Movies in the classroom

“I made love to over 1000 women. Last Tuesday I turned 21.”

That's an interesting statement. I'll explain who said it and why later. There is tremendous interest in using movies to teach English these days.

I've found that it is often so enjoyable to learn with films that the students don't even realize that they are learning. When these students are asked what they did in your class they will simply reply, “Oh, we watched a movie.” So at the end of the each lesson it is good to review with the students everything they have just learned.

It's sort of like that old adage (adapted), tell'm what you're going to teach them, teach them, tell'm what you taught them.

It has got to grab you

The movie should be very interesting, gripping, exciting! The movie should pull them into the story so much they forget they’re in a classroom. They become so interested in the story that they are desperate to know what happens next...and the only way they can do so is through English.

You have read until this point, right here, wondering about the young man who has made love to over 1000 women before he turned 21. Your curiosity is aroused. You really want to know and you’re wondering when I’m going to finally tell you. This is the kind of interest we need to create in our students.

These are opening lines from the movie “Don Juan DeMarco” starring Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando. It is a wonderful tale of romance and how living a little fiction can bring out the truth in us. I love using this film for two reasons. It is totally engaging and the vocabulary is accessible.

Language must be accessible

I make a special effort to select a film with language that is accessible, just a bit above their current level (Krashen’s i+1). I try to avoid pre-teaching as much as possible as it's boring and ineffective.

One teacher has recommended the film “Wall Street”. It is a business movie and full of business language. It may be good for very advanced students but has way too much vocabulary for intermediate students to try to learn and recall.

Not only vocabulary can be challenging but also idioms. I haven’t used “The Insider” with my students for this reason. Here are some examples. I just grabbed these very quickly out of the movie without trying to find something difficult.

Typical dialog in The Insider contains expressions like: “contractual obligations undertaken by you not to disclose any information”, “you manipulated me into this”, “you greased the rails”, “will he go on camera?”, “faced with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit”.

From “Erin Brokovich”: “This is the only thing you’ve got?”, “that place is a pigsty”, “this is a whole different ball game”, “you think if you got no uterus and no breasts you’re still technically a woman?”, “devote my entire reign as Miss Wichita”.

Of course, these terms can be teaching points. A lot depends on how and much how fast. Some films seem full of idioms and technical jargon and some films seem to use a rather simple English. To give you an idea of typical dialogs in these films I have take a one-minute sample from four movies. I randomly chose 30 minutes as a starting point and took one-minute of dialog from there.

I have put into CAPS the language that I think my upper-intermediate students may not understand. I would suggest that for these students that I am speaking of two of the movies below would be i+1 and two are i+2 or 3.

Think of one of your classes as you read the dialogs and ask yourself if your students would understand it. From this you would base your judgment on how much pre-teaching you would need to do or, if you are like me, if the film is accessible and i+1. (Of course, if the film is tremendously interesting the students will make a greater effort to grasp it and something like i+2 might be possible.)

THE INSIDER

00:30:00 - 00:31:00, Starring Starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer

A: (Talking about golf) And he gets out there and HE HAS FIVE STROKES ON US. He has more CONCENTRATION than anybody I've ever met. It's SPOOKY HOW HE CAN CONCENTRATE.
B (Jeffrey): I'd rather play than talk about it. What did you want to see me about? I don't like being back here.
A: (To a 3rd man) Jeffrey SAYS EXACTLY WHAT’S ON HIS MIND. Most people CONSIDER what they are saying – SOCIAL SKILLS. Jeffrey just CHARGES RIGHT AHEAD. (To Jeffrey) Now I know you understand the NATURE of the CONFIDENTIALITY PORTION of your SEVERANCE AGREEMENT with Brown & Williamson.
B: CHAPTER AND VERSE.
A: Yeah, I know you do. You know, I CAME UP THROUGH sales. One of the reasons I was a great salesman was I never made a promise I couldn't keep. I knew that if I ever broke my promise, I'd SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.
B: Is that a THREAT?

BIG

00:30:00 - 00:31:00, Starring Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia

A (Talking to himself while doing something on the computer): The Dinky Link...Seven...Jimmy's Toy Box!
B: Psst! Hey! Psst! I'm Scott Brennen.
A: Uh, I’m Josh Baskin.
B: Listen, are you trying to get us all fired?
A: Huh?
B: Slow down. PACE YOURSELF. Slow. Slowly. Slow.
A: Sorry.
B: Today's my first day.
A: I know.
B: How long have you worked here?
A: Five years.
B: The WORK STINKS but the FRINGE BENEFITS are great.
A: See that girl over there in the red?

TRADING PLACES

00:30:00 - 00:31:00, Trading places starring Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Ameche

A: (In the Jacuzzi) Hey, BUBBLES, man! When I was growing up, we wanted a JACUZZI...we had to FART in the TUB. This is BAD!
B: (In the living room) What's he doing in there?
C: He's singing, sir.
D: They're very musical people, aren't they?
C: What shall I do with his clothes, sir?
B: Send them to the laundry. He'll need something to wear back to the GHETTO after I've won our bet.
D: (Everybody in the living room) Well, William, what do you think?
A: I like it, Randy. It's very nice. I like the way you got the mirrors HOOKED UP. It's very pretty.
B: I don't think he understands, Randolph .
A: Mortie, I do understand.
D: William, this is your home.
A: Uh-huh, right.
D: It belongs to you.
A: All this is mine. I like my home. Very nice TASTE in houses.
D: Everything you see in this room is yours.
A: This is my stuff.
D: Your own personal PROPERTY.

ERIN BROKOVICH

00:30:00 - 00:31:00, starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney

A: The only thing that CONFUSED me is, NOT that your MEDICAL problems areN’T important, but how come the files on that are in with all the REAL ESTATE stuff?
B: Well, there's just so much CORRESPONDENCE. I just keep it all in one place.
A: Right. Right. Um, I'm sorry, I just don't see why you're CORRESPONDING with PG&E about your MEDICAL problems in the FIRST PLACE.
B: Well, they paid for the doctor's visit.
A: They did?
B: YOU BET. Paid for a CHECKUP for the whole family. NOT LIKE WITH insurance where you pay and a YEAR GOES BY and maybe you SEE SOME money. They just took care of it JUST LIKE THAT. [snaps fingers] We never even SAW A BILL.
A: Wow. Why'd they do that?
B: Because of the CHROMIUM.
A: The what?
B: The CHROMIUM. That's what KICKED THIS WHOLE THING OFF.

Whatever film you use, try to make sure it is grippingly interesting and the language is accessible.