YOUNG LEADERS

AWARDS ACCEPTANCE
SPEECHES
1.5HRS
AIMS: To familiarise Ss with the language used in acceptance speeches to help
them create their own in the awards presentations later today.
MATERIALS: Famous Awards handout 1 per group
Spoof Oscars acceptance speech and equipment to play it
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSnmI2XHAos)
Listening Tasks 1 per student
Kate Winslet Oscars acceptance speech and equipment to play it
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSnmI2XHAos) if you play
from youtube, start at 05:48.
Kate Winslets Oscars Speech handout 1 per student

STAGE:
Warmer /
Lead-In

The Oscars

Task

PROCEDURE:
Tell Ss todays class is about awards ceremonies and ask them to name
some ceremonies.
Take a few responses, then put into groups.
Have groups discuss their experience with awards what prizes have
they won? Have they ever really wanted to win a prize and not? How
did they feel about it? How have they felt when theyve won? If they
could win any award, which would they want to win and why?
Feedback What do Ss think is more important, winning or taking part?
Draw attention to Famous Awards handout tell Ss they have to
match the prize to the ceremony (2min)
Feedback answers (who got the most right?) and discuss the awards a
little, e.g. What does BAFTA stand for? How about UEFA? How do you
win an Emmy? Etc.
Tell Ss that as theyre making films this week, youre going to focus on
the Oscars, the most prestigious awards for people in the film industry
Elicit some of the awards categories and ask Ss what the winner in each
category usually talks about in their speech elicit that they thank
people.
Tell Ss youre going to show them an Oscars acceptance speech and you
want them to note down everybody the actor thanks. Dont mention
that its a spoof. Ss probably wont be too successful in the task but it
should make them laugh.
Feedback do they think it was a real speech? Why do they think
someone has chosen to spoof the speeches in this way (because
winners often go over the top in their thanking).
Put Ss into pairs and have them imagine that theyve jointly won the
Best Students award at the Young Leaders Oscars ceremony. It was
a very tough category, but theyre very excited to have won.
Give Ss up to 10 min to write their acceptance speech for the award.
They must both speak, but they only have 2 min to give their speech

TIMING:
10 min

10 min

20 min

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

Teach

Revised
Task

before the music plays them out (like at the real Oscars ceremony)
Give examples to help them, e.g. are they going to thank you, their
wonderful teacher? What are they going to thank you for? What about
Josh/Katie?
Monitor as they prep and help with vocab/elicit corrections
Split the group in two and give listening tasks to each Ss.
Have pairs deliver their speeches to their group and the other Ss
complete listening tasks. Tell the listeners that if they think the
speakers go over 2 min they should play them out start singing la la
la
Feedback who gave the best speech? Whose was the funniest? Who
thanked the most people? Etc.
Ask Ss if they can name any Britsh actresses who have won Best
Actress Oscars there are many possible answers incl Audrey Hepburn,
Vivien Leigh, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren. Try to elicit Kate Winslet.
Tell Ss you are going to show them Kate Winslets acceptance speech.
Give Q handouts and have them read Qs to check they understand.
Play speech and have Ss make notes.
Peer check, feedback answers. How does she seem to feel about
winning?
Draw attention to transcript and tell Ss you have written down Kates
words. You want them to underline the sentence head where she
thanks somebody or expresses her luck (demo so they understand)
Feedback.
Have Ss brainstorm other sentence heads/expressions they could use to
express thanks or fortune and feedback on the board.
Have Ss work in the same pairs as before.
Now theyre going to work on another acceptance speech, this time
imagining theyve won Best Film at the Oscars and they are both joint
directors.
They have 10 min to prepare and should try to use some of the
expressions from Kates speech and the brainstorm on the board. They
will speak for 2 min again.
Monitor as before, help with vocab, elicit corrections and encourage
use of the expressions
This time, have Ss present to the whole class and listeners sing them
out as before.
At the end of the class, have Ss vote for the best Oscars speech (the
cant vote for themselves) and give reasons why.

20 min

30 min

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

FAMOUS AWARDS
Can you match the prize with the awards ceremony? Write the number next to the picture.
1. The World Cup
1. The Academy Awards
2. The Emmys

4. The Baftas
5. The Grammys
6. The Golden Globes

7. UEFA
8. The Nobel Prize
9. The Olympics

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

KATE WINSLETS OSCARS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Watch Kates speech and make notes on the questions:
1. How old was she when she practised her speech in the bathroom?

2. What does she ask her dad to do?

3. What will she never forget?

4. What is she so lucky to have?

5. What does she think she and the other nominees cant believe?

KATE WINSLETS OSCARS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

Watch Kates speech and make notes on the questions:
1. How old was she when she practised her speech in the bathroom?

2. What does she ask her dad to do?

3. What will she never forget?

4. What is she so lucky to have?

5. What does she think she and the other nominees cant believe?

Teachers Answers: 1) 8; 2) whistle; 3) working with Stephen; 4) a wonderful husband and two
beautiful children; 5) that theyre in the same category as Meryl Streep
Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

LISTENING TASK
Listen to your classmates speeches and make notes on the following points:
Speech 1
Who do they thank?
__________________________________________________________________
Why do they thank them?
__________________________________________________________________
Speech 2
Who do they thank?
__________________________________________________________________
Why do they thank them?
__________________________________________________________________
Speech 3
Who do they thank?
__________________________________________________________________
Why do they thank them?
__________________________________________________________________

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

KATES SPEECH TRANSCRIPT (TEACHERS COPY)

Okay, that fainting thing, Penlope. I'd be lying if I haven't made a
version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old
and staring into the bathroom mirror and this [holding up her
statuette] would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo
bottle now! I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from
there to here and I'd like to thank some of the people along the way
who had faith in me. My friends and my family, especially my mum
and dad, who are in this room somewhere. Dad, whistle or
something, 'cause then I'll know where you are. [Loud whistle.] Yeah!
I love you!
I also want to thank Hylda Queally, Dallas Smith and the late, much
loved, much missed Robert Garlock. And from Peter Jackson and
Emma Thompson to my very own Sam and Stephen Daldry. I'm very
lucky to have been given "Hanna Schmitz" by Bernhard Schlink and
David Hare. And Stephen, working with you is an experience I will
never forget. There was no division between the cast and the crew
on this film, and that's what made it so special. So, to have been
surrounded by a remarkable group of people who provided an
unbroken chain of support, from David Kross to Ralph Fiennes, Bruno
Ganz, Lena Olin, from hair and makeup to cinematography, from the
art department to the ADs, and from New York to Berlin. And I'm so
lucky to have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children who
let me do what I love and who love me just the way that I am.
Anthony [Minghella] and Sydney [Pollack], this is for you. This is for
both of you. And I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these
goddesses. I think we all can't believe we're in a category with Meryl
Streep at all. I'm sorry, Meryl, but you have to just suck that up! And
just to the Academy, thank you so much. My God! Thank you!

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches

KATES SPEECH TRANSCRIPT

Okay, that fainting thing, Penlope. I'd be lying if I haven't made a
version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old
and staring into the bathroom mirror and this [holding up her
statuette] would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo
bottle now! I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from
there to here and I'd like to thank some of the people along the way
who had faith in me. My friends and my family, especially my mum
and dad, who are in this room somewhere. Dad, whistle or
something, 'cause then I'll know where you are. [Loud whistle.] Yeah!
I love you!
I also want to thank Hylda Queally, Dallas Smith and the late, much
loved, much missed Robert Garlock. And from Peter Jackson and
Emma Thompson to my very own Sam and Stephen Daldry. I'm very
lucky to have been given "Hanna Schmitz" by Bernhard Schlink and
David Hare. And Stephen, working with you is an experience I will
never forget. There was no division between the cast and the crew
on this film, and that's what made it so special. So, to have been
surrounded by a remarkable group of people who provided an
unbroken chain of support, from David Kross to Ralph Fiennes, Bruno
Ganz, Lena Olin, from hair and makeup to cinematography, from the
art department to the ADs, and from New York to Berlin. And I'm so
lucky to have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children who
let me do what I love and who love me just the way that I am.
Anthony [Minghella] and Sydney [Pollack], this is for you. This is for
both of you. And I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these
goddesses. I think we all can't believe we're in a category with Meryl
Streep at all. I'm sorry, Meryl, but you have to just suck that up! And
just to the Academy, thank you so much. My God! Thank you!

Bucksmore Summer Programmes Young Leaders Awards Acceptance Speeches