Touchable Memories

Language level: Upper Intermediate (B2) –

Advanced (C1)
Learner type: Teens and adults
Time: 90 minutes
Activity: Watching a short film, speaking
and writing
Topic: Photographs, memories and 3D
printers
Language: Vocabulary related to memories
Materials: Short film
Overview

This EFL lesson plan is designed around a short

film titled Touchable Memories by Marco Aslan, and
the theme of photos and memories. In the film five
people who have lost their sight share their
stories about how they “see” a photograph. The
moving short film explores how 3D printing can
help the blind “see” photographs for the first
time, by offering a tangible version of a still
photograph. Students describe a photo which is
important to them and describe the memories it
brings back. They talk about blind people and
memories. They watch a short film, make notes, and
speculate about how blind people “see” photos.

Step 1

For homework in the previous class ask students to

choice a photograph which is important to them and
brings back positive memories. They should bring
the photographs to the following class.

Step 2

Pair your students and ask them to show their

partner their photo, and explain what memories it
brings back to them.
Touchable Memories

Step 3

Hold a plenary session on the memories brought

back by the photos.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 2

Step 4

Put your students into small groups and ask them

to discuss the following questions:

How could a blind person “see” a photo?

How could a photo bring back memories to a blind

person?

Step 5

Show your students the photo below.

Touchable Memories

Tell them that the five people in the photo are

all blind. Ask your students to imagine what the
people’s lives are like and what they do for a
living.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 3

Step 6

Tell your students they are going to watch a short

film in which they will see the five people in the
photo. As they watch the film they should make
notes about each person. Tell them that the film
is in English, but also in Italian, Spanish and
Arabic with subtitles in English.

Show the film until 02:16

Link: https://vimeo.com/109041102

Step 7

Ask the students to compare their notes. Show the

film a second time.

Step 8

Ask the following questions about each person:

What memories does he/she talk about?

What image does he/she refer to?

Step 9

Write the following sentence which Daniella (the

Touchable Memories

woman in the centre of the image above) says:

“If I could touch the picture, I could make it

tangible again:”

Ask the students to discuss what they think

Daniella means.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 4

Step 10

Tell the students they are going to watch the rest

of the film. As they watch their task is to answer
the following questions:

How do the blind people “see” the image for the

first time?
How do the people react when they “see” the photo
for the first time?

Why is the film called Touchable Memories?

Step 11

Get feedback from the students.

Step 12

Show the whole film and ask the students to

describe how it makes them feel.

Step 13

Put the students into small groups and ask them to

think of different uses of 3D printers which could
Touchable Memories

improve the quality of blind people’s lives.

Step 14

Hold a plenary session on uses of 3D printers to

improve blind people’s lives.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 5

Step 15

Now show these two videos which show uses of 3D

printers in South Kore and Japan to improve the
lives of young blind people. Ask your students if
they thought of any of the uses and how the videos
make them feel.

Link: http://bit.ly/1BEwxMR

Link: http://bit.ly/1xOHlLg
Homework

Ask your students to imagine that they are one of

the blind people in the short film. They should
write about their emotions and memories when they
"see" their photo for the first time.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

Film English is a labour of love, it takes

hundreds of hours and thousands of euros a year to
sustain and provide free English language lesson
plans. Keeping it a free, clean, ad-free
experience — which is important to me and, I hope,
to you — means it’s subsidised by the generous
Touchable Memories

support of readers like you through donations. So

if you find any inspiration, joy and stimulation
in these English language lessons or if they help
you teaching English, please consider a modest
donation — however much you can afford.

www.film-english.com by Kieran Donaghy 6