English, baby!

The Breakfast Club

Date: May 17 2001

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

John Hughes directed a lot of comedies in the 1980s, such as “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off”, “Weird Science”, and “Pretty in Pink”. One of my favorites is “The Breakfast Club”. Listen to Miguel and I describe some of our favorite scenes.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Nedra

Miguel

Nedra: Uh, my roommate was watching “The Breakfast Club” the other night.

Miguel: Oh, that’s an amazing movie! I love that movie! So you watched it with her?

Nedra: Um no. But I remember some parts from it like the one part where… um…they’re dancing around in the library and Emilio Estevez is doing all his moves or something.

Miguel: The basic thing is they’re like on detention ~~- right? -~~ cuz they all got in trouble at school?

Nedra: Yeah. That’s the thing.

Miguel: So they’re there on the weekend. And then like they’re all hanging out and it’s a bunch of weird people like they’re not really friends?

Nedra: They’re kinda stereotyped actually.

Miguel: The part that I always liked the most was ~~- you know -~~ the part that Ally Sheedy plays…

Nedra: Yeah.

Miguel: She’s like the basket case?

Nedra: Uh huh.

Miguel: Well remember when she’s like drawing and then…um… she wants some snow for her mountains or whatever she’s drawing so she starts shaking her hair like that?

Nedra: Yeah! (Laughs)

Miguel: And her dandruff! (Laughs)

Nedra: Oh yeah! That sticks out in your head.

Miguel: So who was your favorite character?

Nedra: I kind of like Molly Ringwald’s character.

Miguel: No you didn’t. You liked Anthony Michael Hall cuz he was the little nerdy,um, kid and you had a crush on him huh?

Miguel: Molly Ringwald. She was like the princess though.

Nedra: Yeah.

Miguel: Wasn’t she a… I don’t know. I didn’t, I didn’t like her.

Nedra: I just liked her as an actress though I guess that’s why I like her.

Miguel: Oh so you like all her other stuff like “Sixteen Candles” and “Pretty In Pink”?

Nedra: Yeah.

Miguel: I feel ya.

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3

Go Super to Ask Ebaby! teachers your questions!

The iTEP^® test

Sponsored by

Schedule an iTEP^® test and take the official English Practice Test.
Take Now >

Discussion

The actors in “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire” were called “The Brat Pack” because they worked, partied and always hung out together. They were looked upon as a charmed, talented group of actors whose name was taken from “The Rat Pack”. “The Rat Pack” was a group of musicians and actors that included such stars as Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. who had their heyday during the 1950s.
Who’s your favorite actor from “The Brat Pack”? Which is your favorite movie—“St. Elmo’s Fire” or “The Breakfast Club”? Let us know! Come to the “Movie Madness” message board.
Until next week,
Nedra