Cartoons and Claymation: Shaun The Sheep and More

Bernard Bear, Shaun The Sheep and Wallace and Gromit

Bringing in our toon town or claymation friends like Shaun the Sheep, can help to relax students, make them laugh a little and then actively converse in class. It is a good way to incorporate some light entertainment into learning and using spoken English. Showing t.v. shows and movies for ESL learning is not always effective for lower level learners, as trying to understand the dialogue, can make it hard for them to follow the plot of the story(unless subtitled), however, showing silent shows or shows with very little speech involved, gives the students a chance to actively participate in question and answer time or an explanations session on what they think happened during a show. Mr Bean (not the cartoon) is excellent in the ESL classroom for the reasons I just mentioned...but today I'm going to look at some specific cartoons and animations featuring lovable toon town friends and claymation characters that your ESL students will love.

Bernard Bear

A Spanish, French and Korean co produced cartoon, Bernard (also known as Backkom in some countries) is a polar bear. He is not exactly what you would call very lucky in life. Each episode is only about 3 minutes in length which makes it extremely useful for including either question and answers or to get the students to take turns in describing what Bernard did during the show.  I make sure that I have about 8 episodes at the ready before class begins. I first discovered Bernard Bear whilst flying with a small Asian airline company. Watching a few episodes of this slapstick cartoon up on the drop down screens kept me amused throughout the turbulence. I have recently found out that there are also a few films. "My Friend Bernard" is a 2012 t.v feature about a small, scared boy who lacks the confidence to do anything...that is until he meets Bernard Bear. Before that in 2008, there was a d.v.d produced called "Mug Travel" and whilst you can find shorts from this on the internet, it's difficult to find out any other information about this particular show. Finally, due for release in 2013 "Super Bernard" is a 3D feature lasting a little over an hour. With over 150 episodes of the regular 3-4 minute shows...there is plenty of Bernard Bear to use with your students.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSIuqbG4iOY

Shaun The Sheep

This claymation (a form of stop motion) series is a real hit with students. Created by Nick Park, of "Wallace and Gromit" fame, Shaun The Sheep has a lovable cast of characters whom the students enjoy talking about. Like Bernard Bear,  Shaun The Sheep is featured in short, easily digestible episodes of 3-4 minutes in length, so again you will need to make sure you have enough episodes to last the whole lesson.

Whilst they are all great, some special episode recommendations from the "Wash Day DVD" are Hiccups, Who's The Mummy, Sheep On The Loose and Wash Day.

Whilst you can easily and quickly make up some question and answers, I also recommend getting your students to watch the video below, introducing the main characters of the show and see if they can do a similar introduction of the cast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJGlxlFU1A4

Wallace and Gromit

As I have mentioned... before Shaun the Sheep, Nick Park created Wallace and Gromit. This is a series of four animated short  claymation films ( 20- 30 minutes in length) and 1 feature-length movie. Please note...Wallace and Gromit is not silent, there is dialogue for the students to take in, but I have included Wallace and Gromit here in this article, because even with the dialogue, the short feature shows are not difficult for the students to follow.

Wallace is an inventor who comes up with some brilliant inventions, but is a little naïve and Gromit (who doesn't speak) is a highly intelligent dog who is often helping Wallace out of trouble. The four short feature shows are -

• A Grand Day Out


• The Wrong Trousers (Academy award winner)


• A Close Shave (Academy award winner)


• A Matter Of Loaf And Death

and the full length feature film is -

• The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Academy award winner)

There are also some short features up to 3 minutes in length from a series called "Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions".

Whilst I have seen many of these, the only one up till now that I have tested in the classroom is "the Wrong Trousers". It made a huge impact with the students, more than I anticipated. The chase scene on the toy train near the end of the film, ended with most classes giving a standing ovation. They really loved every minute!

Don't be put off by having to make up some simple observation questions, all three of these series are worth the little effort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5-aVz9mWtw



Photo Credits:  eckes/bernd via Compfight cc">Photo of Shaun The Sheep .ShironekoEuro via Compfight cc">Photo of Wallace and Gromit .

ESL-TASTIC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.