Job Discussion Forums

woza17 · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 602 Location: china

I have just started teaching my summer camp of 18 students average age 17. Their English is quite good, so for the video, I chose, Mike Moores, Bowling for Columbine, an absolute complete flop. After 15 minutes I stopped the video and asked them," do you find this interesting?" No! they wanted to put on some rubbish about some school kid that becomes a princess. What did that movie mogul say, something like, " don't overestimate the tastes of the public". Some of the kids knew about this tragedy from the internet, but they said we don't have guns in China it doesn't affect us. Yes, true but aren't you interested in how the other three quarters of the world operate? Let me teach you a new word zenophobic.
Anyway, because I was a bit miffed at their reaction I gave them tasked based homework, find the cheapest flights to Australia, a good hairdresser for my dog and last but not least, translate my dual oven's manual into English. See what we come up with on Monday.
Cheers Cai Hong

MartinK · Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 344

Minhang Oz · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 610 Location: Shanghai,ex Guilin

The students at my current school don't have good enough English to follow a movie unless it's subtitled. This seems to be a waste of my salary, as the lady who serves lunch could screen a movie as well as I could, so as a result I don't use them.
However, at a previous more academic college, where the students had studied Chinese translations of English classics in high school, the mid-nineties film of "Jane Eyre" was very popular, and we were able to do a whole lit. crit. unit very successfully.
Some FTs assert that literature teaching is a waste of time : on the contrary, I think it's one of the best ways of engaging students. China has a rich literary tradition, and students are easily caught up in "the willing suspension of disbelief", which makes them receptive learners.

Count_Fathom · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 92

As an aside: a student knifed a teacher to death in a rural highschool not far from me, about 2 hours after I'd finished a seminar there.

aaronschwartz · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 145 Location: Beijing

English movies are great, even if the students can not understand the. It is called "teacher's time out." Gives a teacher a break. Try cartoons, at any age level, they really like them. Also Disney films, star wars etc.
Try using Friends or Discovery on those students with a better understanding of English. I tried these with post grads and they liked them but never saw the humor in friends! They just do not understand the real life meaning of the English in its humorous context.

Free reading ala Krashen just does not work. The students are required to read far too much and free reading is just more reading. They do not understand recreational reading.

CCTV 9 is also a great time waster and the admin types love to know you are using local material! Yes, teaching ESL in China can be glorified babysitting and the pay is commensurate so lighten up and enjoy your China vacation.

Count_Fathom · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 92

"Babe" (the talking pig movie)

Good for me and them. Shot in sections, so it doesn't take a full class. One third watching, two thirds discussion. Simple language (too fast at times, but clear enough). Character types are readily identifiable, easily described. Very Dickens-ian, strong moral value, without being a period piece.

Count_Fathom · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 92

(Whoah!!! Censor overload - D-i-c-k-e-n-s-ian)

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Susie · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 390 Location: PRC

Bowling for Columbine, itself, as a piece of media information/edutainment, may not have been the problem (if indeed there was a problem in the first place). The problem may have been that you, the foreign teacher, chose the documentary/film for the Chinese students. They may have wanted to choose their own film.

I make this point based on my own experience with some Chinese students (12 year olds). The complained loudly and vocally during my lessons that my teaching was boring (it is just like our local English teachers' teaching methods they complained). My teaching method was not always like their local English Teachers', I had used many different methods but the students hadn't wanted to co-operate in class.

Then towards the end of the academic year, after all the foreign teachers at the school were released early because we "hadn't aroused the interests of the students" I began to use VCDs, such as "The River Wild", The King & I", "The Time Machine", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "China", "The Horse Whisperer" and many other VCDs. The students still didn't want to co-operate. They still complained that the lessons were boring, they turned on Chinese TV while the films were showing and would refuse to turn the TV off. When asked "Why?" They said the films are boring, we want to watch Chinese TV, that is what we have chosen and decided to do. Then the students complained to their leaders that the foreign teacher allows them to watch Chinese TV during oral English lessons!

I am just giving you some facts here as to my experience, I am not making judgement or comment.

gmat · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 274 Location: S Korea

foreignDevil · Joined: 23 Jun 2003 Posts: 580

I can recommend two dvds I have used with pretty good success. The first is a compilation of cartoon episodes of a new "X-men" cartoon series that is on in the U.S. right now. The series is called X-Men Evolution. It is great for young adult age vicinity because the cartoon series focuses on the X-men when they are still teenagers going to high school. I didn't just pop the dvd in and go to sleep...there were a lot of great ways to have my students "actively" watch...I had them identify characters, talk about their various superpowers, etcetc. The scripting is actually fairly smart, and the teenager-type dialogue and situations are realistic, for a saturday morning cartoon.

The other movie I can recommend is "Eight Mile" starring the rap artist Eminem...because of some mature situations and brief nudity you want to be careful who you show this to, though. For an older class, this movie is great: thematically it is something anyone can relate to (struggling boy trying to make good) the music and themes are "hip" (the soundtrack is AWESOME) and the film was shot on location in Detroit, which provides a good opportunity to teach older students more about an American city other than NYC and LA. There are great tracking shots of Eminem riding the public bus and looking out the window at a destitute urban environment...if you have any students who think America is the land of milk and honey this film will cure them of such thoughts.
And students with varying degrees of English proficiency will appreciate the absolutely mesmerizing rap battles.

Michael T. Richter · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 77 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, PRC

Count_Fathom · Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 92

I'll second Shrek and The Princess Bride.

MonkeyKing · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 96 Location: Beijing

I think DVD's can be great because you can turn the English subtitles on and off, and reply short sections again and again without the hassle of rewinding and make up all kinds of listening/gap filling excercises based on that...I think it's better than just a tape 'cos the students see the langugae combined with expression/body language etc. My uni students were also a pretty fickle bunch when it came to watching movies though...I had best success with family movies like shrek and disney movies (lots of songs), though they liked something a bit more adult sometimes too....

nanxi · Joined: 09 May 2003 Posts: 17

Two years ago I showed middleschool classes The Matrix. I chose it mostly because it was the best quality VCD I could get my hands on, but it turned out to be a great choice. I know it has lots of violence but it looks computer generated and only the bad guys die. Lawrence Fishburn as Morpheus speaks some of the most clearly enunciated English I've heard in a movie. I wrote out scripts to certain scenes and had the students come up in twos and threes and perform them. I brought sunglasses and fake cell phones and long black jackets to make it more fun for them. These were classes of 70 students each and the Matrix lessons (three weeks to watch the movie, two weeks to do the scenes) were some of the most popular I ever taught. I'm not sure if this would work now because the Matrix II is out and everyone would probably want to watch that but there is no way I would consider showing that movie (no clear plot, stupid Hollywood sex sceene etc). I also tried Ferris Bueller's day off (with mixed results) and Men In Black (the first one) which was a hit with most students but didn't provide much discussion material.

I think compiling a list of movies is a great idea, any volunteers?