The Landlady

• Show Slide 2. Ask learners to discuss the questions in small groups.
• Do some group feedback focusing on the learners' ideas about how they think they would feel and what they would do. They may say they would use apps on their phone to book a room, look at a map, find transport, etc.
• Then tell learners that this is exactly what happens to Billy, a character from the story The Landlady, except the year is 1959 and mobile phones, online maps and booking platforms haven't been invented.  

• Tell learners they are going to read about Billy and then answer some questions. You may want to pre-teach the following vocabulary: 
  Bath: a city in south-west England 
  lodgings: a room in someone's house that you pay money to live in  
  a trilby hat: a type of man's hat that was very fashionable in the late 1950s 
  brisk: quick, energetic and active
• Show Slide 3 (Worksheet Task 1). Ask learners to read the text.
• Show Slide 4 and ask them to answer the questions.  
• Ask learners to check their answers with a partner and explain why they chose the answers they did. Monitor and help with language and ideas.
• Show Slide 5 and ask them to check their answers.
• Do some whole-class feedback. Ask learners to justify their choices. Ask: Why do you think this is the correct answer?; What in the text gave you this idea? 

Answers 
False – it was a slow train with a change at Swindon.  
True – it was nine o'clock in the evening and the moon was coming up.  
False – there was a clear, starry sky.  
True – he didn't know anyone who lived there.  
False – his boss had told him to find his own lodgings.
False – he was wearing a trilby, suit and overcoat.  
False – he was feeling fine.  
True – he walked briskly down the street. 

• Show Slide 6 and ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner. Tell them that the answers aren't given in the text, but they are to think of ideas based on the clues the writer has given.  
• As you monitor, write useful language and interesting ideas on the board.
• Ask them to share their ideas in a brief, whole-class discussion. Possible answers are:

1. He's young, so maybe it's his first job; He probably works in an office, maybe as an assistant; Maybe he's training in a field like banking or insurance.
2. He might have to meet clients or go to a meeting. He could be training or starting work in a new office.
3. Yes, because in my country many people leave home at that age for university; No, I would miss my family and friends too much; It depends – if I had support, I could manage, but not alone. 

• Show Slide 7 (Worksheet Task 2). Ask learners to read the text and list the adjectives. You may first want to check the meaning of the term 'landlady' > a woman who rents out a building or accommodation. In this story, the woman rents out rooms in her own house (we can call this a 'boarding house').
• Ask learners to check their answers with a partner.
• Do some whole-class feedback. Suggested answers are: 

warm; welcoming; round, pink, very gentle; terribly nice; small, white, quickly moving (possibly positive or neutral) 

• Show Slide 8. Ask learners to find any negative adjectives. Discuss as a whole class. There are no really negative adjectives, but quickly moving hands could suggest she is nervous about something and red finger-nails could hint at something unusual or flamboyant. 

• Show Slide 9 (Worksheet Task 3). Ask learners to read the text and find the two expressions that show that the landlady's behaviour is strange. You may want to tell learners that 'five and sixpence a night' refers to old British money. It's roughly equivalent to £10 in today's money, which would be very cheap. 

Answers: dotty; off her rocker

• Ask them to check their answers with a partner.
• Do some whole-class feedback and ask learners: What's Billy's general impression of the landlady? At this point the texts they have read suggest that she's kind, but a bit eccentric or strange. 

• Show Slide 10 (Worksheet Task 4) and recap the information we know so far about the two characters.  
• Set up the role play. First put the learners into same-role pairs (A–A: Billy, and B–B: the landlady) and tell them to read the instructions for their role. The As should prepare questions for Billy to ask the landlady and decide how much they are prepared to pay. Bs should predict what Billy will ask and prepare answers, including some 'strange' answers. For example:

Billy: How much is the room? 
The landlady: It's £10 a night with breakfast included. But it's cheaper if you don't want an egg.  

Billy: Are there any pets? 
The landlady: Yes, a parrot, but sadly it doesn't talk.

• As you monitor, help with any language they need.
• Re-pair the learners as mixed A–B pairs and give them five minutes to role play the conversation.
• Do some whole-class feedback. Ask some Billys: Did you decide to stay? Why or why not? Ask some Landladies: Is Billy the type of guest you want? Why or why not?  

• Show Slide 11. Tell learners that they have two minutes to write their answers on a piece of paper.
• Ask them to swap their paper with their partner to compare their answers.

• Ask learners to read lines 1–118 of the text for homework. 

• Ask learners to imagine they are Billy and to write a short message to their family to let them know that they have arrived in Bath and found a place to stay. Briefly describe their feelings about being in the new city and their new landlady. 

• Show Slide 2. Ask learners to answer the questions in pairs.
• While monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Do some group feedback and share some information about the city of Bath. It is a city in south-west England with a rich history and heritage. It was founded by the Romans in the 1st century AD and is known for, and named after, its Roman baths. It became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era (1714–1837), and many grand houses were built. Bath was bombed during the Second World War, in 1942, and a lot of historic buildings were destroyed or damaged. Rebuilding work continued for many years, and when Billy arrived in Bath in 1959, the city was probably still feeling the effects of the Second World War. Nowadays Bath is extremely popular with tourists and has around six million visitors per year. 

• Show Slide 3 (Worksheet Task 1). Before learners begin answering the questions, it may be helpful to point out the vocabulary notes on Slide 4: 

- A porter is someone whose job it is to carry people's luggage in stations. Porters were common in the UK in 1959 but would not be seen today.  
- A pub is a place where people go to drink and socialise. In the past, pubs often offered simple accommodation too.
- one mile = 1.6km
- Chrysanthemums are a type of flower often chosen for funerals.
- A dachshund is a type of dog, also known as a sausage dog.
- A boarding house is a private house where you can pay to stay and have meals.
- Kippers are a type of smoked fish.
- L96 'a queer thing happened to him'. Here the word 'queer' is used in an old-fashioned way, to mean 'strange or unusual'. 

• Ask learners to compare their answers with their partner and tell them why they chose these answers.
• Do some group feedback, asking learners to justify their answers with evidence from the text.

1. 'It's about a quarter of a mile along on the other side' > around 400m away, which is not too far to walk.

2. 'the handsome white façades were cracked and blotchy from neglect.'

3. 'a powerful smell of kippers in the living-room' > a smell of fish in the living room is not generally considered good

4. 'compelling him, forcing him to stay where he was'

5. 'it must have been at once because he hadn't even had time to take his finger from the bell-button'  

• Show Slides 5 and 6 (Worksheet Task 2). Tell learners to work with a partner to answer the questions.
• While monitoring, help learners with any difficult vocabulary.
• Check the answers as a whole class. You may at this point want to explain the literary device of foreshadowing. [Foreshadowing is when a writer gives small hints or clues about what is going to happen later in the story. These hints may seem like ordinary details at first, but they make sense when you reach the ending. Writers use foreshadowing to create suspense and keep readers curious.] 

1. 'deadly'; 'a blade' > suggest murder [right from the start of the story there is foreshadowing of sinister events]

2. repetition of 'briskly'; 'briskness'; 'absolutely fantastically brisk' > The tone is humorous. The way Billy thinks is naïve – he sees their success in superficial terms, due to briskness not skill and experience in their business.

3. 'paint was peeling from the woodwork'; 'cracked and blotchy from neglect' > in contrast with 'porches and pillars'; 'swanky residences'; 'handsome white façades' [foreshadowing the contrast we see later between the landlady's appearance and her murderous behaviour]

4. velvet curtains, a fire in the hearth, pets (a pretty dog curled up asleep and a parrot in a cage), pleasant furniture, a baby-grand piano, comfortable sofa and armchairs. The chrysanthemums at first seem pleasant, but as they are associated with funerals, they foreshadow something more sinister.

5. 'like a large black eye staring at him'; 'holding him, compelling him, forcing him'. The repetition and rhythm of this phrase sound mesmerising and tense.  

• Show Slide 7. Ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner. Check learners know the meaning of 'to dither' > to be unable to make a decision.
• While you are monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Have some quick, whole-class feedback on their ideas, highlighting interesting phrases they used. Some possible answers may be:

Maybe there's a spell on the house; It seems as if he's been hypnotised; Perhaps it's fate – he was meant to go there; Billy is tired from travelling and doesn't think clearly; Maybe there is no real magic, but Dahl writes it in a mysterious way so that it feels as if he has no choice.

• Show Slide 8 (Worksheet Task 3). Tell learners to imagine that they are going on a study trip to Bath and they have two options of where to stay: A. a private house (like the boarding house) or B. a cheap hotel (like the Bell and Dragon). They must reach a decision as a group, as they must all stay in the same place.  
• Show Slide 9 with useful language for weighing up options and making decisions. Give learners two minutes to decide which option they want and prepare their arguments.
• Put learners into groups of three or four and tell them they have five minutes to decide. They should get ready to report back to the class, giving their reasons. Check they understand that their group must choose one option.
• Ask a few groups to report back on their choice, and why they chose it.
• If you haven't had time to ask every group, find out which was the most popular option with a show of hands. 

• Have a quick, whole-class discussion. Ask learners: Are you enjoying the story so far? What do think is going to happen next? 

• Read the next part of the story, ll. 119–256, up to '… and had never got over it.' 

• Learners create a brochure advertising an English study trip in Bath. 

• Show Slide 10. Ask learners to answer the questions in pairs.
• While monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Do some group feedback and confirm that the picture was taken in Great Britain in the 1950s. Ways that life was different then could include:

Free time activities – 1950s: People listened to the radio, went to the cinema, played board games, children played outside; Now: People spend time on phones, watching TV/streaming, playing video games.

Transport – 1950s: fewer people had cars, people travelled by bus, bike or train. Hardly anyone took flights. Now: Cars are common, cheap flights are available, electric scooters are popular.

Work – 1950s: Many jobs were in factories or offices. Women often stayed at home after marriage. Now: More service/technology jobs, more women in full-time work, people can work from home.

Homes – 1950s: Heating often came from coal fires, homes were colder; people didn't have as many electrical appliances and devices. Now: People have central heating; homes are more modern and comfortable.

Family life – 1950s: Bigger families with more children, more common to live with grandparents. Now: Smaller families, people marry later, many single-parent families.

In many ways, life in post-war Britain was harder. Many cities had been bombed, and people had lost their homes. Many had lost husbands, fathers, brothers or sons in the war, so there was a lot of sadness. On the other hand, people were relieved the war was over, there were more jobs, and cities were being rebuilt and developed. 

• Show Slides 11 and 12 (Worksheet Task 4). Before learners begin answering the questions, it may be helpful to point out: 

- a 'dame' is an old-fashioned word in American English to say 'a woman'

- a jack-in-the-box was a popular toy in 1950s Britain: children turned a handle on a small box until a figure popped out suddenly, giving them a shock

- five [shillings] and sixpence relates to old money in Great Britain. Taking inflation into account, the amount is less than £10 in today's money, which would be extremely cheap for a room in a B&B.  

• Ask learners to compare their answers with their partner and tell them why they chose these answers.
• Do some group feedback, asking learners to explain how they inferred meaning from the text. 

• Show Slide 13 (Worksheet Task 5). Tell learners to work with a partner to complete the text.
• While monitoring, help learners with any difficult vocabulary.
• Check the answers as a whole class:

1 – b; 2 – a; 3 – d; 4 – b; 5 – c; 6 – a

• Show Slide 14. Ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner.
• While you are monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Have some quick, whole-class feedback on their ideas, highlighting interesting phrases they used. Some possible answers may be: 

Billy seems polite and friendly; She trusts him and she thinks he will respect her home; She's lonely and thinks Billy will be able to keep her company; He reminds her of someone – maybe a brother or boyfriend who died in the war. [It's less likely that she had a son who died in the war, as Billy imagines, as she would have been too young. Or maybe she had a son who died after the war]; She's a serial killer who just kills young men.

She seems polite and welcoming; She looks and sounds gentle; She looks like someone's mother; She wants him to feel comfortable.

She looks at Billy strangely and says she has been expecting him; She calls her home a 'nest' > at first this may seem harmless, as if she's like a mother bird. But it has more sinister overtones, perhaps like a bird of prey. 

• Show Slide 15 (Worksheet Task 6). Tell learners they are going to think about what their own country was like in the 1950s.  
• Show Slide 16 with useful language for talking about differences and the various points.
• Put learners into groups of three or four and tell them they have ten minutes to prepare their presentation. They don't have to attempt to cover each bullet point but can choose the two or three that interest them most or they feel they know the most about.
• Ask some of the groups to deliver their presentation. If you are short of time, you can ask them to present just one point per group. 

• On a scale of 1–10, how safe do you think Billy feels at this point in the story? (1 = not very safe; 10 = completely safe)
• On a scale of 1–10, how safe do you feel Billy is? 

• Read the next part of the story, ll. 257–382, up to 'She placed his teacup on the table in front of him.' 

• Learners do some research into life in the 1950s in their country and make a poster.  

• Show Slide 17. Ask learners to answer the questions in pairs. 

- Do you enjoy crime stories? Why/why not?

- What films or series have you watched, or what books have you read?

- What makes them exciting?

- What do detectives usually do to solve a mystery? 

• While monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Do some group feedback, mentioning mystery, intrigue, suspense, red herrings, plot twists, surprise endings;  
  to solve mysteries, detectives look for clues, evidence, notice small details, connect information, ask questions. 

• Show Slides 18 and 19 (Worksheet Task 7). Before learners begin answering the questions, it may be helpful to point out that: 

- Cardiff and Bristol are other British cities, not that far from Bath.

- Dempsey and Tunny were famous boxers who fought each other in the 1920s; Churchill and Roosevelt were British Prime Minister and US President during WWII [Billy's thinking of these famous pairings seems humorous on the surface, but both pairs are associated with fighting and war, which hints at violence.]

- Eton is a historic, elite private school for boys in the south of England. 

• Ask learners to compare their answers with their partner and tell them why they chose these answers.
• Do some group feedback, asking learners to explain how they inferred meaning from the text.

1 – c. Billy wonders if he knew them at school, if they were connected to his family, if he read about them in newspapers or if they were sportsmen. But he never thinks they worked for his company. This idea is not in the text. 
2 – a. Billy notices that the last entry was two years ago, and the other was three years ago. That means the guesthouse hasn't had many visitors for a long time, which is unusual. 
3 – b. He feels the names are familiar and he almost remembers reading them in the newspapers. Something feels strange, but he doesn't fully understand the danger. He feels unconsciously uneasy rather than comforted/safe, excited or confident about solving the mystery. 
4 – d. He sees that the dates are old, he recognises the names, and he feels that they are connected. But instead of becoming suspicious, he just accepts the landlady's explanations. He doesn't act on the clues. 
5 – b. She avoids Billy's questions, changes the subject, and keeps inviting him to drink tea and sit close to her. The missing guests and her behaviour suggest she is hiding something dark.

• Show Slide 20 (Worksheet Task 8). Tell learners they will work with a partner to complete the table. Elicit answers to the first detail as an example and write on the board. You may want to check understanding of:

suspicious > making you feel that something is wrong or something illegal is happening;  
uneasy > slightly worried or uncomfortable about a particular situation

• While monitoring, help learners with any difficult vocabulary.
• Check the answers as a whole class.

1. Billy thinks he's seen the names in the newspaper; We wonder why the boys were in the news. Was it because something bad happened to them?
2. The dates show there aren't regular guests; This isn't normal for a boarding house in a popular city.
3. She is unusually forgetful and distracted; She seems to be nervous or trying to cover something up.
4. She emphasises how 'tall, young and handsome' they were; It's strange to focus on appearance so much. Does she have a special interest in her guests?
5. She insists Billy drinks tea, sits close, fusses over him and holds the tray like 'reins on a frisky horse'; Her behaviour is overly controlling and intimate, which is unusual for a host. It gives a sense of danger or manipulation. 

• Show Slide 21 (Worksheet Task 9). Ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner.
• While you are monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Do some quick, whole-class feedback on their ideas. Some possible answers may be:

Billy thinks that Christopher Mulholland went missing during a walking tour. He remembers the name from a newspaper report about a schoolboy who disappeared.

At this point we don't know if he is right. The landlady corrects him, saying Mulholland was a Cambridge undergraduate, not an Eton schoolboy. This shows Billy's guess is wrong, but the real story might be something similar. The way she interrupts him shows she wants to put him off-track.

The reader knows that the landlady is strange and possibly hiding something, even though Billy does not realise it. The reader senses danger while the character is unaware, which creates tension and keeps us reading. [This is an example of dramatic irony.] 

• Show Slide 22 (Worksheet Task 10). Tell learners that they are going to invent the newspaper article about Christopher Mulholland and Gregory Temple that Billy thinks he may have read.
• Show Slide 23. Highlight how to structure the article and the useful language points for writing news articles.
• Put learners into groups of three or four and tell them they have five minutes to agree on a story and then 15 minutes to write it. They should then divide up the writing, e.g. one writes the headline and closing paragraph, one writes the first paragraph, one writes the second paragraph. They should also allow time to check that all the parts of the story fit together.
• Monitor, helping with any language needed. 

• Give learners a small piece of paper. Tell them they have one minute to write a note to Billy.   
• After one minute tell the learners to stop writing. Ask for some volunteers to read out their notes.  
• Ask learners: Which of the notes would be the most effective in warning Billy of potential danger? 

• Read to the end of the story.

• Display the newspaper articles around the classroom. Allow learners to circulate and read the other articles. Hold a class vote on: 

- the most interesting story

- the one that most fits the style of a newspaper article. 

• Show Slide 24. Ask learners to answer the questions in pairs.
• While monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Do some group feedback. Some possible ideas are: 
  I like open endings because they make me think and imagine different possibilities; I find it frustrating when there's not a clear ending; I like the suspense; It's more fun to try to figure out what might happen next myself; I would have preferred a clear ending because I want to know if Billy is safe; I don't like thinking about a dangerous situation without knowing the result.

• Show Slide 25 (Worksheet Task 11). Before learners begin answering the questions, it may be helpful to point out that: 

- a Cambridge undergraduate is a student at Cambridge, one of the most prestigious universities in the UK

- stuffed animals can be created using taxidermy, which is the art of preserving real animals; in the UK, taxidermy was fairly common in the past, but today it is likely to be thought of as old-fashioned or a bit strange

- bitter almonds is the taste of or smell given off by cyanide, a poisonous chemical that can be deadly if swallowed. 

• Ask learners to compare their answers with their partner and tell them why they chose these answers.
• Do some group feedback, asking learners to explain how they inferred meaning from the text.

1. F – Billy notices the smell but can't identify it: 'Pickled walnuts? New leather? Or was it the corridors of a hospital?'
2. F – She says they are 'still here', but the reader infers they are dead and preserved.
3. T – She compares Billy's height and teeth to Mr Mulholland's.
4. NG – We only see the parrot and the dachshund. She says 'I stuff all my little pets myself when they pass away', but we don't actually know whether there are other stuffed animals in other rooms.
5. F – He is fascinated and admires her skill: 'How absolutely fascinating.'
6. T (inference) – Strongly implied through foreshadowing, though not directly said.
7. F – The reader infers this, but Billy does not.
8. NG – The 'bitter almonds' suggest poison (cyanide), but the writer doesn't confirm his death. 

• Show Slide 26 (Worksheet Task 12). Tell learners to complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets.
• Ask learners to check their answers with their partner.
• Check the answers as a whole class: 

1. puzzling; 2. comfortingly; 3. fooled; 4. sworn; 5. motionless; 6. preserved; 7. admiration; 8. faintly. 

• Show Slide 27. Ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner.
• While you are monitoring, write interesting ideas and language on the board.
• Have some quick, whole-class feedback on their ideas, highlighting interesting phrases they used. Some possible answers may be: 

- I think he is starting to understand that the other guests never left; I think he realises he is in danger, but it might be too late; I'm not sure if he completely realises – maybe he doesn't want to admit it to himself; He doesn't show fear, so perhaps he hasn't connected everything yet.

- I would be very worried and thinking of a way to escape; I'd be thinking I must get out and get help immediately; I would be in shock and panicking at this point. 

• Show Slide 28. Put learners into groups of three or four. Tell them that they should choose one of the options for a story ending and decide what happened. They should be ready to tell their story, orally, to the class.

Options:

- Billy escapes. 

- Billy confronts the landlady. 

- The landlady adds Billy to her 'collection'. 

• Choose some of the groups to report back on how their story ends.
• Hold a class vote on their favourite story ending.  

• Tell the learners to take a piece of paper. Show Slide 29. Ask them to write three adjectives they think best describe the story. Help with any vocabulary they need.
• Then ask them to write which part they found: 

- the funniest

- the cleverest

- the most disturbing. 

• Ask them to swap their paper with their partner and compare answers. Did they choose the same adjectives? Do they agree on the funniest/cleverest/ most disturbing parts?  
• Do some whole-class feedback to find out the most popular answers.  

• Learners write their story ending in ONE paragraph.
• Display the finished paragraphs around the room.
• Allow learners to circulate and read the different paragraphs.
• Have a class vote on which ending is: 

- the funniest

- the cleverest

- the most disturbing. 

• Show Slide 2 with the quote from Roald Dahl. [These lines were spoken by Dahl as he introduces the 1970s TV adaptation of the story. Explain that Dahl uses dark humour to build suspense before the TV audience watches the story.]  
• Show Slide 3. Ask learners to discuss the questions with their partner. You may first want to elicit the meaning of 'a red flag' > a sign that something bad is happening or could happen.
• While monitoring, help with language and write interesting ideas on the board.
• Do some whole-class feedback. Have a quick show of hands:

Who found the story funny? Disturbing? Both? 
Who thinks the story is realistic? Who doesn't? 
Who thinks they would have spotted the danger in time?

• Elicit some of the red flags from the learners and write them on the board. For example:

- the way she seems to be expecting him and opens the door so quickly 
- the unusually cheap price of the room 
- the fact that there are no other guests, and only two names in the guest book (despite the fact that she insists on everyone signing it) 
- the fact that the two names are familiar, maybe from a missing person's news report 
- the way the landlady talks about Billy and the other guests' teeth and skin 
- the way she looks at Billy and wants him to sit close to her 
- the way she insists on Billy drinking tea, and the fact it tastes bitter 
- the fact that she stuffs her pets

• Show Slide 4. Explain to learners that they are going to imagine that Billy managed to escape. He is going to be interviewed on the radio/TV and talk about what happened. He is going to talk about the warning signs, or red flags, that he missed. [Depending on whether you intend to have the learners make a video or audio recording later, or just perform the interview to the class, you may like to specify whether the interview is for radio (audio only) or TV (visual elements may be important).]  
• Put learners into groups of three to prepare the interview. Tell them not to write out the interview word for word but write some key points for the questions and answers, so that they will speak more naturally.
• Show Slide 5 with useful language for the different roles.
• As you monitor, help learners with any vocabulary they need.

• Tell the groups to rehearse their interview from start to finish. Remind them that the total interview should last no more than three minutes and that each person in the group should have an equal amount to say. The third person could play more than one of the additional roles.
• As you monitor, give on-the-spot support where necessary, especially for vocabulary, sentence structure or pronunciation. Encourage natural speaking (not reading) and remind learners to listen and respond to each other. 

• Invite two or three groups to perform their interviews for the class.
• Encourage the audience to listen for one interesting question or answer and note it down.
• After each performance, ask the audience: What did you find effective about this interview?  
• A variation could be instead of performing the interview live in front of the class, groups create a recorded version. Either: 

- an audio recording (using a phone voice recorder app) – learners focus on clear pronunciation, intonation and natural turn-taking – or

- a video recording (filming on a phone) – learners also think about body language, eye contact and how they present themselves on camera. 

• Show Slide 6. Ask learners to read the examples and then write another message that Billy could share. Less confident learners could just choose which of the three messages they find best sums up the message of the story.
• Ask some of the learners to read their messages aloud.
• If time allows, stick the messages around the class and ask learners to vote on which one best sums up the message of the story. 

• Learners create a short video review of The Landlady. They should include:

- their opinion of the story (Did they like it? Why/why not?) 
- a favourite part or moment from the story 
- a short 'message' or lesson they learned from the story.

Guidelines:

- Keep it brief (no more than 30 seconds). 
- Record it on your phone. 
- Use natural speech rather than a word-for-word script.