This document discusses film education and how it can be used to teach foreign languages. It provides an overview of the resources available from Film Education, a UK charity that has worked since 1985 to incorporate feature films into curriculums. These resources include free educational materials, teacher training, and film festival trips. The document also outlines how using film can increase student motivation to learn languages and improve linguistic, cultural and critical thinking skills through activities analyzing film techniques, themes and language.

1. Lights, Camera, Language,
Ian Wall, Director of Education, Film Education

2. What is Film Education?
Since 1985 our charity has sought to
embed feature film across the
curriculum in the UK.
We provide:
 Free Educational Resources &
Campaigns
 Free trips to the cinema & festivals
 Subsidised Teacher training &
workshops

3. Training
Curriculum
Trend setting
New technologies

4. Study materials
Study guides on individual films
Generic Materials (e.g. Shakespeare, History)
Digital materials
The Internet

5. The Internet
Downloadable teaching materials
Newsletter
Cinema events programmes

6. The reach
 2.4m young people in classrooms
 475,000 young people in cinemas
 50,000+ teachers

7. CP3
CRITICAL PRACTICE
CREATIVE PROCESS
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

8. AREAS TO ADDRESS
Why study film?
What questions do we ask about film?
Film and how it communicates
Key ideas about film
The importance of practical work

9. Why film?
Supports what is being studied
Worth studying in its own right.

10. Importance
 The experience of film goes far beyond the cinema as it
can play a significant role in students‘ social and cultural
education.
 Many argue that understanding film is essential to literacy in
the 21st Century.
 Film encourages critical engagement and debate across a
wide range of issues and can also give gifted and talented
learners a vehicle for their creativity.
10

11. QUESTIONS TO ASK OF A
TEXT
What is the purpose of this text?
Who is it for?
Why does it look the way it does?
Analyse the way it looks
Why was it produced?

12. Film and MFL

13. “Alarm over decline in
pupils studying
languages”

14. “ Figures show that the take-up
of French and German has fallen
by 13.2 per cent in the past year
to 154,221 and 60,887
respectively. It means fewer than
one in four 16-year-olds now take
French and one in 10 take
German.”
The Independent,Friday 26th
August2011

15. “Pedestrian”

16. Requirements – A level
develop an interest in, and an enthusiasm for,
language learning;
develop understanding of the language in a
variety of contexts and genres;
communicate confidently, clearly and
effectively in the language for a range of
purposes;
develop awareness and understanding of the
contemporary society, cultural background and
heritage of countries or communities where the
language is spoken;
consider their study of the language in a broader
context.

17. Partnership

18. The Project
This project has been ongoing since April 2008
LGT have worked with partnerships of schools
across London, Cumbria, Kent and Lancashire
Film Education has been instrumental in
developing teaching materials to support MFL
teaching.

19. Aims
to explore what makes students interested in
studying languages
to enhance the motivation and aspiration of
students
to improve their capability in languages
to increase participation in MFL at the partner
schools and progression to higher education
to develop a significant role for the use of film in
MFL

20.  To explore how film can offer authentic
opportunities for students to think as linguists
and to develop practical expertise as well as
skills of visual literacy and critical appreciation.

21.  Classroom learning is often at its best when
engaging challenging issues and contexts,
which make learners question, interrogate, and
extend their view of the world.
 Conflicts and dilemmas played out in films
provide not only the context for learners to
immerse themselves in the issues, but also
mediate these, offering the opportunity for the
teacher to engage in inquiry alongside the
learner.

22. Using film has enabled participating teachers to
adopt and adapt the pedagogies of learning
about film to the language learning environment
to fundamentally change the dynamic of
teaching and learning in their subject.
This can sharply contrast with more traditional
views of the subject where the teacher transmits
knowledge of language and the student‘s role
can be largely passive.
22

23. Linguistic benefits
film as an enriching and exciting resource.
working with students of mixed ability and
working within the limitations of the time
constraints.
Students learn to discuss their reactions to the
films they are confronted with, required to use a
variety of verbs and tenses to justify their
opinions.
improved linguistic skills, the student’s textual
analysis skills are developed too.

24. Possible Outcomes
 Spontaneity in use of spoken language
 Speed of assimilation of new grammatical structure, ability to perceive
patterns
 Ability to manipulate recently-learned structures
 Ability to transfer skills when adapting language to new situations
 Ability to cross-reference and transfer language and skills
 Ability to use verbal and non-verbal clues in order to understand
challenging reading and listening material
 Ability to ask questions about exceptions to the rule or more complex
grammatical queries which have not been addressed in class

25. Cultural benefits
increased cultural awareness of the students.
If children are shown stories about people from different cultural
contexts, their horizons will undoubtedly be broadened.
incredibly motivating for the students: they get the chance to
see the language in action, in an exciting and interesting
context.

27. So what does this look like?

28. Learning activities
Tasks might be based on an individual clip or
draw on the whole film. Activities offering
increasing levels of challenge from the basic to
the more advanced + exemplar task materials.
Teachers can choose the level of challenge they
require.

29. Film Resources Template
Background of film + synopsis in English and
target language
List of characters/actors
Introduction of key themes:
links to topic coverage at GCSE
wider questions, e.g. as a text
Screenplay or extracts/transcripts of target
language from specific scenes for activities

30. Visual Resources
Link to commercial trailer
DVDs of complete film
DVD of 5 clips per film
Screenshots relating to sequencing activities,
creative engagement, support familiarity with
core vocabulary, compare/contrast

31. Linguistic Resources
Film specific vocabulary (roughly 2 sides for
whole film) – language which might be required
to engage with discussion with film + relate to
target language
Vocabulary to aid discussion (Nouns, Adjectives,
Verbs)
Relevant vocabulary on themes drawn from
vocabulary lists provided in Exam Specifications
and Student Guides.

32. Basic language tasks -
familiarity with language
Drawing on prior knowledge, and vocabulary
and encouraging use and retention of
film/extract specific vocabulary
Example activities: descriptions, gap-fills, true or
false, word hunts, crosswords, physical
description of characters, memory games,
Pictionary, predictions, describing stills, compare
colloquial language with ‘formal’

33. Response based tasks – building
understanding of context
Comparisons, personal response, developing
capacity to narrate events, developing specific
language functions and addressing linguistic
success criteria for examination
Example activities: card sorts, putting events in
order, finding/noticing evidence for statements
about film, crosswords, describing still shots from
film, film reviews (links to segment on film reviews
in target language), their world/my world, trailer-
based activities, empathy/point-of-view
activities, using target language for
creative/critical activities, prediction tasks

34. Theme based - developing critical
awareness and discourse
Discussion of themes – e.g.
relationships
social/cultural
political and historical context
Character studies
Study of language used - register and idiom –
noticings and commentary e.g. formal vs.
informal relationships/dialogue
Summarise and précis, taglines and promotional
lines

35. How the film works
Narrative process – making meaning
Techniques used
Shot type
Camera movement
Mise en scene
Lighting
Sound
Editing
Influences

36. Productive tasks – examples
of exam-type tasks
Basic language tasks
Response-based tasks: e.g. compare and
contrast, evidence for statements
Critical awareness and discourse – discussion of
wider context
How the film works – how effective are the
director’s techniques in the portrayal of the
characters? What is your favourite scene/shot in
the film and what does this contribute to the
whole?

37. Activities
Freeze frame
Spot the shots
Sound and image
Top (and tail)
Attracting Audiences

39. Mao/Godard in 3D
A new way of thinking, teaching and
looking

40. Changes for teachers.
develop new pedagogical knowledge and
approaches;
develop their knowledge of, and confidence in,
exploring film as a cultural medium;
change their expectations of pupils;
integrate cultural awareness more effectively
into their teaching.

41. Impact on students
 Improved motivation towards learning French;
 Improved attainment in listening, speaking,
reading and writing;
 Developed interest in film as a cultural form;
 Developed cultural knowledge;
 Improved the take-up of French at all levels.

42. www.filmeducation.org
wall@filmeducation.org