Hidden Figures English Lesson: Making Requests

Practise English with two Hidden Figures scenes about access, preparation and making a reasoned request. Build language for explaining consequences and asking for a specific next step.

Before you start: What makes a request easier to assess than a general complaint?

Content note: Historical discrimination, exclusion and workplace tension. These are dramatised film scenes, not a complete historical or legal account. Do not ask students to disclose discrimination they have experienced.

Mary’s Request

Mary needs access to classes that are not normally available to her. She presents her request to a judge.

Watch for: How does she make her request specific to the person listening?

Original source

Clip A quiz · 6 questions

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

1. What does Mary ask the judge to allow?Attendance at the classes she needs for her engineering goal.Cancellation of every class at the school.Immediate appointment as the judge’s assistant.

2. What makes permission necessary in the situation shown?Existing segregation rules prevent her normal access.The relevant classes are not offered anywhere near her.She wants the training requirement removed without attending.

3. Why does Mary mention details of the judge’s background?To avoid stating the opportunity she needs.To connect her request with his own experience of being first.To insist that the judge has lived through exactly her circumstances.

4. What comparison broadens her point about being first?The convenience of finishing the class before a holiday.The significance of a first achievement in space exploration.The number of classrooms in the school building.

5. What does Mary suggest the judge can make distinctive about this case?He can grant the request without acknowledging that it differs from the rule.He can promise that her whole future career will succeed.He can be the person who allows this opportunity for the first time.

6. What condition accompanies the permission granted in the scene?Only observe from outside rather than attend a class.Receive the qualification without doing the training.She may attend night classes.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

I am asking for access to the training I need.

State the precise opportunity you are requesting.

This would make it possible for me to meet the requirement.

Connect your request to a clear practical purpose.

Discuss this clip

Which is the strongest feature of Mary’s request: preparation, clarity or relevance to the listener? Explain your choice.

One possible response

The features work together. The request is specific, and her preparation helps her explain why the decision could matter to the listener as well as to her.

Katherine Needs the Briefing

Katherine is expected to provide accurate calculations while the information she receives keeps changing.

Watch for: Why does she say being outside the briefing creates a practical problem?

Original source

Clip B quiz · 6 questions

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

1. What keeps making Katherine’s work harder to finish?She keeps choosing to use old data after receiving the new version.The information changes after she has started calculating.The team has decided calculations are no longer necessary.

2. Why does she want to attend the briefing?To replace a technical briefing with a social meeting.To transfer all calculation responsibility to someone else.To hear the current information directly when it changes.

3. What kind of objection is raised to her attendance?Existing clearance or procedural restrictions on who attends.A concern that the meeting will discuss no information relevant to her task.A claim that she has already attended every briefing.

4. How does Katherine justify her request?She offers to stop asking for updated figures altogether.She links attendance to doing the required work accurately and on time.She says she should attend only because meetings are entertaining.

5. What does Harrison question when the rules are used as an objection?Whether the procedure can be changed to let the necessary work happen.Whether the programme should ignore new information altogether.Whether repeating the same delay is the only possible solution.

6. What is the immediate outcome of the exchange?She receives a promise of access only after the programme is finished.The meeting is permanently cancelled instead of changing attendance.Katherine is allowed into the briefing.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

I need the latest information to do the work accurately.

Explain why access affects the quality of a task.

Could we change the procedure rather than repeat the problem?

Suggest addressing the process instead of its recurring symptoms.

Discuss this clip

How does describing an effect on the work make a request more precise?

One possible response

It lets the listener assess a clear consequence. Instead of only saying the process is frustrating, the speaker explains how delayed information creates repeated work.

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 club says members must complete safety training before using its tools. What is that training?A substitute.A first impression.A requirement.

2. Someone has equivalent experience but not the standard certificate. What are they requesting when they ask to be considered anyway?An exception.A guarantee that every rule will disappear.An unrelated deadline.

3. Which request explains why access is needed?“The workshop exists, so there can be no conditions.”“I need the workshop to complete the assessed practical task.”“I want access because you should never ask why.”

4. A schedule was revised this morning. Which copy is up to date?The version that includes this morning’s changes.The first draft from last month.Any copy with an attractive cover.

5. A volunteer keeps receiving updates after decisions are made. Which proposal addresses the procedure?“Repeat the same delay and expect a different result.”“Tell the volunteer to guess the changes.”“Please include the volunteer in the update meeting.”

6. Which sentence justifies a limited trial without promising too much?“This change will certainly solve every problem forever.”“A two-week trial would show whether direct updates reduce repeated work.”“Evidence would be unnecessary because I suggested it.”

Final speaking

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

1. Compare

Compare Mary’s and Katherine’s requests. What is each trying to access, and how does each support the request?

Follow-up: Which reason would be easiest to check through a short trial?

Model and support

Mary asks for training that is necessary for her goal and makes an argument tailored to the listener. Katherine asks for information and explains the effect of the current procedure on her work. Both identify a specific obstacle and ask for a concrete change.

Check your response:

Identify both requested changes.
Explain different kinds of support.
Keep film interpretation separate from historical claims.

2. Evaluate

When should a procedure be reconsidered? Give an example that is not about law or public policy.

Follow-up: What useful purpose might the original procedure have had?

Model and support

A procedure should be reconsidered when it repeatedly prevents the task it is meant to support. For example, a club’s booking system may delay information so much that volunteers prepare the wrong room. I would explain the effect and propose a limited test of a clearer process.

Check your response:

Describe a concrete effect.
Acknowledge the possible purpose of a rule.
Propose a proportionate change.

3. Put it into practice

Request access to a fictional course project. Explain what you need, answer an objection and agree on a limited next step.

Student

You have completed the introductory training. Your prototype is due in two weeks. You need one supervised workshop session. You are available Friday afternoon or next Tuesday morning.

Coordinator

Workshop places require training and supervision. Friday has space but the supervisor becomes unavailable after the first round. Tuesday morning has two spare places and a supervisor. Ask why workshop access is necessary.

Retry after the coordinator says the Friday supervisor is unavailable. Negotiate another specific option.

Model and support

I understand that the workshop places are limited. I am asking for access to one supervised session because it would let me complete the prototype requirement. I have finished the introductory training. Could I attend the unused Friday slot as a trial? If that is not available, could you tell me the next supervised time rather than asking me to guess?

Check your response:

State the exact request.
Use evidence from the role card.
Respond to the objection and secure a 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 Hidden Figures 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.

Does this lesson teach the history behind Hidden Figures?

It analyses two dramatised conversations. The activities practise reasoned requests; they do not replace historical study or provide legal guidance.