Slumdog Millionaire, scenes 11-14
Teacher’s notes and key
Level: intermediate (B1/B2).
Aim: to practise listening for gist and for detail.
Timing: approximately 45 minutes.
Preparation
You will need a DVD of the film, and a copy of both worksheets for each student.
Procedure
Lead-in
Ask students if they’ve seen the film Slumdog Millionaire. Get those who have to
summarise it for those who haven’t and use this time to set up the DVD with the
subtitles off, ready to play from track 11. If none of the students have seen the film,
you could give them the following summary to read:
At the start of the film, Jamal, a young man from the slums of Mumbai,
has one more question to answer in a game show before he can win one
million rupees. He is arrested on suspicion of cheating, and in the rest of
the film he explains to the police how he knows the answer to each
question and why he is on the game show.
Tell students that you are going to watch the part of the film where Jamal and his
brother Salim are still young boys and they are leaving Mumbai after some terrible
experiences. Note that the only dialogue in scene 11 (on the train) is in Hindi.
Worksheet 1: Listening for gist
Give students Worksheet 1 and ask them to read the questions before watching once
without the subtitles. Stop the DVD on the quiz question and see if the class can answer
it before playing Jamal’s (correct) answer.
Get them to compare their other answers in pairs. While they are doing so, put the
subtitles on and get the DVD ready to play again from scene 12.
Go through the answers with the whole class:
Scene 12
1.
2.
3.
4.
In heaven.
At the Taj Mahal.
They think Jamal is a tour guide.
No, it’s mostly incorrect.
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Slumdog Millionaire, scenes 11-14
Scene 13
1. Poverty and violence are ‘a bit of the real India’.
2. Money and kindness are ‘a bit of the real America’.
Scene 14
1. C: Benjamin Franklin.
2. The Americans must have given him a hundred-dollar bill.
Worksheet 2: Listening for detail
Before watching again, you may want to explain the following Hindi expressions:
Scene 13



dhobi ghat = washing place
Uttar Pradesh = the region in north-west India where the Taj Mahal is located
kurta = traditional Indian shirt
Scene 14

chai wallah = someone who makes tea
Give students Worksheet 2 and answer any questions they may have about the Taj
Mahal text.
Watch scene 12 again with the subtitles and get students to answer the questions:
2. Jamal describes Mumtaz as the maximum beautiful woman in the world, instead of
the most beautiful …
1. He says:




the Taj Mahal was a five-star hotel, rather than a tomb
Mumtaz died in a road traffic accident
she was on her way to hospital (when the German man says I thought she died in
childbirth)
Mumtaz’s husband died in 1587 (not possible given that construction only started
in 1632)
Then watch to the end of the quiz show question.
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Slumdog Millionaire, scenes 11-14
Worksheet 1
Watch once without the subtitles.
Scene 12
1.
Where does Jamal think he is when he and Salim fall off the train?
.......................................................................................................
2.
Where are they really?
.......................................................................................................
3.
What mistake do the German tourists make?
.......................................................................................................
4.
Is Jamal’s information correct?
........................................................................................................
Scene 13
1.
What is ‘a bit of the real India’?
......................................................................................................
2.
What is ‘a bit of the real America’?
.......................................................................................................
Scene 14
1.
What is the answer to the game show question?
......................................................................................................
2.
How does Jamal know the answer?
.......................................................................................................
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Slumdog Millionaire, scenes 11-14
Worksheet 2
Watch scenes 12-14 again with the subtitles.
Scene 12
1.
What are the differences between the official explanation (below) and Jamal’s?
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
2.
Can you correct Jamal’s use of the superlative?
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
....................................................................................................
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a tomb built in the 17th century by
Moghul ruler Shah Jahan, formerly Prince Kurrham, in
memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during
the birth of their 14th child. Construction of the Taj
Mahal began in 1632. Shah Jahan was going to build
an identical black tomb for himself, but he died
before he even began to build, and was entombed in
the Taj Mahal with his wife.
adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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