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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

THE HERO’S
JOURNEY
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1 Warm up

Look at the pictures. In pairs, discuss the questions.

1. What do you know about these characters?

2. What do their stories have in common?

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THE HERO’S JOURNEY

2 Vocabulary

Replace the underlined phrases with the words below.

Group 1

myths pattern quest threshold unfamiliar variants

1. American writer Joseph Campbell proposed that all heroes are different versions of the same one.

2. The Amazons and King Midas are characters from Greek stories from ancient times.

3. Many video games are based on a story with a long search and some sort of prize at the end.

4. When I’m reading a text in another language, I always underline the words that are not known to
me.

5. The detectives investigating the crimes identified a regular way in which something happens.

6. He stood in the doorway of his house, trying to remember what he had to do.

Group 2

flee formula ordeal seek slay trials

1. Everyone has to go through difficult experiences in life.

2. He survived an earthquake and wrote a book to talk about his difficult experience.

3. Refugees are people who escape from their own country because they are at risk there.

4. There is no magic recipe for a successful career.

5. In this game, you have to kill a dragon and take its treasure.

6. I think we should look for another way of solving this problem.

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3 Listening 1

Watch the first part of the video (00:00-02:45). Put the stages of the Hero’s journey in the correct
order.

Crisis

Trials

Call to adventure

Return

Status quo

Approach

Departure

Result

New life

Treasure

Resolution

Assistance

4 Listening 2

Watch the second half of the video (02:46-04:33). Complete the sentences with a word or short
phrase in each sentence.

1. Katniss Everdeen’s call to adventure happens when her sister is called in the .

2. She leaves her world by train.

3. The myth described in the video is always being .

4. We also go through the Hero’s journey: we have experiences, from them and
repeat them.

5. We don’t kill dragons, but we also have problems, like auditions and try-outs.

6. The Hero’s journey can be found in many books, movies and .

7. The speaker tells us to not ignore our call for adventure, but instead to say yes to the
and control our fears.

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5 Vocabulary 2

Read the sentences from the video. Use the underlined words and phrases to answer the questions
below.

1. ..., retelling dozens of stories and explaining how each represents the monomyth, or Hero’s Journey.
2. The journey begins and ends in a hero’s ordinary world, but the quest passes through an unfamiliar,
special world.
3. Being a hero is hard work: our hero solves a riddle, slays a monster, escapes from a trap.
4. You leave your comfort zone, have an experience that transforms you, and then you recover and
do it again.
5. Do the monsters bow down before the hero, or do they chase him as he flees from the special
world?
6. All the tangled plot lines get straightened out.
7. What is the symbolic cave you fear to enter? Auditions for the school play? Baseball try-outs?
Love?
8. Conquer your fear and claim the treasure you seek.

Group 1

1. Which phrase means to do something you are not used to?

2. Which is another word for kills?

3. Which two words are tests for sports or artistic events?

4. Which phrasal verb means organised things that are causing difficulties?

5. Which word is an adjective that means complicated?

Group 2

1. Which is another word for beat, defeat?

2. Which is a word that means lots?

3. Which word is a difficult question?

4. Which word means to ask for something you believe is yours?

5. Which phrasal verb means to accept orders from someone?

6. Which phrasal verb means to go through a city, etc, but not stop there?

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6 Language box 1
Read the language box, then match the prefixes with their meanings.

Prefixes are letters that we add to the beginning of words to give them a different
meaning. Some prefixes turn the word into its opposite (e.g., illegal, impossible), while
others have different meanings (e.g. minibreak = a short break; overcharge = charge more
than is correct).

Read the sentences from the video. How do they prefixes change the underlined words?

He studied myths from all over the world and published a book called "The Hero with a
Thousand Faces," retelling dozens of stories...

The journey begins and ends in a hero’s ordinary world, but the quest passes through an
unfamiliar, special world.

He faces death and possibly even dies, only to be reborn.

12:00: Status Quo, but upgraded to a new level.

The Hero’s Journey myth exists in all human cultures and keeps getting updated, because we
humans reflect on our world through symbolic stories of our own lives.

1. mis- (misunderstand, misspell) a. wrongly

2. dis- (disagree, disappear) b. one, single

3. auto- (autobiography, autopilot) c. more, beyond

4. co- (co-author, co-worker) d. after

5. hyper (hypersensitive, hyperactive) e. self, same

6. post- (postgame, postnatal) f. not, opposite

7. uni- (unilateral, unicycle) g. with, together

7 Speaking
In groups, discuss the following questions.

1. What did you think of this video? What was the most interesting part?
2. Do you know any ancient myths?
3. What other books you have read or films you have watched follow the Hero’s Journey formula?
4. Can you think of an episode of your life when parts of the Hero’s Journey can be applied?

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8 Extension activity 1

In groups, analyse a popular story with a hero. Which stages of the Hero’s Journey does it have?
Prepare a presentation for the class.

9 Extension activity 2

In groups, write the outline for a story with a hero. Follow the steps below.

1. What is your hero/heroine like?

2. What happens to them in each of the steps of the Hero’s Journey?
3. How does the story end?

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Transcripts

3. Listening 1

Narrator: What do Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo all have in common with the heroes
of ancient myths? (Roar) What if I told you they are all variants of the same hero? Do
you believe that? Joseph Campbell did. He studied myths from all over the world and
published a book called "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," retelling dozens of stories and
explaining how each represents the mono myth, or Hero’s Journey.

Narrator: So, what is the "hero’s journey"? Think of it as a cycle. The journey begins and ends in
a hero’s ordinary world, but the quest passes through an unfamiliar, special world. Along
the way, there are some key events. Think about your favourite book or movie. Does it
follow this pattern?

Narrator: Status quo, that’s where we start. 1:00: Call to Adventure. The hero receives a mysterious
message. An invitation, a challenge? 2:00: Assistance. The hero needs some help, probably
from someone older, wiser. 3:00: Departure. The hero crosses the threshold from his
normal, safe home, and enters the special world and adventure. We’re not in Kansas
anymore. 4:00: Trials. Being a hero is hard work: our hero solves a riddle, slays a monster,
escapes from a trap. 5:00: Approach. It’s time to face the biggest ordeal, the hero’s worst
fear. 6:00: Crisis. This is the hero’s darkest hour. He faces death and possibly even dies,
only to be reborn. 7:00: Treasure. As a result, the hero claims some treasure, special
recognition, or power. 8:00: Result. This can vary between stories. Do the monsters bow
down before the hero, or do they chase him as he flees from the special world? 9:00:
Return. After all that adventure, the hero returns to his ordinary world. 10:00: New Life.
This quest has changed the hero; he has outgrown his old life. 11:00: Resolution. All the
tangled plot lines get straightened out. 12:00: Status Quo, but upgraded to a new level.
Nothing is quite the same once you are a hero.

Narrator: Many popular books and movies follow this ancient formula pretty closely. But let’s
see how well "The Hunger Games" fits the hero’s journey template. When does Katniss
Everdeen hear her call to adventure that gets the story moving? When her sister’s name
is called from the lottery. How about assistance? Is anyone going to help her on her
adventure? Haymitch. What about departure? Does she leave her ordinary world? She
gets on a train to the Capitol. OK, so you get the idea.

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Narrator: What do you have in common with Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Frodo? Well,
you’re human, just like them. The Hero’s Journey myth exists in all human cultures and
keeps getting updated, because we humans reflect on our world through symbolic stories
of our own lives. You leave your comfort zone, have an experience that transforms you,
and then you recover and do it again. You don’t literally slay dragons or fight Voldemort,
but you face problems just as scary. Joseph Campbell said, "In the cave you fear to enter
lies the treasure you seek." What is the symbolic cave you fear to enter? Auditions for the
school play? Baseball try-outs? Love?

Narrator: Watch for this formula in books, movies, and TV shows you come across. You will certainly
see it again. But also be sensitive to it in your own life. Listen for your call to adventure.
Accept the challenge. Conquer your fear and claim the treasure you seek. And then, do it
all over again.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
In pairs, students discuss what they know about the people in the photos (Frodo, from Lords of the Rings; Harry
Potter; Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games). Ask them to find similarities in their stories (if they are familiar
with them). Elicit some ideas as a whole class.

2. Vocabulary

5 mins.
Ask students to find a word with a similar meaning to the underline phrases to replace them. When correcting,
drill the correct pronunciation.
Group 1

1. variants 2. myths 3. quest 4. unfamiliar 5. pattern 6. threshold

Group 2

1. trials 2. ordeal 3. flee 4. formula 5. slay 6. seek

3. Listening 1

10 mins.
Students what the video and put the sentences in order. Ask them to compare their answers in pairs, exchanging
any details they can remember. When correcting, play the video again pausing after each step.

Call to adventure
Assistance
Departure
Trials
Approach
Crisis
Treasure
Result
Return
New life
Resolution
Status quo

4. Listening 2

10 mins.
Students watch the second part of the video and complete the sentences. When correcting, elicit any other details
they can remember.

1. lottery 2. ordinary 3. updated 4. recover 5. scary 6. TV shows 7. challenge

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5. Vocabulary 2

10 mins.
In pairs, students read the sentences and discuss the meaning of the underlined words. They then use them to
answer the questions below. When correcting, elicit sentences using the words.
Group 1

1. leave your comfort zone

2. slays
3. auditions and try-outs
4. straightened out
5. tangled
Group 2

1. conquer 2. dozens 3. riddle

4. claim 5. bow down 6. passes through

6. Language box 1

10 mins.
Students read the Language box. Elicit how the prefixes change the words from the video (re- means again, so
retell = tell again and reborn = born again; un- means opposite, so unfamiliar = not familiar; up- means better, so
upgraded = made better and updated = made more modern). Students then match the prefixes and examples to
the meanings. When correcting, elicit example sentences using the words.

1. → a. 2. → f. 3. → e. 4. → g. 5. → c. 6. → d. 7. → b.

7. Speaking

10 mins.
In small groups, students discuss the following questions. Elicit some ideas as a whole class.

8. Extension activity 1

15 mins.
Students discuss a story (e.g., a film, a book or a myth) they are familiar with, applying the theory from the video.
They then prepare a short presentation with their findings and deliver it to the class.

9. Extension activity 2

15 mins.
In small groups, students outline an original story following the stage of the Hero’s Journey. They then present
their story to the class.

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