SPEAKING: DESCRIBE SOMEBODY YOU ADMIRE
If YOU could meet anyone from history, who would you choose and why?

Dinner Party Guests

You’re having a dinner party. There’s lots to think about - what kind of music you’ll be playing, how much food to buy, what to drink, etc. But the most important thing, who should you invite to your dinner party?

But this is a dinner party with a difference; you can invite anyone you like to your dinner party. Anyone alive or dead they will come , no matter who they are! Who from history would you invite as guests to your dinner party and why?

Queen Victoria, Napoleon, Nostradamus, Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe, Lincoln….anybody you like! What would you talk to your dinner guests about? Why would would you like to have the dinner guests you’ve chosen?

Also, rules:

Don't choose tactically based on "This person is dead, so I'll invite them over the living person, because I actually have a chance of meeting the latter elsewhere,".
Language barriers do not exist here!
No fictional characters.
Be honest. I know I could have put down Gandhi and Churchill and whoever, but I'd rather meet my favourite living artist than every past British Prime Minister put together, frankly.
And, if you put down GOD, that's fine.

🔥 Who Is a Hero?

“Who do you consider a hero, and why?”

A real person or a fictional character
Someone famous or someone personal
What makes them heroic?

Compare answers and decide:

One shared hero
Three qualities that make this person a hero

(i.e. sacrifice, resilience, moral integrity, leadership , courage, perseverance, selflessness, moral integrity etc.)

Are heroes born or made?
Do heroes always choose to be heroes?

👉 “Let’s watch a short TED-Ed talk that explores whether heroes across stories and cultures actually follow the same pattern.”

https://www.ted.com/talks/matthew_winkler_what_makes_a_hero?language=en

📘 COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS TO PRINT OUT

1. What concept does Matthew Winkler use to explain similarities between characters like Harry Potter and Frodo?
A. The tragic flaw
B. The hero’s journey
C. The comedy plot structure
D. The unreliable narrator

2. According to the talk, where does the hero’s journey begin and end?
A. In a battle
B. In the hero’s ordinary world
C. In the special world
D. In a symbolic dream

3. What usually triggers the start of a hero’s journey?
A. A return home
B. A crisis
C. A call to adventure
D. A magical gift

4. In the journey, who often helps the hero at the beginning?
A. Their enemy
B. An older, wiser figure
C. A stranger from town
D. A talking animal

5. What happens during the trials stage of the hero’s journey?
A. The hero returns home
B. The plot ends
C. The hero faces challenges like riddles or monsters
D. The hero becomes bored

6. What does the hero often gain after the crisis stage?
A. Nothing
B. Treasure or special recognition
C. A new enemy
D. An old life

7. What does the new life stage represent?
A. The hero forgetting the journey
B. A farewell party
C. The hero being unchanged
D. Personal transformation

8. Which author’s work is referenced as the source of the “hero’s journey” concept?
A. J.K. Rowling
B. Joseph Campbell
C. Ernest Hemingway
D. Jane Austen

9. Why does Winkler suggest modern stories follow the hero’s journey?
A. Because it makes stories shorter
B. Because it reflects universal human experiences
C. Because it is easier to write
D. Because it only applies to myths

10. In the talk, what symbolic challenge do ordinary people face in their lives?
A. Slaying a dragon
B. Entering a cave they fear
C. Finding buried treasure
D. Fighting in wars

📌 ANSWERS 1.b 2.b 3.c 4.b 5.c 6.b 7.d 8.b 9.b 10.b

💬 POST-VIEWING DISCUSSION

Discussion Questions

To what extent do you agree that the hero’s journey reflects real human experience?
Can an ordinary person become a hero without facing a dramatic crisis? Why or why not?“Are heroes necessary in modern society? Can ordinary people be heroes?”
Are modern heroes (e.g. activists, whistle-blowers) similar to mythical heroes? In what ways do they differ?
Is the idea of a “hero” still relevant in today’s world?

Task 2 – Class Debate Motion: “Ordinary people can have as much impact as famous heroes. (oral mediation) 👇

UNSUNG HEROES SPAIN

SPEAKING

ORAL MEDIATION https://www.cbsnews.com/everyday-heroes/

Reading: Cloze: Vaccine heroes

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening/b2-listening/my-hero