LISTENING ACTIVITIES: 1) Watch this fragment of Fawlty Towers (one of the BBC’s most popular TV series in the 80’s) Manuel (the Spanish waiter working in a hotel in England) is trying to learn English, but Basil (his boss) sometimes speaks Spanish to him Sybil, Basil’s wife, watches the scene Vocabulary: you know these words? butter keen to learn trays dialect hire (sb) Video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-oH-TELcLE&feature=fvwrel 2) Questions: Which words sound similar at the beginning of the video clip? Which animal is Manuel imitating? Basil’s wife, Sybil, asks Basil why he decided to hire Manuel as a waiter What does Basil answer? What does Sybil say in the end? Does she think that Manuel is a good waiter? 3) Discussion time a Manuel wants to learn English It may be difficult for him, but he succeeds Can language be a barrier if you work in a foreign country? b In other episodes, Manuel constantly makes mistakes and he says that he comes from Barcelona Basil knows this and he usually treats him like an idiot Do you think that cultural or country stereotypes influence our opinion of foreign people? Do you think that other people may judge you because of these cultural stereotypes? TRANSCRIPT: Basil: Manuel, there is too much butter on those trays Manuel: ¿Qué? Basil: There is too much butter on those trays Manuel: No No, no, señor Not on, dos, treis No, sir Uno, dos, tres Basil: No, no Hay mucho burro alí Manuel: ¿Qué? Basil: Hay mucho burro alí Manuel: Ah, mantequilla Basil: What? ¿Qué? Manuel: Mantequilla Burro is… i-oh! Burro… i-oh! I-oh! Basil: Manuel, Manuel, por favor, momento Manuel: Sí, sí Sybil: Basil, what happens? Basil: Nothing, dear I’m just dealing with it Manuel: He speaks good… what you say? Sybil: English Basil: Mantequilla Solamente dos… Manuel: Dos… Sybil: But don’t look at me You’re the one who is supposed to be able to speak it Basil: Two pieces Two each Arriba! Arriba! Sybil: Oh, I don’t know why you wanted to hire him, Basil Basil: ‘Cos he’s cheap and keen to learn, dear In this day and age, such a… Sybil: Why you say you speak the language? Basil: I learnt classical Spanish, not the strange dialect he seems to have picked up Sybil: It would be easier to train a monkey!