Lights, Camera, Communicate!

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL film and cinema board game preview for pre-intermediate A2 showing impromptu speech and communicative group practice

ESL Film and Cinema Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Impromptu Speech, Communicative Practice - Group Work

This communicative film and cinema board game helps students practice talking about films and going to the cinema. In groups, students take turns rolling...

ESL Film and Cinema Board Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Impromptu Speech, Communicative Practice - Group Work This communicative film and cinema board game helps students practice talking about films and going to the cinema. In groups, students take turns rolling the dice and moving their counter along the board. When a student lands on a square, they talk about the film or cinema topic on the square for 20 seconds without stopping. If a student can't think of anything to say or stops talking before the 20 seconds are up, they go back to their previous square. The first student to reach the finish wins the game. You can make the game easier or harder by increasing or decreasing the length of time students are required to talk.
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What's on TV tonight?

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL TV programmes information gap activity preview for pre-intermediate A2 with TV guide and pair questions

ESL TV Programmes Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work

In this useful TV guide information gap activity, students learn about different types of TV programmes by asking and answering questions about what's on TV. In pairs, students complete missing...

ESL TV Programmes Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work In this useful TV guide information gap activity, students learn about different types of TV programmes by asking and answering questions about what's on TV. In pairs, students complete missing information in a TV guide on their worksheet by asking questions to their partner about what's on TV, e.g. 'What's on Channel 1 at six o'clock?' 'What kind of programme is...?' When the students have finished, they check their answers by comparing worksheets.
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Film Genres

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL film genres activity preview for intermediate B1 showing table completion and film recommendations

ESL Film Genres Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Table Completion, Asking and Answering Questions, Recommending, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work

In this productive film genres discussion activity, students learn about different types of film genres and discuss and recommend films. First, students think of...

ESL Film Genres Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Table Completion, Asking and Answering Questions, Recommending, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this productive film genres discussion activity, students learn about different types of film genres and discuss and recommend films. First, students think of a film that they enjoyed watching for each type of genre on the worksheet and write down the names of the films. In pairs, students then discuss the films they like from the different genres using language from the worksheet and recommend two film titles to their partner. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on their film recommendations.
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Movie Conversation Questions

Intermediate (B1) 40 minutes
ESL movie conversation questions activity preview for intermediate B1 with gap-fill and speaking practice

ESL Movie Conversation Questions Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work

In this free talking about films activity, students complete questions about films with question words and then ask and answer the questions with a partner...

ESL Movie Conversation Questions Activity - Vocabulary and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work In this free talking about films activity, students complete questions about films with question words and then ask and answer the questions with a partner. In two groups, students use question words in a box on their worksheet to complete a set of movie conversation questions. Students then pair up with someone from the other group and take it in turns to ask and answer the questions with their partner. When everyone has finished, students give feedback to the class on what they found out.
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Movie Review

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL movie review activity preview for intermediate B1 with vocabulary matching and group review discussions

ESL Movie Review Activity - Vocabulary, Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussing Opinions - Group Work

In this engaging movie review activity, students learn film vocabulary and then write and discuss movie reviews. Students begin by matching sentence halves...

ESL Movie Review Activity - Vocabulary, Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussing Opinions - Group Work In this engaging movie review activity, students learn film vocabulary and then write and discuss movie reviews. Students begin by matching sentence halves together to make definitions of film vocabulary. Next, students read a short movie review and answer two questions about it. After that, students think of a movie they would like to review and complete a movie review form, detailing the genre, a description of the plot, their opinion of the movie and recommendations. In groups, students then take it in turns to read out their movie reviews to their group members who listen to each review and discuss their opinions on the movie.
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Talking about Films

Intermediate (B1) 60 minutes
ESL film and cinema lesson preview for intermediate B1 with genre vocabulary, group discussion, and guided tasks

ESL Film and Cinema Lesson - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Sentence Completion, Gap-fill, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Group Work

In this insightful film and cinema lesson, students learn vocabulary related to films and film genres and practice talking about movies. Students begin by matching...

ESL Film and Cinema Lesson - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Sentence Completion, Gap-fill, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Group Work In this insightful film and cinema lesson, students learn vocabulary related to films and film genres and practice talking about movies. Students begin by matching sentence halves together to complete definitions of film genres. Students then write the name of one film that matches with each type of film genre. Next, students answer questions about their favourite film and read out their answers to the class. After that, students describe film actors and actresses and write about their favourite ones. In groups, students then talk about films using a set of prompts. Finally, students have a discussion to decide which film the group would like to see at the cinema.
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Talking about TV

Intermediate (B1) 60 minutes
ESL TV programmes lesson preview for intermediate B1 with genre vocabulary, guided prompts, and group discussion

ESL TV Programmes Lesson - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Sentence Completion, Gap-fill, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Group Work

In this comprehensive TV programmes lesson, students learn vocabulary related to TV and TV genres and practice talking about TV programmes. To begin, students...

ESL TV Programmes Lesson - Vocabulary Exercises: Matching, Sentence Completion, Gap-fill, Short Answer Questions - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Group Work In this comprehensive TV programmes lesson, students learn vocabulary related to TV and TV genres and practice talking about TV programmes. To begin, students match sentence halves together to complete definitions of TV genres. Students then write the name of one TV programme that matches with each type of genre. Next, students answer questions about their favourite TV programmes, actors and actresses. In groups, students then talk about TV using prompts. Finally, students have a discussion to decide which TV programme the group would like to watch.
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TV and Film Question Time

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL TV and film question time activity preview for intermediate B1 with prompts and classroom speaking

ESL TV and Film Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice

In this handy TV and film speaking activity, students practice asking and answering questions about TV programmes, films and cinema. Students begin by preparing yes/no questions about TV programmes...

ESL TV and Film Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice In this handy TV and film speaking activity, students practice asking and answering questions about TV programmes, films and cinema. Students begin by preparing yes/no questions about TV programmes and films from the items on the worksheet. Students then move around the classroom asking and answering the questions, e.g. 'Have you seen the same film more than once?' When a classmate responds 'yes' to a question, the student writes down their name and asks a follow-up question, e.g. 'What's the name of the film?' The student then writes down their classmate's response. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on what they found out.
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Behind the Scenes

Upper-intermediate (B2) 20 minutes
ESL TV and film game preview for upper-intermediate B2 with vocabulary guessing and pair role cards

ESL TV and Film Game - Vocabulary: Guessing - Pair Work

In this fun TV and film vocabulary game, students guess the names of people involved in TV and film productions from clues. In pairs, students take turns picking up a card and reading the clue for three points to their partner, who listens and...

ESL TV and Film Game - Vocabulary: Guessing - Pair Work In this fun TV and film vocabulary game, students guess the names of people involved in TV and film productions from clues. In pairs, students take turns picking up a card and reading the clue for three points to their partner, who listens and guesses the crew or cast role. If the student correctly guesses the role, they score three points. If the student doesn't know the answer or guesses incorrectly, the first student reads the next clue for two points, and so on, until the correct answer is given or all the clues have been used. The card is then removed from the game, and the students swap roles. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.
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Film Review

Upper-intermediate (B2) 45 minutes
ESL film review worksheet preview for upper-intermediate B2 with writing exercises and review presentations

ESL Film Review Worksheet - Writing Exercises: Form Completion, Writing Sentences, Writing a Summary and Review

In this interesting film review worksheet, students learn what goes in a film review and practice writing one. This activity is well suited to follow a class film viewing. First, students think of a film...

ESL Film Review Worksheet - Writing Exercises: Form Completion, Writing Sentences, Writing a Summary and Review In this interesting film review worksheet, students learn what goes in a film review and practice writing one. This activity is well suited to follow a class film viewing. First, students think of a film they have seen or one that they imagine. Next, students write down the name of the film, year of release, director's name, film genre, and the names of the lead actors. Students then move on to write what they think of various aspects of the film and write a short summary of their overall opinion. After reading through some film review tips, students use the information from the previous exercises to write a film review. When the students have finished, they read out their film reviews to the class.
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The Movie Pitch

Upper-intermediate (B2) 60 minutes
ESL movie pitch activity preview for upper-intermediate B2 with story outline, group planning, and presenting

ESL Movie Pitch Activity - Writing and Speaking: Table Completion, Writing a Story Outline, Writing and Presenting a Dialogue - Group Work

In this free presenting a movie pitch activity, students create a plot for a film by choosing characters, places and events from a worksheet. Students then...

ESL Movie Pitch Activity - Writing and Speaking: Table Completion, Writing a Story Outline, Writing and Presenting a Dialogue - Group Work In this free presenting a movie pitch activity, students create a plot for a film by choosing characters, places and events from a worksheet. Students then think of a title, prepare a short dialogue for one of the film's scenes and then pitch their idea for the movie to the class. In groups, students choose three characters, places and events from each column on the worksheet. Students then create the details of a film plot and write an outline for their film using their chosen characters, places and events. Students also think of a film title and create a short dialogue for one of the scenes in their movie. After that, groups rehearse the dialogue and prepare their movie pitch. Each group then pitches their movie to the class and acts out their scene. Finally, there is a class discussion and vote to see which film students would choose to be made into a movie.
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The Oscars

Upper-intermediate (B2) 40 minutes
ESL film awards discussion activity preview for upper-intermediate B2 with nominations, opinions, and group debate

ESL Film Awards Discussion - Speaking Activity: Expressing Opinions, Agreeing and Disagreeing, Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair and Group Work

In this intriguing film awards discussion activity, students discuss and make nominations for the Oscars. To begin, students write their Oscar...

ESL Film Awards Discussion - Speaking Activity: Expressing Opinions, Agreeing and Disagreeing, Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair and Group Work In this intriguing film awards discussion activity, students discuss and make nominations for the Oscars. To begin, students write their Oscar nomination for each category on the worksheet. In pairs, students then explain their nominations to their partner, give opinions on their partner's nominations and make comparisons. Each pair then agrees on a nomination for each category, noting down the answers. Next, each pair joins with another pair to make a group of four. Each group then discusses and agrees on a final set of nominations. Afterwards, each group announces their final nominations to the class and the other students say whether they agree with each group's choices.
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TV Taboo

Upper-intermediate (B2) 25 minutes
ESL describing TV programmes game preview for upper-intermediate B2 with vocabulary cards and guessing

ESL Describing TV Programmes Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Describing, Guessing - Group Work

In this creative describing TV programmes game, students describe and guess different types of TV programmes. In groups, students take it in turns to describe a type of TV programme on a card to the...

ESL Describing TV Programmes Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Describing, Guessing - Group Work In this creative describing TV programmes game, students describe and guess different types of TV programmes. In groups, students take it in turns to describe a type of TV programme on a card to the other students, without saying the type of programme. Students are also not allowed to use two of the three words listed in bullet points on the card in their description. The first student to successfully guess the type of TV programme being described wins and keeps the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. You can make the game easier or harder by allowing or disallowing students to use more or less of the words in bullet points.
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Film Vocabulary Dominoes

Advanced (C1) 20 minutes
ESL film and cinema vocabulary dominoes game preview for advanced C1 with matching film words and definitions

ESL Film and Cinema Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work

In this memorable film and cinema vocabulary game, students play dominoes by matching film-related words with their definitions. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure their film-related word or...

ESL Film and Cinema Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work In this memorable film and cinema vocabulary game, students play dominoes by matching film-related words with their definitions. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure their film-related word or definition matches with the first domino. The player then reads the word and definition to the group for confirmation. If the word and definition don't match, the player must take back the domino. Play then passes to the next student and so on. The first player to get rid of all their dominoes wins the game.
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Using TV and Film Vocabulary

TV and film vocabulary helps students identify programme types, describe stories and express opinions about what they watch. It gives them the language to explain preferences, recommend films and make viewing plans with others.

This page contains 14 resources from elementary (A2) to advanced (C1), including two free downloads. The materials cover genres, TV schedules, film reviews, production roles and discussions about viewing choices.

Group vocabulary by what students need to communicate, then model it in short sentences before asking for longer descriptions.

PurposeVocabulary and phrasesExample
Identify a genre comedy, thriller, documentary 'It is a documentary about wildlife.'
Describe a story plot, character, be set in 'The story is set in a small village.'
Discuss people involved actor, director, cast 'The cast includes several new actors.'
Express an opinion entertaining, predictable, moving 'The ending was predictable, but the acting was excellent.'
Find a programme channel, start, be on 'What channel is the programme on?'
Recommend something recommend, worth watching 'I recommend this film because the story is moving.'

How to Use TV and Film Vocabulary

Connect genres with familiar examples: Ask students to match genre words with descriptions and suggest a film or programme for each one. Accept different examples where students can explain their choice, since a film may belong to more than one genre.

Develop opinions beyond 'good' and 'bad': Separate opinions about the story, acting and ending. Give students a sentence frame such as 'The acting was convincing because...' so they can support an adjective with a specific reason.

Make discussion accessible: Let students choose films or programmes they know, including ones in their own language. Encourage a short explanation of the story so classmates can join the conversation without having watched the same title.

3-Step Framework for Teaching TV and Film Vocabulary

For intermediate students, move from recognising vocabulary in a model to making recommendations and asking follow-up questions. Select the relevant stages from the page's resources across lessons rather than trying to complete every task in one session.

1. Establish meaning in context: Students match sentence halves to form definitions of film vocabulary, then read a short review and answer questions about it. Ask them to identify language describing the genre, story and opinion before producing their own examples.

2. Explain viewing preferences: Students note a film they enjoyed for different genres, then discuss their choices with a partner using the supplied language. Each student recommends two titles. Encourage a reason for each recommendation so vocabulary supports a clear message.

3. Extend the conversation: Students prepare yes/no questions about films and TV, then interview classmates. After a positive response, they ask a follow-up question and record the answer. Reporting their findings shifts the focus from naming titles to listening and discovering more about other people's viewing experiences.

Common Mistakes with TV and Film Vocabulary

Confusing the viewer's feeling with the film's effect: Use 'bored' for how someone feels and 'boring' for something that causes that feeling. Incorrect: 'I felt boring during the film.' Correct: 'I felt bored during the film.' Alternatively, say 'The film was boring.'

Using the wrong pattern after 'recommend': Follow 'recommend' with a noun, an '-ing' form or a clause. Incorrect: 'I recommend to watch this film.' Correct: 'I recommend watching this film.' Students can also say 'I recommend this film.'

Common Questions About Teaching TV and Film Vocabulary

What game helps students practice TV vocabulary?

The game TV Taboo asks students to describe types of TV programmes without naming them or using two of the three listed clue words. Classmates listen and guess the programme type to win cards. The restrictions encourage students to explain meanings using alternative words rather than repeat a definition.

What lesson can I use for teaching film vocabulary?

The lesson Talking about Films introduces film genres through definition matching and familiar film examples. Students answer questions about a favourite film, describe actors and discuss films using prompts. They finish by agreeing which film to see at the cinema, giving the vocabulary a practical role in a group decision.

What free activity helps students practice talking about films?

The free activity Movie Conversation Questions combines question-word practice with a partner discussion about films. Students first complete a set of questions using words from a box, then exchange questions with someone from the other group. Reporting what they learned gives students a reason to listen to their partner's answers.

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