S2E08 - Stage Fright

Objective & content

Moments before the curtain rises, Rosie is gripping her sheet music and shaking, while Priya loosens up with a goofy pre-show ritual. The episode teaches be + a feeling adjective in positive, negative and question forms (I'm so nervous, Priya; Aren't you nervous at all?). The vocabulary field is feelings (nervous, calm, excited, ridiculous, ritual). Learners follow how Rosie's mood changes, listening first, then checking understanding with the in-app quiz.

Pedagogical guide

French and German learners often say I have nervous, calquing j'ai peur, instead of I am nervous. The script also contains a trap worth writing on the board: Priya says Even famous musicians get nervous, and Rosie answers Do they?, not Are they?.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Ask whether they have been nervous before a test or a match, and collect the feeling words they know.
2. (5 min) Introduce Rosie and Priya, then preview nervous, calm, ridiculous and ritual with faces and mimes.
3. (4 min) First listen: how does Rosie feel at the start, and at the end?
4. (8 min) Second listen with pauses after You look completely ridiculous, the dropped sheet music and I do feel calmer now.
5. (7 min) Build the positive, negative and question forms on the board, and write be nervous beside get nervous.
6. (6 min) Pairs say how they feel before something stressful: I'm ... before ... I'm not ... Are you ...?

Materials & prerequisites

The episode in the PLAY app (audio, slideshow, text and quiz), a student sheet and a teacher sheet with the answer key. Learners need the verb be and a few basic adjectives.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4 (5e), axis "School and society": school life and how pupils feel about performing in public.