Using Film in

Language Teaching

Kieran Donaghy

Overview of the session

1. Approaches to film

2. Whole films

3. Film clips

4. Short films

5. Online lesson plans

6. Online student resources

Using whole films

To Kill A Mockingbird (Drama) (1962)

© 1999 by Raymond Weschler

Major Characters Atticus Finch..............................................Gregory Peck A gentle and highly moral lawyer in a small Southern town who agrees to defend a black man accused of rape. "Scout" (Jean Louise) Finch....................Mary Badham The adorable six year old daughter of Atticus who tells the story of the events that take place in the film. Jem Finch.........................................................Phillip Alford Scout's protective 10 year old brother. Dill Harris...........................................................John Megna The friend of Scout and Jem who lives in their town during the summers. Tom Robinson..................................................Brock Peters The kind and soft-spoken black man who is falsely accused of rape, and now must face the charges with an all white jury.

ESL Notes

Plot Summary This movie is the classic story of racism in a small fictional town in the American South, based on the book of the same title by Harper Lee. The story takes place in 1932, during the great economic depression, in Macomb, Alabama. It is told through the eyes of Scout Finch, an adorable six year old girl who loves her father very much, and who observes the great difficulties that he faces after he decides to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a poor white teenage girl. In telling her story, she reveals much about race, social class and the law in 1930s America.

ESL Notes

Some Words and Expressions that You may not Know

Scout and Jem meet Dill, and all three

learn of the mysteries of the Radley House.

Macomb was a tired old town in 1932. The name of the small (fictional) Alabama town and county where Atticus Finch and his family lived. Men's stiff shirt collars wilted by 9AM and ladies bathed by noon. "To wilt" is to become limp or to bend, often because of heat. And by nightfall they were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum. "Frosting" is the sweet covering that is used on cakes. "Talcum" is a type of powder people use to absorb sweat when its hot. There was no money and nothing to buy...though Macomb County

ESL Notes

English Through Cinema

Courses

Flipped classroom?

Film

circles

The director

The

wordsmith

The

culture vulture

The

cinematographer

The

music lover

Using film clips

The 4 S’s

Setting

Story

Sound

Symbolism

The 3 C’s

Camera

Colour

Character

American Beauty

Character 1 Character 2

Name of character

Age

Height

Build

Arms and legs

Posture

Face

Skin

Eyes

Nose

Mouth

Hair

Expression

Generic activities

1.Show with no sound

2.Write dialogue

3.Play with sound only

4.Predict what’s going to happen

5.Roleplay

6.Write an alternative ending

Using short films

Advantages of short films

1.View several times

2.Different activity each

time

3.Greater dramatic impact

4.A whole narrative

5.Prompts for oral and

written communication

When I grow up …

When I grow up … video here

Adjective + noun collocation forks

hardworking underpaid teacher

overworked

footballer

nurse

politician

model

chef

Noun + noun collocation forks Kindergarten/ nursery

Primary school

teacher

Secondary school

driver

maid

worker

cleaner

designer

The Mirror

http://film-english.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/the-mirror-close-up.jpg

The Mirror

Show your students this image and ask the following questions:

• How old is the boy?

• Where's he from?

• What does he look like?

• What do you think he’s like?

The Mirror Video here

Tell your students they are going to watch the film again. This time they should focus on the following things:

• age:

• face:

• body:

• mood:

• actions:

• objects in bathroom:

Paperman

Show students the picture below

and ask them to discuss the

following questions in pairs:

• Where are the people?

• Who are the people in the

picture?

• Do they know each other?

• How do they feel?

Paperman

Tell your students that the

picture is taken from a short

film called Paperman. Put them

into small groups and ask them

to predict what will happen in

the film. Give them 10 minutes

to write their stories and then

get one student from each group

to read out their story.

Paperman Video Here

Online lesson plans

Online resources

for students

kieran.donaghy@uab.cat