Job Discussion Forums

[worth]

I'm going to be teaching a five week "movie listening" class, and I was thinking of using Seinfeld[u] . THe class meets five hours a week, and I was thinking about trying to do 2 episodes/week. The student's level is fairly high (our level 5/6 out of 6). The focus will be on listening comprehension and vocabulary building. Has anyone done this, and if so, do you have any advice?
Thanks and Peace,
Worth

[Atlas]

Worth,

Sounds like a fun class! And maybe a bigger challenge for the teacher than it appears!

Shows like Seinfeld & Friends are very clever at times with the use of the language, inventing idioms and using quite a lot of subtextual techniques, (sexual innuendo?).

So you might end up trying to explain why something is funny and finding yourself tangled up! The students' target is listening comprehension, so I suggest making that the focus--they should concentrate on the words used and not try to worry about understanding all the levels of communication being used, or all the messages--because these characters are native speakers talking to each other, and if they were speaking to someone who used English as a second language, would not be so loose with the inferences, but may be more literal....

Isn't it frustrating to study a language for so long and still not understand what people are talking about? I give an example to my students: "He saw red", meaning he was angry. My students know the words but not the meaning of the sentence. I tell them just try to recognize the words, and not to lose heart if they don't understand the meanings! Here there are no rules, no shortcuts. Each expression is its own gem with its own background, and the only way to learn them is one at a time!

I can hear it now: Teacher, who are the Soap Nazis?

[Sherri]

My advice: do not to use Seinfeld if this is the first time that you have taught a class using authentic listening material. I agree with what Atlas said about the complexities of Seinfeld and given that there is so much out there to choose from, you would make your life and your students' lives easier if you chose something that is less culturally bound. Your comment that you would like to cover 2 episodes over 5 classroom hours indicates to me that you haven't done this type of thing before--sorry!

The class is titled "movie listening". Why not choose a movie? That is probably what the students expect. Why not ask them which movies they are interested in on the first day? You don't have to use the whole movie either, just choose some likely excerpts. Remember that your students will probably want a transcript--who will make that? You will probably need a transcript to work from as you prepare lessons and worksheets. Look for movies which already have transcripts available (online or published) this will help you more than you can imagine.

Hope this helps,
Sherri

[worth]

Thank you for the comments.
Sherry, I'm curious why you would think I have never taught using authentic materials. What is it about the 2 episodes/week that makes you think this?
In fact, I have taught this type of class numerous times. The reason I am thinking about using a sit-com is to give the students a change. THey have all taken movie listening at different levels, and I thought it might be fun to try something new. Certainly it is not going to me who will write the scripts (i'm far too lazy for this). I've already checked, and there are dozens of sites that have complete scripts available for free. There are a lot of obsessive people out there.

You wrote, "you would make your life and your students' lives easier if you chose something that is less culturally bound." Actually, it is the "culturally bound" stuff that I look forward to teaching the most. As I said, the students' level is pretty high. Two of the four students are currently auditing psychology 101 at the university where I teach. Two others will be auditing East Asian Religions in the summer. I'm not using this for beginners.

Thanks again for your comments. I hope this doesn't come off as being angry, just curious.

Peace, Worth

[Sherri]

I'm glad you are not angry! I thought you were new to this because I think that 2 epsodes over 5 hours is too much material to cover, especially something that is going to generate so much discussion. It will also require a great deal of pre-teaching and background. My rule of thumb is 10 minutes per 2-hour lesson but this depends on the density of the transcript and complexity of the dialogue.

Another reason is that you wanted to do the same series twice in a row. I would just be wary of too much Seinfeld (or any other sitcom). If the students don't like it then the next episode will be hell to go through (unless you can drop it quickly). I know British people who don't "get" Seinfeld and the series did not go down well here in Japan --a lot must have got lost in the translation. If you are in the States then your students may have more motivation towards understanding it and getting the humor.

Of course if you have done sitcoms before then go for it. But I still think that you should ask your students what they would be interested in doing. I worked with a teacher, a very talented charismatic guy who had his own class based on the old British series, the Prisoner--it was called the Prisoner, so the students knew what they were getting themselves in for. We, the other teachers, were always curious how the classes went as it must be very difficult to teach (our students are also advanced, pre-interpreting and translation). One time as the students passed us as they left the classroom one of my colleagues asked how the lessons were going. She answered, "well, we don't understand it, but the teacher is happy, so we are happy."

Good luck with Seinfeld if you decide to do it and I hope you and your students have fun with it.

[worth]

Thanks again,
As it turns out, this entire question has been rendered moot. It turns out that the schedule has been changed, and I am now teaching a much lower level. Groundhog Day here I come!

That said, it was the idea of using only one sitcom for the entire session that was appealing. I realize the comedy is very culturally specific, but I felt there was enough physical humor (Kramer) to keep the students engaged. Oh well, maybe next time.
Peace

[lagerlout2006]

By the way it;s the SOUP nazi-not the soap nazi.

It would be interesting to see what the students made of it. I recall watching Letterman with some advanced students of English and they made no sense of it at all...Too wacky. I think they might like the show about nothing though...

[Atlas]

No Soap for you!