Here is an activity to draw learners' awareness to the language forms in English that are used to mark politeness or the lack of it. To make this more concrete, a scene from the movie The Graduate will be used. Handout and a short video segment in which one or both speakers make requests. Make a list of all politeness markers or imperatives. Add other politeness markers to the list and add to the handout.
Students form groups and look at the list of requests on the handout.
Students try to make rules or guidelines to explain the differences among the three categories. Students make a list of specific words or combinations of words that indicate levels of politeness. Watch the video and check off the politeness markers that occur in the segment. Play the segment two or three times. Handout Politeness in Movies Requests Asking other people to do things is known as making a request.