TeachingEnglish
will movies help
Submitted by nishanthini on 4 September, 2009 - 12:48
hello to all
Will watching movies help us improve vocabulary? If so what all the steps should be taken to sharpen our word power? Films will guide us if we follow it in a right track, I believe. I would appreciate all valuable suggestions.
nisha
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Hi,
In my experience I have had many more positive experiences concerning watching movies in the English Language classroom than negative ones! The only negative experiences that I have are connected to the quality of the DVD itself, and this is why after I have the DVD in my hands, I try it out in the classroom (after the students have left) and see for myself whether it's a quality one.
I to think that films, or documentaries are productive only if they are used in a productive manner! Teachers mustn't insert a DVD and make students watch a film only to kill time! In terms of vocabulary increase, I personally make students watch short documentaries only after we have spent considerable time on a specific unit in the textbook and for their sake make them use both their eyes and ears to see and listen to something that has been broadcast, something they might be familiar with, yet never in this new context. For example, at the end of the unit in which weather vocabulary is discussed, I first give out a handout with the weather forecast which I have photocopied from a British newspaper. Then they watch an episode of "Stormchasers" (broadcast on the Discovery Channel). But bear in mind that these students are first-year English majors, so I would not recommend this series for lower levels. According to me, this is a good combination of different kinds of authentic materials. Just take a look at at least one episode of this series and you'll see what I mean by putting it to use for students' vocabulary expansion.
Cheers,
Aneta
There is only one proven way to increase your vocabulary. Let us understand that vocabulary building by itself does not mean only knowing the meaning of the word. In the English Language, one word has several meanings and applications, which are called Homonyms. The learner should make it a practice to read the newspaper or a magazine daily. He can choose the subject which he likes. During the process of going through the article, the learner will inevitably find lot of words whose meaning he does not know. The learner should initially try to guess the meaning of that particular word taking the whole sentence into consideration. In most cases it is easy to guess the meaning of the word. He can then refer the dictionary and understand the precise meaning of the word. After this, the learner needs to make a sentence using that particular word and have it checked by someone who is good at the language.
Developing one's vocabulary is a long process and requires lot of commitment. There is no easy way out. Any deviation from the aforesaid method will result in superficial learning. Lot of trainers also recommend understanding the roots, prefix and suffix. At best, the learner can just relate the word to a broader meaning. To understand this, let us take the prefix - mono, which means single. If we take words formed from the prefix mono, we have words like monogamy, monotheist, monologue, etc
At best we know it relates to something which is single. To understand the precise meaning, it is imperative for the learner to understand the usage of the word in a sentence.
Hello Aneta,
Thanks for your suggestion. I'll try with what you said.
The best thing is to watch movies and stuff with subtitles on. You get the words and the expressions simultaneously and it can help you immensely, even compared to books.
BEST is to watch a lot of English movies, it is fun learning. Listen to the way they pronounce words and the context they use them in. You can improve your vocabulary too.
http://www.neutralaccent.com
I think that movies help in a way. In studying vocabulary, it is best not just to know the proper arrangement, the meaning, the tenses, but also to hear it's usage. Especially since there are individuals who learn more by listening and not just by reading.
Unfortunately, there are movies that do not give importance to proper vocabulary. Using movies as a learning material would be effective only if these movies are screened first.
To effectivly communicate is a key to success. Language is primarily spoken. It is very important to know nuanceses of language along with daily register of common day vocabulary. In cinema we can watch actors and actresses intently. We can catch every nuance of expreesion. If we view movies with subtitles and text messages appearing beneath along with the picture we can follow text and how words are used. We can finetune our expression along with the line on usage. We can also make use of certain portion of contemporary films to make adult learners awareof spoken variety and usage. Not only we can change our attitude towards language teaching, but also trace the story line provided in the film by means of doing analysis of the plot. Certain classics can be taught in classes where meanings and forms can be analysed with collateral benefits. At the same time listening and speaking skills can be improved.