Charles Dickens British English Teacher BW

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GENERAL ENGLISH · HISTORICAL FIGURES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
CHARLES
DICKENS
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1 Warm up
Match the sentences with the pictures to tell the story of A Christmas Carol, one of Charles Dickens’
most famous works.
1 2 3 4 5 6
On Christmas Eve, the ghost of Scrooge’s This is Ebenezer Scrooge, a rich man who
old business partner Marley comes to see does not like Christmas!
him to announce the visits of three more
ghosts.
The Ghost of Christmas Present tells The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge
Scrooge how his family and friends are a snowy scene from a Christmas in his
celebrating the holiday. childhood.
Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning The Ghost of Christmas Future shows
and becomes a more generous person. Scrooge what might happen when he dies.
1. Have you read this story or seen the film?

2. What do you know about the author, Charles Dickens?
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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
CHARLES DICKENS
2 Vocabulary
Complete the definitions with a missing word from the box.
criminal debts miser plot orphan serial
1. A is a person who loves having money and never wants to spend it.
2. A is a story on TV or the radio or in print that appears in different parts every
day, week or month.
3. An is a child whose parents have died.
4. organisations make money through illegal activities.
5. If people borrow money, they have which they must pay back one day.
6. The is what happens in a story, film or play.
Match the sentence halves and define the words in bold.
1. We have a lot of affection for our neighbours

2. Some popular songs criticise
3. Lots of kids enjoy reading humorous
4. His latest book was inspired by
5. The fight for social justice will continue until
6. The government wants to promote healthy eating
a. because they always help us.

b. by teaching schoolchildren how to cook.
c. cartoons or comic books.
d. everyone enjoys equal rights and opportunities.
e. his experiences during the war.
f. the government or send a strong political message.
How do you think these words will be used in the story of Dickens’ life?
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CHARLES DICKENS
3 Listening 1
You are going to listen to information about the life of Charles Dickens (1812-1870). Before you
listen, read the sentences and try to predict the correct option. Then listen and check your ideas.
1. Dickens was the second of eight / ten / twelve children.

2. He wrote a total of ten / fifteen / twenty novels during his life.
3. He wrote A Christmas Carol in 1840 / 1853 / 1843.
4. He travelled to the United States once / twice / many times.
5. Dickens was buried in London / New York / Rome.
4 Language in context
Read these sentences from the recording and use the context to explain the meaning of the words in
bold.
This (Oliver Twist) told the story of a poor orphan trying to survive in London’s criminal underworld.
1.
Most of his works were originally written as serials, and the plots had multiple cliff-hangers to encourage
people to buy the next magazine or paper.
2.
The customs of sending Christmas cards, decorating Christmas trees and singing Christmas carols also
became popular around this time.
3.

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CHARLES DICKENS
5 Listening 2
Read the questions. Can you remember the answers? Listen again to check.
1. Which two events in Dickens’ early life inspired his writing?

2. Give two examples of different themes in Dickens’ novels.
3. What two aspects of a traditional Christmas come from Dickens’ writing?
4. What happened to his writing style after 1850 and why?
5. Why is the story of Edwin Drood a modern mystery?
6 Language point
We often use passive structures to talk about writers and writing.
He was buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, London and is still remembered today
with great respect and affection.
1. How is the passive formed?

2. When/why do we use it?
Now, read this paragraph from the recording and find four more passives, as well as a useful expression
which we use to describe the main topic of a story.
As a young man, Dickens worked as a political journalist and by 1833 he was writing a series
of short humorous articles for newspapers and magazines under the name "Boz". His first
novel, Oliver Twist, was published in 1838. This was about a poor orphan trying to survive in
London’s criminal underworld. In total, Dickens wrote fifteen novels with various themes, but
all related to social justice. Some were biographical – David Copperfield (1849) was based on
Dickens’ own life story. Others, like Dombey and Son or Little Dorrit, had plots centring around
business or the law, with Dickens criticising these organisations’ effects on people’s lives. A
Tale of Two Cities was set during the French Revolution. Most of his works were originally
written as serials, and the plots had multiple cliff-hangers to encourage people to buy the
next magazine or paper.
Think of a book that you like and use these passive phrases to describe it.
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7 Talking point
Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.
1. What would you ask Dickens if you could meet him?

2. Do you ever watch or read serials? Give some examples of cliff-hangers that you have enjoyed or
would work well.
3. Dickens is considered one of the most important writers in English, thought of with affection and
respect. Who is his equivalent in your country or language’s literature?
4. Dickens was very concerned with social justice. If he were alive today, what do you think he would
be writing about?
5. Which of these Dickens’ quotes do you like best and why?
A very little key will open a very heavy door.
The most important thing in life is to stop saying "I wish" and start
saying "I will.
Man cannot really improve himself without improving others.
8 Optional extension
One of Dickens’ most famous characters, Ebenezer Scrooge, has entered the dictionary as a synonym
for miser, for example: Don’t be such a Scrooge! There are lots of words in English for people who don’t
like to spend money. Add the missing vowels to these words.
1. ch_ _ psk _ te: a person who is not willing to spend money and is always looking for a special deal
or discount (noun)
2. m_ _n: not liking to share with other people or use too much of anything, especially money (adj;
mainly British English)
3. m _ ney - gr _ bb_ r: a person whose main activities are related to getting money (noun)
4. p _ nny - p_ nch _ r: a person who is always trying to save money, even small amounts (noun)
5. s t_ngy: not liking to spend money or share with others; this word can also refer to a very small
amount of something (adj.)
6. t _ ght: not willing to spend money (adj.)
We often use so + adjective / such + noun ... that expressions to describe someone with these qualities,
for example:
• Scrooge was so stingy that he never heated his office in the winter.
• Scrooge was such a money-grubber that he never took a day off work.
• Do you know anyone who has these qualities? Explain what they’re like using these structures.

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TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
CHARLES DICKENS
Transcripts
3. Listening 1
Narrator: Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England. He was the second of eight
children, and the family moved around before settling in Camden Town, London in 1822.
When Dickens’ father John was sent to prison in 1824 because he had not paid his debts,
the young Charles had to work in a factory to help his family. The terrible conditions there,
as well as his experiences visiting his father in prison, inspired some of his later writing.
He returned to school for a little while, after his father had paid his debts.
Narrator: As a young man, Dickens worked as a political journalist and by 1833 he was writing a
series of short humorous articles for newspapers and magazines under the name "Boz."
His first novel, Oliver Twist, was published in 1838. This was about a poor orphan trying
to survive in London’s criminal underworld. In total, Dickens wrote fifteen novels with
various themes, but all related to social justice.
Narrator: Some were biographical – David Copperfield (1849) was based on Dickens’ own life story.
Others, like Dombey and Son or Little Dorrit, had plots centring around business or the
law, with Dickens criticising these organisations’ effects on people’s lives. A Tale of Two
Cities was set during the French Revolution. Most of his works were originally written
as serials, and the plots had multiple cliff-hangers to encourage people to buy the next
magazine or paper.
Narrator: However, it is his 1843 short novel, A Christmas Carol, that Dickens is perhaps best
known for. In this story, a miser called Ebenezer Scrooge is forced to consider the effects
of his actions on other people. Dickens’ descriptions of Christmas holiday celebrations,
particularly food, reflected a new popular focus on this holiday in England.
Narrator: Today, when many people think of a traditional Christmas, they are thinking of this
story. The customs of sending Christmas cards, decorating Christmas trees and singing
Christmas carols also became popular in England around this time. Additionally, Dickens
did much to promote the idea of a "white Christmas", or snowy weather during this
holiday, as this was what he remembered from his own childhood.
Narrator: In fact, the white Christmases of the 1810s were unusually cold and nowadays it rarely
snows at this time of year in England. Dickens was well-known around the world and
made a lot of money from his writing during his life. He travelled to the United States
twice on lecture tours. With his wife Catherine, he had ten children. However, in 1850,
his father and one of his daughters died and his writings show a darker world view after
this. In 1858, he separated from his wife and started a relationship with an actress.
Narrator: When Dickens died in 1870, he left one unfinished novel – The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Experts are still arguing about how Dickens would have ended the story. He was buried
in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, London and is still remembered today with great
respect and affection.
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Key
1. Warm up
5 mins.
Students match the words and pictures to outline the main events in this famous story. They can work on this in
pairs, and then check answers. Pose the follow-up questions - it’s fine if the class have limited knowledge – they
will discover more about Dickens during the lesson.
1) This is Ebenezer Scrooge, a rich man who does not like Christmas!
2) On Christmas Eve, the ghost of Scrooge’s old business partner Marley comes to see him to announce the visits
of three more ghosts.
3) The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a snowy scene from a Christmas in his childhood.
4) The Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge how his family and friends are celebrating the holiday.
5) The Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge what might happen when he dies.
6) Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning and becomes a more generous person.
2. Vocabulary
10 mins.
Explain that students will need to know some vocabulary to understand the listening. First, students complete a
gap-fill exercise to define key items, although you could ask them to explain the meaning as well. Check answers
with the class including pronunciation – stressed syllables are underlined. Call attention to the /aI/ sound in miser,
and the /i:/ sounds in serial; debt has a silent b.
In the second exercise, students match sentence halves and then define the key words from the sentence context.
Answers: affection = a feeling of liking or love; criticise = say negative things about someone or something;
humorous = funny, meant to make you laugh; to be inspired by = to have an experience that gives you an idea for
a story or work of art; social justice = the idea that society is fair to everyone; promote = encourage people to do,
like or want something.
Pose the follow-up question for students to discuss briefly in pairs. This will help to prepare them for the listening.
You could elicit some short responses around the class to conclude this stage.
1. miser 2. serial 3. orphan 4. Criminal 5. debts 6. plot
Sentence halves:
1. a 2. f 3. c 4. e 5. d 6. b
3. Listening 1
10 mins.
First, go over the sentences and ask students to work in pairs to predict the answers before they listen – this
stage will probably be very brief. Then students can listen to the recording and check their ideas. Before you
check answers with the whole class, students can check answers in pairs.
1. eight 2. fifteen 3. 1843 4. twice 5. London
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4. Language in context
5 mins.
This is a quick practice in deducing meaning from context, an important skill for students at this level. Go over the
sentences with the whole class and elicit definitions similar to those given. Drill pronunciation as well.
1. underworld - a secret part of society consisting of people who do illegal things to make money
2. cliff-hanger - the ending of a chapter in a story that is so exciting and uncertain that the reader wants to keep
going to find out what happens next
3. carols - happy or religious Christmas songs
5. Listening 2
10 mins.
Go over the questions with the whole class. Students should work in pairs before listening to recall/predict the
answers and then listen again to confirm/find the answers. They can check answers again in pairs before you go
over the answers with the whole class.
If any students need extra support for this exercise, you could make the transcript available to them while they
listen or after they listen. Students often enjoy listening and reading anyway – if you haven’t repeated the listening
more than twice so far, they may want to do this now.
1. Working in a factory and visiting his father in prison.
2. Answers can include: biography/life stories, business and the law, and history.
3. Food and snow.
4. It became darker, or sadder, after the death of his father and one daughter in this year.
5. No one knows how it ends, as it was unfinished when Dickens died.
6. Language point
10 mins.
This is a quick review of passives and assumes students have encountered this structure already. Go over the
example with the class and pose the two questions. Then students work with a paragraph from the text to identify
more examples, as well as the useful structure to be about. They can formulate a few sentences about a favourite
book and share ideas in pairs or small groups. Monitor and support as necessary and correct any grammatical
mistakes.
1. A form of to be + past participle. The tense is expressed by the to be verb.
2. When we want to call attention to the action, not to the person doing the action (the agent). This is often
because the agent is not known, not important or obvious.
Story:
Answers:
was published / was based on / was set / were written; the useful expression that describes the main topic of a
story = was about.
7. Talking point
10 mins.
Students can work in pairs or small groups to discuss these questions. If your classroom set-up allows, students
could move round the room, forming small groups to discuss one question at a time, changing groups for each new
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CHARLES DICKENS
question. Conduct a quick round-up of answers either after each question or at the end, encouraging students to
give reasons and examples for their answers.
Source for quotes: https://www.azquotes.com/author/3947-Charles_Dickens
8. Optional extension
10 mins.
This brief exercise expands students’ colloquial vocabulary. The six near synonymous terms are defined and
students add missing vowels, which helps reinforce their understanding of typical spelling patterns in English.
Check answers and drill pronunciation – be careful with stingy /stIn.dZi/. Then go over the examples and pose
the follow-up question for students to discuss in pairs.
Answers: cheapskate / money-grubber or money-grabber / penny-pincher / stingy / tight
1. cheapskate 2. mean
3. money-grubber or money-grabber 4. penny-pincher
5. stingy 6. tight
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GENERAL ENGLISH · HISTORICAL FIGURES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

1. Have you read this story or seen the ﬁlm?

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/5

Complete the deﬁnitions with a missing word from the box.

criminal debts miser plot orphan serial

Match the sentence halves and deﬁne the words in bold.

1. We have a lot of affection for our neighbours

a. because they always help us.

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1. Dickens was the second of eight / ten / twelve children.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/5

1. Which two events in Dickens’ early life inspired his writing?

We often use passive structures to talk about writers and writing.

1. How is the passive formed?

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 4/5

1. What would you ask Dickens if you could meet him?

A very little key will open a very heavy door.

Man cannot really improve himself without improving others.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 5/5

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