Abstract
The use of cinema in the English lessons has multiple pedagogic and linguistic benefits that help learners to improve their language level and, besides, to become better citizens (Berk, 2009; Bueno, 2009; Charlebois, 2008; Pisarenko, 2017; Stevenson, 2013; Stewart, 2006; Tomalin, 1986). These benefits are related to (i) linguistic advantages such as the practice of the language skills and the learning of grammar and vocabulary; (ii) cultural advantages as movies help students to understand both the foreign culture and their own community; and (iii) motivational advantages because the cinema-based approach encourages students to learn English thanks to the portrayal of real language, the development of creative and critical thinking skills, and the wide range of relevant issues that can be discussed through films, which is the benefit I focus on in this study. Multiple experts in the field have confirmed that, since films often depict relevant social matters such as racism and sexism, when exploited in the English classroom, high school students are exposed to alternative perspectives on such concerns and, therefore, they start reflecting more critically on the world they inhabit (Allan, 1985; Alwehaibi, 2015; Kaiser, 2006). By way of illustration, I will explain how English teachers can make use of cinema in order to deal with two crucial social issues: bullying, a problem which, unfortunately, has become increasingly frequent in the secondary school classroom; and environmental degradation, something which has become a worldwide crisis and which already has a noticeable impact on everyone’s daily life.
Presenters
Estefanía SánchezPart-time professor, Department of Modern Languages and their Didactics, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
BULLYING, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, CINEMA, ENGLISH TEACHING, COMPULSORY SECONDARY EDUCATION
