[clivehawkins]

I occasionally show an episode of Fawlty Towers, the 70s English TV series about the terrible hotel and its crazy manager.

For the lead in I elicit what they expect from a hotel with regard to facilities, services and what staff you find there. Then we have a brief discussion about good and bad hotel experiences, then we watch the show. They also have a worksheet to do while watching and we stop the tape every so often to check comprehension. Clearly the hotel is nothing like the one from the lead in. It's rare that a class doesn't enjoy it.

Also the old Mr Bean shows are good. You can use them to present \ practice almost any tense. Stop the cassette and ask such questions as "What is he doing \ wearing \ eating \ writing \ etc etc?" or "What did he do first \ next \ after that etc etc?" You can get them to watch again and take notes to write up a summary for homework.