Look Up
This EFL lesson is designed around a short film and poem by Gary Turk and the theme of isolation caused by the use of new technology. Students watch a short film with no sound and speculate about the story it tells, read a poem and discuss digital technology, social media and isolation. I would ask all teachers who use Film English to consider buying my book Film in Action as the royalties which I receive from sales help to keep the website completely free.
How can film help you teach or learn English?
What can film and video add to the learning experience? Kieran Donaghy, who won the British Council’s TeachingEnglish blog award tells us why film is such a good resource and recommends some useful websites, in one of our top five articles of all time, illustrated by artist Jamie Johnson. 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
Pernilla's English Classroom: Peek of the week
I encounter students on a weekly basis who say "I hate reading" or "I just can't focus on a book" ...times are changing - a great deal - and it's a fact that teenagers are becoming more digitally literate, but unfortunately more BOOK illiterate. I find this to be a necessary part of our digital evolution, however I also see it as a tragic part of a lost era where kids today are finding it hard to focus on a book, or anything else, for a longer period of time. I still remember the books that I read as a nerdy teenager, the books that became a part of my daily life, the books that still linger with me because I was sucked into them and could never leave them, books that haunted me, books that taught me a valuable lesson or two, books that made me realize that there was a different, mesmerizing, world outside of my own room, books that I need to recommend to anyone reading this. Peek of the week 18 takes a look at GREAT books: Lord of the flies by William Golding
The Seven Best Silent Short Films for Language Teaching - Kieran Donaghy
As many short films are artistic, they have limited appeal in the commercial marketplace and are funded from diverse sources. To make them easier to sell worldwide, they often contain little or no dialogue, which makes comprehension much easier. As a result, they offer intensely ‘filmic’ experiences, using images and movement, sequence and duration, sound and music to tell their stories. These silent films are perfect for the language classroom as they can be used with any level – the teacher just needs to adapt the difficulty of the task to match the level of the students.
All of Me by John Legend
In this song John Legend uses opposite meanings to convey how he feels about his wife. It is a very ‘honest’ love song. I think it reflects real life rather than a fairytale version of a relationship.
Short films
Here is a collection of good short films: * Alma (approx. 5 mins):* Bend it like Beckham (short clip from movie + questions)* Boats (approx. 6:15 mins):* By the pool (approx. 2:35 mins)* Cargo (approx. 7 mins):* December (approx. 1.40 mins):* Giving (approx. 3 mins):* Identity (approx. 5:20 mins):* Let's make a movie (approx. 7 mins):* Marry Me (approx. 7 mins):* Matt (approx 13 mins.):* Max's movie (series in ten episodes from UR)* Mo'ne Davis: Throw Like a Girl (approx. 16 mins):* Paperman - short film:* The Present (approx. 4 mins):The Present from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.* Roof Rattling (approx. 14:40 mins)* Selfie:* Spin (approx. 8 mins):Questions:* is it ok to reverse the order of things that happen in life?* What could the consequences be?* Should we do everything we can to avoid bad things from happening in life? Why/why not?* Describe the people in the film - are there different kinds of people?
The Other Pair
This ELT lesson plan is designed around a short film by Sarah Zorik titled The Other Pair and the themes of altruism and empathy. Students watch a short film, write a story, and speak about a story. I would ask all teachers who use Film English to consider buying my book Film in Action as the royalties which I receive from sales help to keep the website completely free.
Describing photos (comparing, contrasting and speculating)
You are going to practise language for; Describing photosComparing and contrasting photos (discussing similarities and differences)Speculating on what might be happeningReacting to photos (giving opinions) Discuss Look at the presentation. Follow the instructions and talk about some of the photos
