Reflecting on pronunciation, identity and teaching:

My Fair Lady (1964)

This film is based on a play by George Bernard Shaw called Pygmalion (1913), about
Eliza, a really poor but independent young woman in London. She makes an honest living by
selling flowers in the streets, but she wants to improve her situation and have a better life.
Of course, being a woman in the 1900s means there were many jobs she couldn't
have access to, because they were meant for men. (Here’s some illustrative data.) Back
then, women were expected to get married and have their husbands support them
financially. Most women who had to earn their own living were shop assistants or teachers (if
they could get a good education), domestic help... or prostitutes.
(I mean... just for an example, check this out.)
However, Eliza doesn't want to improve her situation by finding a rich husband! On
the contrary: she will make an effort to get an education that will offer her better prospects in
life, more independence, and a brighter future.

You can download the film here: My Fair Lady. English subtitles are available if you want
them: you need to download the .avi file and the .srt file to the same folder
(decompress/unzip them if necessary), and then play the .avi from your computer. You
might need a different media program to play it with subtitles, such as VLC Player.

After watching, think about these questions:

● Why does Eliza think pronunciation will improve her future prospects?
● How can pronunciation influence a person's identity, and the way they feel about
themselves? Is this still true today?
● How do you feel about the methods used to teach Eliza? Would you use any of them
with your students?

Reflect upon these questions and write your answers to the questions below. You can
discuss your ideas with your partners, but each person will need to write their own answers.

Happy watching!

SURNAME, Name
(write here)

Why does Eliza think pronunciation will improve her future

prospects?
This is bacause she lived in a society where there were differences of speaking between
high class and lower classes.

How can pronunciation influence a person's identity, and the

way they feel about themselves? Is this still true today?
The way someone speaks can show you lots of things, their social status, their education,
their background.
Lot of people think that there are connections between the way you speak and
intelligence. Also, they think that the more difficult and understanding words you say the
more intelligent you are.
Talking about Argentina there is a huge difference between high classes and low classes
ways of speaking and that is really cruel for youth when they share a place such as a
disco or a pub and they say you are a Tincho, because of the way a boy/girl speaks, or
you are villero/a.

How do you feel about the methods used to teach Eliza?

Would you use any of them with your students?
At first they made me laugh but then I put on her shoes and some of them were really
cruel. not the method maybe, the way the professor treated Elisa as a project rather than
a person, and he is sometimes insensitive and cruel.
I would use the “H” method, and I would add the “P” , but with a balloon.