FILM AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPING STUDENT AUTONOMY:

A MATERIAL PACK FOR EFL / ESL TEACHERS

David Rear and Christine Rosalia

Kanda University of International Studies

Japan

The following paper and activity pack is based on:

Rear D. and Rosalia C. (2004). Using film to teach student language learning autonomy.

Paper presented at the ETA International Symposium on English Teaching. Nov 2004,

Taipei, Taiwan.

It was published in: Rear D. (2005). Film as a tool for developing student autonomy.

Working Papers in Language Education Vol. 2, 93 - 101.

Abstract

When Japanese students are asked how they study English in their free time, they often

say they watch English movies. This paper will demonstrate how students can take an

activity they already enjoy (but often do passively) and fine-tune it into enjoyable, self-

directed, and self-assessed independent learning opportunities. The activities encourage

students to make their own learning materials by utilizing self-chosen film clips to

improve the skills they wish to focus on, including vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar,

critical thinking and listening. Feedback from our students testifies that they hunger for

more “native” interactions, making autonomous learning with authentic material vital.

Most activities involve students choosing the film, activity, number of participants, and

mode of assessment (self, peer, or teacher), thereby training themselves to be more self-

directed and aware of their own mistakes and weaknesses.

Advantages of Film for Language Learning

It is a truism in foreign language learning that to achieve long-lasting success in their

studies, students need to have the motivation and the capability to work independently

outside the classroom, both during the course itself and once it has come to an end. In an

educational culture such as that of Japan, where autonomous learning often gains little

emphasis, it is vital that learners be afforded the opportunity to work with materials that

can be effectively utilised away from the school environment.

Film is an obvious and practical tool with which this can be achieved. Firstly, of

course, it has the benefit of being attractive to a wide range of students, almost regardless

of age, aptitude, and interest. In a pre-study questionnaire given to sixty Freshman

students at a foreign language university in Japan, over ninety-six percent reported that

they either ‘loved’ or ‘liked’ watching movies, and eighty-five percent watched at least

one film in English a week. Film carries the advantage of story: it entices learners with a

powerful combination of sound, image, and dialogue, contextualising the language they

are studying and encouraging in them a natural desire to understand it. Students are

frequently willing to spend hours each week listening to the flow of English dialogue

emanating from their television screen, while more traditional modes of study fail to

inspire.

With the wide variety of films available, it is unlikely students will fail to find one

that suits their interests and tastes. Children’s movies and animations offer lower-level

learners a chance to hear large amounts of English spoken in context. More adult-oriented

films can fulfill the needs of advanced learners. They also provide an insight into the

cultures of the target language (albeit somewhat distorted by the lens of the filmmaker),

providing learners with a glimpse of where their linguistic skills can take them, as well as

exposure to a large range of accents and dialects. Finally, they have the advantage of

being easily accessible away from the classroom. With most families in Japan possessing

DVD players or personal computers, movies can be conveniently utilised as linguistic

resources at almost any time. They will also be available once the student has completed

their course.

Failure to Use Film Effectively

The problem, in the experience of the authors, is that although movies are frequently

watched by language learners, they are seldom exploited with true effectiveness. Students

may sit in front of the television screen and appear to be taking in a rich stream of

language input, but how much of that language are they really processing? As eighty-

eight percent of the Freshmen students at the university admitted in the pre-study

questionnaire, they tended to switch off as the movie progressed, concentrating on the

pictures while allowing the words to wash over them unattended.

They usually failed to employ strategies that one might reasonably expect to assist

language learning, as the following table illustrates:

TABLE 1: Strategy use by Freshman students while watching movies

Strategy Always Often S/times Rarely Never

I understand more than half of what

the actors say.

0% 10% 35% 37% 18%

If I do not understand something, I

rewind and listen to it again.

0% 7% 17% 43% 33%

I try to notice if the movie uses a

word I have learned recently.

0% 15% 16% 39% 30%

I stop to write down new vocabulary

and expressions.

0% 6% 12% 29% 53%

I watch movies more than once to

review vocabulary and expressions.

2% 13% 14% 30% 41%

I try to take note of the actors’

pronunciation.

4% 23% 26% 31% 16%

If I watch a movie with friends, we

discuss it afterwards in English.

0% 9% 24% 39% 28%

I check the movie script when I

watch.

1% 9% 13% 34% 43%

Perhaps as a consequence of this, few students reported that they felt movies

genuinely helped them to improve their English. The majority (seventy-eight percent), in

fact, admitted that they had ‘little’ or ‘no’ idea how to use movies to study English.

It was for this reason that the Film for Independent Learning component was

added to the Freshman English programme. Films can be a rich resource for language

learning, offering opportunities for extensive and intensive listening, pronunciation work,

grammatical and lexical development, and critical reflection. If students were given

guidance on how to use film more effectively, it was hoped they would eventually begin

to do so independently.

Film for Independent Learning Component

The Film for Independent Learning component ran for four ninety-minute classes during

the Freshman English course, which met for four times a week for one year. It consisted

of fourteen separate activities, each designed to be completed by students working

independently, either by themselves or with a partner or small group. Each activity also

contained a feedback sheet, in which the students were able to record both what they did

and their reflections on how it went. These sheets could be checked by the teacher as a

way of monitoring their progress.

Over the course of the four classes, the students were required to complete four

activities in total. The activities were divided into three types: those that involved the

watching of a whole film in English; those that were focussed on a particular scene from

a film; and finally, those that could be accomplished without using film. In all cases, the

students could choose the movie and the clip, selecting ones that suited both their level

and interest. Although estimates were given for the length of time the activity would take

and the optimal number of students for participating, the final decision was left up to the

learners themselves.

As the appendix pages show, students had a wide variety of choice in terms of the

type of activity and the skills it was designed to practise. The following is a brief

summary:

Activity 1: Discussion Topics Listening for gist. Speaking.

Activity 2: Story Frames Listening for gist. Speaking. Short writing.

Activity 3: Comparing Characters Listening for gist. Speaking. Grammar.

Activity 4: Dear Film Friend Listening for gist. Writing. Speaking.

Activity 5: Character Interviews Listening for gist. Speaking. Grammar.

Activity 6: Dictation Listening for details. Grammar.

Activity 7: Reverse Translation Listening for details. Translating. Grammar.

Activity 8: Questions for Friends Listening for details. Speaking.

Activity 9: Listen and Repeat Pronunciation. Vocabulary. Listening.

Activity 10: Trailers Listening for details. Note-taking. Speaking.

Activity 11: Spot the Mistakes Listening for details. Grammar.

Activity 12: Predict the Opening Scene Speaking.

Activity 13: Making a film remake Speaking. Writing. Critical Thinking.

Activity 14: Pronunciation Project Pronunciation. Speaking. Listening.

At the end of the four classes, the students were asked to give their thoughts on the

component, and the reaction was almost overwhelmingly positive. Ninety-seven percent

of students said they had ‘enjoyed’ or ‘very much enjoyed’ the experience, with the only

negative reports being due to the difficulty of finding and setting up DVDs in the

crowded settings of the university. In the future, we would hope to research whether

students continue to use the activities they have learned in their everyday independent

study.

Acknowledgements

Many of the above activities were adapted from:

Stempleski S. and Tomlin B. (2001): Research Books for Teachers: Film. Oxford: OUP

Film Vocabulary

Overview of Activities

Discussion Topics

Story Frames

Comparing Characters

Dear Film Friend

Character Interviews

Dictation

Reverse Translation

Questions for your Friends

Listen and Repeat

Which film looks best? (Trailers)

Listen for the Missing Words

Spot the Mistakes

Predict the Opening Scene

Film Pronunciation Project

Useful internet sites

Film Vocabulary

Talking about movies Making a movie

What’s it about? actor n.

Who’s in it? actress n.

Where is it set? director n.

Who directed it? producer n.

Who produced it? editor n.

Who made it? to edit (s/thing) vb.

When was it made? to act in vb

cast n.

It is based on (a true story) scriptwriter n.

To release a movie vb. script n.

sequel n. to dub (a movie) vb.

remake n. crew n.

agent n.

agency n.

(camera) angle n.

shoot (a movie) vb.

Watching a movie Talking about movie

plots

setting n. a Western n.

sound effects n. criminal n.

special effects n. victim n.

subtitles n. evidence n.

trailer n. title n

plot n. character n.

dialogue n. complex adj.

clip n. characteristic n.

scene n. (have an) affair vb.

commercial n. politics n.

synopsis n. detailed adj.

(opening) credits n. scary adj.

(closing) credits n. amusing adj.

Being a movie star Success and failure

fame n. to succeed vb.

superstar n. to fail vb.

legend n. success n.

celebrity n. failure n.

popularity n. a (big) hit n.

Oscar n. a flop n.

Academy Award n. to criticise vb.

award n. to praise vb.

role n. (film) review n.

major role n.

minor role n.

leading role n.

Whole Film

If you choose these options, you have to watch the film OUTSIDE CLASS.

You can discuss and do the activities inside class.

Activity One: Discussion Topics (2 – 3 people): 40 minutes

Summary: Watch an English movie and discuss it with your friends.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss some general questions together about the movie.

(3) Write about what you discussed.

Activity Two: Story Frames (2 –3 people): 40 minutes

Summary: Watch an English movie and summarise it using a story frame.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Short writing.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss it with your friends and complete a story frame (like a

questionnaire).

(3) Give your teacher the story frame to check

Activity Three: Comparing characters (2 people): 40 minutes

Summary: Watch an English movie and then compare the main characters using a

Venn diagram.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Making comparisons (grammar).

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss and compare the characters using a Venn diagram (the

two circles we used when comparing food in two countries).

(3) Show your teacher your Venn Diagram.

Activity Four: Dear film friend (1 - 2 people): 40 minutes

Summary: Watch an English movie and write a letter to the main character.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Writing.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss the main characters.

(3) Write a letter to one of the main characters.

(4) Give your teacher the letter to read

Activity Five: Character interviews (2 – 3 people): 1 hour

Summary: Watch an English movie and role-play an interview with one of the main

characters.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Making questions.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) 1 – 2 students make interview questions for the main character.

The other student pretends to be the main character.

(3) Role-play the interview.

Film Clips

If you choose these options, you have to choose and set up the film clip OUTSIDE

CLASS. You can watch the film clip and do the activities inside class.

Activity One: Dictation (1 - 2 people): 1 hour

Summary: Watch a short scene of an English movie without subtitles and write down

the dialogue.

Skills: Listening for details. Grammar. Speaking

Method: (1) Choose a movie scene outside class.

(2) Listen and write down what the characters say.

(3) Listen again and check if you were right

(4) Give your teacher the dialogue and write about your experience

Activity Two: Reverse translation (2 people): 1 hour

Summary: Watch a scene from an English movie with Japanese subtitles with the

sound off and try to work out what the characters are saying.

Skills: Listening for details. Translating. Grammar.

Method: (1) Choose a scene from an English movie with Japanese

subtitles.

(2) Watch the scene with the sound off and translate the Japanese

subtitles into English.

(3) Listen to the scene to check your answers.

(4) Show your teacher your translation and write about how accurate

it was.

Activity Three: Questions for your friends (2 – 4 people): 1 hour

Summary: Watch a sort clip from an English movie and make some comprehension

questions for your friends, who then watch the same clip.

Skills: Listening for details. Speaking. Making questions.

Method: (1) Watch a scene from an English movie outside of class.

(2) Write some comprehension questions about the scene.

(3) Show the scene to your friends. Your friends try to answer the

questions you wrote.

(4) Show your teacher the questions and write about your

experience of making them.

Activity Four: Listen and Repeat (1 – 2 people): 30 minutes

Summary: Watch a short clip from an English movie with subtitles and repeat what

the characters to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation.

Skills: Vocabulary. Pronunciation. Listening.

Method: (1) Watch a scene from an English movie.

(2) Listen carefully to what the characters are saying and try to repeat

it with the same pronunciation.

(3) Write down any new vocabulary or expressions you learned.

(4) Fill in the form and give it to your teacher.

Activity Five: Trailers (2 – 4 people): 30 – 40 minutes

Summary: Watch trailers for three different films and discuss which trailer you think

is best.

Skills: Listening for details. Taking notes. Speaking.

Method: (1) Choose a video with three trailers outside of class.

(2) Take some notes about the trailers as you watch.

(3) Discuss which trailer was best and why.

Activity Six: Spot the mistakes (2 people): 45 minutes

Summary: Get a script from a short movie scene and write it out with four mistakes.

Show the scene to your partner and see if they can find the mistakes.

Skills: Listening for details.

Method: (1) Choose a scene outside of class with a script.

(2) Change the script so that there are four mistakes.

(3) Show the scene to your partner and see if they can find the

mistakes.

Activity Seven: Predict the opening scene (2 – 3 people): 45 minutes

Summary: Look at a movie poster or video cover and guess what happens in the first

scene.

Skills: Speaking.

Method: (1) Look a movie posters or video covers of films you haven’t seen.

(2) Discuss what you think might happen in the opening scene.

(3) Watch the opening scene to check.

(4) Write to your teacher about what you guessed would happen

and what actually happened.

Others

Activity One: Pronunciation project

Summary: Listen to and then act out a scene from a movie, concentrating on

pronunciation and fluency.

Skills: Pronunciation and speaking

Acknowledgements

Many of the above activities were adapted from:

Stempleski S. and Tomlin B. (2001): Research Books for Teachers: Film. Oxford:

OUP

Discussion Topics (2 – 3 people): 40 minutes

Summary: Watch an English movie and discuss it with your friends.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss some general questions together about the movie.

(3) Write about what you discussed.

Materials: Any movie

Questions for discussion

What’s the movie about?

Who’s in it?

When / Where is it set?

Who directed it?

When was it made?

What did you like best about this film?

What, if anything, did you learn from this film?

Was there anything you did not understand about the film? What was it?

Which character in the film did you like best?

Which character in the film did you like least?

Did you like the way music was used in this film?

What do you think of the ending of the film?

If you were the director, how would you have ended the film?

ANY MORE QUESTIONS?

_____________________________________________________________ ?

_____________________________________________________________ ?

_____________________________________________________________ ?

Feedback

What movie did you watch?

________________________________________________________________

Explain about the movie: what was it about? who was in it? where was it set?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What did you think of the movie?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

How did you feel about this activity?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Story Frames (2 – 3 people: 40 minutes)

Summary: Watch an English movie and summarise it using a story frame.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Short writing.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss it with your friends and complete a story frame (like

a questionnaire). Give your teacher the story frame to check.

Materials: Any movie

Story frame

Film title

Setting

Character

The main character in this film is…

In the film, he / she…

I think he / she is good / bad because…

Plot

The film starts when…

Next,…

Then,…

Finally,…

Opinions

What I liked about this film was…

What I didn’t like about this film was…

Comparing characters (2 people: 40 minutes)

Summary: Watch an English movie and then compare the main characters

using a Venn diagram.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Making comparisons (grammar).

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss and compare the characters using a Venn diagram.

Materials: Any movie

Character questions: examples

What kind of person is X?

What kind of person is Y

How are the characters similar?

How are they different?

What kind of jobs do they do?

What kind of clothes do they wear?

Other questions

Venn diagram

Who are the main characters? How are they similar or different?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Dear film friend (1 - 2 people: 40 minutes)

Summary: Watch an English movie and write a letter to the main character.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Writing.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) Discuss the main characters.

(3) Write a letter to one of the main characters.

(4) Please show your teacher the letter

Materials: Any movie

Things you can think and write about

* What do you like or admire about the character?

What do you dislike about the character?

Why does the character interest you?

What do you and the character have in common?

What advice would you like to give to the character?

What are the character’s plans for the future?

A different idea

If you want, you can imagine you are another character in the film and write the

letter from that character.

e.g. If the movie is Titanic, you could be Rose and write a letter to Jack.

Feedback

Please write your letter here:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Character interviews ( 2 – 3 people: 60 minutes)

Summary: Watch an English movie and role-play an interview with one of the

main characters. Present in front of classmates or video tape your

interview.

Skills: Listening for gist. Speaking. Making questions.

Method: (1) Watch an English movie outside of class.

(2) 1 – 2 students make interview questions for the main

character. The other student pretends to be the main

character.

(3) Role-play the interview.

(4) Record or videotape the interview

Materials: Any movie. Equipment to record the interview (tape, MD, video)

Student A: Imagine you are an interviewer for a famous magazine (think: What

kind of magazine?). You are going to interview a character from a

movie. Think of some questions you want to ask that character

(think: What information do you want to know?)

Student B: You are the character and are going to be interviewed by a

magazine. Think: How does your character behave? Is he / she

nice or nasty? Will he / she tell the truth in the interview or does he /

she want to lie? What kind of body language will he / she use?

Example questions

Rose is being interviewed by a famous romance magazine called We Love Men.

o How do you feel about Jack’s death?

o Why did you fall in love with him?

o Were you scared when Titanic sank?

o What are doing now?

o What are your hopes for the future?

o Are you planning to get married?

Dictation (1 – 2 people: 1 hour)

Summary: Watch a scene of an English movie without subtitles and write

down the dialogue.

Skills: Listening for details. Grammar. Speaking

Method: (1) Choose a movie scene outside class.

(2) Listen and write down what the characters say.

(3) Give your teacher the dialogue.

Materials: Any movie with English subtitles

More information

Sometimes we only need to catch the main ideas, but sometimes we need to

understand every word. You can use movies to improve you ability to listen

accurately for details. One way to do this is by dictation.

Procedure

1. Choose a brief scene (or part of a scene) from your favourite film. Don`t

make it too long- about 10 lines of dialogue is enough. Do not have

subtitles.

2. Get a piece of paper and a pen, and watch the scene. As you watch, write

down the dialogue. At first, you may only be able to understand a few

words here and there. Don`t worry! Watch the same scene again. Write

down more words. And again. And so on…

3. When you`ve done as much as you can do, you have a number of options.

If it is a DVD, you can check the English subtitles. If there is a screenplay

available, you can check that (SALC has about 30 screenplays). Or you

can bring the video and your script to me, and I`ll check it for you.

Feedback

Please write your dictation here:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Reverse translation (2 people: 1 hour)

Summary: Watch a scene from an English movie with Japanese subtitles with

the sound off and try to work out what the characters are saying.

Skills: Listening for details. Translating. Grammar.

Method: (1) Choose a scene from an English movie with Chinese

subtitles.

(2) Watch the scene with the sound off and translate the

Chinese subtitles into English.

(3) Listen to the scene to check your answers.

(4) Show your teacher your translation and the answers.

Materials: Any movie available with Chinese and English subtitles (DVD)

More information

In this activity, you get a chance to practise your grammar and vocabulary, as

well as your listening. You can also take the first steps towards becoming a

translator in the future!

Procedure

1) Watch a part of a movie you like with the sound off, and with the Chinese

subtitles visible. DVDs work best.

2) Watch about 10-15 lines of dialogue.

3) By yourself, or with a friend, translate the subtitles into English. Try to use

natural, colloquial English if you can- remember, movies try to show

people having real conversations.

4) Watch the scene with the sound on to check your answers.

5) Watch the scene with English subtitles for a final check.

Feedback

Please write your translation here:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Please write the real translation here:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Questions for your friends (2 – 4 people: 1 hour)

Summary: Watch a scene from an English movie and make some

comprehension questions for your friends, who then watch the

movie.

Skills: Listening for details. Speaking. Making questions.

Method: (1) Watch a scene from an English movie. It should be 3 – 5

minutes long.

(2) Write some comprehension questions about the scene.

(3) Show the scene to your friends.

(4) Your friends try to answer the questions you wrote.

(5) Show your teacher the questions you made.

Materials: Any movie

NB: If you do this with two people, one person should write questions for

one movie and then ask their partner, and the other person should do the

same with a different movie. With four people, two people can make

questions together for the same movie and two people a different movie.

Write your questions here:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Listen and Repeat ( 1 – 2 people: 30 minutes)

Summary: Watch a short clip from an English movie with subtitles and repeat

what the characters to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation.

Skills: Vocabulary. Pronunciation. Listening.

Method: (1) Watch a scene from an English movie.

(2) Listen carefully to what the characters are saying and try to

repeat it with the same pronunciation.

(3) Write down any new vocabulary or expressions you learned.

(4) Fill in the form and give it to your teacher.

Materials: Any movie (best with English subtitles)

Name of movie: ____________________________________

What happened in the scene? ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Expressions / vocabulary you repeated:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Which film looks best? (2 people: 30 – 40 minutes)

Summary: Watch trailers for two different films (one which you picked out and

one which your partner picked out) and discuss which trailer you

think is best.

Skills: Listening for details. Taking notes. Speaking.

Method: (1) Choose a video or DVD or go to http://www.apple.com/trailers/

with two trailers.

(2) Take some notes about the trailers as you watch. Make notes

about:

the title

the leading actors

the genre (horror, drama, action, comedy, animation,

etc)

the plot (what happened?)

the mood (feeling) of the film (romantic, dark, happy,

etc.)

(3) Try to catch the words and write down the key dialogue. (Ask

your teacher to watch your trailer if you need some help. Before

you ask though, watch the trailer at least 3 times)

(4) Discuss which trailer was best and why.

Materials: Any movie trailers

Feedback

Trailers watched: __________________________________________________

Which movie looked best? ___________________________________________

Why? ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Listen for the Missing Words Summary: Get a script from a short movie scene (3-5 minutes is recommended).

Blacken out 4 words. Watch the scene again and see if you can catch the words

you blackened out. Next, show the scene to a friend and see if they can find the

mistakes.

Skills: Listening for details Method: 1. Preparing the words: Do step A or B or C

A. Watch a 3-5 dialogue minute scene with the subtitles on. Write down the subtitles. B. Download and print the words from a film script resource page. The following pages might be helpful: http://www.script-o-rama.com/

http://www.simplyscripts.com/

http://www.weeklyscript.com/index.htm

http://www.eslnotes.com/synopses.html

http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/

http://www.scriptcrawler.net/

http://www.dailyscript.com/

http://www.allmoviescripts.com/,

http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm

http://blake.prohosting.com/bamzon

C. Photocopy 2-3 pages from a movie script book. You can purchase movie scripts from many bookstores, for example, http://www.amazon.com

2. Read the script once 3. Look up any words you do not understand. 4. Darken out 4 words. (A good challenge is to darken out the words you did not know in step 3.) 4. Watch the film scene and try to catch the missing words. 5. Switch film sheets with a partner. Can you fill in the words your partner had blackened out? Can they fill in the words that you blackened out?

Spot the mistakes Summary: This activity is just like Listen for the missing words, but instead of

blackening out words, change four words in the script.

Skills: Listening for details and Grammar

Method:

1. Do steps 1-3 as above in Listening for Missing Words.

2. Change the script so that four words are changed; make four mistakes.

3, Switch film sheets with a partner. See if they can catch the mistakes

you put into the script.

A variation on this activity is to target certain grammar. For example,

change four verbs into their noun form or leave out some noun word

endings or leave out articles

Predict the opening scene (2 – 3 people: 45 minutes)

Summary: Look at a movie poster or video cover and guess what happens in

the first scene.

Skills: Speaking.

Method: (1) Look a movie posters or video covers of films you haven’t

seen.

(2) Discuss what you think might happen in the opening scene.

(3) Watch the opening scene to check.

(4) Write about what you guessed would happen and

what actually happened.

Materials: Any movie and the front cover / poster of that movie

Ideas to help you predict the scene

Think of: Setting: When and where might the opening scene take place? Characters: Which characters might appear in the scene? Key events: What might happen in the opening scene? Dialogue: What are some lines of dialogue you might hear? Other: List any other details you think might be part of the opening

scene.

Feedback

What did you think would happen?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What actually happened?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Using Dialogue in Films

to help you improve your fluency and

pronunciation

1. Select a 5 minute clip from your film

How to select a good clip? Choose one that has many characters so that everyone in your group is speaking OR Choose a clip for every 2-3 people in your group (when you cannot find a clip that has good speaking parts for a larger group).

2. Write or find a transcript of the scene. How do I write the words from a film down? You can go to scriptpimp.com or script-o-rama.com or do a internet search for the title of your film and the key words “film script”. When you do this you can find the words to the film. Look inside these scripts for the scene you want to do. OR Listen to the scene and try to write down the words you hear (We can go into the SALC or ELI to do this). I can help you.

3. Practice copying this scene. Don’t worry about props so much. You will have a chance to make your own film later and then that will be important, but for this activity the DIALOGUE is most important and you should focus on speaking the dialogue as the actors do. Focus on the

Intonation Speed Rhythm Accent Word stress

4. Tape-record (or MD record) the dialogue that you perform. 5. Give your teacher a copy of your tape/MD and a printed copy of the

words to your scene.

Recommended Sites for film scripts, screenplays or

transcripts http://www.script-o-rama.com/ http://www.simplyscripts.com/ http://www.allmoviescripts.com/ http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm http://www.weeklyscript.com/index.htm http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/ http://www.scriptcrawler.net/ http://www.dailyscript.com/ http://www.eslnotes.com/synopses.html http://blake.prohosting.com/bamzone/ For purchasing scripts http://www.iscriptdb.com/ For purchasing learning sites that use film http://www.learningbrook.com/ Movie trailers: http://www.apple.com/trailers/ http://www.movie-list.com/ http://www.comingsoon.net/trailers/ http://www.movie-page.com/trailers.htm (all of these trailers also have film scripts to full versions of the movie) http://www.movie-trailers.com Lesson plans sites for using film: http://bogglesworld.com/lessons/MovieLesson1.htm http://www.onestopenglish.com/News/Magazine/News/video_beder.htm