Catch Me If You Can: English Lesson on Trust

Learn English with two Catch Me If You Can scenes about appearances, authority and checking a claim. Practise polite verification, careful listening and clear explanations.

Before you start: What can make a speaker sound convincing even before they have supplied any evidence?

Content note: Deception, intimidation, possible strong language and a firearm in the hotel encounter. Analyse the fictional performances; do not practise impersonation, fraud or bypassing checks. Film dialogue can differ from the early screenplay.

Substitute Teacher

Frank enters a classroom and allows a misunderstanding about his role to develop.

Watch for: What makes the class begin treating him as the teacher?

Original source

Clip A quiz · 6 questions

Answer using this clip only. Choose one answer per question, then check your feedback.

1. Which role does Frank take on in the classroom?A pupil formally elected to lead a short classroom activity.A school inspector observing the real teacher.A substitute teacher.

2. How does he encourage the pupils to accept that role?He gives confident classroom instructions.He announces that he has no connection with the lesson.He waits silently for each pupil to appoint him.

3. What does writing on the board help him establish?The identity he wants the class to accept.The real teacher’s entire employment history.The solution to an assignment that every pupil has already completed.

4. How does Frank respond to a pupil who challenges or disrupts him?He abandons the role as soon as the pupil speaks.He asks the disruptive pupil to verify his credentials for the group.He places the pupil in the position of following a classroom instruction.

5. What threatens the mistaken understanding of Frank’s identity?A pupil produces an official document confirming Frank’s appointment.Another person arrives in connection with the actual substitute-teacher role.The head teacher announces that no substitutes will ever be used.

6. What does the scene show about the class’s acceptance of Frank?He is accepted only because he explains openly that he is another pupil.Much of it rests on how he behaves rather than independently confirmed credentials.His identity has been independently confirmed to every pupil beforehand.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

Could you clarify your role here?

Ask someone to explain their legitimate function.

I would like to confirm that before we continue.

Request verification without making an accusation.

Discuss this clip

What legitimate question could clarify a visitor’s role without embarrassing them?

One possible response

You could ask who is expecting them and what they are here to do, then confirm the appointment through the normal system.

Secret Service Agent

An FBI agent enters the hotel room while searching for a suspect. Frank offers an apparently official explanation.

Watch for: Which claims does the FBI agent initially accept?

Original source

Clip B quiz · 6 questions

Answer using this clip only. Choose one answer per question, then check your feedback.

1. What is the FBI agent trying to do when he enters the room?Locate the suspect he has been pursuing.Collect a report from a colleague he already personally knows.Check whether Frank has paid for an extended hotel stay.

2. What official role does Frank claim?A Secret Service agent.A hotel security officer responding to a complaint.A genuine FBI colleague with whom the visitor has worked for years.

3. What does Frank say about the suspect?That the suspect will arrive only after a scheduled meeting tomorrow.That the suspect has been staying in the agent’s own office.That other agents have already taken him into custody.

4. What apparent support does Frank offer for his claimed identity?An appointment previously verified through the FBI office.A uniform worn by every real Secret Service agent in the film.A wallet presented as if it contains identification.

5. How does Frank’s manner affect the encounter?It makes every part of the claimed arrest immediately verifiable.It encourages the agent to treat him as a colleague rather than immediately as the suspect.It causes the agent to complete a thorough independent check before responding.

6. What reveals that the apparent identification has not established Frank’s story?A completed official check confirms every detail of the arrest story.The agent discovers that the wallet does not provide the expected official credentials.The hotel receipt proves the supposed colleague has worked there for years.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

Let me check that through the usual channel.

Verify information using an established process.

That does not seem consistent with the information I have.

Identify a discrepancy calmly.

Discuss this clip

What should be checked independently rather than inferred from confidence?

One possible response

The person’s role and appointment should be checked through the usual channel. A calm manner can make an explanation convincing without making it true.

Mastery quiz · Use the English in new situations

Apply the language · 6 questions

These six original practice examples apply language from both clips. They are separate from the two listening quizzes.

1. A visitor speaks confidently, so a receptionist accepts that he has an appointment without checking. What has she done?Verified the appointment independently.Rescheduled the appointment correctly.Assumed the appointment exists.

2. Which question clarifies a legitimate visitor’s role?“Could you tell me who you are meeting and the purpose of the visit?”“Should I assume you can enter every room?”“Would you like me to ignore the booking system?”

3. What is the difference between a claim and verification?A claim is always false; verification is always unnecessary.A claim states something; verification checks it.They both mean speaking more loudly.

4. An email says an appointment is at 10, but a caller says 12. What should be investigated?Whether time exists at all.The inconsistent information.The caller’s favourite colour.

5. Which response verifies information without accusing the visitor of lying?“Confident people never need a booking.”“I will invent a booking so we can move on.”“Let me check that through the usual channel.”

6. The office confirms that a visitor’s appointment is genuine. What is the appropriate next step?Follow the normal visitor process and explain where to wait.Share all staff passwords as a welcome gesture.Keep accusing the visitor despite the confirmation.

Final speaking

Speak aloud on your own, or discuss with a tutor. Open each model after your first attempt.

1. Compare

Compare how Frank’s claimed role affects other people in each clip. What is accepted before it is adequately checked?

Follow-up: Which scene contains a clearer moment when the original interpretation breaks down?

Model and support

In the classroom, instructions and the setting make the teacher role appear plausible. In the hotel, an official-sounding explanation encourages the agent to treat him as a colleague. In both cases, the performance influences the response before the identity is securely verified.

Check your response:

Refer to both settings.
Separate confidence from evidence.
Identify a specific check or missing check.

2. Evaluate

How can a person verify a claim while still treating a genuine visitor respectfully?

Follow-up: What would you say while the person is waiting for confirmation?

Model and support

The same normal process can apply to everyone. I would explain what needs checking, say how I will check it and avoid making a personal accusation. That keeps the request clear without treating confidence as proof or treating uncertainty as guilt.

Check your response:

Use neutral language.
Describe a normal verification channel.
Avoid either automatic trust or automatic accusation.

3. Put it into practice

Resolve a genuine appointment discrepancy at a language centre. Check the information and agree on the next step.

Visitor

You are a genuine student with an email confirming a 10:00 speaking assessment. You arrive on time. Your goal is to resolve a booking error, not to bypass checks.

Receptionist

The calendar shows 12:00. Contact the tutor using the centre’s normal number. First round: the tutor confirms the email’s 10:00 time. Second round: the tutor confirms 12:00 and offers waiting or rescheduling. Do not ask for passwords or unrelated private details.

Retry with a different resolution: the tutor confirms twelve and offers a quiet place to wait or a rescheduled appointment.

Model and support

Welcome. I can see your email says ten o’clock, while our calendar says twelve. Let me check that through the usual channel. Could you wait here while I contact the tutor? Thank you for bringing the confirmation. The tutor has confirmed that the calendar was not updated, so your appointment is at ten. I will show you where to wait.

Check your response:

Clarify the inconsistency without accusation.
Verify with the named coordinator.
Explain the result and offer an appropriate next step.

Listen and repeat

Practice examples are original English, not quotations or performer imitations. Listen, repeat in the pause, then make your own sentence.

Download practice MP3

About this lesson

What English level is this Catch Me If You Can lesson?

It is designed for approximately B2 learners. With a tutor, the two clips, separate mastery quiz and final speaking activities form a suggested 60-minute lesson.

What communication skills does this lesson practise?

It develops polite clarification and verification in a legitimate appointment scenario. Students analyse the film’s deception without practising impersonation or fraud.