Using Film and Media in the Language Classroom

Reflections on Research-led Teaching

Carmen Herrero, Isabelle Vanderschelden, Carmen Herrero, Isabelle Vanderschelden

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781788924504
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Enseignement des arts du langage

This book demonstrates the positive impact of using film and audiovisual material in the language classroom. The chapters are evidence-based and address different levels and contexts of learning around the world. They demonstrate the benefits of using moving images and films to develop intercultural awareness and promote multilingualism, and suggest Audiovisual Translation (AVT) activities and projects to enhance language learning. The book will be a valuable continuing professional development resource for language teachers and those involved in curriculum development, as well as bringing the latest research, theory and pedagogical techniques to teacher training courses.

Part 1

Film Literacy and
Languages

1 Using Film to Teach Languages in a World of Screens

Kieran Donaghy

The moving image is rapidly becoming the primary mode of communication in the world. The ascendance of the moving image has important consequences for society and education. In this chapter, I examine the changing nature of literacy in the 21st century and the importance of film in society and education. I look at the benefits of using film in language teaching and examine how we can successfully integrate film into the language classroom. In doing so, I offer guidance on using feature-length films, film clips and, in particular, short films, in critical and creative ways in language education. In addition, I consider the increasingly important role of student-generated media.1

Introduction

The increased ease of capturing moving images with digital cameras and mobile devices, the development of inexpensive, accessible and user-friendly video-editing tools, the appearance of video-distribution sites (such as YouTube, Daily Motion and Vimeo) and the ubiquity of screens have all led to the increasing presence and even predominance of the moving image in society. As Apkon (2013) notes:

What we are now seeing is the gradual ascendance of the moving image as the primary mode of communication around the world: one that transcends languages, cultures and borders. And what makes this new era different from the dawn of television is that the means of production – once in the hands of big-time broadcasting companies with their large budgets – is now available to anyone with a camera, a computer and the will. (Apkon, 2013: 24)

As Apkon points out, anyone who owns a camera and a computer – or, indeed, even a mobile phone or tablet – is, potentially at least, a filmmaker. That is, they are no longer just a consumer of media, but they also have the capability to create their own films. Given that the majority of young people now have access to technology that allows them to become media producers in their own right, it would seem to make sense for schools to focus on visual media and capitalise on young people’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for moving-image media in the form of films, television series, videos and computer games. However, on the whole, our educational systems have been slow to respond to the ascendance of visual media in our society. In the words of Goodwyn (2004: 1): ‘given the prominence of the moving image in twentieth century culture, and the current evidence that it seems to be even more dominant in the twenty-first, it may seem more peculiar that its study is not at the heart of a postmodern education’.

To get a better understanding of the slow reaction of schools to the dominance of the moving image in society, we have to explore the changing nature of literacy in the 21st century, in addition to the concept of multiliteracies and its impact on our educational systems. The term ‘multiliteracies’ was coined by the New London Group (1996), a group of scholars who argue that literacy pedagogy should be linked to the rapidly changing social, cultural and technological environment. The group calls for a much wider and more inclusive view of literacy than is portrayed by traditional language-based approaches. According to Kress (2003: 9), a prominent member of the New London Group, ‘[the] former constellation of medium of book and mode of writing is giving way, and in many domains has already given way, to the new constellation of medium of screen and mode of image’. In Literacy in the New Media Age, Kress (2003) offers a new theory of literacy. He argues that our previous dependence on linguistic theories to define literacy is now inadequate and obsolete, and that we should combine language-based theory with semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation) and other visual theories, if we are to give an adequate and contemporary meaning to the term ‘literacy’ in the 21st century.

Literacy now reflects a wider cultural competence that goes far beyond the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic); therefore, film, which plays a vital role in culture and society, should be integrated into our educational systems. One of the leading proponents of integrating film in schools is the British Film Institute, which argues that ‘film literacy’ is integral to literacy as a whole in this new age of the image. The British Film Institute (2013: 3) defines film literacy as ‘the level of understanding of a film, the ability to be conscious and curious in the choice of films; the competence to critically watch a film and to analyse its content, cinematography and technical aspects; and the ability to manipulate its language and technical resources in creative moving image production’. In the seminal report Film: 21st Century Literacy: A Strategy for Film Education across the UK, the case for film literacy is stated eloquently:

We live in a world of moving images. To participate fully in our society and its culture means to be as confident in the use and understanding of moving images as of the printed word. Both are essential aspects of literacy in the twenty-first century. In the same way that we take for granted that society has a responsibility to help children to read and write – to use and enjoy words – we should take it for granted that we help children and young people to use, enjoy and understand moving images; not just to be technically capable but to be culturally literate too. (British Film Institute, 2011: 3)

The importance of visual literacy in education is becoming more widely acknowledged. There is an increasing acceptance that education needs to develop students’ skills in and their ability to interpret images and communicate visually: in many schools, there is a move away from a reliance on print as the primary medium of instruction towards moving-image media and the screen. Furthermore, an increasing number of educational theorists stress that film literacy is fundamental to literacy in the 21st century, if young people are to be able to participate fully in a rapidly changing world in which moving images are increasingly predominant. Nonetheless, despite this increased awareness of the importance of visual literacy, policymakers fail to understand the importance of moving-image media in young people’s lives and, consequently, in our educational systems. There is also a scarcity of structured, systematic opportunities for students to watch, analyse and understand films, and there are even fewer opportunities for students to make their own films.

If students are to become fully participative citizens, they need to be able to read and write in all forms of communication, not just the written word. Lucas (2004) asks the question: ‘If students aren’t taught this new language of sound and images shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write?’. In our schools, we need to introduce structured, systematic opportunities for students to ‘read’ the screen (to watch, analyse, interpret and understand films) and ‘write’ the screen (to make their own films). Educational programmes that make use of visual tools and media, help students to understand moving images and show them how to create their own films will better prepare students for life in a rapidly changing world. This is because filmmaking develops many of the life skills that are increasingly valued in the 21st-century workplace, such as communication, creativity, collaboration, innovation, conflict management, decision-making and critical thinking. As Theodosakis (2009: 7) argues, ‘we need filmmaking in our classrooms, not to graduate filmmakers, but to graduate problem solvers, critical thinkers and passionate people who can work with others to make that which does not yet exist, real’. Part of the reason for the absence of film education in our schools is the feeling among many educators that curricula are already bulging at the seams: there is simply no room for any more subjects or tasks. For that reason, it is vital to understand that film literacy should not be treated as an add-on subject. Every school subject, including foreign languages, needs to take responsibility for helping students to acquire the skills and knowledge they will need in our media-saturated society.

Despite the fact that our educational systems have been slow to embrace film, more and more teachers are using films to motivate and engage students in the classroom, and to contextualise various areas of the curriculum. Using film can also encourage disaffected students to participate more in class and increase their self-confidence. Beeban Kidron is a film director and co-founder of the charity Film Club, which gives approximately 200,000 children a week in more than 7,000 schools throughout the UK the opportunity to watch, discuss and review films from around the world (about 6,000 reviews are uploaded onto the Film Club website each week). Kidron (2012) comments on how film inspires and motivates students in different ways:

We guessed that film, whose stories are a meeting place of drama, music, literature and human experience, would engage and inspire the young people participating in Film Club. What we could not have foreseen was the measurable improvements in behaviour, confidence and academic achievement. Once-reluctant students now race to school, talk to their teachers, fight, not on the playground, but to choose next week’s film – young people who have found self-definition, ambition and an appetite for education and social engagement from the stories they have witnessed.

When students are given opportunities to create their own films and videos, they are usually even more motivated and enthusiastic. Even students who are usually disaffected and disengaged are prepared to put in a great deal of work on film projects, and they often achieve outstanding results. It is obvious that the ability of film to motivate also applies in language education. Students constantly engage with moving images outside school; they are knowledgeable about them and enjoy watching them. As watching films and television series is an integral part of our students’ lives, it makes perfect sense to bring them into the language classroom. The motivational qualities of film in language education are even more enhanced if students are given opportunities to create their own films and videos. In a world where the moving image is rapidly becoming the dominant medium of communication, producing their own media is intrinsically motivating for many students. As Goldstein and Driver (2014: 2) ask: ‘How much more motivational if the learners produce the videos themselves?’.

Although motivation is the most frequently cited reason for using film in the language classroom, it is by no means the only one. Another vital benefit of using films in language education is that they are a source of authentic language, as films are authentic materials and provide students with genuine input in which they can see and hear the foreign language being used in ‘real’ situations. Film also provides students with authentically interactive language. ‘Interaction’ is recognised in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001) as one of the major areas of language competence, along with production, reception and mediation, yet interactive language is still not usually covered thoroughly in published language learning materials. As a consequence, many students are often unable to produce natural-sounding spoken language, and they have a limited range of colloquial and idiomatic expressions and functional language. Film exposes students to the language of everyday conversation and the natural flow of speech. As Sherman (2003: 14) states, students ‘need such exposure because to learn to speak to people they must see and hear people speaking to each other’.

In addition, the ability of film to help students acquire this conversational language, and vocabulary in general, can be enhanced if the films are subtitled. When students regularly watch films subtitled in their first or second language, they receive information from three different channels – film, sound and text. Therefore, they are exposed to large quantities of multimodal input, which may lead to greater vocabulary acquisition (Mishan, 2005).

Another benefit of using film in language education is its visual nature. When students watch a film, they often comprehend more, because language is interpreted in a full visual context, which supports the verbal message. Film may also contribute to the development of learning strategies (such as predicting or guessing from the context, and inferring ideas) and give students an opportunity to activate their background schemata, due to the wealth of visual information and stimuli that film provides (Sherman, 2003).

As films are cultural artefacts, using film is a highly effective way to communicate the values, customs, attitudes and beliefs of the target language culture. Film has a capacity to bring a...