Movie: An Effective Medium to Teach Language

One prevalent reason why most students are discouraged to study English is their wrong perception that it is boring and tedious. They would rather go to cinemas and watch their favorite blockbuster films rather than study the rules of subject and verb agreement. Most of the time, like these students, I find myself in the same difficult situations. I know that my professors are doing their best to come up with the best possible methods to effectively teach English. However, I cannot solely leave everything to their hands. College life is no longer like the elementary and high school years when almost everything was spoon fed. I should ask not only a fish to live a day but to explore the possibility of learning how to fish to live a lifetime.

I was thinking that my love for watching good films and my need to be proficient in English can be fulfilled both at the same time. I do not need to set aside one to accomplish the other or vice versa. I could watch my favorite movie while simultaneously learning English. In fact, in a study conducted by David Wood (1997), it has been proven that movies are effective mediums to teach language and culture among students. It says that language teaching through the aid of movies has great benefits, including the improvement of the students’ tolerance to ambiguity while supporting ability to independently study the language; the enhancement of the students’ analytical skills; and the motivation of vocabulary expansion.

There is an important reminder though. With the great number of movies that are easily accessible to students these days, a “careful selection and treatment” is necessary to ensure that the aimed learning result will be successfully achieved.

In the age of electronic media, there is no better way to lengthen the students' attention span and focus but through the things that interest them the most. In my case, since I love watching good films, I will take this opportunity to reinforce language learning to myself, and I will treat each movie as a chance to be exposed to communication skills development.

Speaking of language learning through films, the 14^th French Film Festival was recently launched at Shang-rila Cineplex, featuring award-winning movies produced and directed by critically acclaimed French film makers. The festival has provided and will still be providing free movie screenings until June 14, 2009. I have watched Van Gogh, Jean dela Fontaine, Ca Brule, and Flandres so far.

To guide you with the event, this entry on Business World, entitled Viva la France, may help you know more about the films. Also, you may click this link for the screening schedule.

By the way, form the movies you have watched, which one do you think should we not miss? Can you please post a brief synopsis about it?

Reference:

Wood, D. (1997). Culture and Language Teaching -- A Case Study. Journal of Chikushi Jogakuen University, 105 - 125.