Teaching with Movies

Teaching with movies --Linell Davis, May 18-22, 1999

I am thoroughly convinced that using films is an excellent way of teaching in China. I am presently teaching three film courses.

Advantages

 * 1) They present more natural language than can be found in most readings in Chinese textbooks.
 * 2) They give students lots of context which helps them to learn how to use context in listening.
 * 3) The students love them, so they are highly motivating.

Disadvantages

 * 1) You have to choose films that are culturally appropriate and that present language at a level that is accessible to the students you are teaching.
 * 2) You have to overcome the students' tendency to "read smart and view dumb," that is their tendency to see films as entertainment rather than as learning texts.
 * 3) You have to overcome the students' belief that they have to understand every word to understand. Maybe we should call this extensive listening as opposed to intensive listening.
 * 4) You have to teach the films rather than simply show them. How you teach them depends on the students' level and the purpose of your course.

Films
I agree with what some other people have said -- that contemporary films sometimes have problems with slang and cultural references that are difficult for students and not very useful for their language learning. Try some older films. Look over the 100 best list published last year. I have had good experiences with these:
 * Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window, North by Northwest)
 * One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 * Stagecoach
 * American Graffiti
 * Groundhog Day
 * Forrest Gump
 * Blade Runner (advanced)
 * Searching for Bobby Fisher
 * Witness
 * High Noon
 * Dances with Wolves
 * The Purple Rose of Cairo
 * The Truman Show
 * Starman
 * E.T.
 * Witness
 * Forest Gump
 * Rain Man
 * Malcolm X
 * 12 Monkeys (advanced students)
 * Everybody's All-American

and others. They all know about the list, but don't let them talk you into The Graduate or Pulp Fiction. Woody Allen is mostly incomprehensible except for The Purple Rose of Cairo, which is excellent for teaching. Physical as opposed to verbal humor is good. They love Groundhog Day and Nine to Five because they get the jokes. Both have deeper levels of meaning that make for good discussions. Among new films The Truman Show is good. Accessible and interesting cultural content.

Any film that involves going to or being in an unfamiliar place is good because the students can identify with the characters difficulties in understanding language and culture. Starman, E.T., and Witness fall into this category and are all good choices. Some characters with learning disabilities are good choices because they use simple language and other characters struggle to make them understand, e.g. Forrest Gump, Rain Man.

They are always after me to show the latest films. I tell them I am a teacher and not a PR agent for Hollywood. Then I show them an old film and make them love it. Once they have had that experience they settle down.

(If you teach in Los Angeles, you might find "L.A. Story" with Steve Martin and the science fiction classic "Bladerunner" also provide a strong sense of place and possibility for immigrant and international students.)

Things to consider
Language level and social maturity of your students. Watch the film yourself, even if you have seen it before, with your particular students in mind. Will they be able to follow most (not all) of the dialogue? Will they be embarrassed or offended by the visuals, theme, language, etc.

Your educational purpose. Are you focusing on language first and culture second, or the opposite? Are you simply giving the students a break from test anxiety? What your purpose is determines how you plan your lesson and how you show the film.Equipment and class set up: Avoid classrooms with a control room manned by a technician. I keep my hand close to the pause button. I avoid language labs because these give the message that students must understand every word. Who watches movies with headphones in little booths and desks? No one I know. I avoid scheduling problems by getting a video room as my regular classroom. Be attentive to your relationship with the video technician.

Students as consumers of Hollywood PR: They all read movie magazines full of Hollywood hype. Tell them to forget it. People still read Shakespeare and Jane Austen, don't they? Then surely you can watch a movie that is 10 or 20 years old. When it serves your purpose pander to their groupie mentality by naming famous actors or Oscars the film won. Play up the love story if there is one. This is called building motivation. Most students consider movies to be entertainment, and have little idea that they can learn as much or more from them as from their textbooks. You must teach them how to do this.

Students as language learners: Inexperienced viewers will freak out when they cannot understand every word in the film. Too many bad habits from their listening comprehension courses. I deal with this by giving an introduction to the story, characters, setting, genre, cultural context, themes, etc. They can hear much better when they know what to expect to hear. I also point out any particular listening problems they are likely to encounter -- accents and styles the characters use -- and give them some advice on how to deal with them: Give your ears 10 minutes to adjust. It will get easier as you get used to the accent. Watch the body language. Listen to the music. Pay attention to the visuals. You will understand what is happening. When the students start talking to each other, they are probably asking what someone said. When you see this, hit the pause button. Ask them what is happening. Ask them if they have any questions. Clarify and give them an idea what will happen next. "So and so will try to get so and so to do x."

An important thing to consider must be culturally appropriate films. Find themes that do not marginalize groups of people, find language that isn't derogative to anyone, and find movies that don't make fun of things. From my experience, students from an Asian background have enjoyed cartoons or animations like both Shrek movies, Nemo... This might be stereotyping to a certain extent but generally speaking I have found this to be true.

Linell's cardinal rules for teaching with movies

 * 1) Never show a 2-hour film in a 2-hour class. Always multiply the viewing time by at least 2 when planning your lesson. A two hour film requires 4 hours of class time - or more, depending on what you do with it. Plan ahead for pauses. If you don't your students will succumb to the hypnotic effect and become passive viewers. You don't expect to read a story in one sitting, so there is no reason to expect to view a film in one sitting.
 * 2) Tell students that film is the great art form of the 20th century. They can and should learn to read a film just as they learn to read a book. Visual literacy is as essential as language literacy. We live in an age of images. They need to become intelligent viewers of images, etc. etc. etc. That is, tell them that they are training their minds and eyes as well as their ears.
 * 3) Give them some knowledge of the art of filmmaking. Introduce vocabulary (as needed for particular films) such as genre, chase scene, shoot out, documentary, nonfiction feature film, flashback, fade, camera angle, etc. Ask questions such as, what clues did you get in the first 5 minutes that this film is a comedy?
 * 4) Encourage students to make connections: I organize film viewing around themes. For second year students I am showing films on the theme of identity, because at their age it is a relevant issue. For 3rd year students I am doing a course in genres. I select two or three films in one genre and help them compare. I am also teaching a course in "American culture through film" for another university. I choose films that show changes in American society from the 50's to the present.
 * 5) Stay active and keep the students active. Plan the lesson with the same attention to purpose and student participation as you would any other class.