Learn English with Turbo

More film and television lessons

Hibiscus Teach · Cartoons

Turbo

Find Your Own Way to Compete

Ask for a fair chance, explain a difficulty and adapt a method to your strengths.

B1 English target60-minute lesson target

Ages 13+ target; exact footage must pass screening.

Created by , British English teacher.

Pit Stop Pep Talk

Turbo stops during the race, and his unusual team tries to help him.

Watch for: What changes in the advice Turbo receives?

Original source

Clip A quiz: 6 questions

Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.

1. Why does Turbo need the team’s help?
2. Who starts directing the unusual pit crew?
3. Which kind of help makes this different from an ordinary car stop?
4. What does the pep talk remind Turbo that he is not?
5. What is he encouraged to do differently?
6. What advantage can his small size offer when he returns?

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteB1 · Such with an adjective and singular noun
“despite a rocky start”

Clip 1, quotation excerpt

A rocky start names a difficult beginning. In new practice, such + a + adjective + singular noun intensifies it; so normally intensifies an adjective without that noun pattern.

New practice based on the quote: New practice: “It was ___ rocky start that the team had to change its plan.”

Useful English

What part is not working?

You say: Ask which part of the plan is causing a problem.

One possible response

What part of the plan is not working?

Try using your own strengths.

You say: Encourage someone to use their drawing skills.

One possible response

Try using your drawing skills.

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.

  1. Which part of the team’s help looks most useful?

    Help me start

    The most useful part is…

    Show an example

    The advice seems most useful because it changes his approach.

  2. When have you needed to change a method?

    Help me start

    I first tried…; then…

    Show an example

    I first tried memorising a list, then I used the words in a story.

  3. Help a partner who keeps copying someone else’s method.

    Help me start

    What part…? / Try…

    Show an example

    What part is not working? Try using your own strengths.

Your Driver Is a Snail?

Tito wants officials to let Turbo enter a race normally contested by cars.

Watch for: What makes the officials reconsider?

Original source

Clip B quiz: 6 questions

Answer about this clip. Replay when you need to. Choose one answer for each question.

1. Who does Tito present as his driver?
2. What initially makes the request seem unlikely?
3. What does the demonstration show?
4. How do other people respond after seeing his speed?
5. What does Gagné’s intervention support?
6. What changes between the beginning and the end of this exchange?

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteB2 · A comment framing a qualified assessment
“I'd say an appropriate welcome, given the situation.”

Clip 2, quotation excerpt

I’d say presents an assessment tentatively. A comment infinitive such as to put it cautiously can frame a new version, without claiming the welcome is objectively appropriate.

New practice based on the quote: Choose a new comment clause that makes a cautious assessment explicit.

Useful English

Let me show you what I can do.

You say: Ask to demonstrate your design.

One possible response

Let me show you what my design can do.

What do I need to do to qualify?

You say: Ask what you need to do to join a team.

One possible response

What do I need to do to join the team?

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.

  1. What evidence is stronger than a confident promise here?

    Help me start

    The demonstration…

    Show an example

    The demonstration is stronger because people can see what Turbo can do.

  2. What helps a beginner get a first opportunity?

    Help me start

    A beginner can…

    Show an example

    A beginner can show a small piece of work.

  3. Ask for a fair trial and clarify its conditions.

    Help me start

    Let me… / What do I need…?

    Show an example

    Let me show you what I can do. What do I need to do to qualify?

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.

1. Your teammate is stuck. Ask for the specific difficulty first.
2. A candidate asks to show practical ability. Choose their request.
3. Ask about the entry requirements, not the results.
4. Recommend adapting a method while keeping the goal.
5. A test supports a claim. Complete: This result provides ___.
6. Acknowledge a limitation and name a useful strength.

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.

  1. How does each clip challenge an assumption about Turbo?

    Help me start

    First…; in the other…

    Show an example

    One changes his racing method; the other challenges whether he can compete.

  2. What should a fair trial measure?

    Help me start

    It should measure…

    Show an example

    It should measure the skill actually needed for the task.

  3. Can you reach a workable outcome together using the two private role cards?

    Private Role A

    You run a short presentation contest. Entrants have three minutes and must explain an idea clearly. You can permit a visual demonstration, but not extra time. Ask what the entrant needs.

    Private Role B

    You speak slowly when nervous but draw very clearly. You want to use one drawing during your presentation. Ask for a fair trial and discover the conditions.

    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: What would help you show your idea? B: Could I use a drawing? I explain things better that way. A: Yes, but the limit is three minutes. B: What do I need to show? A: A clear problem and solution. B: I can demonstrate those on one sheet.

    Try again: The projector fails. Agree how to demonstrate the idea with a sheet of paper while keeping the three-minute limit.

1–2 minGrammar masteryB2 · Get + object + past participle
“Are you trying to get me arrested?”

Clip 2, quotation excerpt

Get me arrested makes me the person receiving the arrest. It describes causing a result, not doing the arrest myself.

Which expanded question preserves the roles in get me arrested?

Original teaching activities: Hibiscus Teach. Film and television clips belong to their respective owners.