Films as a teaching tool in classroom

By
Dr Hana Al-Bayyati

Using films in classroom  provides a lively guide to a literary study. This activity would help students to engage critically with a range of media, including visual and printed texts. The role of the teacher in this activity is to be the key and guiding spirit to his students.  He is the builder of programs, the provider of the reading time, the spark that makes students enthusiastic in reading literature as a source of joy and rewarding form of recreation.  To be successful in his task, the teacher must be acquainted  with a wide variety of techniques of oral and written interpretation, activities, devices, media and audio-visual resources which will stimulate, develop and reveal student's interest and 

knowledge in literature.

Watching film in the classroom is applicable in teaching literary genres: Poetry, Drama

and Novel  through a variety of media, including music, art, and acting without special talent and training in these areas.

By addressing reading strategies like predicting, responding, questioning and story boarding, the  teacher should make links between film and literary study.

To incorporate films in class and encourage their students to watch movies in English include:

1-films combine pleasure and learning by telling story in a in away that captures and holds the viewers interest.

2- spoken language is supported by visual elements is much easier for students to understand the dialogues and the plot.

3-students are exposed to the way people actually speak.

4-films involve the viewers, appeal to their feelings and they sympathize with the protagonists.

5-DVDs facilitate understanding and improves reading skills.

Film is the rich resource for the advanced level, when students can appreciate and benefit from the complex themes and resulting discussions.   Instructors who use film in the classroom will find that the use of authentic language combined with thought provoking drama broadens cultural competence and improves the learning of English.