Lion

Lion (Garth Davis, 2016) tells the true story of Saroo Brierley. In 1986, this five-year-old Indian boy falls asleep on an empty train and ends up alone in Calcutta, 1,600 km from home. He survives in the streets, is adopted by an Australian couple and grows up in Tasmania. Twenty-five years later, he starts looking for his family... on Google Earth. The film was nominated for six Oscars, with Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman.

Why this film? The whole story is told in the past, so it is perfect to practise the simple past and the past perfect ("When Saroo woke up, the train had left"). It is also a window on India (its languages, its trains, the 80,000 children who go missing there every year) and on adoption.

Final task idea: in groups, choose a scene of the film and present it to the class: what happens, who the characters are, how they feel... and why this scene matters in the story.

Before the film: Saroo's search (B1)

A two-minute video: Saroo tells how he found his home town on Google Earth.

• General comprehension Lost at five, found at thirty: watch the video and follow Saroo's detective work.
• Detailed comprehension Water tower, ring road, search radius... catch the exact words.
• The story in the past Woke up, stepped off, began: drag the verbs back into Saroo's story.
• Spot the mistakes Eight words have changed. Can your ears find them all?
• Vocabulary The words of the search, and the irregular verbs of the video.
• Vocabulary list All the words in one place: listen, hide, test yourself.

Read the book (B1)

Lion is based on Saroo's book, A Long Way Home. Read the night it all began.

• At the station Alone on a dark platform, Saroo makes a choice that will change his life. Read, answer, prove it.

After the film (B1)

You have seen Lion? Now tell the story.

• Who's who? Guddu, Kamla, Mantosh, Lucy... Put a name on every face, then find out who did what.
• The plot of the film From Khandwa to Tasmania and back: verbs, words and sentences of the whole story.
• Put the story in order 12 pictures, 12 moments of Saroo's life. Order them, then tell the story.
• Simple past and past perfect When Guddu came back, Saroo had left: learn to say what came first.
• The film vs. the true story Three weeks or two months in the streets? What did the film change? Read and find out.

The real Saroo (B2)

The night before the Oscars, Saroo Brierley tells his story to the American TV show TODAY.

• General comprehension The street, the orphanage, Google Earth and a bittersweet reunion.
• Detailed comprehension Muscle memory, nooks and crannies: listen for every word.

Listening test (B1)

Another stolen child, another family that never gave up. Test yourself, on your own: you get a mark out of 20.

• A father's 24-year search 10 motorbikes, 300,000 miles, one DNA test: will this father find his son?