Fortnite – a pleasure or a problem?
Fortnite is an online video game made by a company called Epic Games. Players can fight enemies, collect materials and items,
and make buildings. The game has three different versions, known as 'modes'. The most popular mode is called ‘Battle Royale’.
In a battle royale, players start with no items, and collect weapons and other equipment as they play. Players try to remove
other players and survive until the end of the game. A Battle Royale begins with up to one hundred players. The last player left
alive is the winner.
Fortnite is extremely popular. It came out in 2017 and now has hundreds of millions of players. And Epic Games has made
hundreds of millions of dollars. Celebrities, such as the rapper, Drake, play the Battle Royale mode. Other people have become
celebrities because they play the game. Fortnite is one of many video games which is played competitively as an ‘esport.’ In
summer 2019, there was a lot of attention in the British media when the 15-year-old schoolboy, Jaden Ashman, won the second
prize in the first Fortnite World Cup. Jaden and his 21-year-old Dutch game partner, Dave Jong, shared a prize of 2.25 million US
dollars. Jaden's mother said she always tried to stop him wasting his time on the game.
The company sells a lot of game-related products, such as branded clothes and action figures. Players can buy additional
features for the game with Fortnite’s own currency; ‘V-bucks,’ which they can earn as they play the game. A popular additional
feature is silly dances for the characters. Many people copy the game’s dances in real life. There are numerous videos of people
doing these dances on YouTube and other websites.
There are concerns about Fortnite. Parents and teachers worry about how much time children spend playing the game when
they should be doing schoolwork. Some believe that it is addictive. Items in the game are bought with V-bucks, but V-bucks can
be bought with real money. There are many reports of children spending their parents’ money on the game without permission.
Although the game is colourful and has a lighthearted style, some adults feel that it is too violent for children. After all, the Battle
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 1
, Royale mode involves killing other player’s characters with guns and other weapons.
Lesson Aims:
To extend and practise productive use of vocabulary for talking about computer games and associated topics.
To further develop reading skills through short reading activities on skimming and intensive reading.
Lesson Outline:
These children are not keen on reading, but quite enjoy learning new vocabulary and interactive games.
You have decided to place more focus on the vocabulary and speaking activities and will allocate timings roughly as follows:
1. Lead into topic (warmer) - 10 mins
2. Vocabulary pre-teaching (Presentation and short practice task) - 25 mins
3. First reading - 4 mins
4. Second reading - 9 mins
5. Follow-on activity (communicative speaking task) - 12 mins
You need to select 10 vocabulary items for pre-teaching and show how you would present two of those items in stage 2.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 2
, 1. Vocabulary Pre-Teaching Planning Table
In this table, show ten items from the text to pre-teach. The table is not a handout for the students.
Read 'Advice on Approaching Assignment A' before you begin work on this table.
Maximum word count for the vocabulary table: 700 words, including the wording already on the template
Pronunciation
How Meaning will be
IPA transcription
Meaning Conveyed to Students, Grammatical and Concept Questions
Item AND
(General definition) including Language-Graded Other Information (if needed)
word stress
Definition
pattern
Addictive (of a substance or I will explain that it is a Adjective Is this the same as /əˈdɪk.tɪv/
activity) causing or strong feeling of relying on liking something or is
likely to cause someone something. the feeling stronger? Stress: oOo
to become addicted. (Stronger)
Language graded definition:
An addictive activity or food
is one that you cannot stop
doing or eating once you
have started (Cambridge
Learners Dictionary)
How Meaning will be Pronunciation
Meaning Conveyed to Students, Concept Questions Grammatical and IPA transcription
Item
(General definition) including Language- (if needed) Other Information AND
Graded Definition word stress pattern
Violent using or involving I would explain that it’s Is being violent Adjective /ˈvaɪə.lənt/
physical force intended when a person resorts to generally a good
to hurt, damage, or kill physical harm. thing? (No) Stress: Ooo
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 3
Fortnite is an online video game made by a company called Epic Games. Players can fight enemies, collect materials and items,
and make buildings. The game has three different versions, known as 'modes'. The most popular mode is called ‘Battle Royale’.
In a battle royale, players start with no items, and collect weapons and other equipment as they play. Players try to remove
other players and survive until the end of the game. A Battle Royale begins with up to one hundred players. The last player left
alive is the winner.
Fortnite is extremely popular. It came out in 2017 and now has hundreds of millions of players. And Epic Games has made
hundreds of millions of dollars. Celebrities, such as the rapper, Drake, play the Battle Royale mode. Other people have become
celebrities because they play the game. Fortnite is one of many video games which is played competitively as an ‘esport.’ In
summer 2019, there was a lot of attention in the British media when the 15-year-old schoolboy, Jaden Ashman, won the second
prize in the first Fortnite World Cup. Jaden and his 21-year-old Dutch game partner, Dave Jong, shared a prize of 2.25 million US
dollars. Jaden's mother said she always tried to stop him wasting his time on the game.
The company sells a lot of game-related products, such as branded clothes and action figures. Players can buy additional
features for the game with Fortnite’s own currency; ‘V-bucks,’ which they can earn as they play the game. A popular additional
feature is silly dances for the characters. Many people copy the game’s dances in real life. There are numerous videos of people
doing these dances on YouTube and other websites.
There are concerns about Fortnite. Parents and teachers worry about how much time children spend playing the game when
they should be doing schoolwork. Some believe that it is addictive. Items in the game are bought with V-bucks, but V-bucks can
be bought with real money. There are many reports of children spending their parents’ money on the game without permission.
Although the game is colourful and has a lighthearted style, some adults feel that it is too violent for children. After all, the Battle
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 1
, Royale mode involves killing other player’s characters with guns and other weapons.
Lesson Aims:
To extend and practise productive use of vocabulary for talking about computer games and associated topics.
To further develop reading skills through short reading activities on skimming and intensive reading.
Lesson Outline:
These children are not keen on reading, but quite enjoy learning new vocabulary and interactive games.
You have decided to place more focus on the vocabulary and speaking activities and will allocate timings roughly as follows:
1. Lead into topic (warmer) - 10 mins
2. Vocabulary pre-teaching (Presentation and short practice task) - 25 mins
3. First reading - 4 mins
4. Second reading - 9 mins
5. Follow-on activity (communicative speaking task) - 12 mins
You need to select 10 vocabulary items for pre-teaching and show how you would present two of those items in stage 2.
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 2
, 1. Vocabulary Pre-Teaching Planning Table
In this table, show ten items from the text to pre-teach. The table is not a handout for the students.
Read 'Advice on Approaching Assignment A' before you begin work on this table.
Maximum word count for the vocabulary table: 700 words, including the wording already on the template
Pronunciation
How Meaning will be
IPA transcription
Meaning Conveyed to Students, Grammatical and Concept Questions
Item AND
(General definition) including Language-Graded Other Information (if needed)
word stress
Definition
pattern
Addictive (of a substance or I will explain that it is a Adjective Is this the same as /əˈdɪk.tɪv/
activity) causing or strong feeling of relying on liking something or is
likely to cause someone something. the feeling stronger? Stress: oOo
to become addicted. (Stronger)
Language graded definition:
An addictive activity or food
is one that you cannot stop
doing or eating once you
have started (Cambridge
Learners Dictionary)
How Meaning will be Pronunciation
Meaning Conveyed to Students, Concept Questions Grammatical and IPA transcription
Item
(General definition) including Language- (if needed) Other Information AND
Graded Definition word stress pattern
Violent using or involving I would explain that it’s Is being violent Adjective /ˈvaɪə.lənt/
physical force intended when a person resorts to generally a good
to hurt, damage, or kill physical harm. thing? (No) Stress: Ooo
© 2021 The TEFL Academy. All rights Reserved. (March 1st, 2021) 3
