Listening/speaking lesson based around a video of a humorous talk by Mark Gungor.

Level: Intermediate/ upper-intermediate

Time: 50 -60 minutes

Aim: For students to show comprehension of a talk by Mark Gungor leading to a discussion about men vs. women stereotypes.

Pre-viewing:

Lead-in: Play hangman or jumbled letters of the word “stereotype”. Elicit the meaning and some examples of stereotypes from students.

Pre-teach: basement, wire ( a ball of wire), to connectà connected, superhighway ( the internet superhighway), to burn= record, to care about, to be aware of, brain-dead, seemingly, to witness.

While viewing:  

( First viewing ) Focus question: According to Mark Gungor, what can men do that women can’t do? / What are some differences between men’s brains and women’s brains?

Students watch the 5-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KrOZe2SxoQ

( Second viewing ) Comprehension questions:  Dictate them or give them to students on a handout.  (Dictating the questions to students really helps them focus and it’s a good listening/ writing exercise.)

According to Mark Gungor…

  1. What are men’s brains made up of?
  2. What is the rule in men’s brains?
  3. What does a man do when he discusses a subject?
  4. How are women’s brains different?
  5. What are women’s brains driven by?
  6. Why do women tend to remember everything?
  7. Why don’t men remember things in the same way?
  8. Which box in men’s brains are women not aware of?
  9. Why can a man do an activity like fishing?
  10. What drives a woman crazy?

Post-viewing:

Discussion: Men and women stereotypes or true?

Students discuss in pairs or small groups some of the following questions from English File Intermediate 3rd edition, page 31:

  • Women worry more about their appearance than men.
  • Women spend more time than men on social networking sites.
  • Men talk more about things; women talk more about people.
  • Men are more interested than women in gadgets like phones and tablets.
  • Women are better at multitasking than men.
  • Men find it more difficult than women to talk to their friends or family if they have a problem.
  • Women spend more time than men talking about celebrities and their lifestyles.
  • Men are more interested than women in power.
  • Women are less interested in sport than men.
  • Men worry more about their health than women.

If students have discussed the questions in closed pairs or groups, get a group member to report back to the class which statements they have agreed with or disagreed with and why.