India is making lots of movie magic but doesn’t have enough people to do the work. Movies from India and other places want special effects, which are cool tricks that make movies look amazing. But there aren’t enough skilled people to make these effects. Right now, 250,000 people work making these movie tricks, but soon, they will need a lot more – up to 2.2 million people. A special group is trying to help by making new classes so more people can learn how to do this fun work.

Making these movie tricks can be expensive because you need special computers and programs. India is trying to figure out how to pay for all of this because it’s a big job. But there’s hope! Computers that can think, called artificial intelligence (AI), are starting to help make these movie tricks faster and easier. This could mean some people might not have those jobs anymore, but it also means there are new kinds of work to do. Everyone is excited because more young people are learning how to make movie magic, and using AI can make movies even cooler.

Original news source: The staff shortage in India’s special effects industry (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a set of cards with movie-related words or phrases written on them. One person from each group must act out the word or phrase without speaking, while the others guess what it is. The group that guesses correctly gets a point. Play several rounds and keep track of the points to determine the winning group.

– News Summary
Instructions: Provide the class with a simplified version of the article. Have them read it individually or in pairs and then summarize the main points in their own words. Afterward, ask a few students to share their summaries with the class and facilitate a discussion about the article.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Write a question related to the article on the board, such as “Do you think AI will replace jobs in the movie industry?” Have the students raise their hands to indicate their opinion (agree, disagree, or unsure). Divide the class into small groups and have them discuss their opinions. Afterward, ask each group to share their thoughts and reasons behind their opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Prepare a list of movie-related vocabulary words from the article, such as “special effects,” “artificial intelligence,” “programs,” etc. Divide the class into pairs and give each pair a set of vocabulary cards. One person from each pair must draw a picture representing the word while the other person guesses what it is. The pair that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Sketch It
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Assign each group a specific scene or aspect of movie-making described in the article, such as “filming a car chase” or “creating a monster.” Have each group work together to sketch or draw a picture of their assigned scene or aspect. Afterward, ask each group to present their sketches to the class and explain what they drew. Encourage the use of vocabulary words from the article in their explanations.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What are special effects in movies?
2. Why does India need more people to make special effects?
3. How many people work making movie tricks right now?
4. What is a special group doing to help more people learn how to make movie tricks?
5. Why can making movie tricks be expensive?
6. What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
7. Why are people excited about using AI to make movies?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

India is making lots of movie magic but doesn’t have enough people to do the work. Movies from India and (1)______ places want special effects, which are cool tricks that make movies look (2)______. But there aren’t enough skilled people to make these effects. Right now, 250,000 people work making these movie tricks, but soon, they will (3)______ a lot more – up to 2.2 million people. A special group is (4)______ to help by making new classes so more people can learn how to do this fun work.

Making these movie tricks can be expensive because you need special computers and programs. India is trying to (5)______ out how to pay for all of this because it’s a big job. But there’s hope! Computers that can think, called artificial intelligence (AI), are starting to help (6)______ these movie tricks faster and easier. This could mean some people might not have those jobs anymore, but it also means there are new kinds of (7)______ to do. Everyone is (8)______ because more young people are learning how to make movie magic, and using AI can make movies even cooler.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What are special effects?
2. How would you feel if you could make movie magic?
3. Do you like watching movies with special effects? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to have a lot of people who can make movie tricks? Why or why not?
5. What do you think about using artificial intelligence to make movie tricks?
6. How do you think artificial intelligence can make movies even cooler?
7. Do you think it’s good that more young people are learning how to make movie magic? Why or why not?
8. What kind of work do you think people can do with artificial intelligence?
9. How do you think special computers and programs are used to make movie tricks?
10. Why do you think India is trying to figure out how to pay for all of this?
11. How do you think the special group is helping more people learn how to make movie magic?
12. Why do you think everyone is excited about using AI to make movies?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. magic
2. special
3. tricks
4. skilled
5. classes
6. expensive
7. computers
8. artificial intelligence
9. jobs
10. excited

Meanings:
(A) Places where you go to learn new things
(B) Feeling very happy and looking forward to something
(C) Something amazing that seems like it’s done by magic
(D) Work that people do
(E) Machines that can think like humans
(F) Costs a lot of money
(G) Clever actions that make you go “wow!”
(H) Machines that help us do our work
(I) Not like the usual, but better or more important
(J) People who are really good at what they do
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What are special effects in movies?
(a) Special computers and programs
(b) Cool tricks that make movies look amazing
(c) Artificial intelligence
(d) New classes for learning

2. How many people currently work making movie tricks?
(a) 2.2 million
(b) 1 million
(c) 500,000
(d) 250,000

3. Why does India need more people to make movie tricks?
(a) There aren’t enough skilled people currently
(b) They want to make movies look amazing
(c) They want to use artificial intelligence
(d) They want to make more money

4. What is artificial intelligence?
(a) Cool tricks in movies
(b) Special computers and programs
(c) New classes for learning
(d) Computers that can think

5. How can artificial intelligence help make movie tricks?
(a) It can make the tricks more expensive
(b) It can make the tricks harder to learn
(c) It can make the tricks faster and easier
(d) It can make the tricks look worse

6. What is the hope for more young people in India?
(a) They are learning how to use artificial intelligence
(b) They are learning how to make movie magic
(c) They are making lots of money
(d) They are watching movies

7. What is the main challenge for India in making movie tricks?
(a) Finding enough skilled people
(b) Using artificial intelligence
(c) Figuring out how to pay for everything
(d) Making the tricks look amazing

8. What is the purpose of the special group mentioned in the article?
(a) To make new classes for learning movie tricks
(b) To make movies look amazing
(c) To use artificial intelligence
(d) To find more young people to work in the movie industry

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Making movie tricks can be expensive because you need special computers and programs.
2. A special group is making new classes so more people can learn how to do this fun work.
3. India is making really cool tricks for movies, but they need more people to help.
4. India is not trying to figure out how to pay for all of this because it’s a small job.
5. Right now, 250,000 people are working on these movie tricks, but soon they will need fewer people.
6. Some people might not have these jobs anymore because of AI, but there are new kinds of work to do.
7. More older people are learning how to make movie magic, and using AI can make movies even less interesting.
8. Computers that can think, called artificial intelligence (AI), are not starting to help make these movie tricks faster and easier.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What do movies from India and other places want?
2. Why are there not enough skilled people to make movie tricks?
3. How many people currently work making movie tricks?
4. What is a special group trying to do to help?
5. What is artificial intelligence and how can it help make movie tricks?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are special effects in movies?
Special effects are cool tricks that make movies look amazing.

2. Why does India need more people to make special effects?
India needs more people to make special effects because there aren’t enough skilled people to do this work.

3. How many people work making movie tricks right now?
Right now, 250,000 people work making movie tricks.

4. What is a special group doing to help more people learn how to make movie tricks?
A special group is making new classes so more people can learn how to make movie tricks.

5. Why can making movie tricks be expensive?
Making movie tricks can be expensive because you need special computers and programs.

6. What is artificial intelligence (AI)?
Artificial intelligence (AI) are computers that can think.

7. Why are people excited about using AI to make movies?
People are excited about using AI to make movies because it can make movies even cooler and more amazing.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) other
(2) amazing
(3) need
(4) trying
(5) figure
(6) make
(7) work
(8) excited
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. magic
Answer: (C) Something amazing that seems like it’s done by magic

2. special
Answer: (I) Not like the usual, but better or more important

3. tricks
Answer: (G) Clever actions that make you go “wow!”

4. skilled
Answer: (J) People who are really good at what they do

5. classes
Answer: (A) Places where you go to learn new things

6. expensive
Answer: (F) Costs a lot of money

7. computers
Answer: (H) Machines that help us do our work

8. artificial intelligence
Answer: (E) Machines that can think like humans

9. jobs
Answer: (D) Work that people do

10. excited
Answer: (B) Feeling very happy and looking forward to something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What are special effects in movies?
Answer: (b) Cool tricks that make movies look amazing

2. How many people currently work making movie tricks?
Answer: (d) 250,000

3. Why does India need more people to make movie tricks?
Answer: (a) There aren’t enough skilled people currently

4. What is artificial intelligence?
Answer: (d) Computers that can think

5. How can artificial intelligence help make movie tricks?
Answer: (c) It can make the tricks faster and easier

6. What is the hope for more young people in India?
Answer: (b) They are learning how to make movie magic

7. What is the main challenge for India in making movie tricks?
Answer: (c) Figuring out how to pay for everything

8. What is the purpose of the special group mentioned in the article?
Answer: (a) To make new classes for learning movie tricks
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Making movie tricks can be expensive because you need special computers and programs. (Answer: True)
2. A special group is making new classes so more people can learn how to do this fun work. (Answer: True)
3. India is making really cool tricks for movies, but they need more people to help. (Answer: True)
4. India is not trying to figure out how to pay for all of this because it’s a small job. (Answer: False)
5. Right now, 250,000 people are working on these movie tricks, but soon they will need fewer people. (Answer: False)
6. Some people might not have these jobs anymore because of AI, but there are new kinds of work to do. (Answer: True)
7. More older people are learning how to make movie magic, and using AI can make movies even less interesting. (Answer: False)
8. Computers that can think, called artificial intelligence (AI), are not starting to help make these movie tricks faster and easier. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧