Job Discussion Forums

[ChinaMovieMagic]

I've had excellent results w/MovieSegment-based Role Plays, with folks sitting in lines of chairs facing each other...doing the Role Play in pairs. In large classes, I've had 5-6-7 CLUSTERS OF 6 LEARNERS--3 pairs. In smaller classes, one or 2 lines of learning pairs. Then after a few minutes, BEFORE it slows down, I have them shift to new partners. I've used this *with movie reviews for discussion (www.imdb.com/www.metacritic.com)
*with film descriptions at www.filmsite.org
*with film scripts at www.script-o-rama.com

I welcome hearing from other folks interested/experienced in Movies as a means for 'loweering the affective filter." (Krashen)

[ChinaMovieMagic]

BELOW are some principles/practices of Movie Magic. Of course, only some elements are practical in the classroom. What I aim for is an Intensive Language Learning Environment, with many activities going on at the same time. Here at Sichuan U's ILTC (www.iltcscu.org) it's NOT INTENSIVE...just a classroom environment. With luck, we may be able to do some sort of mini-branch experimental project w/them. Mayber not. But certainly the market is there for INTENSIVE. I've asked the folks to look for a place for Summer (and perhaps long-term)Camp at famed JiuZaiGou in N Sichuan.

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Key Principles

*Second language acquisition occurs when
comprehensible input is delivered in a low-anxiety
situation, when real messages of real interest are
transmitted and understood.
(Krashen)

*A very interesting hypothesis is that we learn best
only when the pressure is completely off, when anxiety
is zero, when the acquirer's focus is entirely on
communication; in short, when the interchange or input
is so interesting that the acquirer 'forgets" that it
is in a second language.
(Krashen)

*It has become evident to many teachers of ESL
students that most of the available texts and
materials are based on artificial sequencing of
grammatical structures and stilted, often irrelevant,
dialogues and topics.
(Rodriguez and White)


Key Elements

*high ratio of native/advanced English speakers to
English learners

*a bilingual Mandarin-English environment--bringing
together Chinese interested in improving their
English, as well as foreigners

*a variety of activities available for the
participants
(1)free conversation
(2)viewing/discussion of movie/movie segment
(3)discussion of movie reviews
(4)movie-based role plays
(5)a wide range of other activities--Theatre Games,
discussion topics, public speaking training, Karaoke
singing


One difficulty with English conversation
centers/corners is that the unstructured dynamic
frequently loses focus. The members and conversation
partners often experience the awkward feeling of a
first date--trying to think of things to say, having
uncomfortable periods of silence, wishing they were
somewhere else.

DVD movies will be an essential element for this project.
All members will share the experience of viewing the film, so conversation will have a common focus. In addition, we can offer:
*a wide range of movie reviews for each movie--promoting vocabulary development/critical thinking/active discussions
(available at www.imdb.com)
*movie scripts (available at www.script-o-rama.com)

Over the years, L2 teachers have developed a wide range of communicative techniques based upon the creative use of movie segments, such as:

VIEWING COMPREHENSION (with sound off)
DIALOGUE BUILDING (with sound off)
AURAL ONLY PREDICTION (with sound only)
PREDICTIVE VIEWING--What will happen?
REVERSE PREDICTION--What happened before the sequence seen?
JIGSAW VIEWING (Only half the viewers see the sequence, and they relate it to those who haven't. Replay it to compare.)

Such approaches can create an enhanced learning environment, in harmony with Krashen's principles:
*A RICH VARIETY OF COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT
*A LOW-ANXIETY SITUATION
*REAL MESSAGES OF REAL INTEREST

A short (1 to 3 minutes) close-captioned movie segment offers the learner a synergistic schemata of opportunities for comprehensible INPUT. The visual images themselves are comprehensible and are stored
in the students' memories as EXPERIENCES, rather than as a language lesson that must be "studied/learned" because the teacher will test the students for their ability to "remember" the lesson.
A schematic tapestry of English words becomes associated with the movie's images and emotions. Plot, character, emotion--these are the 'hooks' by which the language becomes comprehensible input and stored intake. This dynamic is quite different from the artificial approaches typically used--vocabulary lists, linear progressions in grammar complexity etc.)
To use another metaphor, the memories of the movie segment can be seen as gravitational schemata which can attract and retain words associated with the images. As the learner thinks of a scene, an
ever-expanding constellation of words and sentences can become linked in the memory with a pleasant (LOW-ANXIETY) experience, rich with REAL MESSAGES OF REAL INTEREST. As the learner thinks of one character,
a tremendous variety of adjectives and actions can become part of the schemata.
This is in harmony with the episode hypothesis, which states that "text (i.e. discourse in any form) will be easier to produce, understand, and recall to the extent that it is motivated and structured episodically...these ideas lead to the supposition that perhaps second language teaching would be more successful if it incorporated principles of good story
writing along with the benefits of sound linguistic analysis." (Oller)
In addition to discussion of the movies, Members and Dialogue Partners will also be active in role play based upon the movie segments. In Why Drama Works: A Psycholinguistic, Susan Stern at UCLA brings together
a wide range of research relating to the power of role play for creating an enjoyable and effective second language environment:

*MOTIVATION "The purposefulness of dramatic activity
can provide a strong instrumental motivation for
language learning...Moulding emphasized that drama
provides the context for a meaningful exchange in
which participants see a reason to communicate, and
focuses on 'how to do things' with the language rather
than on merely 'how to describe things.' Malley and
Duff explained that language teaching has tended to
kill motivation by divorcing the intellectual aspects
of language (vocabulary + structures) from its body
and emotions, limiting instruction to the former.
Dramatic techniques restore the body and emotions to
language learning, thereby restoring emotion."

*SELF-ESTEEM "An analogy between acting and martial
arts suggested by Via explains one way in which drama
helps self-confidence. Just as a yell accompanies the
strike in order to build the confidence and increase
the energy of the attacker, so a strong and clear
voice (necessary when performing) gives the language
learner confidence. Drama also raises self-esteem by
demonstrating to L2 learners that they are indeed
capable of expressing themselves in realistic
communicative settings."

*SENSITIVITY TO REJECTION "L2 learnwers who are afraid
of what others may think of their less-than-perfect
comand of the language will be inhibited in using it.
This is especially true of adults. Several educators
have found that drama creates a
non-threateningsituation which can reduce and even
eliminate sensitivity to rejection."

*EMPATHY 'Guiora explains that emphathic capacity is
dependent upon the ability to partially and
temporarily suspend the functions that maintain one's
separateness from others (usually called ego
boundaries)...Guiora et al. hypothesize that ability
to approximate native-like pronunciation in a second
language is related to the flexibility or permeability
of one;s ego boundaries.

*SPONTANEITY "Mann explains that persons in the
spontaneous state completely forget the existence of
the audience or cease to be completely about its
reactions,,,'In varying degrees the person in such a
state acts as though inspired. He draws on resources
which neith he nor his friends may have thought he had
at his disposal.' If this state can be induced in L2
learners via drama, the usual gap between thought and
statement which ceases to exist in the native
language might cease to exist in the second language
as well."