitable video or scene and compilation
of pre-, while- and post-watching activities in respect to above mentioned requirements.

3. 9. 1. Ways of Exploiting a Sitcom in the Lesson
There are various ways of using sitcoms in the English lessons from passive
watching when students are exposed to the sitcom in order to relax and enjoy the video,
through using sitcoms for listening comprehension, encountering with the culture
or providing models of the spoken language to exploiting a sitcom as an input for some
other activity (Sherman 6). Sherman warn English teachers against two extremes
of utilizing sitcoms in their lessons; first, the passive watching for enjoyment without any
educational value; then, exhausting activities in worksheets focusing on vocabulary,
content and structures. She proposes generic, generative and gentle approach in taking
advantage of sitcoms in the English lesson; generic means that activities based
on the authentic audio-visual material should emerge naturally from the sitcom and exploit
its particular qualities; generative conveys potential in repetition of these activities
28

with other episodes or sitcoms; and gentle implies the fact that the activities
around the sitcom ask for things which tend to come naturally (Sherman 7).
Teachers of English may object that watching an episode of a sitcom absorbs
almost the entire lesson. However, they can exploit only short extracts of the video.
Margaret Allan (18) points out that the length of the video depends on the use you want
to make of it, your individual learners and the lesson time you have. According to her, less
advanced students would appreciate watching shorter sequences since their attention span
is limited because of poor knowledge of English language. Thus, teachers should start
with shorter video extracts when introducing authentic video into their lessons and move
to longer sequences when working with more advanced students who are used to exposure
of real English.

3. 9. 2. Video Selection
The first step in creating a lesson based on a sitcom is the choice of the suitable
sitcom and its episode. Bilsborough ("Building a Lesson around a Sitcom") suggests that
the best alternative to start may be the sitcom that the teacher is familiar with. Selected
authentic audio-visual material should be current, accurate, useful, interesting, attractive
and full of things that people do in everyday life. The sitcom has to appeal not only to the
teacher but primarily to the learners. Therefore, the material has to be of high production
value (Garza, Sherman 5).
Another important aspect, when choosing a suitable sitcom, is a high audio/visual
correlation; in other words, the picture and sound match together to enhance meaning.
Moreover, it is advisable to use a multiple layer sitcom where repeated watching may
reveal new elements such as paralinguistic features, jokes or cultural reference (Garza).
Sherman (5) and Garza advise teachers of English not to avoid sitcoms containing difficult
language as teachers should adjust the task, not the authentic material. On the other hand,
English teachers should avoid taboo language and taboo issues and choose the video
in respect to the target age group.

3. 9. 3. Video Exploitation
In ELT, sitcoms may be utilized in many different ways, but there should always be
a clear and natural structure leading to the certain aims and objectives. Garza proposes
29

the idea of exploiting the sitcom the same way as reading a text since the strategies used
for reading work in approaching video material as well. Therefore, activities based
on the sitcom should be grouped into pre-, while- and post-watching stages. Previewing
activities makes the sitcom more easily accessible to students by introducing new
vocabulary, grammar, culture or language functions; providing background information;
and preparing the learner to comprehend the video without any simplification. Task
viewing activities enable learners to examine various layers of the episode or sequence,
and to get in touch and practice the linguistic, paralinguistic and cultural material contained
in the video. Task viewing activities usually focus on fulfilling the tasks based
on the sitcom and paying attention on relevant elements in the sequence. Follow-up
activities serve as demonstration of broader application of the material presented
in the sitcom. These activities may include building on issues and information covered
in the video and providing supplementary materials to complete the picture conveyed
by the sitcom (Garza).
As already mentioned, when preparing activities for classes of various English
levels, a teacher should never simplify the sitcom; but he/she should adjust the activities
to his/her learners' skills. Since the sitcom poses a starting point, activities are to be
inspired by the authentic audio-visual material, not vice versa (Garza, Sherman 7).
In addition, Sherman (9) provides guidelines for video activities; teachers should be always
fully prepared for their English lesson based on the sitcom, from the technical as well as
methodological point of view; he/she should avoid interrupting the video sequence
for explanations or questions, but do comprehension activities before or after watching
the scene/episode; the teacher should minimalize other activities such as writing or reading
during viewing the video; and last but not least, the teacher is supposed to find the right
balance between explaining too little and too much. She also recommends some other tips
for activities around the sitcom, for instance playing the sound without the picture in order
to enhance listening skills and students' imagination; giving learners choices to motivate
and support them in independent learning; and providing an example of what students are
supposed to do (Sherman 9).
It goes without saying that above findings constitute base for the practical part
of this diploma thesis. Thus, when working on my own guidelines for English teachers I
am going to take all these tips and instructions into consideration.
30

4. Research on Using Sitcoms in English Lessons
4. 1. Research Aim
The aim of the diploma thesis is to design guidelines for English teachers
at grammar and language schools. Prior to production of these supportive materials
for English language teaching, it has been necessary to acknowledge a theoretical base
of this research topic and take teachers' experience, ideas and needs into account.

4. 2. Definition of the Research Topic
According to the theoretical part of this diploma thesis, it is widely believed that
exploitation of sitcoms in English language classes is highly beneficial for language
acquisition. A sitcom means a very complex, powerful and motivational tool
for integrating authentic English, culture, humour and pragmatics into English lessons.
If we, teachers of English, want to take advantage of watching sitcoms in our lessons, we
should prepare the lesson built around the sitcom as thoroughly as possible. Although
watching sitcoms is usually perceived as fun and relaxation, there should be a shift
from passive watching to active learning process.
In the research part of my thesis I am interested in ordinary ways sitcoms are
utilized in English lessons. I am going to find out why teachers of English language make
use of sitcoms, alternatively why not. I am also inquiring about the advantages
and disadvantages of using sitcoms as a tool in English language teaching. Teachers
at grammar and language schools are to be asked about their attitudes to Czech and English
subtitles. I am also considering supportive materials and activities teachers employ in their
English classes.
Thus, the fundamental research questions are:
- Do teachers nowadays make use of sitcoms in their English lessons?
- What are the advantages/disadvantages of using sitcoms as a tool
in English language teaching?
- Does watching sitcoms in the lesson contribute to the active learning
process?

31

4. 3. Hypotheses
In my research, three fundamental hypotheses H1, H2 and H3 have been set:
H1: Teachers prefer Czech subtitles when working with younger students
and English subtitles when working with older ones.
H2: Students are not supposed to fulfil related tasks prior to, while
or after watching a sitcom in the English lessons.
H3: The majority of English teachers are dissatisfied with accessible ready-to-use
worksheets related to English authentic audio-visual materials.

4. 4. Experimental Group
10 participants took part in the research; 7 of them are current English teachers
at Gymnzium Tinec, 1 has been teaching at Language and Educational Centre Pygmalion
in Tinec, 1 at Dynamic English in Brno and the last one at Miramare language school
in Brno. Some of the teachers from Gymnzium Tinec run preparation courses for FCE
exam. These English teachers are of variable length of teaching experience from less than
5 years to more than 30 years and age from 26 to 60. The experimental group includes 1
man, a Canadian native speaker teaching at Gymnzium Tinec.

4. 5. Research Method
While conducting the research I combined two research methods; a quantitative
questionnaire (appendix 7) and a qualitative interview. The questionnaire consists of 10
close statements; some of them provide multiple answers. If the teacher finds the list
of options incomplete, he/she can add own specific answer(s). The first two statements
deal with the teacher's career. Statements 3 and 4 concern the technical support available
to English teachers. The rest of the questionnaire is interested in teachers' work
with authentic audio-visual materials in their lessons. Having filled in the questionnaires,
the teachers were interviewed and asked 6 main questions. The interview took
approximately 15 minutes and it was recorded with a dictaphone for the purpose of further
processing.

32

4. 6. Interpretation of Results
First of all, I am going to visualize and analyze questions provided
in the questionnaires. Then, I am to process and generalize the information gained
from the personal interviews recorded with a dictaphone. Finally, the research results are to
be compared and contrasted with the established hypotheses.

4. 6. 1. Analysis of the Questionnaires
Statement 1: I have been teaching English to students 15 years of age and older at
a) grammar school.
b) language school.
c) both grammar and language school.
Statement 2: I have been teaching English for
a) less than 5 years.
b) 5 to 15 years.
c) 15 to 30 years.
d) more than 30 years.

Fig. 7. Number of teachers working Fig. 8. Proportion of teachers with various
at grammar and language schools teaching experience
The first two statements concern a career of those teachers who have been teaching
students 15 years of age and older. According to fig. 7., half of the responding teachers
have been working only at grammar school while 2 have been teaching at grammar as well
as language school and 3 entirely at language school. Fig. 8. shows teachers' experience. It
is obvious that most of the responding teachers are experienced educators since they have
33

been teaching English more than 5 years. Furthermore, 6 teachers have been teaching more
than 15 years. We can state that the sample of teachers is suitable for the research, since it
contains more or less experienced teachers working at grammar as well as language
schools.
Statement 3: I have an access to a TV and a DVD player in every of my English
classes at least once a week.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.
Statement 4: I have an access to a computer and a data projector in every of my
English classes at least once a week.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.

Fig. 9. Proportion of teachers Fig. 10. Proportion of teachers
with an access to a TV with an access to a computer
and a DVD player and a data projector
Figures 9 and 10 demonstrate that 8 of 10 teachers of English can make use
of a TV, a DVD player, a computer and a data projector at least once a week with every
of their English classes. This implies that there are no technical limitations in employing
sitcoms in lessons of English language.

34

Statement 5: I have worked with these English authentic audio-visual materials
in my English classes:
a) feature film
b) sitcom
c) documentary
d) news
e) commercial
f) series
g) different kind of audio-visuals
Specify.....................................
h) none of these materials
Statement 6: Prior to, while or after watching English authentic audio-visual
material students are usually supposed to fulfil related tasks.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.

Fig. 11. Number of occurrences of individual Fig. 12. Proportion of teachers using
audio-visual materials in ELT activities around the sitcom
As it arises from the fig. 11., feature films are most widely used authentic
audio-visual material among questioned teachers. 6 out of 10 teachers assign they work
with sitcoms or documentaries in their English lessons. On the other hand, only one teacher
makes use of commercials in his/her lessons. Two teachers employ short authentic videos
which are integral part of so called DUMs (Digital Learning Materials) into their teaching.
Prior to, while or after watching the audio-visual material or its part, 90% of the teachers
involve, from time to time, tasks concerning the video (fig. 12.). Only one teacher stated
that although her students watch authentic video materials in English lessons, they are not
supposed to fulfil tasks related to the audio-visual material. Since this teacher does not
35

place active watching of authentic video in her lessons, she was not supposed to answer
questions 7 to 10. Therefore, the rest of the questionnaire was filled in only by 9 teachers.
Statement 7: When working with English authentic audio-visual material in my
classes I take advantage of accessible worksheets related to the material.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.
Statement 8: Choose to what extent you are satisfied with accessible worksheets
related to English authentic audio-visual materials.
a) Very satisfied.
b) Somewhat satisfied.
c) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.
d) Somewhat dissatisfied.
e) Very dissatisfied.

Fig. 13. Proportion of teachers using Fig. 14. Degree of satisfaction with
ready-to-use worksheets ready-to-use worksheets
Fig. 13. indicates that the majority of teachers take advantage of ready-to-use
worksheets when working with authentic audio-visual materials in their English lessons.
But, as presented in fig. 14., only 2 out of 9 responding teachers are satisfied, 3 teachers
are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 4 teachers are dissatisfied with the quality
of accessible materials. Some teachers who do not make use of ready-to-use worksheets do
not know where to search for these materials. Those who do not work with prepared
36

worksheets or those who are not satisfied with their quality elaborate their own
supplementary materials (fig. 15.).
Statement 9: I prepare my own worksheets related to English authentic audio-visual
materials.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.
Statement 10: I focus on these aspects in my worksheets related to English authentic
audio-visual material:
a) cultural reference
b) vocabulary and phrases (idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations)
c) sentence structures
d) varieties of English
e) pronunciation
f) stereotypes
g) pragmatics (speech acts, contextual meaning)
h) different aspect
Specify....................................

Fig. 15. Proportion of teachers preparing Fig. 16. Focus of activities in worksheets
own worksheets prepared by the teachers
Out of 9 teachers who apply active watching in their English lessons, 8 teachers
prepare their own tasks based on the sitcom (fig. 15.). Since one teacher does not prepare
her own teaching materials around the sitcom, she was not supposed to respond to the last
question in the questionnaire. According to fig. 16., in their own worksheets, teachers
37

mainly focus on vocabulary and phrases (all 8 responding teachers), cultural reference (6
teachers) and stereotypes (5 teachers). In addition to prepared answers, 2 teachers added
the item of content comprehension.

4. 6. 2. Analysis of the Interviews
Question 1: What are the advantages of using sitcoms in the English lessons?
Exposition of students to authentic, natural, real, colloquial and up to date English
has been perceived, by the majority of interviewed English teachers, as the biggest
advantage of exploiting sitcoms as a tool in ELT. The teachers appreciate natural speed
of discourse in sitcoms that contrasts with purposeful educational videos. Thanks
to experiencing diverse varieties and accents, students may compare and contrast
for instance British and American English. One of the interviewed teachers points out
learning and subsequent employing idiomatic and colloquial phrases since she learnt
French in a similar way. Watching sitcoms is a good way of practicing listening
and comprehension skills; if students do not understand some vocabulary, they can infer
the meaning from the actors' performance and gestures. The visual aspect plays a very
important part from this point of view. Another indisputable advantage of exploiting
sitcoms in English lessons is their length, which does not absorb entire 45minute lesson.
The next advantage of utilizing sitcoms in the lesson is motivational aspect of the activities
as sitcoms mean fun and enjoyment. Many students are familiar with current popular
sitcoms such as How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory; sitcoms seem to be one
of the most natural ways of television entertainment because they deal with interesting
and up to date topics. Furthermore, students may identify with the characters and their
everyday problems. The teachers think highly of sitcoms' motivation and challenging
power because of students' feedback conveyed by understanding or misunderstanding of
particular scenes.

Question 2: What are the disadvantages of using sitcoms in the English lessons?
Colloquial language, fast speech and difficulty in following up the plot are rated
among disadvantages of using sitcoms as a tool in ELT by the majority of interviewed
teachers. Concerning pronunciation and lexis, despite the fact that pronunciation in sitcoms
is generally considered to be beneficial, some teachers disapprove of students' mixing
38

of British and American accents and vocabulary. From a technological point of view,
the teachers complain about dependency on obsolete and unreliable equipment,
and insufficient access to the properly equipped classrooms. In term of lesson preparations,
building a lesson around a sitcom is perceived as extremely time consuming. Moreover,
teachers often do not know how to work with the sitcom and what activities should they
involve. Especially older teachers who do not orient themselves in popular sitcoms may
have difficulties in incorporating these authentic materials into their lessons. As a result,
many teachers prefer passive watching without follow up activities, which reminds
of watching TV at home. Unfortunately, this kind of watching sitcoms has no any
educational value and does not pose any learning effect on students. After passive
watching, there is a danger of summarizing the content of the episode on the basis
of understanding the visual scenes rather than auditory comprehension. Another
disadvantage of watching sitcoms at school is their inappropriate content; they are
interested in shallow topics like dating, and they are often too vulgar, sexist, racist
or offensive. One of the responding teachers attributes her negative attitude towards
content of sitcoms to the generation gap between her and her students; although she
respects using sitcoms in her lessons, she feels that the present young generation is very
benevolent toward improper situations and phrases which should not appear at school.
From the cultural point of view, some teachers miss references to cultural stereotypes,
customs and national holidays in today's sitcoms. In addition, students may experience
frustration from miscomprehension of humour performed in the sitcom, since what seems
to be joke in the target culture is not humorous in Czech society.

Question 3: What sitcom would you choose for your lesson?
Although the topic of the diploma thesis and the interview itself has been focused
on the usage of authentic video especially sitcoms in ELT, the majority of responding
teachers at Gymnzium Tinec mentioned the educational sitcom Extr@. This sitcom does
not work with authentic language since the speed of speech is slowed down
and the characters do not use complex and colloquial language. Despite all these
disadvantages typical of intentional educational materials, sitcom Extr@ is considered
to be a good starting point for integrating authentic sitcoms into English lessons. Teachers
make use of this sitcom particularly in classes of younger learners of elementary
and pre-intermediate level of English. However, in the classes of older and intermediate
39

students, teachers employ watching authentic sitcoms such as How I Met Your Mother, The
Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd and Friends. Teachers choose the episode of the particular
sitcom according to the topic they want to refer to and also according to their own
expectations.

Question 4: Would you take students' favourite sitcoms into consideration?
The majority of responding teachers take their students' ideas and wishes
into account when choosing a sitcom for the English lesson. Some of them even leave
the decision about the sitcom entirely on his/her learners. From the experience
of an interviewed teacher, it turned out that girls prefer watching How I Met Your Mother,
while boys give priority to The Big Bang Theory. When eliciting students' wishes
and preferences, teachers would apply various methods from discussion, through activities
dealing with television, to questionnaires. Some teachers prefer watching the sitcom
according to their students' choice in order to avoid boredom and the loss of interest. Other
teachers accept students' choice under the condition that they identify with the sitcom
themselves and the sitcom fulfils his/her own requirements such as wit; the lack
of vulgarity, violence and sexual undertones. On the other hand, there are English teachers
who prefer introducing new and unfamiliar sitcoms to their students in order to surprise
them.

Question 5: Would you use authentic English video with or without Czech/English
subtitles?
All responding teachers perceive the issue of subtitles in a very similar way; most
of them use Czech subtitles with younger and elementary/pre-intermediate learners,
English subtitles with older and intermediate students and authentic English video
without subtitles only with the most advanced classes. Another criterion for using subtitles
is the level of difficulty, the speed of the speech and the complexity of the English
language involved. Advocates for using Czech subtitles claim that watching sitcoms
in English is quite problematic because of fast speed of discourses, difficulties in getting
the jokes, mixed ability classes in terms of English proficiency and the scientific language,
for instance The Big Bang Theory. They believe that Czech subtitles help to avoid
confusion, appreciate qualities of English language and get cultural reference, although
the English language, for instance jokes, cannot be translated directly into Czech because
40

of different cultural context. On the other hand, some teachers disapprove of using Czech
subtitles as they tempt students to read Czech without listening to English language.
The majority of responding teachers prefer using English subtitles as a compromise
between Czech subtitles and watching authentic video without subtitles. Teachers would
not make use of any subtitles under the condition that their students are familiar
with the Czech version of the video or when they are supposed to fulfil tasks which require
listening comprehension. They also recommend playing short, even 2minute, sequences
in order to make students get used to listening to authentic English.

Question 6: In what way do you employ authentic audio-visual materials in your
English lessons?
Some of the interviewed teachers make use of sitcoms as a way of escape
from ordinary lessons based on grammar or vocabulary practice; some of them employ
activities on the spot in reaction to the actions in the episode; other employ watching
a short sequence at the beginning of their lesson in order to warm up and motivate students
for the subsequent activities in the English lesson. The teachers cannot deny the fact that
they mostly play videos during substitute teaching or before a holiday, in other words,
watching sitcoms means enjoyment and relaxation without educational value. Although
these teachers do not usually prepare their own worksheets, they elicit understanding
of the content, check students' attention and highlight important phrases after watching
the sequence or the episode. Others prepare a worksheet for the following lesson in order
to practice useful phrases occurring in the episode, for instance ordering meal
in the restaurant. Teachers may also take advantage of a sitcom as a tool for warming up
activity at the beginning of the lesson or a supplementary material for illustrating the topic
in focus, for example life styles in How I Met Your Mother. Thus, the activities
in worksheets are usually based on the topic rather than the sitcom itself. However, there
are teachers who prepare activities around the sitcom; for instance searching for the certain
Czech expression in the English sitcom, true and false sentences, filling in a sentence,
providing answers to the questions or vice versa. Creative teachers apply alternative
activities like reading the script instead of the characters while muting the sitcom.



41

4. 7. Verification of Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Teachers prefer Czech subtitles when working with younger students
and English subtitles when working with older ones.
In order to verify this statement, it is necessary to summarize findings based
on the question 5 of the interview. According to the responding teachers, Czech subtitles
should be used when working with younger students, elementary or pre-intermediate
students and if the language in the sitcom is too difficult to follow. On the other hand,
English subtitles may be used when working with older students, intermediate or more
advanced students and if the language in the sitcom is easy to follow. Therefore,
hypothesis 1 has been accepted.
Hypothesis 2: Students are not supposed to fulfil related tasks prior to, while
or after watching a sitcom in the English lesson.
This hypothesis is based on the assumption, that students at grammar and language
schools watch sitcoms for enjoyment without any educational aims. This presupposition
has been disproved by statement no. 6 of the questionnaire, when 9 out of 10 teachers
acknowledge performing activities built around the sitcom. Although during the personal
interview (question no. 6) many responding teachers admit predominant passive watching
of sitcoms in their lessons, they usually check students' comprehension of the content.
Thus, hypothesis 2 has been rejected.
Hypothesis 3: The majority of English teachers are dissatisfied with accessible
ready-to-use worksheets related to English authentic audio-visual materials.
Hypothesis no. 3 presupposes that English teachers do not often incorporate sitcoms
into the active learning process because they are not satisfied with the quality of already
prepared worksheets which are accessible especially on the Internet. Statement no. 8
of the questionnaire reflects that 4 out of 9 responding teachers are dissatisfied to a certain
degree, while 3 teachers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and only 2 teachers
are satisfied with ready-to-use worksheets. Therefore, hypothesis 3 has been accepted.



42

4. 8. Conclusion and Evaluation of the Research Results
Thanks to conducting the research on using sitcoms as a tool in English language
teaching, I have assured myself of the need for active employment of sitcoms in English
lessons. An analysis of obtained data proves that from the technological point of view,
there are no obstacles in integrating sitcoms into ELT. From the teachers' perspective,
inclusion of sitcoms into ELT is prevented especially by insufficient ready-to-use
supportive materials, time-consuming process connected with creating own worksheets and
students' incapability of comprehending English sitcoms without subtitles.
In the practical part of my diploma thesis I am going to prepare a set of activities
and guidelines, which would shift passive watching for entertainment without educational
purpose to watching for active learning.
43

5. Guidelines for English Teachers
The guidelines for teachers of English at secondary and language schools have been
created with respect to theoretical knowledge of sitcoms as a tool for English language
teaching and the research on using sitcoms in English lessons. This guidelines includes not
only the ready-to-use set of activities based on three particular episodes but also
a description of the production process which may serve as the instructions for building
a lesson around a sitcom by teachers themselves.

5. 1. Target Group
As already mentioned in chapter 4., sitcoms are sometimes perceived
as inappropriate for educational purposes because of taboo issues such as sex, racism
or violence. Therefore, the target group for the introduction of sitcoms into English lessons
is suggested to be 15 years of age and older. The next argument for teaching English
via sitcoms to older teenagers and young adults is their enthusiasm in watching sitcoms
in their free time.
Regarding a target group's English level of proficiency, it depends on the way
a teacher of English wants to employ the sitcom in his/her lesson; activities which do not
require students' overall understanding of the authentic language (for instance the activity
Cultural Background) are suitable even for the students of elementary level. However,
the majority of designed activities aim at the students of pre-intermediate to advanced
levels of English (B1 to C2 of Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages).
Concerning the size of the class when working with the sitcom in the English
lesson, there should be at most 16 learners present. A considerable amount of the activities
has been intended for pair work, therefore there should be an even number of students
if possible.
As far as the length of the lesson is concerned, if the entire session is based
on the sitcom and relating activities, the class should take one and a half hour. Therefore, I
highly recommend making use of sitcoms at language schools and in the optional English
seminars at secondary schools. However, an English teacher can also utilize a sitcom or its
44

parts in a 45minute lesson, for instance for putting his/her students into context
of the lesson topic.

5. 2. Classroom Technology Equipment
Since the selected sitcoms (see 5. 3.) are available for online watching
on the Internet, the classroom where the lesson built around the sitcom takes place should
be equipped with a personal computer or a laptop with the Internet access. To play
the sitcom to the whole class, the computer should be interconnected with a data projector
and external speakers. If teachers of English prefer different sources of sitcoms than
the online streaming on the Internet, requirements for classroom technology equipment can
be adapted to the medium (see 3. 1.). In order to maximize benefits from the teaching
via sitcoms, teachers are supposed be fully prepared for the lesson, in other words, they can
operate with the necessary hardware and software; they know where to find, rent or buy
the particular sitcom; and they arrange the particular scenes including their timing.

5. 3. Selection of the Sitcoms
Prior to actual production of the activities, the selection of suitable episodes of three
different sitcoms preceded; The IT Crowd, How I Met Your Mother and Black Books.
HIMYM and The IT Crowd were chosen on the basis of their popularity among teenage
and young adult learners while the choice of Black Books arose from my personal interest.
The choice of the particular episodes was more or less random. However, criteria
for the episodes selection were: interesting, useful and appropriate content; accessibility
of their scripts; and also high audio/visual correlation. Since Yesterday's Jam (The IT
Crowd), The Best Burger in New York (How I Met Your Mother) and Manny Come Home
(Black Books) meet the expectations, they are exploited in the activities.
Yesterday's Jam is the first episode of the first series of the British sitcom IT Crowd
and was released in 2006. Its main theme deals with a job interview and unfulfilled
expectations about a new job. The episode is highly relevant for present teenagers
and young adults not only because of issue of getting used to a new job but also because
of the world of information and communication technologies. Besides the tempting topic,
the episode involves useful phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions (see appendix 1,
exercises 1 and 3). Yesterday's Jam is available free of charge on YouTube.
45

The Best Burger in New York is the second episode of the fourth series of American
sitcom How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) and was released in 2008. Its main topics are
concerned with a search for the best hamburger in New York and Marshall's fruitless
looking for a job. The main contribution to the English learning consists in authentic
American English and cultural reference to the American most populated city, New York
(see appendix 3, exercise 4). Unfortunately, in the Czech Republic, this episode is not
available free of charge; it has to be either obtained from the DVD shop or downloaded
from some paid websites for a fee, for instance from Amazon.
Manny Come Home is the first episode of the third series of British sitcom Black
Books and was released in 2004. In this episode Bernard and Manny's dispute is in focus.
Its main benefit for the English learning lies in the exaggerated usage of paralinguistic
features and irony (see appendix 5, exercises 6 and 7). Like Yesterday's Jam, this episode
is also available free of charge on YouTube.

5. 4. Scripts
In spite of the fact that the majority of English teachers prefer watching sitcoms
with English or Czech subtitles, I decided to work without any subtitles in the designed
activities. However, I integrated exploitation of scripts (appendices 2, 4 and 6)
to the selected episodes in solving some tasks. The script may be used either before (see
Script Reading in 5. 8. 1. ), during (see Dubbing in 5. 8. 2.) or after viewing the episode
(see Acting out the Scene in 5. 8. 3.). The scripts also serve as a tool for checking the right
answers; students may employ the scripts in the self-evaluation process of their listening
skills.

5. 5. Compilation of the Activities
The production of activities arises from the ideas recommended by Sherman, Allan
and Garza (see 3. 9.), and also from the interviewed English teachers' opinions.
Since I have been aiming at students' active learning via sitcoms, the activities are
to be used mainly in the English lessons dedicated entirely to the episode or its parts.
In order to maximize the benefits of the active learning process, 30 tasks based on three
episodes (see 5. 3.) were classified into three main groups; pre-viewing (5. 8. 1.),
while-viewing (5. 8. 2.) and post-viewing (5. 8. 3.) activities. All the activities were
46

inspired by the particular sitcom, therefore there is always a connection between an activity
description and a practical demonstration based on the specific episode. Altogether, there
are always 10 activities in each group: pre-, while- and post-viewing, which refer
to the same amount of practical examples built around Yesterday's Jam (appendix 1),
The Best Burger in New York (appendix 3) and Manny Come Home (appendix 5). All
the tasks are equally distributed among these three episodes, which proves almost universal
utility of the designed activities. Nevertheless, several activities show a high correlation
between the activity and the particular sitcom, for instance Violating the Conversation in 5.
8. 2. and Advertisement in 5. 8. 3.

5. 6. Activities Layout
Besides the aspect of universality, the activities also uncover multiple layers
of the sitcoms. In other words, the authentic language, culture, paralinguistic features
and humorous situations can be examined in the same episode. Each of the designed
activities is equipped with the green letter(s) indicating what of these layers are developed
by the task (see tab. 2.). In addition, every activity is marked with the orange letters
indicating two perception skills: listening and reading; and two productive skills: speaking
and writing (see tab. 3.).
Tab. 2. Layers exploited in sitcoms Tab. 3. Language skills developed via sitcoms
symbol meaning
AL authentic language
C culture
P pragmatics
H humour

Leading feature of the activity is the title, which provides a general idea
about the task. Then, a brief description of the teacher's and the learners' roles
in the activity follow. This description also introduces benefits of the activity
for the students consisting in enhancement of English language acquisition and personal
development. Last but not least, advice about possible modifications and timing
of the activity; organisation and evaluation of students' work; and the link to the practical
example are provided.


symbol skill
L listening
R reading
S speaking
W writing
47

5. 7. Exploitation of the Activities
As already mentioned, the designed activities are more or less general in their
nature. Therefore, a teacher of English can select any sitcom and pick some of these
ready-to-use activities in order to exploit it in his/her English lessons. If the teacher intends
to take advantage of the activities with the class of less advanced English learners, he/she
can adjust them according to his/her students' needs. The sets of activities based
on the individual episodes do not serve as ready-to-use worksheets; they rather constitute
a source of inspiration where interesting and useful activities can be found.

5. 8. Activities with Sitcoms
5. 8. 1. Pre-viewing Activities
Serious Issues to Be Discussed S
A teacher prepares a set of questions based on the dominant theme of the episode.
The aim of this activity is to put learners into context via discussing personal issues.
The task is highly motivating since learners usually like talking about themselves and their
life experiences. Moreover, the activity develops students' speaking skills
and communicative competence. The learners are supposed to work in pairs or small
groups.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: pair/group work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation and self-correction during the speaking; the teacher
observes student's work.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 1.

Vocabulary Mind Map W
This activity serves as a tool for revision of vocabulary in order to put learners
into context. A teacher may suggest an umbrella term interconnecting words in the mind
map. When working with less advanced groups, he/she can specify the task; for example
divides the mind map into branches according to the parts of speech. Besides
contextualizing vocabulary occurring in the sitcom, the students cultivate their memory,
48

cognitive and logic skills. After finishing the activity, the students piece their ideas and
expressions together.
Timing: 3 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation; the students count and compare their words in the mind
map with the rest of the class. A learner whose mind map contains most expressions wins.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 2.

Prediction from the Title W, S H
Before viewing the episode, students are provided with its title. On the basis
of the title, the learners try to guess what the story is about. They may either tell the ideas
to the partner or write them down on a piece of paper. After watching the episode,
the students compare and contrast their predictions with reality.
Timing: 3 minutes.
Organisation: pair/individual work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation after watching the episode, comparing and contrasting
own ideas with the sitcom.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 4.

Prediction from the Previous Episode R, S AL
Before watching the sitcom, students are provided with the description
of the previous episode. They are asked to develop the plot on the basis of this description
and discuss their ideas with the partner. Thanks to this activity the learners do not only
develop their imagination, reading and speaking skills, but they get also familiar with the
story background.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: pair work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation after watching the episode, comparing and contrasting
own ideas with the sitcom.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 1.

49

Prediction from the Snapshots S
Prior to viewing the episode, the sets of snapshots from the episode are distributed
among learners. The students are asked to work in pairs and develop the story on the basis
of the episode snapshots. Besides enhancing students' speaking skills, the activity also
broadens their imagination and contextualises subsequent sitcom viewing.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: pair work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation after watching the episode, comparing and contrasting
own ideas with the sitcom.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 3.

Script Reading R H, C, AL
Before watching the episode in the classroom, a teacher provides his/her students
with the script of this episode and asks them to read it at home. Thanks to this activity
the learners familiarize themselves with the characters, plot and language so as to be able
to focus entirely on listening comprehension, paralinguistic features and humorous
moments when watching the sitcom in the English lesson. The activity offers a choice
and autonomy to the learners; they can read the script as long as they need, look up
unfamiliar expressions or highlight humorous scenes. Consequently, the students may
really enjoy watching the sitcom and experience the sense of achievement in the lesson
because they would be able to appreciate the language in terms of lexis, grammar
structures, culture, humour and pragmatics.
Alternative: the activity can be introduced the other way round; the students are
provided with the script after watching the episode.
Timing: according to individual student's needs.
Organisation: individual work as homework.
Evaluation: self-evaluation of the language knowledge.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 2.



50

Phrasal Verbs Gap Filling W, R AL
The activity serves as a tool for pre-teaching some phrasal verbs occurring
in the episode. Instead of providing a ready-to-use list of phrasal verbs and their
definitions, a teacher chooses getting accustomed to the new expressions via gaps filling
activity. Learners are provided with the list of phrasal verbs and sentences with the blank
spaces; their task is to fill a suitable expression into a sentence. After finishing the activity,
the class checks the right answers together in order to avoid consequential
miscomprehension of these phrasal verbs during viewing process. Teachers should beware
of presenting every single phrasal verb appearing in the episode, unless their number is
limited to fifteen in maximum.
Alternative: instead of phrasal verbs, idioms or other expressions may be used.
Timing: 7 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: the teacher checks the right answers together with his/her students.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 1.

Idiom Pairing S H, AL
This activity is a tool for pre-teaching idioms and colloquial expressions occurring
in the episode. Half of the students are given cards with the idioms while the second half is
given the definitions of these idioms. The learner's task is to find a partner
with the definition to his/her idiomatic expression. Besides pre-teaching unfamiliar
vocabulary, this activity is also useful for splitting the class into pairs. Furthermore,
the activity may motivate and amuse the learners since they move around the classroom
while searching for the suitable partner.
Alternative: instead of idioms and colloquial language, phrasal verbs or other
expressions may be used.
Timing: 3 minutes.
Organisation: the whole class.
Evaluation: the teacher elicits the right answers from his/her students.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 3.


51

Appearance Matters W, S H
This activity makes students familiar with the characters in an enjoyable way.
The learners are distributed with the photos of the main characters. They are supposed
to write a short characterization of the person on the basis of his/her appearance. Each
student is given just one character. They are supposed to write some information
about the person's job, status, age, hobbies, bad habits and aspirations. After writing
the character's description, chosen students are asked to introduce their characters
to the rest of the class. Thanks to this activity the learners get not only familiar with
the main characters of the sitcom but they also integrate writing, speaking, humour
and imagination into the learning process.
Timing: 7 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: peer evaluation during characters presentation; comparing
and contrasting own ideas with the sitcom.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 2.

Only Sound, No Picture L, S AL, H
This activity is again a lead-in activity into the episode. A teacher covers the screen
and plays the sound of the particular scene. Students are listening to the extract and they
are taking notes. They hear the part twice in order to notice other features such as accent,
intonation, tone and speed of the speech. After listening task, each student shares his/her
ideas about the place, the participants, the issue and the general mood with the partner.
Finally, the students watch the scene in order to compare and contrast their own notions.
The activity should develop learners' listening and speaking skills as well as imagination.
Timing: 7 minutes.
Organisation: individual and pair work.
Evaluation: peer evaluation; comparing and contrasting own ideas with the sitcom.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 5.



52

5. 8. 2. While-viewing Activities
Personal Vocabulary List W AL
Since sitcoms are authentic materials presenting natural English, they are rich
in expressions students are not familiar with. Hence, the learners are asked to create their
own vocabulary lists containing unfamiliar and appealing words and phrases. Via this
activity, a teacher strengthens the students' autonomy in learning as they have
the opportunity for compiling their own vocabulary. The learners may either look up
the expressions in the dictionary during the lesson, after watching the episode,
or as homework.
Timing: 20 minutes (during the episode).
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: the teacher monitors students' work during the task.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 4.

Cultural Background L AL, C
Since most sitcoms are British or American, they contain cultural references
to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States
of America. Students are asked to notice as much information about a place in the episode
as possible; they should focus on the typical features of the place, people's habits, way
of life, food, housing and transport. The learners are also supposed to notice some
interesting features about the characters' accent.
Timing: 20 minutes (during the episode).
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: the teacher monitors student's work during the task; the whole class
bring the ideas together in the following discussion.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 4.

Wordplay L H, AL, C
In this activity, students focus on the expressions that do not belong to the ordinary
vocabulary but that are the products of the episode. The learners are asked to notice
humorous expressions made by characters on the spot in the certain situations.
53

After bringing their responses together, the students are supposed to invent the Czech
analogy to these English expressions. This activity is very demanding, since it requires not
only rather advanced level of English but also good understanding of the target and home
cultures.
Alternative: the students may be asked to introduce their own humorous
expressions that would depict the certain situation.
Timing: 20 minutes (during watching the episode).
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: the teacher monitors student's work during the task. Students share their
ideas about the Czech translation and agree on the best ones.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 7.

Adjectives Race L, W AL
This activity focuses on adjectives occurring in the episode. Students are asked
to pay attention to adjectives in an extract of the video. Hearing the adjective, the learners
note it on the piece of paper. They have to beware of making spelling mistakes.
After watching and listening to the video extract, the students count adjectives on their list.
Then, they exchange the list with their partner and correct each other's spelling
of the adjectives. Whenever anybody finds a mistake, he/she crosses the misspelt word.
The student with the most adjectives left on the list is the winner. Thanks to its competitive
nature, the activity is very challenging and motivating.
Alternative: the activity can be adjusted to various parts of speech or topics such
as colours or numbers.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: individual and pair work.
Evaluation: peer evaluation.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 5.

Mediated Watching L, S H
A teacher chooses a humorous scene full of action and turns the sound of the sitcom
down. Learners are asked to work in pairs; one of them is sitting backward to a screen
while the other one is watching the scene and describing what is happening.
54

After watching the short sequence, the teacher turns the volume up and the student sitting
back to the screen turns round in order to watch the scene. This learner can compare
and contrast his/her image with reality. Students' roles in the pair interchange
and the process repeats with a different scene in focus. This activity promotes learner's
imagination as well as speaking and listening skills.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: pair work.
Evaluation: peer evaluation when comparing the partner's description
with the scene.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 3.

Dubbing R, L, S AL, H, P
Students are given a script of a particular scene. First of all, they are asked to read
the script while watching the scene of the sitcom. Then, a teacher divides students
into groups of as many people as characters acting in the scene. Each learner reads aloud
the script of his/her character. Then a teacher turns the volume of the sitcom down.
Students are supposed to dub voices of the characters in a convincing way. Their task is
to play with their voices, intonation and articulation. Besides practicing real English
pronunciation, learners also experience enjoyment, cooperation and feeling of cooperation
in the team work.
Alternative: The teacher omits the first stage of the process, watching the scene
with sound. Students are supposed to dub the characters' voices on their own and only
afterwards they are shown the scene with sound. Thus, they can compare own and real
characters' quality of dubbing.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: group work.
Evaluation: after performance of every group, the rest of the class vote for the best
dubbing team.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 8.



55

Subtitles Translator R, W C, AL, H
Students are given a part of the script, for example a scene. First of all, they are
asked to read the script while watching the scene of the sitcom. Afterwards, the learners try
to provide Czech subtitles for the script in respect to different cultural schemata of both
cultures. Students are allowed to use dictionaries. This activity should demonstrate
students' sense for English as well as Czech language and culture.
Alternative: Each pair of students is given a different scene; subtitles translation
covers the whole episode.
Timing: 15 minutes.
Organisation: pair work (individual work as homework).
Evaluation: a teacher checks the translation and provides a feedback.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 6.

Violating the Conversation L, S P, AL, H
In common conversations, participants follow a so called cooperative principle.
However, there arise situations in which this principle is violated. This activity focuses
on a disrupted conversation and students' task is to detect places which do not correspond
with the cooperative principle. After discovering the problematic points
in the conversation, the learners are given the script of this part and asked to remake
the conversation so as to meet requirements of a proper dialogue. The students produce
their new dialogues in pairs. This activity leads to appreciation of humour arising
from the violated conversation, understanding the rules of conversation and production
of dialogue in respect of those rules.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: pair work.
Evaluation: the teacher monitors and evaluates each pair; some pairs are chosen
to present in front of the class.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 5.




56

Characters' Feelings W, S P, AL
A teacher selects scenes of the sitcoms which are full of emotions
and paralinguistic features, for instance gestures. He/she mutes the video and plays
the chosen extracts. Students are supposed to focus on characters' facial expressions
and acts in order to detect their mood and feelings. At the first stage, the learners write
their ideas on a piece of paper, at the next stage they discuss the issue with the partners
and finally the teacher plays the sitcom with sound. Thus, the learners may compare
and contrast their ideas with the video. This activity supports the learners in better
understanding of people's motives and behaviour.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: individual and pair work.
Evaluation: students compare and contrast their ideas with their partners
and with the video.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 7.

Irony and Mocking L P, C, AL, H
As sitcoms are a valuable source of natural English, they also include so called
hidden meaning such as irony and mocking. In order to detect these hidden meanings,
students must understand characters' facial expressions, gestures and changes in pitch
and tone of their voices. Hence, this activity focuses on points in the episode that embody
features of irony and mocking. The learners are supposed to record these moments
and discuss them in pairs after watching the whole episode. The teacher distributes
the scripts of the extracts containing irony and mocking, and he/she plays the scenes again.
Thus, the learners are fully aware of hidden meaning in the sitcom. Thanks to this activity,
the students not only develop understanding of lexical meanings but primarily pragmatic
meaning of the utterances.
Timing: 20 minutes (during watching the sitcom).
Organisation: individual and pair work.
Evaluation: the students compare their understanding of hidden meanings
with the partners; they assure themselves of understanding the meaning by reading
the script and second watching of the selected scenes.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 6.
57

5. 8. 3. Post-viewing Activities
Acting out the Scene S, L P, AL
A teacher chooses a scene, which is full of action and provides a script to his/her
learners. After viewing this scene of the sitcom, students are divided into groups
of as many people as characters acting in the scene. The learners in the groups are
supposed to rehearse for their own show. Then, each group performs the scene including
movements, gestures, props or background noises. Besides practicing real English
pronunciation, learners also experience enjoyment, cooperation and feeling of cooperation
in the team work.
Alternative: Each group may be given different scene; therefore, the performances
can cover the entire episode of the sitcom and bring even more fun in English language
learning.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: group work.
Evaluation: after performance of every group, the rest of the class vote for the best
show.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 9.

Alternative Title W AL, H
After viewing the whole episode of the sitcom, a teacher asks his/her students
to find the connection between the content and the title of the episode. Then, the learners
are supposed to invent a brand new title to this episode based on its content. He/she insists
on involving their creativity and wit in fulfilling the task. The teacher may limit the length
of the title to the certain number of words, for example five at the most.
Timing: 3 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: students present their ideas and vote for the best title.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 7.



58

Czech Translation of the Title W C, AL, H
After viewing the whole episode of the sitcom, a teacher asks his/her students
to translate the English title of the episode into Czech. Students are supposed to integrate
their creativity and wit on fulfilling the task. Insight into both cultures is necessary
for proper translation into Czech. The teacher may limit the length of the title to the certain
number of words, for example five at the most.
Timing: 3 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: students present their ideas and vote for the best title.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 8.

Episode Summary W, R AL
After watching the episode, learners are supposed to write a short summary
of the plot for the official websites presenting the sitcom. By this activity, a teacher checks
his/her students' understanding of the storyline. Besides demonstrating their vocabulary
stock and comprehension of the plot, the students are supposed to involve appropriate
writing style and level of formality. After finishing the writing, the teacher supplies
the students with the episode description from the official websites. Thus, the learners may
compare and contrast their own pieces of writing with the summary provided by the sitcom
producers.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: self-evaluation after writing the summary, comparing and contrasting
own writing with the official article.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 6.

True or False Sentences L, R AL
A teacher prepares a set of statements based on the episode; the statements are
either true or false. This activity examines not only students' comprehension of the video
but also understanding the true/false statements. Since the activity is usually a part
59

of Cambridge English tests, the teacher may exploit true/false sentences for testing
learners' listening and reading skills.
Timing: 10 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: assessment is provided by the English teacher.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 8.

Advertisement L, S, W H, AL, P
An English teacher makes his/her students watch an extract which is an promotion
in its nature. After viewing the video, the learners are provided with its script and explain
to their partners what the typical features of persuasive language are. After pointing out
typical features of advertisement, the learners are asked to work in small groups and create
their own slogan on their favourite product or service in a form of a poster. During this
activity the students have to apply English language and expressions appropriate
to the persuasive function. Besides learning more about the language and its functions,
the students enhance their creativity and the sense of cooperation in the team work.
The learners illustrate the poster and display it on the classroom walls. The class votes
for the best advertisement.
Timing: 20 minutes.
Organisation: pair and group work.
Evaluation: students create their posters, display them on the wall and vote
for the best one.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 10.

Characters' Characterisation L P, AL
A teacher provides his/her students with the list of personal adjectives which
characterise characters in the episode. The learners' task is to classify these adjectives
according to the characters. The aim of this activity is to check students' understanding
of characters' qualities implied from their behaviour. In addition, the task tests learners'
knowledge and application of personal adjectives in the given context.
Timing: 5 minutes.
60

Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: checking in pairs; the teacher elicits the right answers from the class.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 9.

Comprehension Questions L, W C, P, AL, H
A teacher prepares a set of questions in order to test students' comprehension
of the episode. These questions are based on language as well as cultural and pragmatic
comprehension.
Timing: 7 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: the English teacher assesses his/her students' overall understanding
of the sitcom.
Example: appendix 5, exercise 10.

Who said so? L, R H, AL
This follow-up activity examines students' comprehension and attention they have
paid to the plot. Furthermore, it highlights important and humorous statements appearing
in the episode. The learners' task is to classify these statements according to the characters
who uttered them. The activity also tests learners' memory as they have to remember who
said what in the sitcom.
Timing: 5 minutes.
Organisation: individual work.
Evaluation: peer evaluation in pairs; the class checks the right answers together.
Example: appendix 1, exercise 10.

Clash of the Characters S P, H
This activity checks students' understanding of character's temper and nature.
Students are divided into groups of as many people as main characters occurring
in the episode. Each of the students decides what character he/she wants to personalize.
As every student in the group constitutes one of the characters, a teacher assigns a situation
in which these characters occur. The learners' task is to behave and act like the characters
61

they constitute in the given situation. During the activity the students focus
on the character's peculiarities and try to imitate them. The activity not only induces
relaxed atmosphere but also develops students' communicative skills and creativity.
Timing: 8 minutes.
Organisation: group work.
Evaluation: the teacher monitors and evaluates each group; one or two groups are
chosen to present in front of the class.
Example: appendix 3, exercise 9.


















62

6. Conclusion
The main aim of this diploma thesis was to create guidelines for English teachers
of secondary and language schools which contain a set of pre-, while- and post-viewing
activities covering all four language skills as well as authentic language, culture,
pragmatics and humour in the examined sitcoms. The production of the guidelines resulted
from the study of relevant printed and electronic sources, and subsequent research on using
sitcoms in English lessons.
In the theoretical part, the examination of the academic sources led
to the acknowledgement of sitcoms as the important tool for English language teaching.
The significance of sitcoms consists in their motivation power, humorous nature, authentic
and up-to-date English, cultural references to English speaking societies and real casual
interactions between people. Thanks to visual as well as verbal elements in sitcoms,
learners are exposed to the authentic language produced in real life situations
and discourses. Since sitcoms cover multiple layers from authentic language, through
culture to language functions, they develop learners' communicative competence.
Furthermore, teaching English via sitcoms follows Framework Education Programme
for Secondary General Education not only in the educational area Language and language
communication foreign language but also in the cross-curricular subjects Education
towards thinking in global contexts, Multicultural education and Media education.
Theoretical foundations for the practical part were also laid by introducing hardware
and software requirements for a classroom where the sitcom viewing takes place, various
media and sources of sitcoms, and especially the process of building the lesson around
a sitcom.
I conducted the research, based on the questionnaire and the interview, in order
to take English teachers' ideas and experience into consideration prior the compilation
of the guidelines. It arises from the research results that the majority of English classrooms
are sufficiently equipped for involving sitcoms in the lessons. Unfortunately, passive
watching predominates over active learning while viewing sitcoms since English teachers
miss sufficient ready-to-use supportive materials; production of own worksheets is rather
time consuming process; and students are incapable of understanding English sitcoms
without Czech or English subtitles. Therefore, I decided to create a set of activities which
would promote students' active language learning in an enjoyable but effective way.
63

The final product of this thesis is a set of 30 activities and guidelines for English
teachers which were created in respect to theoretical and research part of the work.
Although I was considering producing worksheets that would contain the specific tasks
based on the selected episodes at first; eventually, I decided to compile rather a general set
of pre-, while- and post-viewing activities which can be related to any sitcom. Instead
of subtitles, I worked with scripts in the activities. The scripts are not supposed to be read
while viewing the sitcom; they serve rather a control and evaluation function. All
the designed activities cover four language skills and multiple layers integrated in a sitcom:
English authentic language, culture, pragmatics and humour. The guidelines for English
teachers contain detailed description of the process from specifying the target group,
through classroom technological equipment, selection of the suitable sitcom, compilation
of the activities and exploitation of the activities to detailed information about all 30
activities. Furthermore, each of these activities is related to one of the chosen episodes:
Yesterday's Jam (The IT Crowd), The Best Burger in New York (How I Met Your Mother)
or Manny Come Home (Black Books).
I believe that this diploma thesis, especially the guidelines for English teachers
and the set of activities around the sitcoms, is a very valuable source of inspiration
for teachers of English at secondary and grammar schools. They may either exploit
the ready-to-use activities based on the particular sitcom or adapt the activities
to the sitcom of their choice.









64

Resum
Diplomov prce se zabv situanmi komediemi jako nstroji ve vuce
anglickho jazyka na stednch a jazykov kolch. Teoretick rmec prce je vymezen
charakteristikou nru situan komedie a vyuitm situanch komedi v hodinch
anglickho jazyka. V tto sti jsou vzneseny poadavky na technick vybaven
jazykovch ueben; je zkoumn vztah situanch komedi k Rmcovmu vzdlvacmu
programu pro gymnzia; jsou odhaleny jednotliv vzjemn psobc vrstvy situan
komedie motivace, humor, autentick jazyk, kultura a pragmatika; je zkoumna verbln
a vizuln sloka situanch komedi; a jsou uvedeny teoretick zklady pro praktickou
st.
Praktick st prce zahrnuje vzkum tkajc se vyuvn situanch komedi
v hodinch anglickho jazyka a tvorbu metodickho nvodu pro uitele anglickho jazyka.
Vzkum spov v analze dotaznk a osobnch rozhovorech s uiteli anglickho jazyka
na stednch a jazykovch kolch. Vsledn produkt tto diplomov prce zahrnuje
soubor aktivit zaloench na vybranch situanch komedich a jejich scnch, jako i
metodick nvod pro vyuujc anglickho jazyka.

Summary
This diploma thesis deals with sitcoms as a tool for English language teaching
at secondary and language schools. The theoretical framework of the thesis consists
in definition of a sitcom as a genre and using sitcoms in English lessons. In this part,
technological requirements for English classrooms are posed; relations of sitcoms
to Framework Education Programme for Secondary Grammar Education are examined;
multiple interacting layers of sitcoms such as motivation, humour, authentic language,
culture and pragmatics are uncovered; visual and verbal components are studied;
and theoretical foundations for the practical part are set.
The practical part of the thesis includes the research on employing sitcoms
in English lessons and the production of guidelines for English teachers. The research
consists in analysis of questionnaires and interviews with teachers of English at secondary
and language schools. The final product of the thesis contains the set of activities based
on the selected sitcoms and their scripts as well as the guidelines for teachers of English.

65

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70

Appendices
Appendix 1: Activities on Yesterday's Jam (The IT Crowd)
Appendix 2: Script of Yesterday's Jam (The IT Crowd)
Appendix 3: Activities on The Best Burger in New York (HIMYM)
Appendix 4: Script of The Best Burger in New York (HIMYM)
Appendix 5: Activities on Manny Come Home (Black Books)
Appendix 6: Script of Manny Come Home (Black Books)
Appendix 7: The Questionnaire for English Teachers at Secondary and Language Schools












Appendix 1: Activities on Yesterday's J am (The I T Crowd)
Pre-viewing Activities
1. Phrasal Verbs Filling
Fill the suitable phrasal verbs into the gaps in the sentences below. Use appropriate
tenses.
size sb. up turn on turn off toss sth. away get on great get rid of sb.
get to know sb. make up pass out check up on sb. plug sth. in tell on sb.
take sb. through
a) It was too hot, Jane couldn't take a breath and she finally ______________.
b) I didn't need the train ticket anymore, so I _______ it ________.
c) She ___________ her classmate who had cheated on the exam.
d) George ____________ an unbelievable excuse.
e) Before you start working on your computer you have to _______it ____. And when you
finish your work, you should ________ it _____ in order to save electricity.
f) Tim and Simon are the best friends they ______ ________ _________.
g) Peter came to the department just a week ago, we are _____ ___ ____ him.
h) I was afraid my TV had been broken, then I realized I hadn't _____ the TV __.
i) Maria is very complicated and reserved, so I found it difficult to _____her ____.
j) The boss was interested in our progress, so he _______ _____ ______ us.
k) I can't stand a new employee in my company, I hope I manage to _____ _____ _____
her soon.
l) I don't understand these instructions, I need somebody to _______ me ____ it.

Key: a) passed out, b) tossed it away, c) told on, d) made up, e) turn it on, turn it
off, f) get on great, g) getting to know, h) plugged the TV in, i) size her up, j)
checked up on, k) get rid of, l) take me through.

2. Vocabulary Mind Map
In one minute, write down as many words associated with the word COMPUTER
as possible.


3. Idiom Pairing
Read the card with the idiom (colloquial expression) or definition you were given. Find
a partner with the definition to the idiom or expression on your card.
make up my mind to make a decision
come/get to grips with sth. to start to deal with a problem, situation, or job that you have to do
hit it off if two people hit it off when they meet for the first time, they like each other
pally-wally friendly
a little lie down a short rest when you lie on a bed
bollocks nonsense
half-cooked poorly planned or conceived
slip up on to make an error in something
without any shadow of a
doubt
used for saying that you are completely certain of something
get on like a big house on fire get on very well

4. Prediction from the Title
Read the title of the episode. Guess what the episode is about.
Yesterday's J am

5. Only Sound, No Picture
Listen to the part of the sitcom. Answer the following questions. Discuss the questions
with your partner. You will hear the extract twice.
Where does the scene take place?
Who are the participants?
What issues are discussed?
What is the general mood of the situation?
The scene (15:05 17:27): appendix 2, scene 6.




While-viewing Activities
6. Subtitles Translator
Create the Czech subtitles to the scene. Be careful about differences between British
and Czech cultures. Work on your own at home.
Appendix 2, scene 1.

7. Wordplay
Watch the episode and notice humorous words and phrases that you find very unusual
and interesting. What are their meanings in Czech?
Key: pally-wally = kamardci
Roy: It's like they're pally-wally when there's a problem with their printer, but once it's
fixed...
drudgeons = otroci
Roy: They have no respect for us up there. No respect whatsoever. We're all just
drudgeons to them.
social piranhas = asocilov
Jen: It's alright for you two. You're used to being social piranhas. I'm a very popular
person usually.

Post-viewing Activities
8. Czech Translation of the Title
On the basis of the episode you watched, translate the title into Czech in a humorous
and interesting way. Be careful about differences between British and Czech cultures.

9. Acting out the Scene
Work in pairs. Read the script of the scene 1 (appendix 2) and rehearse for
the performance. Act as in the theatre.





10. Who said so?
Read the following statements and decide who uttered them. Write D for Denholm,
J for Jen, R for Roy or M for Moss.
a) I cannot believe you are going to tell on me. You're like a pair of horrible old women.
b) There's no room for people who can't act in a team on my team.
c) Yeah, yeah. Oh It's brilliant, this is a great story, you're gonna love it. I'm just gonna get
another box of wine.
d) That was a nice day at the fair, wasn't it. With Brandy and Crystal.
e) Unisex toilets? You have unisex toilets like Ali McBeal.
f) They toss us away like yesterday's jam.
g) I'm gonna put you in I.T. because you said on your CV you have a lot of experience
with computers.
h) No. And while I was working on it, she rested a cup on my back.
Key: a) J, b) D, c) R, d) M, e) J, f) M, g) D, h) R.

Taken from:
Rundell, Michael. Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. 2nd. ed.
Oxford: Macmillan, 2007. Print.
"Yesterday's Jam." The IT Crowd. Thinlayer Ltd, 2006. Web. 7 April 2013.
YouTube. YouTube LLC, 2013. Web. 6 February 2013.







Appendix 2: Script of Yesterday's J am (The I T Crowd)
Scene 1
Denholm Reynholm is sat at his desk with new employee Jen sat in front of him.
Denholm: Hope this doesn't embarrass you Jen, but I find the best thing to do with a new employee is to size
them up with a long hard stare.
(Denholm stares long and hard)
So!
Jen: So
Denholm: First day
Jen: Yes
Denholm: Scary
Jen: Yes
Denholm: Don't be scared
Jen: Well I'm not really scared
Denholm: You should be
Jen: Well I am a little bit scared
Denholm: Well don't be
Jen: Make up your mind
Denholm: (laughs)
Jen: (laughs)
Denholm: So, here you are
Jen: Yes, really looking forward to getting to grips with...
Denholm: I'm gonna put you in I.T. because you said on your CV you have a lot of experience with
computers.
Jen: I did say that on my CV, yes. I have a lot of experience with the whole computer thing you know,
emails, sending emails, receiving emails, deleting emails, I could go on.
Denholm: Do.
Jen: The web. Using a mouse, mices, using mice. Clicking, double clicking. The computer screen, of course.
The keyboard. The... bit that goes on the floor down there.
Denholm: The hard drive.
Jen: Correct.
Denholm: Well, you certainly seem to know your stuff. That's settled. I've got a good feeling about you Jen
and they need a new manager.
Jen: Fantastic, so the people I'll be working with, what are they like?
Denholm: Standard nerds!

Scene 2
Cut to Roy's desk in the basement. Phone is ringing and he is drinking coffee and licking doughnut sugar
from his fingers.
(answers phone)
Roy: Hello IT.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?
Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on.
enter Moss who tosses Roy a muffin
Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes.
Moss's phone rings. He answers it.
Moss: Hello IT.
Yuhuh. Have you tried forcing an unexpected reboot?
Roy: no, there you go, I just heard it come on. No, that's the music you hear when it comes on. No, that's the
music you hear when... I'm sorry, are you from the past?
Moss: You see the drive hooks a function by patching the system core table so it's not safe to unload it unless
another thread is about to jump in there and do its stuff. And you don't want to end up in the middle of
invalid memory. (laughs) Hello?
Roy: Oh really?! Well why don't you come down here and make me then. What? You think I'm afraid of
you? I'm not afraid of you, you can come down here any time and I'll be waiting for ya! (hangs up and sits
back in chair) That told her.
It's about time you got back it's been all go.
Moss: You had a job?
Roy: Girl on fifth.
Moss: Did you and her, hit it off?
Roy: Define, hit it off.
Moss: Did she continue talking to you once you'd fixed her computer?
Roy: No. And while I was working on it, she rested a cup on my back.
Moss: No
Roy: Yup.
Moss: Unbelievable.
Roy: They have no respect for us up there. No respect whatsoever. We're all just drudgeons to them.
Moss: Yes. If there were such a thing as a drudgeon, that is what we would be to them.
Roy: It's like they're pally-wally when there's a problem with their printer, but once it's fixed...
Moss: They toss us away like yesterday's jam.
Roy: YES! Like yesterday's jam! That is what we are to them. (phone rings, Roy picks it up) Err you know
what, that doesn't really to work as a thing 'cos jam lasts for ages.
Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Scene 3
Denholm is showing Jen around the offices on the top floor. It is populated by beautiful people walking about
apparently not doing much work.
Jen: Unisex toilets? You have unisex toilets like Ali McBeal.
(Jen open the door and looks in to see a couple kissing - she closes the door)
Denholm: That's the sort of place this is Jen. A lot of sexy people not doing much work. And having affairs.
Jen: Oh my god look at that view! I feel like I'm on top of the world.
(lift bell sounds)
Denholm: Well Jen, this is where I leave you.
Jen: Ok. Where am I going?
Denholm: All the way down into the basement. Good luck.
(lift doors close and open again in the basement)

Scene 4
Lift: Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of
the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift. Get out of the lift.
(Jen struggles out of the lift and makes her way down the corridor towards the IT department. Half way
down she opens the door to the unisex toilet door to discover the post room man hovering over the toilet.)
Postman: Oh. Won't be a tick.
Jen: Oh my God! Oh God!
(Jen enters the office.)
Jen: Hello. Hello.
(Moss and Roy enter out of Jen's sight. Retreat then re-enter.)
Roy: Yes, I believe it was Tolstoy who said.... ooh it seems we have a visitor. I'm sorry, myself and Maurice
were just engaged in quite a serious discussion about books and such. And didn't hear you come in.
Moss: Wait a second, you said it was Tolstoy who said what?
Roy: Ah, never mind that now Maurice.
Moss: When have you read Tolstoy?
Roy: Shut up Maurice.
Moss: Why are you speaking in that weird voice. When did.. I don't remember this conversation at all.
Jen: Don't let me disturb you, I just wanted to come down...
Roy: Oh, don't be silly you'd never disturb us.. (falls over)
No, err... many people come down here to visit.
Moss: What are you talking about. Who comes down? What people? Why are you giving me the secret
signal to shut up?
Roy: So, what can we do you for?
Jen: I'm the new head of this department. Is this my office?
(Jen goes into he office)
Roy: Did she just... I am the head of this department!
Moss: I thought I was.
Roy It's one of us. It's certainly not her. I'm going to sort this out.
(goes to Jen's office)
Moss: Roy, you've got a head wound there. Head wound!
Roy: I don't want to be rude or anything but I wasn't informed of any changes to this department.
Jen: Oh did they not tell you about me?
Roy: No, and we are perfectly fine down here thank you very much. We are more than capable of taking care
of ourselves.
Jen: Sure. Sure. You know you're covered in blood.
(Postman enters main office and drops a package onto Moss' desk)
Postman: Moss. Amazon thingy.
Moss: Ahh wicked. I know what this is. It's the new Harry Potter. I got the child edition and the adult edition
just to check there are no differences in the text.
(Roy enters from Jen's office)
Roy: Sorry but I'm not going to be able to deal with that woman. Is nobody else going to get the phone. I
suppose I'll get it. No, that is not a phone. I'm going to have a little lie down.

Scene 5
(Moss knocks on Jen's door)
Jen: Come in.
(Jen pretends to be talking to Denholm on the phone)
Jen: Yeah, Denholm. Yeah, yeah, no n-n-n-no, no they've been fine so far. Yeah, I think we're going to get
on great. Yeah I know, alright then, no you take care, alright, yeah I will, yeah, okay take care, take care,
okay bye, bye.
So, hello, what can I do you for... what can I do for you?
Moss: Hallo. I was just wondering: do you want me to connect up your phone?
Jen: No n-n-n-n-n-n-no. It's working. Errm I was just talking to Denholm there.
(Moss picks up phone which clearly has no connections)
Moss: But how?
Jen: Would you mind, closing the door for me?
Moss: Oh yeah, sure.
Jen: Yeah, from the other side.
Moss: Of course. Like this.
Jen: That's it.
Moss: With me on the...
Jen: Thanks.
Moss: Oh.
(Roy enters. Head bound in bandages)
Are you alright?
Roy: Ahh yes Moss I'm fine. Nurse said I didn't do any serious damage.
Moss: I'm standing over here.
Roy: I know, I know, I'm joking. I'm fine. What are we going to do about her?
Moss: Well, I just went in and she was having a pretend conversation.
Roy: Really?
Moss: Yes. she's a little bit weird to say the least.
(sprays his ear)
Roy: What's that?
Moss: Oh, just water. Sometimes I get a hot ear and this helps cool it down. She is quite the oddball. Did you
notice how she didn't even get excited when she saw this original ZX81?
Roy: Yeah, that was weird. It's almost as if she doesn't know anything about computers.
Moss: What? (drops cup)
Roy: What are you doing?
Moss: Oh don't worry, that's why I always make two cups of tea. Anyway what were we talking about?
Roy: Oh her not knowing anything about computers.
Moss: What? (drops cup)
Roy: Okay, we definitely want to get rid of her.
Moss: Agreed.
Roy: Okay, so here's the plan.
Moss: A plan. Let me put on my slightly larger glasses. Okay. Hit me.
Roy: Okay, we go in.
Moss: When?
Roy: You know, like in a minute.
Moss: Will that be enough time for me to get to know the plan?
Roy: Yeah, you know what. I shouldn't have used the word plan. I've clearly gotten you over excited.
Moss: Would scheme be a better word? Although that's just as exciting, I might even need these.
(puts on even larger glasses)
Roy: All I was gonna say was; we go in, I make up a lot of bollocks about computers and we'll see if she
picks up on it.
Moss: Yes. I can see why you didn't want to use the word plan.
Roy: Let me do the talking.
Ohh! Ok, we need to get this right. We need to stay calm. We do not want to go in there half-cocked.
(sniggers)
(Roy knocks on Jens door and both enter)
Jen: Hang on guys. How can I help?
Roy: Well, we were just wondering, now that you're the boss; would you like us to access the data supplier
and connect you up to the matrix?
Jen: You just made all that up.
Roy: You don't know anything about computers, admit it!
Jen: Will you stop trying to undermine me, now get in there and do some work to do with com-puters. I'll be
in there in a minute to check up on you.
Roy: Okay, lady. You've won this round. But we can wait. You will slip up on day and believe you me we
will be there when you do. It will be some piece of evidence that will prove without any shadow of a doubt
that you don't know anything about computers.
Jen: (to Moss) What are you doing?
Moss: Plugging in your computer.
Roy: It might be something you say or something you do but when we notice it and believe me we will
notice it, it's going to be a long way down for you sweet cheeks.
(Roy exits)
Moss: He'll realise in a second.
(Roy jumps back into the office realising what has happened screaming and pointing)

Scene 6
Jen: I cannot believe you are going to tell on me. You're like a pair of horrible old women.
Moss: What did she say?
Roy: She said we're like horrible old women.
Moss: She didn't.
Denholm: Hey, guys. I hear you've got something to tell me.
Roy: Err yes well , it's like this.
Denholm: Look at you. My IT team. Team players, each and everyone of you.
Roy: Yeah, well she ahh...
Denholm: There's no room for people who can't act in a team on my team.
(phone rings)
Excuse me.
Hello. What? Well if you can't work as a team you're all fired. That's it you heard me, fired. Get your things
and go.
Hello security. Everyone on floor four is fired. Escort them from the premises and do it as a team. Remember
you're a team and if you can't act as a team you're fired too.
Dawn. Get on to recruitment. Get them to look for a security team that can work as a team. They may have to
escort the current security team from the building for not acting like a team.
Team. Team. Team. Team. Team. Team. I even love saying the word team. You probably thing that's a
picture of my family. Uh uh. It's the A Team. Body; Doyle; Tiger; The Jewellery Man. The whole lot of
them. So what do you want to tell me.
Moss: Well it's just not working out.
Roy: Hahaha. He's joking.
Moss: But you said.
Denholm: Not working out?
Roy: Oh no! We are getting on like a big house on fire.
Moss: My ear's getting hot!
Roy: No. You know what, we should leave now because, you know, you're a busy man and we've taken up
far too much of your time. Jen, could you just get the door for me, there?
Jen: Absolutely Roy!
Denholm: So, why did you come here in the first place?
Roy: Errmmm. We set up a voice activation system on your computer. Err I think you're gonna enjoy it. It
might just take a little while to get the pitch right on the voice but none the less go ahead. Thank you very
much, bye bye.
Denholm: Thank you. How exciting.
Hello. Hello computer. Hello. Hello. Hello computer.

Scene 7
Roy: I mean, what good are you? You obviously don't know anything about computers.
Jen: No. But okay. But I can learn. You know, I mean. For example, Moss, you could take me through what
you're doing right now.
Moss: I'd be delighted. I'm just working on a very simple piece of programming code.
(white noise)
Jen: Oh, I see. Oh God, no I'm lying again I didn't understand any of that, I don't know anything about
computers. I mean, I'm absolutely useless to you I might as well pack up and go home.
(Jen goes into her office)
(Laura knocks and enters)
Laura: Hi. Is, Roy around?
Roy: Hello there little lady. Are you lost? How can I help you? I'm Roy.
(Laura knees him in the bollocks and proceeds to beat him senseless)
Well here I am!
Roy: Not the face! Not the face!
(Laura takes off one of her Manolo Blahniks and beats Roy with it)
Laura: Yeah well, maybe this'll teach you to treat people with a little bit of respect.
Roy: Is it 'cos we spoke on the phone earlier?
Jen: Oh my God. Are those Manolo's?
Laura: Oh, yes.
Jen: They are gorgeous. Were they expensive?
Laura: No, no, no. Got them in the sale.
Jen: Oh God, clever you. I'm never lucky enough to get a bargain like that.
Laura: Well, I should take you shopping.
Jen Yeah, no that would be fantastic. Yeah, nice to meet you.
Roy: Nice meeting you.
Moss: Chairman wow! You've just diffused that entire situation.
Jen: What situation? Oh that, yeah. Oh my God, does that happen a lot?
Moss: They're fairly regular the beatings, yes. I'd say we're on a bi-weekly beating.
Roy: Oh it's not all that bad.
Moss: Come on Roy, it's pretty bad.
Jen: Maybe I could help with this, you know, I mean, I'm a people person, and people like you need a person
to deal with people; a people person like me. Oh my God. Ideas are coming, things are happening here. Okay,
okay. What would you say, yeah, if I told you I had a plan to raise your profile upstairs by 100%. What
would you say?
Moss: It can't be done. You're crazy.
Jen: What would you say Roy? Roy's passed out. Okay, I need a felt tipped pen, and some paper.
(cue A Team theme)

Scene 8
Roy: Really really, it was a true story. Unbelievable.
Office girl: I don't know why we don't go out with you IT guys more often. You're hilarious!
Roy: Yes, we are!
Jen: You guys should come down here more often. You should see this as a new era for Reynholm
Industries.
Roy: "A new era for Reynholm Industries"
Oh, you what, if you want to hear something really funny, a really funny story, you should hear what
happened to Moss and I when we were so drunk in Amsterdam that Moss lost his glasses. Moss! Moss!
Come here, come here. Tell them that story about when we were drunk in Amsterdam.
Moss: Really?
Roy: Yeah, yeah. Oh It's brilliant, this is a great story, you're gonna love it. I'm just gonna get another box of
wine.
Office guy: Well, go on then.
Moss: All right. Well. One night we really drunk, and err... we were so drunk that we decided to hire
prostitutes.
(the laughter falls silent. Jen spits out her drink)
But when they arrived at the hotel we were too scared to do anything so we brought them to a fair. They were
really nice. In the end they only charged us half but we did have to pay for all the rides.
Roy: Haha! Oh isn't that just the best story.
Moss: You told me to never tell that story to anyone.
Roy: What are you talking about? That's a brilliant story and then you walked into the canal. Has it got to
that part with the boat man?
Moss: Oh, you mean the story where I lost my glasses.
Roy: Yes. What story did you think I meant? Moss? What did you say? What did you say?

Scene 9
Jen: It's alright for you two. You're used to being social piranhas. I'm a very popular person usually.
Roy: That girl earlier, that tried to beat me to death with her shoe. Did anybody get her number?
Moss: That was a nice day at the fair, wasn't it. With Brandy and Crystal.
(phone rings)
Jen: Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Scene 10
Denholm: Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!

Taken from:
"Yesterday's Jam." The IT Crowd. Thinlayer Ltd, 2006. Web. 7 April 2013.









Appendix 3: Activities on The Best Burger in New York (HI MYM)
Pre-viewing Activities
1. Prediction from the Previous Episode
Read the following description of the episode preceding The Best Burger in New York.
Guess what is going to happen in today's episode. Discuss the ideas with your partner.
Do I Know You?: After Stella accepts Ted's proposal, Ted realizes he knows
shockingly little about his bride-to-be. The two spend time getting to know each other
better, and Ted tests their true compatibility by having Stella watch his favorite movie,
Star Wars, which she has never seen before. Meanwhile, Lily learns Barney has feelings
for Robin that he has been keeping bottled up all summer. Thrilled with the new, warmer
Barney, she sets out to help him express them. ..

2. Appearance Matters
Look at the picture of the character. Write a short characterization of the person; include
his/her name and surname, job, status, age, hobbies, bad habits, nature and aspirations.
Present your ideas to the class.





3. Prediction from the Snapshots
Work in pairs. Look at the set of snapshots and develop the story. What is going on in this
episode?




While-viewing Activities
4. Cultural Background
Watch the episode and write down any proofs that the plot takes place in New York.

5. Adjectives Race
Listen carefully to the video extract the beginning of the episode. Write down every
adjective you hear. Be careful about proper spelling.
Key:
Ted from 2030: When I first moved to New York, it was dingy, disgusting, ugly, flea-ridden,
stinky and altogether terrifying, but then, sadly. The whole city started to go uphill. The streets got
a little cleaner, the rents got a little higher, and one by one, the crappy old places we loved began
to disappear. The Elbow Room, an old punk rock club, became a drugstore. McHale's, a working-
class watering hole, became a fast-food place. And Fez, a Moroccan-themed lounge, became a
bank. And not just any bank.

At Ted and Marshall's apartment
Barney: Goliath National Bank. The world leader in credit and banking. God, I love Goliath
National Bank!
Ted: Okay, first of all, you look like the last pick in the draft. And, second, why are you so excited
about some bank?
Barney: Our company just bought them out in a ruthless takeover. Took two months. Cost 2,000
jobs. It was brutal. Who wants a T-shirt? (He throws one to Ted.) Hey, Marshall, they're hiring in
the legal department. I could get you a job.
Lily: Barney, Marshall didn't quit his last soul-sucking corporate job just to go work at a bank.
He's gonna be an environmental lawyer.

Ted from 2030: That was the plan, anyway. (We can see Marshall in front of the mirror of the
bathroom.) Over the next few weeks, Marshall went on a lot of interviews.
Marshall (to the mirror): You are confident, you are energetic, you are focused!
Ted from 2030: A lot of interviews.
Marshall (to the mirror): You are flexible on salary, you're willing to compromise, you're not
gonna cry this time.
Ted from 2030: Too many interviews.
Marshall(to the mirror): You are sad, you are beaten down, you will get through this, come home,
get in your big underpants and take a nap.
Ted from 2030: Which brings us to September 29, the night of the burger.

Post-viewing Activities
6. Episode Summary
Write the short summary of the episode The Best Burger in New York you have seen
in today's English lesson. After finishing, compare your own summary with the one
provided by CBS TV network.
Key: The Best Burger in New York: When Marshall reminisces about finding the best
burger his first night in New York but not being able to find the restaurant since then, the
gang sets out on a mission to find the legendary burger. But as the search grows futile,
Marshall becomes overly fixated in finding the burger, making the gang question if this has
more to do with him not being able to find a job and the toll its taking on him. ...

7. Alternative Title
On the basis of the episode you watched, invent a new humorous and interesting title.




8. True or False Sentences
Read the following statements and decide whether they are true or false.
a) Robin has been on a diet for one week. T / F
b) Eight years ago, Marshall waited behind the door with the baseball bat in hands because
he was afraid of burglars. T / F
c) The bistro offering the best burgers in New York has been promoted by many famous
people. T / F
d) Marshall has been convinced that the Corner Bistro sells the best burgers in New York.
T / F
e) Regis Philbin informs Marshall, Barney and Ted that the position of the bistro offering
the best burgers in New York. T / F
f) Lily suggests that Marshall should apply for job at Goliath National Bank. T / F
g) Regis Philbin leaves his show in the middle of the broadcast because he wants to eat the
best burger in New York. T / F
h) According to Ted, Marshall's not wearing trousers corresponds with his low self-esteem.
T / F
i) During the eight years, the bistro selling the best burgers in New York moved to the city
centre. T / F
j) Marshall accepted Barney's job offer. T / F
Key: a) F, b) T, c) F, d) F, e) F, f) F, g) T, h) T, i) F, j) T.

9. Clash of the Characters
Divide into groups of five. Choose what character you want to be. From now on you are
Barney, Marshall, Ted, Lily or Robin. You are in Marshall and Lily's living room
discussing your evening plans but each of you have different ideas about today's evening.
Try to convince your friends that your plan is the best one.

10. Advertisement
Watch the video extract from 12:10 to 13:15 and 14:50 to 15:15 and do the following
tasks.
a) Discuss in pairs. What are Marshall and Barney talking about? In what way do they
persuade the others about the qualities of the burger and Goliath National Bank?
b) Read the scripts of above extracts. What are the typical features of persuasive language?
Marshall: Just a burger? It's so much more than just a burger. I mean, that first bite... Oh, what
heaven that first bite is. The bun, like a sesame-freckled breast of an angel, resting gently on the
ketchup and mustard below. Flavors mingling in a seductive "pas de deux". And then... a pickle the
most... playful... little pickle, and then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce, and a... a patty... of
ground beef, so... exquisite...swirling in your mouth, breaking apart and combining again in a fugue
of sweets and savories so... delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread.
This is God... speaking to us through food.
Barney: You know, Lil, when times are tough, I like to remember the uplifting words of my
favourite song. He starts singing. "We'll be on your side when you need a friend. Through thick
and thin you can always depend. On the world leaders in credit and banking. Goliath National
Bank." Member FDIC.
c) Work in groups of 4. Choose a product or service you want to advertise. Produce
a poster including a slogan and illustrations promoting this product/service. Be as creative
as possible.

Taken from:
Amazon. Amazon.com, Inc, 2013. Web. 16 April 2013.
"How I Met Your Mother." CBS. CBS Interactive,2008. Web. 10 April 2013.
Google Images. Google Inc., 2013. Web. 6 February 2013.
"Saison 4 Episode 402 Script VO." Hypnoweb. 2009. Web. 7 April 2013.














Appendix 4: Script of The Best Burger in New York (HI MYM)

Ted from 2030: When I first moved to New York, it was dingy, disgusting, ugly, flea-ridden, stinky and
altogether terrifying, but then, sadly. The whole city started to go uphill. The streets got a little cleaner, the
rents got a little higher, and one by one, the crappy old places we loved began to disappear. The Elbow
Room, an old punk rock club, became a drugstore. McHale's, a working-class watering hole, became a fast-
food place. And Fez, a Moroccan-themed lounge, became a bank. And not just any bank.

At Ted and Marshall's apartment
Barney: Goliath National Bank. The world leader in credit and banking. God, I love Goliath National Bank!
Ted: Okay, first of all, you look like the last pick in the draft. And, second, why are you so excited about
some bank?
Barney: Our company just bought them out in a ruthless takeover. Took two months. Cost 2,000 jobs. It was
brutal. Who wants a T-shirt? (He throws one to Ted.) Hey, Marshall, they're hiring in the legal department. I
could get you a job.
Lily: Barney, Marshall didn't quit his last soul-sucking corporate job just to go work at a bank. He's gonna be
an environmental lawyer.

Ted from 2030: That was the plan, anyway. (We can see Marshall in front of the mirror of the bathroom.)
Over the next few weeks, Marshall went on a lot of interviews.
Marshall (to the mirror): You are confident, you are energetic, you are focused!
Ted from 2030: A lot of interviews.
Marshall(to the mirror): You are flexible on salary, you're willing to compromise, you're not gonna cry this
time.
Ted from 2030: Too many interviews.
Marshall(to the mirror): You are sad, you are beaten down, you will get through this, come home, get in
your big underpants and take a nap.
Ted from 2030: Which brings us to September 29, the night of the burger.

At McLaren's
Ted: So, what do you guys want to do for dinner?
Wendy: Oh, we just got a new cook. You have to try the burger, it's amazing.
Robin: Great, we'll take five of those.
Wendy (taking note): Five burgers.
Ted: Really? You want to eat here?
Robin: Yeah, I'm freaking starving. I just finished a seven-day cleanse.
Marshall: I thought you started that yesterday.
Robin: I finished early, OK? (To Wendy) Five of those.
Wendy: Five burgers.
Ted: Wait. What about sushi?
Lily: We had sushi last night.
Barney: Italian.
Ted: I had Italian for lunch.
Wendy: I can come back.
Robin: No. We always do this. We spend an hour arguing about where to eat, and we end up here anyway. I
haven't eaten for two days. Can we please, for the love of God, just order something now?
Ted: Chinese?
Robin: Oh.
Barney: I don't like Chinese.
Ted: Indian?
Barney: I just said I don't like Chinese.
Ted: Indian isn't Chinese.
Barney: Weird meats, funny music, side of rice. Why are we splitting hairs?
Ted: Mexican?
Barney: I just said I don't like Chinese.
Robin: God.

Wendy serves everybody except Robin.
Wendy: Robin, yours will be right out.
Robin: Of course, mine comes last. Go ahead, start without me.
Everybody: Sweet! You shouldn't have. That's so kind of you.
Lily: My God. This burger is so good. It's like Christmas in my mouth, meat Christmas.
Ted: It's like an angel from heaven landed in the kitchen at MacLaren's. Where the chef killed it and ran it
through the meat grinder.
Barney: I love this burger so much, I want to sew my ass shut.
Marshall: It's okay.
Everybody: Are you kidding me?
Marshall: Guys, guys, guys. When you've had the best burger in NY, every other burger tastes like my
grandpa's feet. But you guys eat up, enjoy my grandpa's feet.
Robin: And you've had the best burger in New York?
Marshall: It was eight years ago, my first week in New York, and for a kid from Minnesota, the big city was
a scary place.

[Flashback - Eight years earlier]
At Ted and Marshall's apartment
Marshall waits behind the door with a bat of baseball in hands. When Ted opens the door and is surprised by
his friend.
Marshall: Oh, thank God it's just you.
Ted: You are being ridiculous. (Taking the bat.) Tell me, you left the apartment today?
Marshall: Why would I have to leave? I can have anything I want delivered, and New York City cable is
awesome. Have you seen this public access show with the old Jewish lady in a bikini? (Laughing) It's
disgusting.
Ted: Marshall, you have to get over this paranoia. You are not gonna get mugged.
Marshall: What if I do, Ted. I don't have a switchblade. I don't know how to break-dance and win the
begrudging respect of a street gang.
Ted: That's it, you're taking a walk. Come on, go.
Marshall: No. Look, the old lady in a bikini is back on. I'm just gonna lie back and get comfortable.
Ted: Go outside, go, go.
Marshall: Okay. (He takes the bat discreetly.)
Ted: Leave the bat.
Marshall: Fine.

In the streets
Marshal: So I went for a walk in the big, scary city. And I discovered something amazing: it wasn't scary at
all. All right. What's the word?
Man in the street (Distributing pamphlets): Your search is over!
Marshall: And then, right when I started to get a little hungry, I turned a corner...
[End of Flashback]

At McLaren's
Marshall: And there it was.
The tiniest little burger joint you ever saw, tucked between a taxidermist and a triple-X bookstore.
Barney: Name two places where things get stuffed.
Marshall: So, I went inside.
[Flashback - Eight years earlier]
Marshall voiceover: And I ordered the burger.
A man tattooed from head to foot brings him his plate.
Marshal: Thank you.
Marshall starts eating his burger. He feasts, and raises the head towards the wall. His glance settles on
Regis Philbin's photo. Then, Marshall runs through streets, returns to the apartment.
There he wakes Ted.
Marshall: Ted, you got to wake up. Wake...
Ted is surprised and he hits Marshall with the bat.
Ted: Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?
Marshall: I'm all right. Ted, I've just had the most amazing burger of my life! It's this awesome little place,
Regis Philbin eats there, so it's sort of like a celebrity hot spot. But the burger. The burger. Dude.
Ted: I want one of those burgers right now! Do you think they're still open?
Marshall: I don't know. (Looking to his watch.) Does stuff in New York stay open past... 9:30?
Ted and Marshall are walking in the New York's streets.
Marshall voiceover: So we went out to get another burger. But after hours of searching...
Marshall (Raising hands in the sky.) : Damn it! Where is this place?
[End of Flashback]

At McLaren's
Robin: You couldn't find it?
Ted: We didn't know our way around. Just getting back to the apartment took us three hours and one very
helpful drag queen.
Marshall: Wait, Penny Noir was a drag queen?
Robin: Where do you think it was?
Lily: Probably tucked between her legs.
They laugh.
Barney: You know what's not a drag? Getting a home equity loan at Goliath National Bank. I'm just saying.
Marshall: Anyways, we never found the place. Now, eight years have passed, still... No burger.
A man who sat at the table behind them calls to Marshall.
Man: I couldn't help but overhear.
Marshall: Okay, here we go.
Man: I know the place you're talking about.
Marshall: No, you don't.
Man: It's a place called the Corner Bistro. Greatburger.
Marshall: Oh, the Corner Bistro! It's amazing, I spent a quarter of my life searching for the best burger in
New York City, but silly me, it never occurred to me to check the highest-rated burger in the Zagat guide.
Wow, thanks a lot, guy. Let me return the favor. Great cup of coffee: Starbucks.
Irritated, he makes him sign leave them quiet.
Robin: So I take it you've tried the Corner Bistro.
Marshall: Robin, I've tried every so-called best burger in New York City trying to find that burger. Or at
least forget about her.

[Flashback]
Corner Bistro
Marshall and Lily are eating a burger. Lilly questions him of the glance, he shakes the head.

Paul's place
Marshall shakes the head.

21
He throws his burger to his plate.

Veggie Heaven
Marshall (getting up): We're going.
[End of Flashback]

At McLaren's
Marshall: But none of those places even came close.
Ted: There was that one time we thought we had a break in the case, remember?

[Flashback]
At Ted and Marshall's apartment
Barney: Get this. You know who works out at my gym? Regis Philbin.
Marshall (Watching Ted): The autographed picture.

At the gym
Regis Philbin (Lifting weights): Of course I remember the place. It was the best burger I ever had. I still have
dreams about this burger. Beautiful, haunting dreams! I wake up at night screaming, "Get out of my head,
burger! Get out!"
Marshall: That's the one, Mr. Philbin. Do you remember where it is?
Regis Philbin(He knocks in a bag of boxing.): No! I never wrote it down. But not a day goes by that I don't
regret it. (To Marshall) Why? Why? Do you know where it is?
Marshall: No.
Regis Philbin (Threatening him with his fists.): And if you tell me it's at the Corner Bistro, I'm gonna smack
you right in the face!
Barney: No. No, we don't know where it is.
Regis Philbin (Taking Barney by the collar): Listen, Blondie! Don't mess with me! Daddy needs his meat.
Barney: I don't know where it is, Regis, I swear!
Regis Philbin (To Marshall): What about you, Lurch? (To Ted) And what about you, satchel-mouth? (Giving
a card to Barney) This is my cell. You find that burger; you call me day or night.
Barney: OK, Regis, we will, we will.
Regis Philbin:What are you waiting for? Get out and find the burger!
Barney: All right.
Regis Philbin: Let's go, all of you!
[End of flashback]

At McLaren's
Marshall: That's where my story ends. Now I'm doomed to walk the earth forever searching for that green
door and that red neon sign that says "Burger."
Robin: Green door, red neon sign that says "Burger?"
Marshall: Yeah.
Robin: I know that place. I've walked by it a million times. It's on West 12th, right off of 7th.
Marshall: I knew it was on a numbered street!
Wendy gives to Robin her burger. Robin is going to eat it.
Robin: Finally.
Marshall (taking Robin's burger in his hands): No! Robin! If any of us is gonna eat a burger tonight, it's
gonna be the best burger in New York. We're going downtown! He throws away the burger.
Robin: No...

In a cab
Marshall: I cannot believe we're finally gonna have this burger
Lily: Honey, I'm so excited for you. After all these interviews, after all these disappointments, you deserve a
triumphant mouth full of meat.
Barney: You know what else is a mouthful? All that double-talk other banks give you. At Goliath, customer
satisfaction is our most important investment.
Lily: Barney, I hate to break this to you, but working for a bank's kind of lame.
Barney: How lame is free automatic bill pay? How lame is 3.3% APY online savings? Yeah, that's right.
Hate to make you look stupid in front of your friends, but you left me no choice. He laughs.
Ted: We should probably call Regis.
Barney: Reg... (He takes his phone.) That guy scares me. I think I'll leave him a text.


"Million Dollar: Heads or Tails" - Studio set
Regis Philbin: Now, Kathy, your last flip was heads. The one before that was tails. You polled the audience;
they came out split, 50/50. No help at all there. So, for $258,000... I have to ask you, Kathy, what's it gonna
be: heads...or... (His phone rings, he reads the text and starts to leave the studio.) Excuse me. Oh, boy. I've
got to go. I've got to go!

In the streets - In front of a green door
Marshall: Green door, red neon sign. Guys, this is the place. I've actually, I prepared a few words.
Robin (On nerves): I will eat your hand.
Marshall: Let's just go inside then. Shall we?

In the restaurant
The waitress gives us their burger, except to Robin.
Marshall (to the waitress): Thank you.
Waitress: Yours will be right out.
Robin: Please, go ahead, start.
They make as if they could wait.
Robin: Just shut up and eat.
Barney: All right.
Everyone starts to eat his burger.
Ted: Oh my god. I'm never brushing my teeth again unless it's with a toothbrush made from this burger.
Lily: I think I just had my first burg-asm.
Barney: I want... to take this burger out to dinner, then maybe a movie, then take it back to my place, put on
a little Terence Trent D'arby, and then I would just... fool around a little bit. Nothing serious, just take it slow,
you know?
Marshall (putting his burger in his plate): This isn't it.
Everybody: What?
Marshall: It's not it.
Ted: Marshall, you might not want to hear this, but... is it at all possible this is the same
burger you had eight years ago, only it could never live up to your ridiculously high expectations?
Robin: I mean, it is just a burger.
Marshall: Just a burger? It's so much more than just a burger. I mean, that first bite... Oh, what heaven that
first bite is. The bun, like a sesame-freckled breast of an angel, resting gently on the ketchup and mustard
below. Flavors mingling in a seductive "pas de deux". And then... a pickle the most... playful... little pickle,
and then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce, and a... a patty... of ground beef, so... exquisite...swirling in your
mouth, breaking apart and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savories so... delightful. This is no mere
sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread. This is God... speaking to us through food.
Lily: And you got our wedding vows off the Internet.
Marshall: Okay, look, so, so this, this isn't the place. All right, it's no big deal. It's another place with a green
door and a red neon sign that says "Burger". I'll just... I'll call every restaurant in Manhattan and ask 'em what
colour their door is. No big deal, right? Let's do this.
He leaves the restaurant.
Robin: I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this isn't just about a burger.
Lily: Marshall's not doing so well, guys. He really needs to get a job.
Ted: Tell them about the underpants.
Robin: What about the underpants?
Lily: It started a couple of weeks ago.

[Flashback]
Marshall is lying on the couch, watching TV.
Marshall: Heads! It's going to be heads. It's almost usually heads.
Lily comes in the apartment.
Lily: Hey, baby.
Marshall: Hey!
Lily: Did you put on pants today?
Marshall: Nope. They laugh.
[End of flashback]

Lily: It was funny at first, but then it became a daily thing. I thought, "Okay, well, at least he's not leaving
the house like that." Then, one day, he opened the door to get the paper. Day after that, went downstairs to
get the mail.
Ted: Everyone's got an underpants radius. For most of us, it's the distance from the bedroom to the
bathroom, but as your self-esteem gets smaller, your underpants radius gets bigger.
Robin: How big is Marshall's underpants radius?

[Flashback]
Veggie Heaven
Marshall: We're going.
He gets up from table and we can see that he's wearing underpants.
[End of flashback]

Ted: Come on, Lily, he'll find a job eventually.
Barney: You know, Lil, when times are tough, I like to remember the uplifting words of my favourite song.
He starts singing. "We'll be on your side when you need a friend. Through thick and thin you can always
depend. On the world leaders in credit and banking. Goliath National Bank." Member FDIC.
Lily: We've got to find Marshall that burger.
Ted: Lily, I think we're all eating that burger.
Robin: I'm not eating that burger.
Lily: No, if Marshall says this isn't the burger, this isn't it.
The waitress arrives with Robin's burger.
Robin: Finally.
Lily: Excuse me. Did you guys change cooks or something? Because my husband was here 5 years ago, he's
sure he had a different burger. Robin is trying to take the plate.
Waitress: Yeah, we get this a lot. This place is modelled after this other place uptown with the same green
door and "Burger" sign.
Ted: What? Uptown? Where?
Waitress: 106th and Manhattan Avenue.
Robin takes her plate when Ted, Lily and Barney are leaving the restaurant. She's going to eat the burger
when Barney makes her sign to come.
Robin: Damn it.

In a cab
Marshall: 106. A numbered street. Of course.
Barney's phone rings. He answers.
Barney: Barney Stinson.
Regis Philbin (in front of the last restaurant): Barney, where the hell are you?
Barney: I'm sorry, this is...?
Regis Philbin: Regis. I'm at the place.
Barney: Of course. I'm sorry, I forgot to call you. That's not the place. The real place is on 106th and
Manhattan Avenue. We're headed there right now.
Regis Philbin: What? Uptown? He breaks a mail box. Fine, fine, I'll be there in 20. If you get there first,
medium rare.
Barney: Onions?
Regis Philbin (screaming): Onions?
Barney: Okay, no onions.
Marshall: Stop the cab!
They come down from the taxi and Marshall begins to look for the famous green door.
Marshall: Wait. This is it.
Man in the streets: Your search is over. We got girls taking off their clothes.
Marshall: This is it.
They discover a Goliath National Bank ATM.
Barney: One of 9,000 convenient locations.
Marshall: It was ri... it was right here. It was... it was right on this very spot.
Robin: I don't understand. Where is the burger place?
Ted: It's not a burger place anymore; it's a Goliath National Bank ATM.
Robin (getting crazy): That's fine. Let's just eat here.
Ted: We can't eat here. It's an ATM.
Robin: But... food.
Lily starting to hit Barney with her fits.
Barney: What the...
Lily: This is your fault, you and your stupid bank. You did this.
Barney: It's not my... Stop, okay. She hits his knee. Stop that, Lily.
Lily: I will never use a Goliath ATM ever again. Goliath National Bank sucks. It's the worst bank on the face
of the earth. Attention, New Yorkers, this bank sucks! They suck!
Barney: Marshall, Geez.
Lily: They suck, suck!
Barney: Will you just tell her already?
Lily: Tell me what? Tell me what?
Marshall: I got a job.
Lily: What? Where?
Marshall: Goliath National Bank. That's why Barney's been going on and on about how, how great Goliath
is. He wanted you to be excited for me since we will to working together.
Barney: Well, technically not together. You won't have access to my floor.
Lily: But you want to be an environmental lawyer.
Marshall: Yeah and I also want to be a Harlem Globetrotter and get paid in candy, but in the meantime, I
need a job, and this is, this is a really good one. It's great pay and there's good benefits, and to be honest, it
gives me a reason to put on pants in the morning. You know, I have my whole life to save the planet, but
right now I'm kind of really excited to wear pants again.
Lily: You've got great pants.
Marshall: I love you.
Lily: I love you.
They hug while Robin is searching into the dustbin.
Ted: Robin, no!
Robin: They're unopened.
Ted: Give it.
Robin: They're barbecue.
Ted: Give it!
He takes her a package of chips.
Lily: I'm sorry you didn't get your burger.
Marshall: It's stupid. I think about that first week in New York. You know? I was 22 years old. I had my
whole future ahead of me. I guess I just kind of thought that if I could have that burger one more time and
feel that way for one more night, that I might be able to check that off the list, and grow up, go work for the
stupid bank, and just... be happy.
Man: You know, that burger place isn't gone. It just moved to a new location. And I can tell you where that
is for a hundred bucks.
Robin (Licking an envelope.): A hundred bucks? That's crazy.
Marshall: Let's pay the man.
Lily: I paid for the cab.
Ted: I have any cash.
Marshall: I haven't worked since March.
Barney: If only there were an easy, convenient way to get some cash right now.
They all turn around face to the Goliath ATM.
Barney: Member FDIC.
Ted from 2030: So we paid the guy, and 20 minutes later...

Restaurant
The man tattooed from head to foot brings to Marshall his plate.
Marshall: Thank you.
Ted: All right, Marshall, remember. It might not taste as good. This place has changed, you've changed, New
York has changed. Just... don't get your hopes up too high, okay?
He begins to crunch his burger slowly.
Marshall: This is it.
Everybody: Yes!
Marshall: It's exactly the same. It's the best burger in New York. Go ahead, eat up, eat up.
Everyone starts to eat.

Ted from 2030: And so, after finally tasting again the burger he'd craved for so many years, Marshall got up
the next morning, put on some pants, and went to work, and he never looked back.

Lily: I want to get tiny fitted sheets for this burger, and just... crawl into this bun, get all cosy, and die there.
Robin: Oh, my God. I just want you inside of me.
Barney: This feels so good. I'm worried I'm gonna get this burger pregnant.
Marshall: If he does get that burger pregnant, I have dibs on the delicious burger babies.
Regis Philbin: This isn't it.
Everybody: What? Come on.
Regis gets up.
Barney: That's outrageous.
Regis: That is unbelievable. Wait. This is it!
Marshall: You were just freakin' teasing us.
Regis: No, really.

Taken from:
"Saison 4 Episode 402 Script VO." Hypnoweb. 2009. Web. 7 April 2013.














Appendix 5: Activities on Manny Come Home (Black Books)
Pre-viewing Activities
1. Serious Issues to Be Discussed
Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.
a) How often do you argue with your best/very good friend?
b) What do you usually argue about?
c) Have you ever had a very serious argument? If yes, what was it about?
d) How long had you been on not speaking terms?
e) Who did the first step to reconciliation?
f) Do you believe that your friendship will survive forever?

2. Script Reading
Read the script of the episode (appendix 6) at home. Take notes.

While-viewing Activities
3. Mediated Watching
Work in pairs. One of you sits backward to the screen and the other one describes what is
happening in the scene. Then change your roles, the other scene is to be shown. Finally,
you will watch the video with sound.
Scene 1 (17:48 18:54) see exercise 6, scene 6.
Scene 2 (18:54 19:50):
IN BLACK BOOKS BERNARD COUGHING AND PALE.
BERNARD: Not so good, not feeling so good. Coffee and something, medicine.
(EATS SOME SLUG PELLETS) Kapow oven cleaner, if you can clean an oven you
can clean me. (FILLS HIS MOUTH WITH OVEN CLEANER) Ah, coffee.
HE TAKES ONE TEASPOON OF COFFEE OUT OF THE JAR AND THEN FILLS
THE JAR WITH HOT WATER & DRINKS IT, THEN PROCEEDS TO COUGH
VIOLENTLY.

4. Personal Vocabulary List
Watch the episode and take notes of interesting and unfamiliar expressions.




5. Violating the Conversation
Work in pairs. Focus on the conversation from 3:08 to 3:36 and work out following tasks.
a) Watch the extract from 3:08 to 3:36.
b) Answer these questions: What is wrong about the conversation? Are
the participants cooperating or not? Who is violating the dialogue? Why is he doing so?
c) Read the script of the conversation.
MANNY (REHEARSING): Hello, how are you today, hello, how are you?
CUSTOMER COUGHS
MANNY: Are you today, hello how. How are you today hello.
CUSTOMER: Im fine. Do you have
MANNY: Welcome, to Goliath Books.
CUSTOMER: Im looking for
MANNY: Ill help you, er, how may I help you?
CUSTOMER: I want
MANNY: My name is Manny.
CUSTOMER: Never mind.
d) Remake the dialogue in a way that both participants will cooperate
and the customer will be satisfied with Manny's responses to her questions.

6. Irony and Mocking
Watch the episode and note down situations containing irony or mocking. Discuss your
ideas with the partner. Verify your opinion with the script and second watching of selected
scenes.
Key: Scene 1 (1:40-1:53)
FRAN FINDS BERNARD.
BERNARD: Lovely to see you. Mwah, mwah.
FRAN: Bernard are you OK?
BERNARD: Never better, Ive discovered television.
Scene 2 (6:03-6:33)
EVAN: Hello, how may I help you?
MANNY: Shes a friend
EVAN: Hey terrific, a friend of Mannys. How may I help you?
FRAN: Im just browsing.
EVAN: Well we have a really comfortable area just over there specially for that
FRAN: (FRAN STANDS UP) I wanna browse here.
SOMEBODY MOVES FRANS CHAIR.
EVAN: (EVAN TAKES HER CIGARETTE AND PUTS IT OUT IN HIS HAND) Sorry!
Scene 3 (9:05-9:49)
BERNARD: Im fine (PICKS A MUSHROOM FROM HIS HAIR AND EATS IT) Go
on get out, go to him, go to your fancy man, I dont need you any more.
MANNY: Look Bernard, it doesnt have to be like this if you would just apologise.
BERNARD: What, you mean youd come back and work in the shop, everything would
be normal?
MANNY: Yes.
BERNARD: Youd cook and clean and surprise me every now and again with those
profiteroles you make if I took you to the pictures at Christmas?
MANNY: Yes.
BERNARD: And all I have to do to get that back is say sorry?
MANNY: Thats exactly what Im saying.
BERNARD: I thought soGet out!
Scene 4 (11:2312:10)
EVAN: Now, Ive been thinking about clothes and what they say about us. Now the good
think about working here of course is that we get to wear our own clothes, I mean were
not robots are we?
MANNY: No (IN A ROBOTIC VOICE) hello can I help you, hello can I help you, hello
can I help you
EVAN: Manny, we love your style ok, the shirts the sandals, he, he, its funky. But imaging
were all on a football team ok and the guy on the wings hes wearing a crazy shirt.
Nobody knows what team hes on, can I pass to him? I dont know. And look his sandal
has come off on the muddy ground. DAMN IT weve lost five nil.
MANNY: Oh.
EVAN: So tomorrow plain pastels if you please, and if youd be so good a pair of shoes.
Scene 5 (14:20 15:50)
BERNARD: Havent you got other friends to annoy? Why dont you go and persecute
them?
MANNY: Yeah, yeah, society lady. How come you went to Cornwall on your own?
BERNARD: Yeah, how come?
FRAN: Ivegot...friends.
BERNARD: Well go to them.
FRAN: I will.
MANNY: Yeah, dont let us stop you.
FRAN: I wont.
BERNARD: Well go on then.
MANNY: Too de loo.
Fran leaves, Bernard and Manny make mocking faces and are about to start chatting.
MANNY: Oh er listen, dont forget to dry your sheets. Well Ill be off then, since its all
over between us. Ill write.
BERNARD: I wont read it.
MANNY: Well Ill call.
BERNARD: Ill hang up.
MANNY: Well, Ill come and see you.
BERNARD: Ill be dead by then.
MANNY: Listen, it doesnt have to be like this, if you would just say those two words.
BERNARD STRETCHES OUT HIS ARMS FOR A HUG, SO DOES MANNY, BERNARD
APPROACHES MANNY AND TAKES HOLD OF HIS HANDS HITTING HIM ON THE
HEAD
BERNARD: Get Out!


Scene 6 (17:49-18:50)
NEXT MORNING AT GOLIATH BOOKS, EVAN ARRIVES WHILE MANNY IS
STILL IN HIS SLEEPING BAG.
EVAN: Morning Manny.
MANNY: Morning Evan, just popped in to do my yoga. I do it every morning, in
my yoga bag. Just running through a few positions. This is the worm, worm
saluting the sun, anaconda.
EVAN: Manny Im a reasonable guy. I like to be straight with people I expect
them to be the same. If you tell me the truth I wont get mad. So tell me, did you
sleep here last night?
MANNY: Yes I did (they both laugh)
EVAN: Im really angry now!!

7. Characters' Feelings
Watch the extracts on silent mode and decide what the characters feelings at the moment
are.
Extract 1 (1:38 2:40)
Fren _________________________________________________________
Bernard_______________________________________________________
Extract 2 (4:10 5:22)
Manny________________________________________________________
Evan_________________________________________________________
Extract 3 (5:27 5:55)
Fren__________________________________________________________
Manny________________________________________________________
Extract 4 (5:57 6:52)
Manny________________________________________________________
Fren__________________________________________________________
Evan_________________________________________________________
Extract 5 (7:00 7:52)
Manny________________________________________________________
Evan_________________________________________________________


8. Dubbing
Work in groups of three and dub the scene (5:25 6:54) in a convincing way.
(FRAN ENTERS)
MANNY: Oh, Fran, how was your trip?
FRAN: Manny, come back to the shop.
MANNY: Im not going back, I like it here, Ive got respect and responsibility, Ive got a
do-te-de-do. Im a team member and Bernard was very mean and he wouldnt say sorry.
Im not going back.
FRAN: You have to come back Manny, Bernard and I need you. (MANNY SHAKES HIS
HEAD) Well Im staying here until you do (FRAN GETS A CHAIR AND LIGHTS A
CIGARETTE)
MANNY: Fran, Fran somebody will be here very soon.
EVAN: Hello, how may I help you?
MANNY: Shes a friend
EVAN: Hey terrific, a friend of Mannys. How may I help you?
FRAN: Im just browsing.
EVAN: Well we have a really comfortable area just over there specially for that
FRAN: (FRAN STANDS UP) I wanna browse here.
SOMEBODY MOVES FRANS CHAIR.
EVAN: (EVAN TAKES HER CIGARETTE AND PUTS IT OUT IN HIS HAND) Sorry!
FRAN: Right, well Ill just go home and unpack and not talk to anyone today shall I?

Post-viewing Activities
9. Characters' Characteristics
Choose from the list what characteristics go with each character.
Friendly, stubborn, pedantic, caring, choleric, rash, messy, intolerant, conciliatory,
bohemian, peaceable, authoritative, helpless, shy, conservative
Manny Bernard Fran Evan
_________ _________ _________ _________
_________ _________ _________ _________
_________ _________ _________ _________
_________ _________ _________ _________
Key:
Manny Bernard Fran Evan
rash stubborn friendly pedantic
caring choleric conciliatory conservative
bohemian helpless peaceable intolerant
shy messy authoritative

10. Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions.
a) Why are Bernard and Manny on not speaking terms?

b) Where did Fren go on her last holiday?

c) What excuse did Manny make up when surprised at Goliath Books in his sleeping bag?

d) What didn't Evan like about Manny?

e) Why were Bernard and Manny unpleasant to Fren?

f) What did Manny mean by calling Fren "society lady"?

g) In your own words explain the meaning of the expression "plain pastels"
and "vice-deputy-sub-assistant" in those sentences:
EVAN: So tomorrow plain pastels if you please, and if youd be so good a pair of shoes.
EVAN: OK well I tried. Theres obviously no point out reaching to people like you. Manny in two
years you could have been vice-deputy-sub-assistant, but youre not, youre here shuffling around
on the floor like the worm you are.

Taken From:
Dawn, Howard. "Black Books Series Three Episode One Manny
Come Home - Transcript" Dylan Moran Rules. 2010. Web. 7 April 2013.
YouTube. YouTube LLC, 2013. Web. 6 February 2013.




Appendix 6: Script of Manny Come Home (Black Books)
FRAN: (VOICEOVER, READING POSTCARD) Dear Bernard, Dear Manny, see, I told you Id write.
Cornwall is, well youve seen the pictures, its like the pictures except a lot more boring. Everybody is at
least three-hundred, and they all speak some kind of medieval English, the most important word being errr.
Cant wait to see you, get a bottle open. Love Franerrr.

Scene 1
FRAN ENTERS THE SHOP ITS A TIP.
FRAN: Bernard, Manny, hello?
BERNARD: (O.O.V. FROM THE BACK ROOM) Oh, its you. Go round the green bin bags, then right till
you get to the mouldy George Elliott, then right, forward, go on, forward and then its left at the dead badger.
FRAN FINDS BERNARD.
BERNARD: Lovely to see you. Mwah, mwah.
FRAN: Bernard are you OK?
BERNARD: Never better, Ive discovered television.
FRAN: You dont look right, and whats going on with the shop and wheres Manny?
BERNARD: Him, he left, he left like I knew he would. Thats what people do when you love them and
nurture them and take care of them.
FRAN: You mean you sacked him
BERNARD: There may have been an incident, possibly involving a kitchen item and a hand. And maybe
the hand was Mannys and maybe the item was a sandwich toaster, and maybe I introduced them to each
other.
FRAN: So hes gone?
BERNARD: Oh no, he still sleeps here, burrowed in like the little tick he is. But he leaves every day, every
day is another betrayal.
FRAN: What, what, what do you mean?
BERNARD: Come on (BERNARD SHOWS FRAN HIS SPY HOLE INTO GOLIATH BOOKS WHERE
MANNY IS WORKING). There! There he is, half Iago half Fu Man Chu, all bastard.
MANNY (REHEARSING): Hello, how are you today, hello, how are you?
CUSTOMER COUGHS
MANNY: Are you today, hello how. How are you today hello.
CUSTOMER: Im fine. Do you have
MANNY: Welcome, to Goliath Books.
CUSTOMER: Im looking for
MANNY: Ill help you, er, how may I help you?
CUSTOMER: I want
MANNY: My name is Manny.
CUSTOMER: Never mind.
FRAN: I need a drink, Manny could you, oh, Bernard could you get me one?
BERNARD: Get it yourself, Im missing my programme.

Scene 2
EVAN: Manny! Theres no need to flinch, youre safe now, when youre with us youre a team member,
what are you?
MANNY: A team member.
EVAN: And were glad to have you. Muffins are for customers. Now, this is you do-te-de-do card.
MANNY: Do-te-de-do?
EVAN: This is the most advanced retail software in the world. Now youre gonna need a password.
MANNY: Oh er, what about Surf King.
EVAN: Ehh, or team member number 8. Now from this retail console you can control the whole shopping
environment. Theres the shutters, theres the lights, theres the revolving display, the cameras, you can
order the muffins, it does the lot.
MANNY: Its fantastic.
EVAN: It also monitors your toilet visits and scans your retinas every 80 seconds.
MANNY: Whys that?
EVAN: Just making sure youre still you! Some people might call that invasive, but we like to think is
shows we care, see ya later.
(FRAN ENTERS)
MANNY: Oh, Fran, how was your trip?
FRAN: Manny, come back to the shop.
MANNY: Im not going back, I like it here, Ive got respect and responsibility, Ive got a do-te-de-do. Im a
team member and Bernard was very mean and he wouldnt say sorry. Im not going back.
FRAN: You have to come back Manny, Bernard and I need you. (MANNY SHAKES HIS HEAD) Well Im
staying here until you do (FRAN GETS A CHAIR AND LIGHTS A CIGARETTE)
MANNY: Fran, Fran somebody will be here very soon.
EVAN: Hello, how may I help you?
MANNY: Shes a friend
EVAN: Hey terrific, a friend of Mannys. How may I help you?
FRAN: Im just browsing.
EVAN: Well we have a really comfortable area just over there specially for that
FRAN: (FRAN STANDS UP) I wanna browse here.
SOMEBODY MOVES FRANS CHAIR.
EVAN: (EVAN TAKES HER CIGARETTE AND PUTS IT OUT IN HIS HAND) Sorry!
FRAN: Right, well Ill just go home and unpack and not talk to anyone today shall I?
EVAN: So, a friend?
MANNY: Yes er, she used to er come into the shop to see me and Bernard it was great we used to have
EVAN: I see! I took a risk when I employed you Manny. Dont eat muffins when Im developing you. I
took a risk when I gave you a job, a lot of people would have said Who is this rudder-less hippie? How
do I get away from him? Does he have a hunting knife strapped to his shin?, but I saw through
that, but you have to work for me, OK?
MANNY: OK.
EVAN: Were your friends now Manny.
MANNY: Yes, I know, thank you Evan.
EVAN: OK now one of our valued younger customers has blocked up the toilet with monster
munch. Now I need that toilet back in play, lets approach that as a team shall we? How can WE
make that happen?
MANNY: OK er, we could er phone for er a plum ( EVAN HANDS MANNY A BUCKET AND
RUBBER GLOVES)
EVAN: Go team!

Scene 3
BERNARD CLEANS HIS TEETH WITH AN OLD BRUSH AND WATER FROM AN OLD TEAPOT.
MANNY: Oh no, no, no Im gonna be late, Im gonna lose team champion points. Oh no..
Bernard Ive washed your bed sheet, I havent had time to dry them, can you do it?
BERNARD: Breakfast, breakfast!
MANNY: (HANDS BERNARD A BOWL OF VARIOUS FOOD) The beans are under the milk.
BERNARD: Thats it, youre evicted.
MANNY: What?
BERNARD: Up with this I will not put, pack and be gone.
MANNY: Bernard no, look at yourself, whos gonna look after you? You cant survive on the
mushrooms in your hair.
BERNARD: Im fine (PICKS A MUSHROOM FROM HIS HAIR AND EATS IT) Go on get out, go
to him, go to your fancy man, I dont need you any more.
MANNY: Look Bernard, it doesnt have to be like this if you would just apologise.
BERNARD: What, you mean youd come back and work in the shop, everything would be normal?
MANNY: Yes.
BERNARD: Youd cook and clean and surprise me every now and again with those profiteroles you make
if I took you to the pictures at Christmas?
MANNY: Yes.
BERNARD: And all I have to do to get that back is say sorry?
MANNY: Thats exactly what Im saying.
BERNARD: I thought soGet out!

Scene 4
BERNARD IS SPYING ON MANNY AGAIN.
FRAN: Morning.
BERNARD: Hes bending down now, ah look hes getting up again I knew hed do that.
FRAN: Is this really helping?
BERNARD: Look now hes going up on that little ladder, up he goes with that little wiggle of his, the
wiggle of Judas, the Judas boogie.
FRAN: (WALKING AWAY) Well I think youre both being really selfish. What about me, what am I
supposed to do? Think about me, Im a girl and its horrible in here. (BERNARD COUGHS A LOT) Look at
yourself, how can you live like this?
BERNARD: Dont move.
FRAN: What?
BERNARD: Dont move.
FRAN: (GETTING WORRIED) What? (BERNARD PEELS A CHEESE SLICE FROM A CHAIR AND EATS
IT)

Scene 5
MANNY: (ON PHONE) Oh hello, Im looking for somewhere in the Bloomsbury area, overlooking Hyde
Park with a good view of the river and a spiral staircase. My budget is, is 100 a week.
EVAN: Manny! Do you have a mo for a small chatette? (MANNY HANGS UP QUICKLY)
MANNY: Fine-a-mundo
EVAN: Now, Ive been thinking about clothes and what they say about us. Now the good think about
working here of course is that we get to wear our own clothes, I mean were not robots are we?
MANNY: No (IN A ROBOTIC VOICE) hello can I help you, hello can I help you, hello can I help you
EVAN: Manny, we love your style ok, the shirts the sandals, he, he, its funky. But imaging were all on a
football team ok and the guy on the wings hes wearing a crazy shirt. Nobody knows what team hes on, can
I pass to him? I dont know. And look his sandal has come off on the muddy ground. DAMN IT weve lost
five nil.
MANNY: Oh.
EVAN: So tomorrow plain pastels if you please, and if youd be so good a pair of shoes.
MANNY: But were not actually playing football.
EVAN: Great.
MANNY: I mean, its a floor, its not like Im on a pitch
EVAN: Good, so long as were happy.
MANNY: Its not like we have oranges at half time.
EVAN: Great!
Frans voice coming from the Wendy house impersonating Bernard and Manny
FRAN: Cheers, cheers, cheers. Manny would you hurry up with the wine. Yes Manny come on. Sorry
Bernard, Bernard, Bernard, sorry, sorry. Now shall we go to the pub or just stay in?
MANNY: Fran?
FRAN: Well I have to have somewhere to go Manny. Now Bernard really wants to talk to you. Yes I do.
And if you wont go Im gonna have to live here.

Scene 6
FRAN: Now we are going to sort this out OK? Bernard I think you have something you want to say to
Manny.
Bernard shakes his head and Fran mouths the word sorry to him.
BERNARD: Manny Im sorry Im sorry I ever let you in here to rob me of my best years before leaving
me a burnt out husk.
FRAN: Well that, that gives us somewhere to work from dont you think Manny? Manny I think you would
like to tell Bernard just how much youd like to come back and make is all nice again.
MANNY: No, no wait a minute, this is all about you isnt it Fran. Youre being totally selfish, why cant
you let us have our viscous soul destroying break up in peace?
BERNARD: Hes right, we are in pieces and you dont care about anything except having somewhere to
hang around.
MANNY: Hmm thanks
BERNARD: Not at all. Its never going to be like it was Fran.
MANNY: Never, I agree
BERNARD: We agree. Manny and I are opposed on every point.
MANNY: Well put
BERNARD: Thank you
MANNY: My pleasure
BERNARD: Havent you got other friends to annoy? Why dont you go and persecute them?
MANNY: Yeah, yeah, society lady. How come you went to Cornwall on your own?
BERNARD: Yeah, how come?
FRAN: Ivegot...friends.
BERNARD: Well go to them.
FRAN: I will.
MANNY: Yeah, dont let us stop you.
FRAN: I wont.
BERNARD: Well go on then.
Manny: Too de loo.
Fran leaves, Bernard and Manny make mocking faces and are about to start chatting.
MANNY: Oh er listen, dont forget to dry your sheets. Well Ill be off then, since its all over between us.
Ill write.
BERNARD: I wont read it.
MANNY: Well Ill call.
BERNARD: Ill hang up.
MANNY: Well, Ill come and see you.
BERNARD: Ill be dead by then.
MANNY: Listen, it doesnt have to be like this, if you would just say those two words.
BERNARD STRETCHES OUT HIS ARMS FOR A HUG, SO DOES MANNY, BERNARD APPROACHES
MANNY AND TAKES HOLD OF HIS HANDS HITTING HIM ON THE HEAD
BERNARD: Get Out!

Scene 7
IN GOLIATH BOOKS
EVAN: Ok huddle time, huddle time, huddle time, gather round guys. Great day today team (everybody
Yes!) OK Ok that was a silver star day. Ok tomorrow I want gold. Ok You see selling books is a
game. It has rules. You need to learn those rules, yeah, and you need to get serious about them,
because its not a game. Ok home time, off you go. You coming Manny?
MANNY: No I thought Id put in an extra hour, really get to grips with the do-te-de do.
EVAN: Above and beyond the call of duty, thats one team champion point for you right there sir.
MANNY: Yes!
EVAN: Manny, your hair, does it ever get in the way at all?
MANNY: Not really.
EVAN: Hmmm
EVAN LEAVES, MANNY JUMPS UP ON THE COUNTER IN A SLEEPING BAG WITH A MUFFIN
AND A BOOK. BERNARD IS WATCHING, HE CLOSES HIS SPY HOLE, WRAPS UP IN THE
WET SHEETS, COUGHING ALL THE TIME, SITS IN HIS CHAIR, LIGHTS A CIG, COUGHS AND
IT FALL INTO HIS WINE, THROWS A BOOK AT THE LIGHT SWITCH.
Scene 8
NEXT MORNING AT GOLIATH BOOKS, EVAN ARRIVES WHILE MANNY IS STILL IN HIS
SLEEPING BAG.
EVAN: Morning Manny.
MANNY: Morning Evan, just popped in to do my yoga. I do it every morning, in my yoga bag.
Just running through a few positions. This is the worm, worm saluting the sun, anaconda.
EVAN: Manny Im a reasonable guy. I like to be straight with people I expect them to be the
same. If you tell me the truth I wont get mad. So tell me, did you sleep here last night?
MANNY: Yes I did (they both laugh)
EVAN: Im really angry now!!

Scene 9
IN BLACK BOOKS
BERNARD COUGHING AND PALE.
BERNARD: Not so good, not feeling so good. Coffee and something, medicine. ( EATS SOME
SLUG PELLETS) Kapow oven cleaner, if you can clean an oven you can clean me. (FILLS HIS
MOUTH WITH OVEN CLEANER) Ah, coffee.
HE TAKES ONE TEASPOON OF COFFEE OUT OF THE JAR AND THEN FILLS THE JAR WITH
HOT WATER & DRINKS IT, THEN PROCEEDS TO COUGH VIOLENTLY.
Scene 10
BACK IN GOLIATH BOOKS:
EVAN: Look at me Manny what do you see?
MANNY: Well
EVAN: Ill tell you, you see me and you say hey theres Evan. Hes a young guy, he likes the
Stereophonics, he rides a scooter. Lets see how far I can push him, but youve let me down
Manny
MANNY: Please give me one more chance.
EVAN: I need a sign Manny, a sign that you can change, I need you to do something for me
MANNY: What?
EVAN: I think you know (MANNY IS HANDED A TOWEL AND HAIR CLIPPERS) The hair
Manny. Its a wall between you and the customers, between you and me, between you and the
future, we need you to look like this (HOLDS UP A PICTURE OF A SHORT HAIRED MANNY)
MANNY: Not the hair, please not the hair, Ive had it since I was nine.
EVAN: Its time.
EVERYONE ESCORTS MANNY TO THE WASHROOM, MANNY STARTS THE CLIPPERS UP,
SOBBING.
EVAN: (OUTSIDE THE WASHROOM) How you doing in there Manny? Were all rooting for you
out here. Manny? Manny? Manny? (EVAN ENTERS THE ROOM MANNY IS GONE) MANNY!

Scene 11
BACK IN BLACK BOOKS:
MANNY: Bernard Im sorry, it was my fault you toasted my hand, will you take me back please,
Bernard, where are you Bernard?
BERNARD: Manny, Manny I dont feel that well, like Ive been beaten up under water. I can feel
bits of my brain falling away like a wet cake, will you help?
MANNY: I will Bernard, I will.
FRAN: Bernard, Manny Ive come to tell you that Im moving to Cornwall in order to start a new
life.
MANNY: Yeah, yeah, just give us a hand will you?
FRAN: Ok ok, I was gonna go you know
MANNY: Yeah, yeah. Hang in there Bernard, Fran get some hot towels and some fluffy water.
ENTER EVAN.
EVAN: Manny! Come here.
MANNY: Bernard he wants my hair.
BERNARD: How dare you. Dont you touch a hair on that boys head, have you no respect? Hes mine, get
your own human plaything. You quartz brained little cream puff. (AIMS A PUNCH AT EVAN, MISSES AND
FALL ON THE FLOOR, FRAN AND MANNY RUN TO HELP)
EVAN: OK well I tried. Theres obviously no point out reaching to people like you. Manny in two years
you could have been vice-deputy-sub-assistant, but youre not, youre here shuffling around on the floor like
the worm you are.
EVAN GOES BACK TO GOLIATH BOOKS, MANNY HAS CLOGGED THE DO-TE-DE-DO MACHINE
WITH MUFFIN CRUMBS, EVAN GETS AN ELECTRIC SHOCK, ALL THE DEVICES GO CRAZY, A
CAMERA FALLS ON EVANS HEAD.
BERNARD: Manny, Im so sorry you had to go through that abuse. Were a little hungry now so fetch up
some wine would you.
FRAN: Oh yes Manny, go on get something nice, were really famished.
MANNY: OK what sort of thing would you like
BERNARD: (PUSHES MANNY INTO THE BACK ROOM AND CLOSES THE CURTAIN ON HIM) Dont
ask questions, just do it! And clean this place up its a disgrace. And boil my eye bath, and polish the stair
rods, de-louse the duvets, and tumble dry our doyleys, and hoover the roof and whistle down the chimneys.
MANNY SMILES, HAPPY TO BE BACK HOME!
The End

Taken from:
Dawn, Howard. "Black Books Series Three Episode One Manny Come Home -
Transcript" Dylan Moran Rules. 2010. Web. 7 April 2013.
Appendix 7: The Questionnaire for English Teachers at Secondary and Language
Schools
1. I have been teaching English to students 15 years of age and older at
a) grammar school.
b) language school.
c) both grammar and language school.

2. I have been teaching English for
a) less than 5 years.
b) 5 to 15 years.
c) 15 to 30 years.
d) more than 30 years.

3. I have an access to a TV and a DVD player in every of my English classes at least
once a week.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.

4. I have an access to a computer and a data projector in every of my English classes
at least once a week.
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) I don't know.

5. I have worked with these English authentic audio-visual materials in my English
classes:
a) feature film
b) sitcom
c) documentary
d) news
e) commercial
f) serial story
g) different kind of audio-visuals
Specify................................
h) none of these materials (question 5 is the last one if your answer is h)

6. Prior to, while or after watching English authentic audio-visual material students
are supposed to fulfil related tasks.
a) Yes.
b) No. (question 6 is the last one if your answer is b)
c) I dont know. (question 6 is the last one if your answer is c)

7. When working with English authentic audio-visual material in my classes I take
advantage of accessible worksheets related to the material.
a) Yes.
b) No. (continue with question 9 if your answer is b)
c) I dont know. (continue with question 9 if your answer is c)

8. Choose to what extent you are satisfied with accessible worksheets related
to English authentic audio-visual materials.
a) Very satisfied
b) Somewhat satisfied
c) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
d) Somewhat dissatisfied
e) Very dissatisfied

9. I prepare my own worksheets related to English authentic audio-visual materials.
a) Yes.
b) No. (question 10 is the last one if your answer is b)
c) I dont know. (question 10 is the last one if your answer is c)

10. I focus on these aspects in my worksheets related to English authentic
audio-visual material:
a) cultural reference
b) vocabulary and phrases (idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations)
c) sentence structures
d) varieties of English
e) pronunciation
f) stereotypes
g) pragmatics (speech acts, contextual meaning)
h) different aspect.
Specify................................

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