Plot

Ali Nadim gets directions to the classroom from Miss Courtney. He heads off for room 5, which is where the EFL (English as a foreign language) class is held, but on the way out he bumps into Jeremy Brown. As Ali heads off, Mr. Brown enters Miss Courtney’s office and introduces himself as the new EFL teacher. Miss Courtney is not happy about this because she dislikes male teachers (especially after Mr. Warburton, the school‘s previous EFL teacher, went insane, forcing her to nail down the window frames in his classroom) and specifically asked the local education authority for a female teacher, but she accepts Mr. Brown as a new teacher and gives him the job on a month’s trial.

Mr. Brown goes to his classroom to ask the students their names, nationalities and occupations. Ali and Ranjeet insult each other and Giovanni and Max argue over Danielle, both a sign of things to come. Mr. Brown teaches the students for the first time, starting with the verb “to be”, with some giving correct or wrong answers. As the class ends, Mr. Brown gives them homework on their experience in England and runs out of the classroom, sighing with relief. He encounters Miss Courtney, who asks if he’s giving up his job, to which he sheepishly replies that he can cope with the class. Before he leaves, he suggests that she nail down more of the window frames.