The King’s Speech English Lesson: Finding Your Voice

Practise B2 English with two scenes from The King’s Speech. Work on supportive communication and assertiveness through vocabulary, listening checks and guided speaking.

Before you start: What makes you feel listened to when you are trying to explain something difficult?

Content note: Occasional strong language, a speech difficulty and uncomfortable interpersonal exchanges. This is language practice, not speech therapy. Learners must not imitate a stammer or disclose medical experiences.

The vocabulary helps you understand or discuss the scene; not every target expression is necessarily spoken in the clip. All practice examples, phrases and models are original teaching material, not film dialogue.

A first meeting with different expectations

Bertie and Lionel meet and negotiate how to address each other.

Watch for: What does their disagreement reveal about the relationship each expects?

Source on YouTube

Check your understanding · 6 questions

Choose one answer for each question, then check the feedback.

1. How does Lionel propose addressing Bertie?By a new professional nickname.Only through a written title.By a familiar personal name.

2. Why does Bertie initially object?He has forgotten his name.That name is used by his family.The appointment belongs to someone else.

3. What relationship does Lionel try to establish in the room?A less hierarchical working relationship.A public performance for an audience.A business exchange without conversation.

4. What does the exchange show about rapport?It always exists when titles are used.It cannot simply be assumed at the first meeting.It requires both people to agree immediately.

Apply the language to this scene
5. How does Lionel try to put Bertie at ease?He proposes names and a less formal relationship in the room.He avoids telling Bertie anything about how they will work.He requires immediate agreement with every opinion he holds.

Apply the language to this scene
6. Which question would help resolve the disagreement about forms of address?Why do you not already know the rules I prefer?Why should I be allowed to choose without consulting you?What should we call each other while we work together?

Answer key and explanations

C. By a familiar personal name.
He favours a more informal relationship.
Feedback for each choice
A. The name is personal rather than newly invented.
B. Writing alone would avoid the negotiation shown.
C. He favours a more informal relationship.
B. That name is used by his family.
The familiar address crosses his expected boundary.
Feedback for each choice
A. The objection is not a memory problem.
B. The familiar address crosses his expected boundary.
C. The exchange is between the intended participants.
A. A less hierarchical working relationship.
He reduces the usual formality.
Feedback for each choice
A. He reduces the usual formality.
B. This is a private working meeting, not a performance.
C. Conversation is central to the encounter.
B. It cannot simply be assumed at the first meeting.
They need to negotiate expectations.
Feedback for each choice
A. Formal address does not automatically create comfort.
B. They need to negotiate expectations.
C. Rapport can develop through respectful disagreement.
A. He proposes names and a less formal relationship in the room.
Lionel’s proposal reduces formality, although Bertie initially resists it.
Feedback for each choice
A. Lionel’s proposal reduces formality, although Bertie initially resists it.
B. He explains how he wants to address Bertie and relate to him.
C. The exchange shows disagreement rather than immediate total agreement.
C. What should we call each other while we work together?
This directly negotiates the naming issue in the exchange.
Feedback for each choice
A. That assumes an agreement that has not been established.
B. A unilateral choice would repeat the source of friction.
C. This directly negotiates the naming issue in the exchange.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

What would help you feel more comfortable?

Ask about useful support rather than assuming it.

What would help you feel more comfortable before the practice begins?

Could we agree on how to work together?

Clarify expectations for a working relationship.

Could we agree on how to work together, including when to give feedback?

Keep talking · 3 questions

Alone, say your answer aloud before opening support. With a tutor, discuss your answer and give a reason or example.

Does a formal style always make someone feel respected? Compare two ordinary settings.
Support and one possible response
Explain why the same style may work differently.
Formal language can help in a first professional meeting because expectations are clearer. In a small practice group, too much formality might make people hesitant to contribute. I would pay attention to the person’s preference rather than assume one style suits everyone.
Check yourself: Compare contexts without declaring one universal rule.
Before a speaking practice session, what could partners agree on to make feedback useful?
Support and one possible response
Consider interruptions, timing and the type of feedback.
They could agree not to interrupt the first attempt unless help is requested. Afterwards, the listener could give one observation about clarity and one useful correction. The speaker should also be able to say which part they want feedback on.
Check yourself: Specify a workable feedback arrangement.
Role-play: you and a partner have different expectations about corrections. Agree how to work together.
Support and one possible response
Ask what helps → state your preference → agree a method.
Could we agree on how to work together? I would prefer to finish my first attempt before discussing corrections. What would help you feel more comfortable? We could make brief notes and review the most useful point after each turn.
Check yourself: Ask rather than assume; negotiate a shared method.

Asking to be heard

During a rehearsal, a disagreement becomes an assertion of the right to speak.

Watch for: How does Bertie move from defending status to asserting his voice?

Source on YouTube

Check your understanding · 6 questions

Choose one answer for each question, then check the feedback.

1. What action prompts Bertie’s objection?A spectator starts applauding.A microphone stops working.Lionel sits in the ceremonial chair.

2. How does Lionel treat the chair in his response?As a reward for completing the rehearsal.As something that gives its occupant authority to speak.As an ordinary physical object.

3. What does Bertie assert about himself?His right to speak and be heard.That he no longer needs to speak.That nobody else should ever speak.

4. What communicative change is central to the exchange?He asks someone to supply all his words.Bertie states his position more firmly.He avoids expressing any view.

Apply the language to this scene
5. In this exchange, what does Bertie’s assertion of his voice show?He expresses his right to be heard with greater confidence.He avoids saying what he needs.He says that everyone else must remain silent forever.

Apply the language to this scene
6. Which respectful paraphrase fits Bertie’s desire to be heard?Your questions prove you understand nothing.Please hear what I have to say.Nobody else may speak today.

Answer key and explanations

C. Lionel sits in the ceremonial chair.
The chair provokes the confrontation.
Feedback for each choice
A. An audience reaction is not the trigger.
B. This is not the later broadcasting situation.
C. The chair provokes the confrontation.
C. As an ordinary physical object.
He challenges its symbolic importance.
Feedback for each choice
A. He downplays the object’s status; he does not offer it as a reward.
B. That would reinforce the symbolic authority he is challenging.
C. He challenges its symbolic importance.
A. His right to speak and be heard.
He asserts his own voice.
Feedback for each choice
A. He asserts his own voice.
B. That would reverse his assertion.
C. Claiming a voice does not require silencing everyone else.
B. Bertie states his position more firmly.
His response becomes more assertive.
Feedback for each choice
A. The assertion comes from him rather than a supplied script.
B. His response becomes more assertive.
C. Avoidance is not the development being highlighted.
A. He expresses his right to be heard with greater confidence.
His firm statement is the communicative turning point.
Feedback for each choice
A. His firm statement is the communicative turning point.
B. He states his need directly.
C. His claim is about being heard, not permanently silencing everyone.
B. Please hear what I have to say.
This keeps the purpose of his assertion without attacking the listener.
Feedback for each choice
A. An insult would not clearly express the request to be heard.
B. This keeps the purpose of his assertion without attacking the listener.
C. That would go beyond the right he asserts for himself.

Useful English

Original practice, not film quotations.

Please let me finish my point.

Ask for space to complete an explanation.

Please let me finish my point. Then I would like to hear your response.

I would like a chance to explain.

Request a fair opportunity to be heard.

I would like a chance to explain before we make a decision.

Keep talking · 3 questions

Alone, say your answer aloud before opening support. With a tutor, discuss your answer and give a reason or example.

How can someone ask to be heard without preventing others from speaking? Give a useful sentence.
Support and one possible response
Combine a request with a promise to listen afterwards.
I could say, “Please let me finish my point, and then I will listen to your concern.” That makes room for my explanation without claiming all the time. The important thing is to follow through and genuinely listen when the other person responds.
Check yourself: Protect your turn and acknowledge the other speaker.
What is the difference between specific encouragement and empty praise? Give a feedback example.
Support and one possible response
Name an observed strength and a useful next step.
Instead of saying only that a presentation was excellent, I would mention that the opening question made the purpose clear. Then I might suggest slowing down at the transition. Specific feedback gives the speaker something concrete to retain and improve.
Check yourself: Refer to an observable feature rather than a personality label.
Role-play: you are interrupted while explaining a proposal. Ask to finish, make your main point, then invite a response. Repeat in the final retry.
Support and one possible response
Request space → state your point briefly → invite the other view.
I would like a chance to explain. My proposal is to test the idea with a small group before changing the whole programme. That would let us find problems early. Thank you for letting me finish. Which part concerns you most?
Check yourself: Be clear and assertive without hostility; return the turn.

Listen and repeat

British-English practice; Lionel’s Australian speech remains distinct. Do not imitate a stammer or label the narrator as matching every character.

Download practice MP3

Study on your own

Watch once for the situation, replay for detail and complete each quiz before opening feedback. Choose one speaking prompt per clip and answer aloud. Use the optional models after your own attempt.

Tutor guide · 60 minutes

Treat the film as dramatised material. Do not ask learners to imitate a speech difficulty, diagnose anyone, or use film exercises as treatment. Grade clarity of ideas and considerate turn-taking, not the absence of disfluency.

0–4 minutes: Opening and goal
Use the warm-up. Keep the goal visible; no plot lecture.
4–9 minutes: Clip A vocabulary and audio
Preview four terms. Play selected vocabulary cues; students make one quick original example.
9–14 minutes: Clip A viewing
Watch the configured 65-second scene once. The five-minute stage leaves 235 seconds for a targeted replay and brief discussion.
14–20 minutes: Clip A quiz
Complete six questions. Discuss the most useful distinction in the feedback rather than reading every option aloud.
20–28 minutes: Clip A phrases and speaking
Listen to the two phrases. Use A1 and A2 briefly, then give most time to A3.
28–33 minutes: Clip B vocabulary and audio
Preview the next four terms and connect them to the shared lesson goal.
33–38 minutes: Clip B viewing
Watch the configured 59-second scene once. The five-minute stage leaves 241 seconds for a targeted replay and brief discussion.
38–44 minutes: Clip B quiz
Answer six questions about the scene and check one key misunderstanding. The two application questions are original teaching material, not quotations.
44–55 minutes: Clip B phrases and speaking
Practise two phrases. Discuss B1 and B2, then use B3 as the main interaction.
55–60 minutes: Retry and feedback
Repeat B3 with less visible support. Give one specific success and one useful correction. No extra task or quiz.

About this lesson

Do I need to watch the whole film first?

No. Each clip has a short introduction. The activities focus on the selected conversations, although the scenes may reveal important plot developments.

Who is this lesson for?

It is designed for B2 learners and a 60-minute tutor lesson, with a shorter self-study option. Read the content note before viewing; this collection is not automatically suitable for ages 13+.