Improving listening through movies

Improving listening through movies

Group: XT1_1916

Name: Tojiboeva Khurshida

Classroom information:

• Number of learners: 14
• Level of language: Advanced

Improving listening skill through watching movies

For many students, movies are initial contact with English-speaking culture. Movies are useful means for students to listen to authentic spoken communication and be exposed to various features of spoken communication, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, voice modulation, accent, speech pace, tone etc. And since there are many movies based upon a vast number of topics, themes, and issues, the teachers could use them to initiate or stimulate discussions about a certain focus area, be it a historical event, a time period or the culture of a foreign country.

How to use movies in the EFL classroom?

There are various ways to teach English to foreign language learners with the help of movies. Students learn a language uniquely, according to their own specific learning abilities. The majority of students are visual learners and movies are an ideal means for acquiring a foreign language. It is often more natural than that found in course-books, the visual context improves understanding and enhances listening, and students just simply love them.

Things needed to present a movie in the classroom

• A movie (fiction, drama, cartoon, documentary, etc.)
• Laptop or desktop computer
• Movie projector
• Speakers

Activity

Advanced or proficient English speakers understand the majority of what’s spoken to them. They should be able to summarize information from less familiar and even complex topics, and their spoken expression comes more naturally.

Set the Scene

Overview: Half of the students watch the clip, and the other half does not. First half takes notes. Students then work with partners and the one that watched the scene describes it to the other.

The second partner then watches the clip and evaluates the description for accuracy.

Lesson sequence:

• Pair up the students and label them partner one and partner two. Partner one watches the clip as the others put their heads down or step out of the room. Partner one then describes the clip to their partner, who writes down the main points.
• Partner two then watches the clip and evaluates the clip and description for accuracy.
• Partner two talks with their partner to discuss changes to the description.
• Both partners write an accurate summary of the clip.

Resource:

• New approaches to exploiting film in the foreign language classroom. L2 Journal3(2)
• Bringing online video into the classroom. Oxford University Press.
• On the use of movies in the EFL Classroom.
• Using authentic video in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.

Thank you for your attention!