Prepared by:
Emely Jean A. Ortiz
Movies as a Teaching Resource
• Many educators actually believe that we need to make our teaching more
relevant to an increasingly diverse group of students and, at the same
time, to develop their critical thinking skills. One way to do that is to use
carefully chosen feature films as a part of the curriculum(Bluestone, 2000)
• Movies can help students understand concepts that are relevant in their
lives (Marshall, 2002) and facilitate a more active and engaging
curriculum, which today’s students prefer (Barron & Arcodia, 2002).
• According to Hobbs (1998), films can be used to gain attention, to
illustrate subject matter,and also to encourage the analytical and critical
viewing of film as ‘text.’
• Today, many professors have successfully integrated movies clips and
other video materials with traditional course materials to enhance student
interest and learning.
.
Several educators have used different types of
movies (both classic and contemporary) to
illustrate and teach concepts.
 Holmes (2005), in fact, used the animated movie Finding
Nemo to teach various OB concepts such as: (a) Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs,
(b) McClelland’s Learned Needs
Theory,(c) Self-efficacy, (d) Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, (e)
Group Development Processes, Group Performances & Group
Think, (f) Motivation, and (g) Leadership.
 Huffman and Kilian (2012) used The Flight of the Phoenix to
teach interpersonal aspects of Project Management. The
movie is used to highlight the importance of technical issues
in projects such as the controlling of budgets and
understanding the trade-offs in the project management
triangle, and the impact interpersonal issues have on them.
 Similarly, the movie Harry Potter series has been used to
teach content analysis, leadership and power (Messinger,
2012; Rosser, 2007).
Why film is such a good resource?
Language teachers have been using films in their
classes for decades, and there are a number of
reasons why film is an excellent teaching and
learning tool.
 Learning from films is motivating and enjoyable.
Films and TV shows are an integral part of students’ lives
so it makes perfect sense to bring them into the language
classroom. Film, as a motivator, also makes the language
learning process more entertaining and enjoyable
Why film is such a good resource?
 Film provides authentic and varied language.
Film provides students with examples of English used in ‘real’
situations outside the classroom, particularly interactive
language – the language of real-life conversation. Film exposes
students to natural expressions and the natural flow of speech. If
they are not living in an English-speaking environment, perhaps
only film and television can provide learners with this real-life
language input.
Why film is such a good resource?
 Film gives a visual context.
The ‘visuality’ of film makes it an invaluable language
teaching tool, enabling learners to understand more by
interpreting the language in a full visual context. Film assists
the learners’ comprehension by enabling them to listen to
language exchanges and see such visual supports as facial
expressions and gestures simultaneously. These visual clues
support the verbal message and provide a focus of
attention.
Why film is such a good resource?
 It gives variety and flexibility.
Film can bring variety and flexibility to the language
classroom by extending the range of teaching techniques
and resources, helping students to develop all four
communicative skills. For example, a whole film or
sequence can be used to practise listening and reading, and
as a model for speaking and writing. Film can also act as a
springboard for follow-up tasks such as discussions, debates
on social issues, role plays, reconstructing a dialogue or
summarising. It is also possible to bring further variety to
the language learning classroom by screening different
types of film: feature-length films, short sequences of films,
short films, and adverts.
Before it was difficult to find
pedagogically sound film material to
help students improve their language
through watching film, and teachers
had to spend many hours creating their
own materials. However, with the
advent of the internet there is now a
wealth of online resources for both
language teachers and their students
Ways of Using a Film in Teaching
 Case -Presenting narrative for analysis
 Experiential Exercise -Going ‘inside’ a setting, for problemsolving and decision-making
 Metaphor -Portraying complex, abstract ideas in vivid and
memorable ways
 Satire - Using humor, ridicule, exaggeration, understatement
 Symbolism - Communicating with visual imagery, language,
music
 Meaning - Giving substance to abstract theories and concepts
 Experience - Bringing vicarious experience, such as life in other
cultures
 Time - Illustrating historical events, temporal dimensions of
behavior
Online Sources
Datta, Biplab. (2013) And the Oscar Goes to.. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/5843771/And_the_Oscar_Goes_to...__
Bringing_the_Magic_of_Movies_into_the_MBA_Classroom May 5,
2015.
Donaghy, Kieran. How can film help you teach or learn English?
Retrieved from http://www.britishcouncil.org/blog/how-can-filmhelp-you-teach-or-learn-englishretrieved may 2, 2015.
Thank You!