Watch the commercial film Kung Fu Panda in English, subtitled in English.
Every session is planned to cover about 15 minutes of the film. The fragment for the session is watched twice.
During class time
During the class session, they complete a worksheet that is corrected at the end of the class. I think of simple questions and small quizzes and prepare worksheets. When we finish watching the fragment for that session we correct the exercises and they get [[#|gold]] stars. I am careful to try to give all pupils the chance to speak. Watching a film takes us about 8 sessions.
As Homework
They also have to write and translate five true sentences about the film on our wiki. I tell them I do not care if they copy them from the film and then translate them, but they will get a better mark if they use their own words. I ask them for a minimum of 5 sentences per session. In this way, it is either a reading comprehension exercise or a writing exercise. It is for them to choose what suits them best. I think in this way I focus their attention.
Finally, they have to add anything that calls their attention into their Learning Diaries.
Objectives:
On completion of this task students will have developed their capacity to:
Listening:
Listen to real English
Read and listen to English while watching image
Focus on how words that they understand in written form are actually pronounced
Writing:
Make small sentences in English (individual)
Do a small research on a theme related to the film
Learning to Learn
Develop their capacity to reflect on their own learning
Developed their capacity to work on their own on the class wiki
Maria Asunción
I find it very interesting, but don't they lose the thread of the story?
Núria They complain about that when I stop the movie, but only then. I will ask them about this. I have not taken the complaint seriously so far. Thank you for bringing that up.
-----------------------
Marisa I think it is an interesting way to watch and work with a film, sometimes I'm not sure what kind of activities do after a long film.
Núria
I just ask them fill in the gaps exercises, give true false sentences, and/or work on nice grammatical structures that appear in the film. In the end they always sit a comprehension exam and an oral exam. They also have to write down sentences related to the film. When I revise the worksheets for next year, I will also add some transcripts with errors. I owe this idea to Maria Asuncion.
What I like most about this activity is correcting it after we have watched the film. Students interact with me a lot, and get gold stars. One of the things I am very serious about is I do not use "negativos", only gold stars.
Lluís
Hi Núria,
Watching movies in English is interesting, engaging and motivating, more memorable, transferrable, more communicative, it teaches student to think, there’s an inexplicit focus on grammar.
Watching movies in English in class also carries further implications, positive ones, e.g., it fosters learning to learn, because students can take up the activity of watching movies in English at home with any movie of their choice. Not only movies, but also TV programmes or any favourite TV series. On the other hand we teachers have to make an effort to change our thinking and stop being so hung up on error-correction. Your idea of only handing out ‘gold stars’ is excellent. Fostering a positive attitude and building up self-esteem helps create a safe environment where students can find using English easier.
Sònia
Hi Núria. Thank you for sharing this awesome activity with us!! I'll definitely try it some time next course.
I've always tried to use films in class but I was concerned about them being too time-consuming and I had the feeling I didn't take much profit of them. This proposal of yours is great to make students realize that watching a film in the English class is not just a chance to "miss" a class.
Hi Sonia,
I think we have all had that concern. It was a friend of mine who introduced me to using films in the class. She changed school and in her new school everybody used films. Unfortunatelly she never told me how. She was diagnosed a cancer and died shortly after. She just told me that Kung Fu Panda worked very well with students. That was the first film I tried, and every time I watch it I am reminded of her. After that I tried Mamma Mia, that students did not like, and then Ice Age 2, that has worked very well.
Activity:
Watching films in English subtitled in EnglishLevel:
Lower secondary up to 4th ESOShort description:
Watch the commercial film Kung Fu Panda in English, subtitled in English.
Every session is planned to cover about 15 minutes of the film. The fragment for the session is watched twice.
During class time
During the class session, they complete a worksheet that is corrected at the end of the class. I think of simple questions and small quizzes and prepare worksheets. When we finish watching the fragment for that session we correct the exercises and they get [[#|gold]] stars. I am careful to try to give all pupils the chance to speak. Watching a film takes us about 8 sessions.
As Homework
They also have to write and translate five true sentences about the film on our wiki. I tell them I do not care if they copy them from the film and then translate them, but they will get a better mark if they use their own words. I ask them for a minimum of 5 sentences per session. In this way, it is either a reading comprehension exercise or a writing exercise. It is for them to choose what suits them best. I think in this way I focus their attention.
Finally, they have to add anything that calls their attention into their Learning Diaries.
Objectives:
On completion of this task students will have developed their capacity to:
Listening:
- Listen to real English
- Read and listen to English while watching image
- Focus on how words that they understand in written form are actually pronounced
Writing:Learning to Learn
Assessment:
Listening skills
Writing skills
Integrated skills
Learning to learn skills
Link:
https://fluwiki.wikispaces.com/Kung+Fu+Panda
Add your comments:
Maria AsunciónI find it very interesting, but don't they lose the thread of the story?
Núria
They complain about that when I stop the movie, but only then. I will ask them about this. I have not taken the complaint seriously so far. Thank you for bringing that up.
-----------------------
Marisa
I think it is an interesting way to watch and work with a film, sometimes I'm not sure what kind of activities do after a long film.
Núria
I just ask them fill in the gaps exercises, give true false sentences, and/or work on nice grammatical structures that appear in the film. In the end they always sit a comprehension exam and an oral exam. They also have to write down sentences related to the film. When I revise the worksheets for next year, I will also add some transcripts with errors. I owe this idea to Maria Asuncion.
What I like most about this activity is correcting it after we have watched the film. Students interact with me a lot, and get gold stars. One of the things I am very serious about is I do not use "negativos", only gold stars.
Lluís
Hi Núria,
Watching movies in English is interesting, engaging and motivating, more memorable, transferrable, more communicative, it teaches student to think, there’s an inexplicit focus on grammar.
Watching movies in English in class also carries further implications, positive ones, e.g., it fosters learning to learn, because students can take up the activity of watching movies in English at home with any movie of their choice. Not only movies, but also TV programmes or any favourite TV series.
On the other hand we teachers have to make an effort to change our thinking and stop being so hung up on error-correction. Your idea of only handing out ‘gold stars’ is excellent. Fostering a positive attitude and building up self-esteem helps create a safe environment where students can find using English easier.
Sònia
Hi Núria. Thank you for sharing this awesome activity with us!! I'll definitely try it some time next course.
I've always tried to use films in class but I was concerned about them being too time-consuming and I had the feeling I didn't take much profit of them. This proposal of yours is great to make students realize that watching a film in the English class is not just a chance to "miss" a class.
Hi Sonia,
I think we have all had that concern. It was a friend of mine who introduced me to using films in the class. She changed school and in her new school everybody used films. Unfortunatelly she never told me how. She was diagnosed a cancer and died shortly after. She just told me that Kung Fu Panda worked very well with students. That was the first film I tried, and every time I watch it I am reminded of her. After that I tried Mamma Mia, that students did not like, and then Ice Age 2, that has worked very well.