Summer is a time to relax by the beach, piña-colada in hand. That is, unless you’re a tutor. As we tutors know, while summer might be a time to take a break and enjoy the nice weather for some, for others, it's prime time to brush up on language learning skills. According to PMT education, the summer months can be some of the busiest for tutors. There are several reasons for this. 1. It’s exam season in many schools (in the early months of summer), 2. Most school students are on break, so it’s the best time to get ahead before the start of the semester, 3. People like to take vacation in other countries during the summer months and are looking to polish their Spanish/ French/ German ect. Either way, if you’re a tutor, summer is as busy as it gets!

With summer being such a demanding time for tutors, it’s important not to get burnt out from the work and have some fun with your lessons. This July, we saw the development of a new craze, dubbed “Barbenheimer” with the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer – two Hollywood blockbusters that took the world by storm. As tutors, we’re always looking for new, fun, and relevant topics to discuss in the online classroom, so why not take advantage? It’s likely that your students have watched either (or both!) and will have plenty of fun insights to share.

That said, here’s some fun ways to incorporate Barbenheimer in your lessons.

Descriptive vocabulary – plot and characters

1. Can you give me a short summary of Barbie/ Oppenheimer?
2. What is your favorite part of the movie?
3. What was your favorite toy when you were a child?
4. What was the plot twist in the movie/ what was the moral of the story?
5. Can you describe how the character would react in x situation?
   

Giving opinions

1. Who is your favorite character and why?
2. Can you describe how the character would react in X situation?
3. What would you do if you were Barbie and Ken did X?
4. What makes Barbie so popular?
5. Do you think that dolls are only appropriate for girls? Why?
6. Do you think the Barbie movie did the Barbie doll justice?
7. Do you think Oppenheimer did the right thing by developing the first nuclear weapon?
8. Why is Barbie so controversial?
   

Making comparisons:

1. Which movie did you prefer, Barbie or Oppenheimer?
2. If you haven't seen either movie, which one would you watch first and why?
3. Do you think that Barbie and Oppenheimer are similar in some ways? Can you elaborate?
   
   Have fun incorporating these into a speaking lesson or use them for comprehension exercises. And of course, feel free to share your own Barbenheimer materials with our community!