Analyze the Benefits of Using Films for Language Teaching in Classroom and Offer Some Strategies for Effective Use

孫靜蔚++胡家英

1. Introduction

In recent years， with the development of society and technology， more and more technological ways are used in class for teaching and learning. This essay will investigate the benefits and methods of using films for language teaching. First of all， the benefits of using films in class for English as foreign language （EFL） will be discussed. Secondly， the essay will analyze some teaching methods that all combine with film to make the lesson more effective. Using films for language teaching might be an effective way for language teaching if teachers use this method appropriately.

2. The Benefits of Using Films to Teach English

2.1 Motivation

Film can effectively improve learners learning motivation. Motivation is thought to be a substantial factor in language learning through a large amount of evidence provided by scholars. Firstly， D？rnyei （2001） believes that motivation can be the key of language learning and also be pivotal for language teaching. It attracts learners attention because of its visualized function （Ur， 1984）. That is why sounds， pictures and colors all become the factors that catch learners attention and raise learners interests. Secondly， Gass & Selinker （2008） illustrate that motivation can increase EFL learners speed of language learning. Also， films help learners develop the speed of language input understanding （Krashen， 1987）. Therefore， film can help the language learners in a comprehensive way and raise their motivations.

2.2 Vocabulary

Films also provide a suitable platform to enrich the EFL learners vocabulary. It is difficult for language learners to link words or phrases meaning to the real word contexts. Vulchanova et al （2014） argues that both native language and English captions cause improved plot understanding and vocabulary learning. The beneficial effects of captions emerges when learners watching or hearing something， because film with captions can give learners both pronunciation and meaning of a word together vividly （Danan， 2004）. What is more， Hayati & Mohammadi （2009） note that film provides learners the meaning of their first language according to the context， and the caption provides the form of new English words. Watching films with captions improve learners understanding of a language （DYdewalle & Van de Poel， 1999）. As a result， films provide a suitable context for vocabulary learning， and let every words or phrases full of vitality and infectivity with the changing of the plot， appearing of the actors or changing of the music.endprint

3. The Strategies of Using Films for English Teaching

3.1 What Teachers should do to Improve Students motivation

Having identified the benefits of using films for language teaching， the essay will now focus on how to use films to help language learning. Films can help teachers to motivate learners learning motivation. LU （2013） suggests that teachers can use ‘film and ‘5Why scaffolding guided questioning teaching together， which means film provides an interesting platform where learners and teachers solve problems and communicate together. By using the scaffolding teaching， teachers use questions to guide students learning. Learners can think about questions by themselves while watching the film， and then find the answers after watching the film. This way can motivate learners learning interests. Hence， film and scaffolding instruction can be combined together to increase language learns motivation.

3.2 What Teachers should do to Improve Students Vocabulary

Learners vocabulary will be enlarged if teachers combine some tests with films. Unlike rule-based grammar， remembering is the key of vocabulary learning. Films can help students remember words in an easy and interesting way. According to the Oxford Placement Test， it identified the affect of using films with captions. Firstly， students are separated into two groups. One group watched the ‘pedagogical films， the other watched ‘authentic films. Secondly， both ‘pedagogical film groups film and ‘authentic film groups film suggested to be separated into three parts. The first part of the film is with learners first language captions， the second part is with English captions， and the third part has no captions. Finally， do the post-test of vocabulary in the film to these groups. Through analysis the significance data between and within groups， students who watched authentic film with caption got the highest marks （Soltani， 2015）. As a result， films help vocabulary learning need two key points.

3.3 What Teachers should do to Improve Students Cross Cultural Communication Ability

Culture is an important part in any language learning process. According to Kramschs research， people use language in cultural context to communicate with others. This cultural context can affect the understanding of language （Kramsch， 1993）. Yeh （2015） created a Multiple Intelligence Film Teaching （MIFT） model to improve EFL learners motivation. This teaching model combined activities like role-playing with film to enhance language learners linguistic and cultural understanding. For instance， Yeh introduced a film Freedom Writers about cultural diversity and racism and combined the film with role-playing activity. Through acting and imitating the dialogues in the film， learners will be put in a real cross-cultural and language learning context. Then the learners will improve their culture awareness and language ability at the same time with motivations and interests. Film mix visual makes the knowledge teaching by teachers more specific and practical. Let the knowledge in the books can be put into use in a real word contexts. The MIFT model may change the traditional boring class teaching more interesting and motivate more and more students to participate in the class teaching.

4. Conclusion

It would certainly appear that film is an effective and helpful way for EFL learning and teaching. Both teachers and students could benefit from using films in an appropriate way or combining with other class activities. Other lines of research worth pursing further would be applied this method into a specific aspect of language teaching and learning. It should be noted， however， this essay has only focus on the benefits of using film for language teaching might not be relevant to some drawbacks， which need films to be used in an appropriate way.

Reference

[1] DYdewalle， G. & Van de Poel M. ‘Incidental Foreign-Language Acquisition by Children Watching Subtitled Television Programs. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research， 1999， 28 （03）.

[2] Danan， M. Captioning and subtitling： Undervalued language learning strategies Meta， 2004，49 （01）.

（作者單位：東北農業(yè)大學）endprint