Trying to keep an English class interesting and interactive throughout an entire term can become tiring for an ESL teacher and his or her English students. Keeping students happy and speaking is a vital part of an English curriculum and some English as a second language schools will insist that the teacher make the English class fun or risk being fired. English movies and shows can be an interesting and useful tool for the ESL classroom. But special care must be taken in choosing the right level of movie.
Basic English ESL Class
For a basic English as a second language class most English movies will be beyond their level. Short videos with little speaking such as Mr. Bean, Sean the Sheep, or Pingu are the best choices for these classes. They rely on physical humour and actions to tell a story which will make them easy for basic students to follow. After each short video, the teacher should ask a list of ESL questions related to the video. Depending on the video these questions could deal with emotions, objects, manners, food, etc.
The short videos will ensure young children pay attention, and keep adult students from becoming lost. However teachers should be prepared to play the video several times to ensure basic level students understand everything.
Intermediate English ESL Students
Intermediate English students can be shown a variety of videos or movies. However careful attention should be paid to the questions and vocabulary. If the questions are too easy students will become bored and may even be insulted. If the questions are too hard the students will be confused and frustrated.
The easiest videos for intermediate English classes are short videos similar to the ones for basic English classes. With these videos, questions will be harder, focusing on what occurred in the video, different actions taken by the characters and why they did certain things. Students should be encouraged to make complete sentences and use two or three sentences to answer questions.
TV series and short movies can also be shown, but special care should be taken when doing this, and subtitles must be provided. A vocabulary list should be given to the students and discussed in class before the video is played.
While the video is playing, it should be stopped every few minutes or at every scene change. Questions should be asked at this point which focus on vocabulary use and to ensure everyone understands what has occurred so far. After the video is over the teacher can ask questions about the plot, characters and actions. At this point certain parts of the video should be shown again to help the students understand the questions and their classmates answers.
Advanced English Class
Students capable of advanced English can be shown short non-speaking videos during English class for a break from their usual English assignments, but the questions and assignments should be made much harder. This can mean asking them to rewrite the plot, putting words to the actions, asking how the characters should have reacted, etc. However TV shows and movies are more suitable for students at this level.
With advanced English students, rather than providing a vocabulary list at the beginning, ask them to make one as the movie progresses. During change of scenes or every few minutes the teacher should stop the video and ask what words the students have written down. The teacher should also pick some new words, slang and expressions found in the movie and ensure the students understand them.
Depending on how advanced the students, are subtitles in either English or their native language should be used.
For very advanced students, English subtitles will help them to follow the plot more easily and help their reading and listening skills at the same time. Later playing key parts of the movie over again with subtitles in their native language will help the students answer tougher questions.
ESL teachers may want to show lower level advanced English speakers the movie with native language subtitles, especially if the class has varying levels of skill. But this depends on what the teacher believes the students can handle.
Questions and assignments can range from role playing parts of the movie, creating new scenes, rewriting the dialogue, short presentations regarding key parts of the film, and providing a movie review. While the movie is playing the students should be asked what they think of the movie, what has happened so far, and what they believe will happen next at regular intervals.
Videos can be a fun way for English as a second language teachers to provide a break to their English students, and if its done properly it will also be an important ESL lesson. Asking students to pick English movies to watch will make them feel like they have some say in their education and can provide an incentive to pay attention in ESL class.
For English teachers dealing with IELTS consider different ways of answering hard questions for students.
New ESL teachers should think carefully about what they want to do as well as what questions to ask when they look for an English teaching job.
And remember that introductions are important on the first day of English class to help students overcome shyness.
Daniel Clarke - Dan Clarke is a freelance writer and English teacher living happily with his wife and daughter in Nanjing, China. He moved to China 4 ...
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