Teaching languages with and through film praxis (original) (raw)

The Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA): a multilingual community of practice

ELT Journal, 2016

This article presents the Film in Language Teaching Association (FILTA) project, a community of practice (CoP) whose main goals are first to engage language teachers in practical uses of film and audiovisual media in the second language classroom; second, to value the artistic features of cinema; and third, to encourage a dialogue between language teachers in order to share activities and creative approaches to the use of film and audiovisual texts in language teaching. This article examines the origin, development, experiences, and practices of the international and multilingual community of language teachers that forms FILTA (a community which includes teachers of Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Urdu). It also looks at some recent European audiovisual and education policies that permeate current trends of film literacy in language teaching, and considers future challenges, including how to maintain growth and further promote engagement within this diverse CoP.

Film Making and Language Learning

Theodosakos in The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning argues that filmmaking "enables students to explore any curriculum subject through the active process of making a film about it" (p. 30). Furthermore, while Simkins (2007), David Nunan , emphasize the tendency to teach language through group based projects, establish the essentiality of such group based projects on developing and enhancing communication skills. In my paper I will examine the impact of film making activities on English Language learning in classes of mine over a period of few years where most students were hesitant to produce language effectively at the onset of the course. The paper will view the cons and pros of film making activities with emphasis on the potential advantages it carries for the leaner in terms of enhancing learner's pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, awareness of language structures and sound language production.

Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: The Use of Films in Language Learning

Films can be used as a pedagogic means to improve language learning, based on the premise that, they provide real-life language input. In addition, films have the potential to provide language learners audio and visual stimuli; therefore they are essential tools in the development of foreign language proficiency. The present study aims at exploring the effectiveness of films as authentic materials on language learning. The questionnaire that was conducted on 80 undergraduate students in this study yielded that films can foster language learning.

Exploring Movies for Language Teaching and Learning at the Tertiary Level

Asian Journal of University Education, 2021

The increasing importance of using movies to enhance second language teaching and learning has been addressed by researchers and educators. A few scholarly studies have effortlessly put forward significant findings on using movies in the area of theoretical bases, pedagogical aspects and learners' perspectives. However, more studies need to be explored further as proposed by many scholars in their suggested future research. Hence, this study aims to investigate perceptions and experiences among university undergraduate students in exploring English language movies of their own choice for their oral commentary presentations. A corpus of English movies selected by students was used to assist students in their presentations. A total of 77 university undergraduates took part in the study. The data was collected through an online survey which consisted of a three-section questionnaire: demographic profile, learners' perceptions and learners' experiences. The data were analysed descriptively using SPSS version 20. The results revealed that using movies has helped students mainly, in improving their oral skills, vocabulary, interest and motivation as well as decreasing their anxiety and tension. This study adds to the body of knowledge and benefits educators and instructors on using movies for language teaching and learning.

Film in Language Learning: Non-Traditional Data Collection Techniques

The following chapter aims to describe examples of what is termed as non-traditional data collection. The two primary techniques presented are Think-aloud Protocols (TAP) and Retrospective Probes and they are presented here within the context of qualitative research on the use of film in language teaching and learning. The reader will learn about these techniques, how they are applied in the research context and what types of data is collected from them. The results from these techniques enhance the richness of the data collected and provide for better engagement between the researcher and the data, which in turn leads to research that delves even deeper into the social phenomenon that is the focus of this particular research.

Activities for using films in English language teaching

In this article I take a practical approach to the topic of using films in the English language classroom by sharing a few classroom activities from Language Through Film, a teacher’s resource book I published in 2009 for using short scenes from films such as American Beauty (1999), Muriel’s Wedding (1994) and Ed Wood (1994), to help learners, especially those immersed in English-speaking communities, to develop better pragmatic awareness so they more easily access and participate in the discourse of such communities.

Cinema in Higher Education – Languages in Approximation

This paper intends to reflect on approaching strategies to cinema at the Viana do Castelo Polytechnic (IPVC), Escola Superior de Educação (Higher Education-ESE), the role of inter institutional partnerships and their impact on the artistic and cinematographic education of undergraduate and MA students. Drawing on questionnaire, it is demonstrated that the action research method enables the learners to grasp the interconnections between concepts of cinema and education and the role of cultural partnerships. The results recorded both successes and challenges of this method. This curriculum is recommended for its greater academic relevance, whilst its limitations underpin future scope for research. The originality of this study lies in the conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of some undergraduate and postgraduate courses, bridging the gulf between theory and professional practice. This small research recommends investigation and critique of some contemporary practices of visual representation, and of the shared cultural space in which the production of meaning through language takes place, Original Research Article Moura et al.; JESBS, 21(2): xxx-xxx, 2017; Article no.JESBS.34623 2 with a view to considering its potential for helping teachers engage higher education students in critical enquiry of issues pertaining to cinema and considering links between education and partnerships.

The Role of Films in the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Legon Journal of the Humanities, 2010

Films are a very valuable medium in the teaching of a foreign language. Our research and experience indicate that in the foreign language classroom films offer an opportunity for students to learn not only the target language and its culture, but also new words, new terminologies and new phraseology, as well as their proper usage-activities which would not be achieved in a normal language classroom. Films can also create a forum for students to practise using the language through class discussions, especially at the advanced level. It is for this reason that many language teaching institutions have multi-media rooms with the requisite facilities such as television sets, video cassette players, CD and DVD players. However, the successful use of films depends on many factors, including the preparedness of the instructor and the right approach, and perhaps these considerations account for their virtual absence from classrooms in many countries, and specifically in Ghana. In this work w...