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III. EBU-SpecialNr. 2 1 9 9 8

might be more or less the only places

where you can still drink alcohol.

Additionally, Indian people are very

ambitious and eager to please the cus-

tomer and they make a lot of effort,

even if they’re perhaps not treated

with the appropriate respect.

Introduction to Rowan Atkinson

I would like to illustrate these social oc-

casions with a short video. The scene is

performed by only one person and I’m

quite sure you have all already heard

of him before: He’s very British, he’s of-

ten in the company of this little chap

here (Teddy-bear) and he was actually

on television just last night. Anyone for

a guess? Yes, I’m talking about Mr.

Bean or Rowan Atkinson, the actor

who inpersonates Mr. Bean. Could

anybody just shortly explain who Mr.

Bean is? (The character is a bachelor,

that means he’s unmarried who’s liv-

ing with his teddy-bear. The sketches

are mostly one-man performances and

usually pantomimic. And they have a

very British sense of humour.)

Today we don’t want to talk about Mr.

Bean, however, but about Rowan

Atkinson. What do we know about

him? He was born in 1955 as a

farmer’s son and he grew up in

Northumberland. We know him as a

comedian and an actor (Four Wed-

dings and a Funeral). What you might

not know is that he studied and gradu-

ated at Oxford University in electrical

engineering and even got a Master of

Science. So, he seems to be a clever guy

even though he might not always look

it. (Go through the word list.)

Indian manager has to cope with a big

group of drunken football fans who en-

ter the restaurant after the game to

have something to eat and to drink.

Suggested TreatmentSTEP 1Introducing the Topic and the

Actor

The aim of this step is to introduce the

background material for the sketch

and to present Rowan Atkinson. In ad-

dition the vocabulary can be prepared

by going through the word-list (Work-

sheet 1).

Introduction to the Topic

Today I want to deal with a part of

British social life. In this case we are go-

ing to talk about a bunch of lads com-

ing from a football game, sort of real

“lager louts”, that means very drunk.

Well, what do football fans want after

having watched an enjoyable, perhaps

even successful match? Something to

eat! And in England – this is now a so-

cial feature – you go to an Indian

restaurant, rather than to a fish n’chips

shop or some other take-away.

These Tandoori restaurants – this is

what they are called – have some par-

ticular advantages in contrast to other

restaurants: They are often open late,

they offer nice food for little money

and they usually still sell alcohol. Now,

why is that so important? Does any-

body know anything about alcohol in

England? The pubs in England have a

certain closing time, which is usually

half past eleven, and if Tandoori

restaurants are open still later, they

Miriam Nieswandt

“Guys after the Game”A Lesson Plan Based on a Sketch by Rowan Atkinson alias Mr. Bean

1)

(ab Klasse 9)

Objectives-·to introduce a well-known British

comedian and the British sense of hu-

mour

-·to train listening comprehension

and practise speaking

-·to practise translating with particu-

lar regard to idioms and expressions

Target Group and Learning Pre-requisitesThe text is possibly appropriate for

medium and higher level English

learners.

The TopicThe sketch, situated in an Indian

restaurant in England, shows how the

The sketch “Guys after the game”

is part of the video “Rowan At-

kinson Live”, recorded 1991 in

Boston. At the date of publication

of this issue of “English betrifft

uns” the video is available at:

Versandbuchhandlung Bergmo-

ser + Höller, Karl-Friedrich-Str. 76,

52072 Aachen. The price of the

video is DM 39,90. At a later date

please try the following supplier:

BMG, Entertainment Internatio-

nal, Kastenbauer Str. 2, 81677

München. Please enquire for

sales conditions at the above ad-

dress.

Notes fo r the Teac h e r

1) I would like to thank Professor Butzkamm for

suggesting the topic to me and for giving me the

opportunity to try out the lesson plan in his class.

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