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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

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5 easy ways to teach with Movies

 okokOne of my favorite final assignments is to have students make pcik a topic from the semester and teach it to the class. After the TOEFL I also like to have students watch a movie (as a: "wohoo we finished the TOEFL!"). So in an effort to combine the two my students are making teaching part of the class USING a movie that we watched in class.

This time I changed it up so they have to teach something from the class  USING a movie that we watched. So to do this I wanted to give them some examples of how to use movies in class:


1. Use the soundtracks! See my other blog on how to use songs in class. Bands often make music videos that are related to the movie for example with Cruel Intentions (which is probably not appropriate for your class unless you teach college students)

2. Use the characters. Take any reading that you already have and change the names. For example if you were going to do a Dear Abby type activity still do it but make the letter from one of the characters. If you are doing a drill to review a grammar point use the characters. It is more interesting to find the run on if the sentence is something like: Elizabeth Swan is in love with two pirates. She really loves Will Turner, she loves Jack Sparrow too!

3. Use scenes. Take one scene from the movie and use it for students to break down a grammar point. Have them use every adjective they can to describe what is happening. Pick out things happening to objects and write them in the active voice, then have the students switch it to passive. etc.

4. Summarize/Paraphrase Have students make a trailer for the movie (or a short version of the movie) This tests their summarizing skills.

5. Idioms! Either directly find idioms in the movies (they are always there!) or find situations where idioms could apply. Make a gap fill with situation/dialogue or show a scene and have students try to guess.

There are so many more there may be another post coming up. How do you use movies?

4 comments:

  1. Hi,I'm working with a company called Binumi.com and we are in the midst of producing such video's but with a significant difference... The student will be at the center of the video.
    Lesson plans and all the imagery, video, audio, special effects will be there for students to easily online produce their own material. Thus accomplishing some of the hardest task's for a teacher, IE engagement, participation and actual speaking. Not only that but the student/s will obviously review their work, show parents friends ETC further reinforcing the lesson intended.
    When involved my students in this idea their reaction was astonishing... Goodbye went the shyness and hello came the fun.
    We are not ready yet but we soon will be..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What fun! Seems like a real TBL learning opporunity for the students!

      Delete
  2. It will be of great help to the students to learn English.. Motivation is one factor in learning English. It is more interactive and not boring and not a traditional way of teaching English.. It touches everything... Comprehension, vocabulary, interaction, listening skill, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great point! Motivation is an important point of learning!

      Delete

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