Hibiscus Teach · Cartoons
Bee Movie
A Claim Is Not the Same as a Reason
Identify a claim, ask for support and disagree with a group without losing the main point.
13+ target after screening; more demanding satire and legal vocabulary. This is communication practice, not advice on law or animal biology.
Created by Denis M., British English teacher.
The Trial Beegins
Barry brings a case against the honey industry, and both sides introduce their arguments.
Watch for: How do the two sides try to make their positions sound reasonable?
Clip A quiz: 6 questions
Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · Two clauses around a pseudo-cleft
“what I’m hoping is that”
Clip 1, quotation excerpt
What I’m hoping names the speaker’s hope; the following that-clause supplies its content. What is not a direct question here, and the hoped-for result is not presented as an achieved fact.
Useful English
What supports that claim?
You say: Ask what supports an estimate.
One possible response
What supports that estimate?
That comparison leaves something out.
You say: Point out that a comparison ignores the cost.
One possible response
That comparison leaves out the cost.
Keep talking: 3 questions
Speak before opening the help or example. With a partner, ask a follow-up. On your own, say your answer aloud.
Which kind of support is each speaker using?
Help me start
One uses…; the other…
Show an example
One uses a family example; the other emphasises work.
When can a comparison help and when can it mislead?
Help me start
It helps when…
Show an example
It helps when the important features really are similar.
Ask a partner to support a claim about a useful study method.
Help me start
What supports…?
Show an example
What supports the claim that this method works for everyone?
Thinking Bee
Barry talks about his new human friend, while Adam and his parents want him to follow bee expectations.
Watch for: What does Barry want them to understand?
Clip B quiz: 6 questions
Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.
1–2 minGrammar in a minuteB2 · Active and passive noun modifiers
“the giant black and yellow pulsating flower made of millions of bees”
Clip 2, quotation excerpt
Pulsating describes what the flower is doing. Made of describes its composition in a passive reduced relative: which is made of. Do not make the flower the maker of the bees.
Useful English
I understand your concern, but my experience was different.
You say: Acknowledge concern about a club you enjoyed.
One possible response
I understand your concern, but my experience of the club was different.
Could you listen before deciding?
You say: Ask someone to hear the explanation before judging.
One possible response
Could you hear the explanation before deciding?
Keep talking: 3 questions
Speak before opening the help or example. With a partner, ask a follow-up. On your own, say your answer aloud.
Which response would help Barry explain himself?
Help me start
They could ask…
Show an example
They could ask what he learned from meeting his friend.
Can someone belong to a group and choose differently?
Help me start
Yes, provided…
Show an example
Yes, provided they respect the others and explain their choice.
Disagree with a group while acknowledging its concern.
Help me start
I understand… but…
Show an example
I understand your concern, but my experience was different.
Mastery: use your English
Apply language and ideas from both clips in new situations.
Mastery: 6 questions
Use the English in a new situation. Choose one answer for each question.
Put it all together: speaking
Use English from both clips. Start with the two short questions, then take a private role each. On your own, practise both roles.
How do group assumptions shape both conversations?
Help me start
The first assumes…; the second…
Show an example
One assumes entitlement; the other assumes everyone should follow one path.
What makes disagreement easier to hear?
Help me start
Acknowledge… and ask…
Show an example
Acknowledge the concern and ask for a chance to explain.
Can you reach a workable outcome together using the two private role cards?
Private Role A
Your club wants every member to use the same study app because two members improved. You need a plan for next month. Ask for reasons before deciding.
Private Role B
You prefer a notebook because your phone distracts you. You are willing to compare progress for two weeks. Explain your choice without claiming the app is useless.
Open only your own role card. Share its information by speaking, without showing the card.
Help me start
Discover the missing information; explain your constraint; respond to your partner; agree on a practical next step. Use language from both clips.
Check your conversation
- Complete the practical goal on both role cards.
- Use at least three target items naturally, including language from each clip.
- Ask a relevant follow-up and respond to information you did not know.
- End with a clear agreement, next step or summary.
Show an example
A: The app helped two members, so we could all use it. B: What supports making it compulsory? My phone distracts me. A: We need a shared record. B: I can report notebook practice weekly. Could we compare both methods for two weeks? A: Yes, using the same goal.
Try again: The club needs shared practice records. Negotiate a simple way to report progress without forcing everyone to use the app.
1–2 minGrammar masteryC1 · Find + object + adjective
“I find that to be a very disturbing term, I have to say.”
Clip 1, quotation excerpt
In find that disturbing, that is the object and disturbing describes its effect. Changing the object can change what is being evaluated.