DNA Journey from Film English
THE DNA JOURNEY
Posted on June 21, 2016 by kierandonaghy
This ELT lesson is designed around a short viral video commissioned by Momondo, and the theme of nationalities, ethnic groups, racism and DNA. In this lesson students watch a short video, make predictions, and speak about nationalities, ethnic groups, racism and genetics.
I would ask all teachers who use Film English to consider buying my book Film in Action as the royalties which I receive from sales help to keep the website completely free.
Language level: Intermediate (B1) – Upper Intermediate (B2)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 90 minutes
Activity: Watching a short video, making predictions, and speaking
Topic: DNA, racism, nationalities and ethnic groups
Language: Language connected to nationalities, ethnic groups and genetics, will and going to
Materials: Short video
Downloadable materials: dna journey lesson instructions
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Step 1
Pair your students and ask them to tell their partner about:
their family
their family’s nationality and/or ethnic group.
Step 2
Ask each student to tell the rest of the class about their partner’s family.
Step 3
Tell your students they are going to watch the start of a video in which several people are asked about their national and/or ethnic identity. Tell them that as they watch their task is to answer the following questions about each person:
What does he/she say his/her nationality or ethnic group is?
Which nationality or ethnic group does the person feel hostile towards?
Show the film and pause at 01:10.
Momondo “The DNA Journey” from ArtOfficial Agency CPH on Vimeo
Step 4
Ask your students to compare their answers with a partner.
Step 5
Play the first part of the video again, this time pausing after each person. Get students to identify the person’s national or ethnic identity, and the nationality or ethnic group he/she feels hostile to.
Step 6
Ask your students the following questions:
Is there any nationality or ethnic group your nationality feels hostile to?
Why do they feel this hostility?
Step 7
Write DNA on the board and elicit or explain that it is an abbreviation of deoxyribonucleic acid which is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms, and that nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA.
Step 8
Tell your students that the same people they saw in the first part of the video took the DNA Journey in which they gave a sample of their saliva to be tested to see what their DNA told them about their national and ethnic characteristics. Tell them they are going to watch the second part of the video in which the people are told about the test. Ask them to answer the following questions as they watch:
How does the person react?
What does the person think the result of the DNA test will show?
Show the video until 02:14.
Step 9
Get feedback from your students. They will say that the people seem surprised. Some of the people seem certain that the test will show that they are completely French, English, Icelandic etc.
Step 10
Put your students into small groups and ask them to make predictions using will or going to about what they think the DNA test result show about the genetic origins of each person.
Step 11
Hold a plenary discussion on what the class think the DNA test results will show.
Step 12
Show the video until 03:54. Ask the students to say whether their predictions were correct or not.
Step 13
Show the third part of the video again and ask the students to answer the following questions:
What different nationalities or ethnic groups are shown in each person’s DNA?
How does each person react to the news?
Step 14
Get your students to discuss each person’s reaction.
Step 15
Write on the board what the French woman says:
“I think everybody should have this test.”
Ask your students if they agree with this statement.
Step 16
Tell your students that there is a final surprise at the end of the video when the Kurdish woman is given some information. Ask them what they think the information might be. Now show the video from 03:55 and pause at 04:44.
Ask your students to say what the surprise is – the woman of Kurdish origin has a Turkish cousin in the same room.
Step 17
Ask your students how they would describe this revelation, and to imagine how they would feel if they were the man or woman.
Step 18
Show the caption at 04:46:
“You have more in common than you think”
Ask your students to discuss the statement.
Step 19
Now show the rest of the video until 05:09 and the caption:
“An open world begins with an open mind”
Hold a plenary discussion on this statement.
Step 20
Tell your students that the DNA Journey was organized by an online travel company Momondo. They asked 67 people from around the world to take a DNA test to show their origins. Ask your students why they think a travel website might want to do this type of promotion.
Show them the Momondo website and the competition in which:
500 people can win a DNA test kit
17 people can travel to their favourite country found in their DNA
1 person can travel to every country in their DNA
Ask your students if they would consider taking part in the competition. If they are interested show them how they can enter by writing a 250 character or less description of how they would break down boundaries between people by travelling.
Homework
Give your students the Momondo The DNA Journey playlist on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxpbnnGX6raZfTJcdt5_7Ag/playlists
Ask them to choose one of the videos on the playlist, to watch it and report back to the rest of the class in the following lesson.
I hope you enjoy this ESL lesson.