2. Tasks using Film

[Originally published in  ELT Chat  of  www.Free_esl.com]

According to  Voller  and Widdows  “Films are texts. They tell stories. They have characters. They contain messages. They can be used in the classroom just like any other text, but their visual dimension makes them richer than most other text types. They are full of unspoken contextual clues…”

Peter Voller and Steven Widdows  Feature films as text: a framework for classroom use in ELT Journal Volume 47/4 October 1993

Given below are some tasks  which can be given in the English classroom using films.

*Re-scripting

*Commenting  on setting

*Imitating film characters

*Commenting  on histrionic skills

*Clarifying values the film highlights

*A listening exercise  by switching off video

*Identifying logical gaps in the film’s argument

*Critically analyzing the role of music in the film

*Identifying arguments  if any  the film tries to present

*Analyzing film dialogue in terms of pronunciation, accent etc

*Watching movie with different glasses- Freudian, Marxian etc

*Identifying evidences in the film to  support the film’s argument

Comparing Film to their sources

*Comparing  dialogue in the  film with the literary text

*Comparing film ending with ending in the literary text

*Comparing  theme as it emerges in film and literary text

*Comparing values highlighted in film and the literary text

*Identifying omissions in relation to plot, character etc

*Finding reasons  for omissions

*Identifying additions  in relation to  scenes , character etc

*Finding reasons for additions

*Identifying rearrangements in relation to  change in sequence of events

*Finding reasons for rearrangements