S2E14 - You Could Have Called

Objective & content

In "You Could Have Called", Tiago misses the night he promised to help Neil set up the café for Stella's show, and he forgets Elena's grandmother's seventy-birthday dinner. Neil also reports that his photo map is rebuilt on the forum every morning, and Tiago does not seem to hear how worried he is. The grammar focus is modal perfects of reproach (could have, should have, with would have for the imagined past), as in "You could have sent one message, Tiago". The vocabulary covers family, feelings and relationships, and school life. Learners practise listening comprehension and then the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson lasts 50 minutes: pre-listening, listening and post-listening. Learners start from a time someone broke a promise, preview five words (silence, bell, fix, microphone, setting), then listen twice with three pauses. The post-listening block covers comprehension, vocabulary, a grammar game on reproach sentences, a pair role play and an optional short writing task. The plan offers [S] support and [A] extension options throughout.

Suggested procedure

1. (4 min) Write "Someone promised to come, and did not." on the board. Pairs talk for two minutes, then you collect three answers.
2. (6 min) Preview the five key words with simple definitions.
3. (4 min) First listen, without interruption, about 3 minutes. Ask for the main topic.
4. (10 min) Second listen with pauses at 0:39, 1:42 and 2:55, and one question at each.
5. (5 min) Comprehension check: five oral or written questions.
6. (4 min) Vocabulary matching with the five words.
7. (7 min) Grammar focus: three lines from the script, then a quick game where learners answer a situation with "You could have ..." or "You should have ...".
8. (4 min) Pair role play: one learner reproaches, the other gives an excuse and an apology.
9. (2 min, optional) Learners write three sentences to a friend who let them down.

Materials & prerequisites

• Audio file or the Academy app, whiteboard or projector.
• Student sheet and teacher sheet (PDF or HTML), in `printables/`.
• Lesson plan, in `teachers-resources/`.
• Paper strips for the grammar game.
• Prerequisites: the past simple and irregular past participles (sent, come, heard).

Curriculum alignment

Tagged `c4-encountering-others`: cycle 4, for a 3eme class. The CEFR half-level is B1-.