Take a film and travel ;)

Hello guys!

Do you like films? I believe you do J Nowadays it is a good kind of relax to watch a film and just enjoy a free time. But it is not the only advantage a film can have. What about film and teaching? Is there any connection? What do you think? I think there is a chance to connect both of these to make something unforgetable and also very useful.

Let´s see what kind of advantages we can find in film for the classes:

 - Film provides many opportunities for students to think about

 - Film developes students´ listening skills

 - Film can extend the learning beyond textbook

 -Film can broaden students´ knowledge

 -Film can broaden students´ vocabulary and cognition of syntactic structures

 -Film can show to students´ possitive attitude towards learning

 -Film can be motivation for students´ in many ways

 - Film can be basis of many pre- or after-activities in the class

And many many others.

Last week in the classes with Raquel we watched film and we were talking about films used in the classes and this made me think about it more and to search what internet thinks about it J And these are my founds:

       The key to success with a movie in the class as effective tool is to choose wisely and create lesson plans that involve the information learned in the movie.

       It is a fact of a teaching that there are some days when students just do not focus enough during the classes, usually before some holiday or maybe after, and this could be a good time to watch something on the topic you are teaching.

       Film can build the interest in the topic, if there is some topic we know students are not so much excited about, we can have their attention playing a movie to them.

       Film has an ability to teach crossing the curriculum and  to touch all areas of education.

But we are going to be English language teacher and that´s why is also important for us to see advantages while teaching english. I have found two interesting approaches and comments on them. First one is:

Short Sequence Approach 

v  This one is about a single-scene approach in which only one scene or segment from the entire film is utilized

v  Or selective approach featuring only a few scenes from different parts of the film

v  In comparison with the second approach, specialists suggest that 2-hour film has the problem of overload and length for less advanced learners

v  It is important to choose from a film a part according what we would like to practise, or focus on /e.g.: it can be about theme-based discussion, or we can try to practice listening strategies, maybe to show to students a grammar or pronunciation point, or to present cultural background/

On the other hand, there is:

Whole Film approach

Ø  an approach with which a feature film is shown in its entirely and studied as a whole

Ø  it usually takes one or two hours

Ø  this approach avoids any returning to a part of film, or video, any replaying or analyzing a small parts of film, or details

Ø  Shea (1995): "If I cut up the movie in five minute segments, focusing on the linguistic structure and the form of the language, the students might never have recognized the emotional force and narrative dynamic of the video as a story about important things in the human experience, aesthetic and ethical things like dreams, imagination, and commitment; things that drive language and ultimately stimulate students to learn it in the first place" – this is very important point in whole film approach

And what would you prefer? Whole film approach or short sequence approach?

In my opinion, the best would be to mix them J

Wishing a great start of a new week

          Lenka