The Jonathan Ross Show: Why Americans Changed the English Language

Beginner

1. Listening for Gist. Students listen to the first minute of the recording. Afterward, they choose the correct main topic from a list of options: a) a comedian talking about his job, b) a person talking about differences between British and American English, or c) a person describing a funny memory from their childhood. This task helps learners grasp the overall theme.
2. Listening for Key Words. Students are given a list of 5-7 simple, high-frequency words from the video(e.g., English, American, pavement, sidewalk, bin, basket). They listen and check off the words they hear. This task helps them identify crucial vocabulary in a spoken context.
3. Simple Question Answering. Students listen to a short section and answer simple yes/no or “wh-” questions, such as “Did the speaker talk about the word pavement?” or “What is the American word for a bin?” This practice focuses on pulling explicit information from the dialogue.

Intermediate

1. Listening for Specific Details. Students listen to the section about the word horseback riding. They then have to answer specific questions like “Why did Americans have to change the word from horse riding?” (to specify the area of the horse) and “What did the speaker jokingly say Americans used to hold onto?” (the tail). This task requires learners to sift through information to find targeted details.
2. Identifying Cause and Effect. Students listen to the joke about the word pavement being changed to sidewalk. They must identify the reason the speaker gives for this change (Americans kept getting hit by cars). This helps students understand how ideas are linked in a narrative.
3. Listening for Tone and Emotion. Students listen to different parts of the monologue and describe the speaker’s tone. For example, is he serious or sarcastic when he says, “They needed more information?” They should be able to identify emotional cues and explain what words or phrases convey them.

Advanced

1. Analyzing Argument Structure. Students listen to the monologue and analyze the structure of the speaker’s argument. They should identify his main point (Americans change English words to make them more descriptive and easier to understand) and explain how his personal anecdotes and jokes support this point. This task requires a high-level understanding of the monologue’s overall message.
2. Identifying Irony and Subtext. Students listen to the speaker’s humorous statements, such as calling his accent “American” or saying the game of “racketball” has no court. They must explain the irony and subtext behind these remarks. This tests the ability to understand implied meaning and sophisticated humor.
3. Comprehensive Note-Taking and Summarizing. Students listen to the entire monologue and take detailed notes on the key topics and jokes. After listening, they use their notes to write a comprehensive summary of the monologue, capturing the main ideas, humorous elements, and the speaker’s overall purpose. This task synthesizes listening and writing skills at a high level.

Beginner

• Task 1: Vocabulary Matching. Students read a list of simple words from the videoand match each one to its American equivalent mentioned in the text. This helps them recognize and pair related vocabulary. Example pairs include: pavement/sidewalk, bin/waste paper basket, and glasses/eyeglasses.
• Task 2: Basic Comprehension Questions. Students read a short section of the videoand answer simple “wh-” questions to find explicit information. For example, “What did Americans change the word ‘pavement’ to?” or “What game is called ‘racquetball’ in America?” This focuses on literal comprehension and detail extraction.
• Task 3: Simple True/False Statements. Students read a series of statements based on the videoand decide if each is true or false. For instance, “The speaker says Americans use the word ‘bin'” (False) or “The speaker says Americans used to ride horses by holding the tail” (True, within the context of the joke). This practice reinforces reading for explicit details.

Intermediate

• Task 1: Identifying the Main Idea of a Section. Students divide the videointo sections based on the words discussed (pavement, bin, eyeglasses, etc.). For each section, they write a one-sentence summary of the main idea, explaining why the speaker finds the American version of the word humorous. This encourages students to synthesize information and grasp the key point of each segment.
• Task 2: Explaining a Joke. Students read one of the speaker’s jokes and write a short paragraph explaining the humor behind it. For example, they can explain the joke about “waste paper basket” by noting how the speaker implies Americans need detailed instructions for what to throw away.
• Task 3: Analyzing the Speaker’s Argument. Students write a short paragraph summarizing the speaker’s overall argument about American English. They should identify his core claim—that Americans change words to be more descriptive—and use at least two examples from the text to support their summary.

Advanced

• Task 1: Analyzing Rhetorical Devices. Students read the entire videoand identify specific rhetorical devices used by the speaker, such as satire, hyperbole, and sarcasm. They then write a short essay explaining how these devices are used to create humor and deliver the speaker’s commentary. For instance, they can analyze the use of hyperbole in the statement that Americans would “put [glasses] on their thighs.”
• Task 2: Examining Cultural and Social Commentary. Students write a short essay analyzing the speaker’s commentary on American culture. They should discuss how his humorous observations on language are a form of social critique, exploring underlying themes such as intelligence, practicality, or cultural identity.
• Task 3: Comparing and Contrasting Arguments. Students read the videoand write a detailed essay comparing and contrasting the speaker’s humorous claims about American English with a more formal linguistic analysis of the differences between American and British English. This task requires a high level of analytical and critical reading skills.

Beginner

• Task 1: Fill in the Blanks. Students are given a short passage from the videowith key words missing (e.g., “They changed pavement to sidewalk. They needed to know where they were going to be walking.”). They must read the videoand write in the missing words to complete the sentences. This task helps learners practice spelling and writing specific words in a meaningful context.
• Task 2: Simple Sentence Writing. Students read the videoand choose two pairs of words (British and American) discussed by the speaker. For each pair, they write a simple sentence using the American word. For example, “I walk on the sidewalk” or “I need a waste paper basket.” This task reinforces vocabulary and basic sentence structure.
• Task 3: Simple Summary. Students read a short section of the video , such as the part about eyeglasses. They then write 2-3 simple sentences summarizing the speaker’s humorous point about why Americans use that word. For example, “Americans had a problem. They didn’t know where to put their glasses. So they called them eyeglasses.” This task helps beginners practice summarizing a key idea in their own words.

Intermediate

• Task 1: Explaining a Joke in Writing. Students read one of the speaker’s jokes (e.g., the one about horseback riding or waste paper basket). They then write a short paragraph explaining the humor behind the joke and the speaker’s implied reason for the American word choice. This task requires students to demonstrate comprehension of a complex idea and to articulate it clearly.
• Task 2: Writing a Dialogue. Students read the videoand choose one of the scenarios, such as the one about eyeglasses. They then write a short dialogue between a British person and an American person, with the British person being confused by the American term and the American person explaining it. This task helps students practice writing realistic and contextually appropriate conversations.
• Task 3: Argumentative Paragraph. Students write a paragraph arguing for or against the speaker’s claim that Americans change words to make them more descriptive. They must use at least two specific examples from the videoto support their point. This task encourages students to formulate a clear position and support it with evidence from a text.

Advanced

• Task 1: Analytical Essay. Students read the entire videoand write an essay analyzing the speaker’s use of satire to comment on language and culture. They should discuss how the speaker’s exaggerated examples and humorous tone serve to critique the differences between British and American English. This task requires a high level of analytical and critical writing skills.
• Task 2: Creative Writing: A Continuation. Students write a new section for the monologue, adding at least one more example of a word with different meanings in British and American English. They should mimic the speaker’s style, including the use of humor, personification, and an explanation of the “reason” behind the American word choice.
• Task 3: Formal Essay. Students write a formal essay that compares the speaker’s comedic perspective on language to a more academic, sociolinguistic perspective. They should discuss how the speaker’s claims hold up (or don’t) from a linguistic standpoint, using specific examples from the videoand external knowledge about language evolution. This task requires a synthesis of a casual text with academic knowledge.