Teaching and Learning English with Films

Working Girl

film guide

Учебное пособие к фильму

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Teaching and learning English with films

It seems that everyone is eager to teach and learn with films these days because films have so much to offer both students and teachers. They

• bring native speakers into the classroom, relieving the teacher of the necessity of providing the only model for pronunciation, intonation, and register;
• motivate students to learn by utilizing interesting story lines and character interaction which makes them eager to understand what people are saying;
• increase oral comprehension: students can understand much more from watching a video sequence (in which body language accompanies speech) than from merely listening to an audio tape;
• stimulate student interaction and communication with other classmates by having them discuss the film itself or ways in which it relates to their lives and experiences;
• promote cross-cultural awareness by enabling students to observe similarities and differences between the lives of the characters in a film and those of their own families and friends;

…and, most importantly,

• are adaptable for use with students at any English-language proficiency level, from elementary through advanced: students can understand and work with material that seems above their level if the accompanying activities are at their level.

The major thing for the teacher to remember is that a film in the classroom has a purpose beyond entertainment: it is a tool to help students learn English. Therefore, they must be actively engaged in their own learning process, not passively sitting back. There must be a specific purpose in watching a sequence, usually in the form of an activity or viewing task that helps students focus on the content of the sequence they are watching

From “Teaching with Video, Techniques and Activities with Family Album, U.S.A.” by Alison M. Rice Macmillan, Inc. New York, 1993, p.1

Twentieth Century Fox Presents

A Mike Nichols film

Working Girl

Her time has come

A witty romantic tale of life in the corporate jungle.

Directed byMike Nichols

Music byCarly Simon (Academy Award Winner “Best
Song” “Let the River Run”)

Scored byRob Mousey

Starring:

Melanie Griffith(Tess McGill)

The secretary.

She’s just been taken for granted – until now.

Harrison Ford(Jack Trainer)

A very capable and very attractive Wall Street investment
banker. The Middle Man. He’s been taking too much in good
faith.

Sigourney Weaver(Katherine Parker)

The career Bitch. She’s been taking too much of everything.

Co-starring:

Joan Cusack(Cyn)

Tess’s friend.

Alec Baldwin(Mick)

Tess’s unfaithful boyfriend.

Other characters:

Turkel\

Tess’s bosses

David Lutz/

Bob (in Arbitrage)

Ginnie- an employee at Petty Marsh

Doreen- Mick’s mistress

John Romano\

employees at Dewey Stone,

Jack Trainer’s co-workers

Bernie Petaka/

Oren Trask- the owner of Trask Industries

Barbara Trask- his wife

Phyllis Trask- his daughter

Armbrister- the owner of Metro Radio Network

Tim Draper- a senior employee at Trask Industries

Alice Baxter- a secretary at Trask Industries

Synopsis.

Tess McGill is smart, sexy and struggling. Her life has become an endless round of commuting, lecherous bosses and low pay. Ambushed one too many times in her struggle to get out of the Wall Street secretarial pool and onto a management track, Tess decides to take matters into her own hands. She’s going to use her brains and her talent to leave the typing pool and swim upstream into the shark infested waters of New York’s money market.

But now she’s found herself working for Katherine Parker, a high powered, seductive super bitch who won’t give her a chance.

When the treacherous boss breaks a leg skiing and hospitalized, Tess has the perfect opportunity to step up the corporate ladder. She steps, literally, into her boss’s shoes – as well as her apartment, her corner office and her $6,000 dresses.

Suitably disguised, Tess forms an alliance with her boss’s ex-fiancé – Jack Trainer, a white collar Prince Charming whose affections are all set to take the street smart Tess on a trip up the treacherous corporate ladder. Together, they create a deal that could catapult Tess into the big time or finish her off for good because Katherine is never far away and proves to be a vicious enemy when she realizes what is going on.

Working Girl

Contents

Episode I

Scene I………………………………………………………………8

Scene II……………………………………………………………..13

Scene III……………………………………………………………..18

Scene IV……………………………………………………………..23

Episode II

Scene I……………………………………………………………..27

Scene II……………………………………………………………..32

Scene III……………………………………………………………..37

Scene IV……………………………………………………………..42

Episode III

Scene I……………………………………………………………..46

Scene II……………………………………………………………..49

Scene III……………………………………………………………..52

Episode I

Scene I

Notes:

Deni Tech / -a company
entrée
entrée program / -if you have an entrée to a social group, you are accepted and made to feel welcome by them
Harvard graduate / -a Harvard graduate is someone who has graduated from HarvardUniversity
arbitrage (in finance) / -is the activity of buying shares or currency in one financial market and selling them at a profit in another
arbitrager (in economics) / -an arbitrager is someone who buys currencies, securities or commodities on one country’s market in order to make money by immediately selling them at a profit on another country’s market
pimp / -a pimp is a man who gets clients for prostitutes and takes a large part of the money the prostitutes earn
night school / -someone who goes to night school does an educational course in the evening
honours
a degree with honours / -is a type of university degree which is of a higher standard than a pass or ordinary degree
merger / -a merger is the joining together of two separate companies or organizations so that they become one
acquisition (in business) / -if a company or business person makes an acquisition, they buy another company or part of a company

Vocabulary:

setup / -if you describe a situation as a setup, you mean that people have planned it in order to deceive you or to make it look as if you have done something wrong
sheet / -you can use sheet to refer to a piece of paper which gives information about smth
to be up against / -if you are up against smth (smb) you have a very difficult situation or problem to deal with
to go for / -if you go for a particular thing or way of doing smth, you choose it
suite / -a suite is a set of rooms in a hotel or other building
bonus
on a bonus basis / -a bonus is an extra amount of money that is added to someone’s pay usually because they have worked very hard
carried away / -if you get carried away, you are so eager or excited about something that you do smth hasty or foolish
degree / -a degree at a university or college is a course of study that you take there, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course
to transfer / -if you are transferred to a different job or place, you move to a different job or start working in a different place
to overestimate / -if you say that someone overestimates smth, you mean that they think it’s greater in amount or importance than it really is

Task 1. Who said these things? In what situations?

1. Did you make a wish?
2. Can’t they emerge without you at least once?
3. He doesn’t want to hear it from a secretary.
4. You are up against Harvard and Wharton graduates. You’ve got some night school, some secretarial time on your sheet.
5. What do you think is the most important quality for a great arbitrager?
6. You are not seriously looking for a new assistant, are you?
7. You don’t get ahead in this world by calling your boss a pimp.
8. (It) took me five years in night school. But I got my degree and I got it with honours.
9. You go home and cool off.

Task 2. Explain these sentences. (Who said them?)

1. They turned you down for the entrée program again.
2. This isn’t another setup?
3. I get a little carried away.
4. I’m always on the lookout for new blood.
5. Looking at your file here. This is the third time in six months I’ve had to place you.
6. Here’s something for you. Transferring down from Boston. Mergers and acquisitions. Name is Parker.
7. This is the last time I can help you, four strikes, you are out.

Task 3. Match these words to their meanings:

1 / setup / a / an extra amount of money that is added to someone’s pay usually because they have worked very hard
2 / overestimate / b / to choose a particular thing or way of doing it
3 / sheet / c / a set of rooms in a hotel or other building
4 / to be up against smth
(smb) / d / to move to a different job or start working in a different place
5 / to go for / e / to think that smth is greater in amount or importance than it really is
6 / suite / f / a piece of paper that gives information about smth
7 / bonus / g / a course of study that you take at a university, or the qualification that you get when you have passed the course
8 / to be carried away / h / to have a very difficult situation or problem to deal with
9 / degree / i / a situation planned in order to deceive you or to make it look as if you have done something wrong
10 / to transfer / j / to be so eager or excited about smth that you do smth hasty or foolish

Task 4. Number these sentences in the correct order,
from 1 to 7:

Bob in arbitrage. If you are still hungry, they are looking for (the) hungry out there.

But, no one ever got rich overestimating what the American public wants to taste.

All right, I’ll pick you at 5, we’ll ride back together.

Do I look like a pimp?

I don’t think they are going to sing you praises.

Just once I could go for … like a sweater or some earrings, you know. A present I could actually wear outside of this apartment.

The company keeps a suite at the Ritz Carlton and when it’s empty, they give it to us, boys, on a bonus basis.

Task 5. Answer these questions:

1. Where is the action set? In what way does the 1988 Academy award winning song by Carly Simon help create the right backdrop to the introductory scenes.
2. What’s your first impression of Tess McGill? Can we say she fits the description of a workaholic? What do you make of her hairstyle, her clothes etc.?
3. Why does Tess’s friend say she “is supposed to take Tess to drinks and have her home at seven”?
4. Was the morning in the office hectic? Why?
5. Can we say Tess has brains? Is she good at spotting new market trends? Justify your answer.
6. What news did Turkel and David Lutz have for Tess that day? Why do you think she was wary of David Lutz’s proposal?
7. Why do you think Tess told her boyfriend she “could go for” a somewhat different kind of present in the future?
8. Did “the job interview” with Bob turn out the way Tess had anticipated?
9. Why was Tess fired? Do you think she liked her job?
10. Sum up Tess’s conversation with the personnel manager.

Task 6. Discuss the following:

Tess Mc Gill seems to have everything going for her – beauty, brains & charm. Why do you think she finds it so difficult to get out of the Wall Street secretarial pool and into the upper echelons of New York brokerage industry?

Scene II

Notes:

Petty Marsh & Co / -the company Tess Mc Gill is working for now
bunny / -(used especially by or to children) a rabbit
stock / -a company’s stock is the amount of money which it has through selling shares
tender / -a statement of the price one would charge for providing goods or services or for doing a job
Coco Chanel / -(1883 – 1971) a French fashion designer; who is known especially for a simple type of women’s suit and for the little black dress, which she invented
Acme Eats; The Raging Bull / -New York caterers
hors d’oeuvres / -savoury food served in small amounts at the beginning of a meal instead of soup or another starter
bartender
a bartender service / -a bartender is a person who serves drinks behind a bar. The British word is barman or barmaid
liquor
liquor store / -strong alcoholic drink, such as whiskey
(compare liqueur)
“W” / -a magazine in the US
dim sum / -any of various Chinese foods typically consisting of small pieces of meat or vegetables wrapped in rice or a kind of light bread and cooked in steam or hot oil; a popular lunchtime meal
dumpling
Chinese dumplings / -a lump of flour mixed with water, cooked by boiling in water and often served with meat or having meat inside it
prick
(taboo derog. slang) / -a stupid or very unpleasant man
Trask Industries / -a company
FCC / -the Federal Communications Commission set up in 1927 to coordinate the work of all stations
take over / -to take over a company means to get control of it, for example by buying its shares

Vocabulary:

tough / -a tough person has a strong determined character and can tolerate difficulty or hardship
to accommodate accommodating / -if you do smth to accommodate someone, you do it with the main purpose of pleasing or satisfying them
accurate / -correct to a very detailed level
impeccable / -if you describe something such as someone’s behaviour or appearance as impeccable, you are emphasizing that it’s excellent and has no faults
a two-way street / -two people or groups helping each other or learning from each other
input / -information or resources that a group or project receives (Input is information that is put into a computer)
pitiful / -someone or something that is pitiful is so sad, weak, or small that you feel pity for them
glued to / -of you say that someone is glued to something, you mean that they are giving it all their attention
to sneak / -if you sneak somewhere, you go there very quietly on foot, trying to avoid being seen or heard

Task 1. Who said these things? In what situations?

1. We are practically twins.
2. And call me Katherine.
3. The caterers are called “Acme Eats”. You can get the number from information. They do the usual hors d’oeuvres and such. “The Raging Bull” has a bartender service and the liquor store on Broadway and Liberty delivers.
4. If that’s the way you want to go.
5. I guess, you are right, if dumplings can be considered a good idea.
6. Jim, the man who spends every weekend in August glued to his desk … that man knows that I just can’t sneak out of my own party.
7. Never burn bridges. Today’s junior prick, tomorrow’s senior partner.
8. Shoot.
9. I’ve been trying to get into the entrée program and this would be a big push.
10. Maybe we could all go out sometime, you know. Dinner in the city.

Task 2. Match these words to their meanings:

1 / input / a / to go very quietly on foot, trying to avoid being seen or heard
2 / to sneak / b / information or resources that a group or project receives
3 / impeccable / c / so sad, weak or small that you feel pity for them
4 / a two-way street / d / doing smth for somebody with the main purpose of pleasing or satisfying them
5 / accommodating / e / excellent and having no faults
6 / accurate / f / two people or groups helping each other or learning from each other
7 / tough / g / having a strong determined character
8 / pitiful / h / correct to a very detailed level

Task 3. Watch Katherine’s ‘ground rules presentation speech’ again (once or twice).

a)Fill in the gaps in the text with an appropriate word or phrase from the list below (the list includes some words that are not suitable).

b)Can this short monologue help to get an insight into what sort of person Katherine is? In what way?

pitiful, accommodating, rewarded, two-way street, keep, link, accurate, meeting, impeccable, rethink, making, uniform, line, outside, tough,
start with, profile, awarded, chain, exact, input

Katherine: A few ground rules. The way I look at it, you are my
(1) ______with the (2) ______world. People’s impression of me (3) ______you. You are (4) ______, when it’s wanted, (5) ______, when you can be, you are
(6) ______, you are punctual and you never make a promise you can’t (7) ______. I’m never on another
(8) ______, I’m in a (9) ______.

I consider us a team, and as such we have a (10) ______: simple, elegant, (11) ______.

“Dress sharply, they notice the dress, dress impeccably, they notice the woman”, Coco Chanel….

…You look terrific. You might want to (12) ______the jewelry.

I want your (13) ______, Tess. I welcome your ideas. And I like to have hard work (14) ______. It’s a
(15) ______on my team. Am I (16) ______myself clear?

Tess: Yes, Katherine.

Katherine: And call me Katherine.

Tess: OK.

Katherine: Let’s get to work then. This department’s
(17) ______last year was damn (18) ______. Our team has got its work cut out for it.

Task 4. Watch Tess’s account of her idea once again.

a)Number these sentences from it in the correct order, from 1 to 4;

b)Sum up the idea.

Plus it would solve Trask’s problems with his Japanese competitors trying to take him over because FCC forbids foreign ownership of radio as well as TV.

It’s not as glamorous as jumping right into TV, but it’s a solid place to start and there’s a lot more than for sale.

You know how Trask Industries has been looking into buying into broadcasting.

My idea is that they get their feet wet in radio and build from there.

Task 5. Answer these questions:

1. Which of Katherine’s ground rules seemed sound to you? Justify your answer.
2. What do you make of Ginny? Did you get the impression she was picking on Tess? Why?
3. Do you think the cocktail-party scene is relevant in terms of shedding some more light on the main characters? In what way?
4. Can we say Katherine got really interested in Tess’s idea? Try and remember what questions she asked her secretary while listening to her. What was the first thing she did after Tess left the room?
5. Does Tess, in your opinion, have much in common with her boyfriend? Explain why you think so.

Task 6. Discuss the following:

Tess says to her boss Katherine Parker at some point: “I’ve been trying to get into the entrée program and this (referring to her idea) would be a big push.” Would you subscribe to the view that one good idea might propel a person from a secretarial pool onto a management track? Give your reasoning.

Scene III

Notes: