S1E24 - The One Who Believes Me

Objective & content

At closing time in Café Marisol, Elena notices that Tiago has been silent all week and never defends himself. Tiago tells her, for the first time, that there was a fire in São Paulo but he did not start it, although he will not say whom he is protecting. Elena believes him and ends with the line "You're the realest person I've met here, Tiago." The grammar focus is reported speech with said and told, for example turning "it was me" into a report. Learners also work on vocabulary about trust and truth (destroy, protect, truth, forever, shout, material, midnight) and listen for how a character decides to believe a friend.

Pedagogical guide

The lesson plan is a 50-minute lesson at A2+ for 4e. It introduces reported speech with the verb moving one step back (can't becomes couldn't) and the difference between said and told, which needs a person. Keep the opening question general so that nobody has to give a personal example.

Suggested procedure

1. (4 min) Activate prior knowledge: "Who do you tell when something is difficult?", then give the context of the café scene.
2. (6 min) Preview seven words: destroy, protect, truth, forever, shout, material, midnight.
3. (4 min) First listen for gist: what is the main topic of the episode?
4. (11 min) Second listen, pausing at the end of each scene: what Elena notices, what Tiago can and cannot say, and why he tells her.
5. (6 min) Comprehension check with five questions that match the in-app quiz.
6. (4 min) Vocabulary practice: match the words and definitions with cards.
7. (8 min) Grammar focus: report lines from the script with said and told, then report two more in pairs.
8. (7 min) Speaking extension: one student states a worry, the partner answers kindly, and each reports the other's sentence.

Materials & prerequisites

• The episode audio or the Academy app, and a board or projector.
• `printables/student-sheet.pdf` and `printables/teacher-sheet.pdf`.
• Index cards or scrap paper for the vocabulary game.
• Prerequisite: the past simple, including irregular verbs.

Curriculum alignment

Cycle 4, 4e: axis "encountering others" (`c4-encountering-others`).