Showtime!
 

Any good movies coming out on DVD to show to the students?

I showed 'Supersize Me' last week and they were lovin' it. It's a really great mix of entertainment and documentary, very suitable for ESL class. Didn't stop them going to McD's though.

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I showed that a few years ago to adults and middle school kids. They all got a laugh when his girlfriend/wife was saying that he wasn't good in the bed ;)

It depends on your students. How old are they? If they are elementary then you could show them "A Shark's Tale" and even for the middle school ones they would love "Shrek." Adults might be more inclined to watch an eposide of "Friends" or some sitcom but it's hard to pick one depending on their level.

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One of my friends shows Friends episodes on a semi-regualr basis. He seems to have worked them into the course, even adding Friends questions into the exam and quizzes.

His junior college has him teach 2 one hour blocks, and so I think he teaches 90 min. and then watches Friends for the last 30 min. Or something like that.

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Hi there

For kids - even if their English is basic Rowan Atkinson s Hollywood disaster movie is brilliant. It is called Bean in Hollywood or something along those lines. I gave it to my French nieces who can only say a few words and it was a huge hit - they watched it over and over again - which is what you want.

There are not many long dialogues in the movie and the humour is mostly based on Bean s acting and daft tricks.

I guess all the Bean movies and half hour TV shows would work too just as well.

Cartoons also work well for youngsters.

Here are some ideas to make the most of your film or clip:
https://teachingenglishgames.com/Eng...fe-situations/

Kind regards

Shelley Ann Vernon

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Do you all do anything in particular with videos in class or just play them? Are they rewards for something?

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Eric and I actually talked about using videos in class a couple weeks ago over at eslteachertalk.com If you've got the time, click and listen.

http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/09/video-in-class/

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I've used Sponge Bob Square Pants.

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For children I have used mostly Pixar or Disney films (A Shark's Tale, Shrek, Monster's House etc). I have a small collection of them and show them usually at the end of the term or during summer and winter camps.

I don't show them movies often because they have small movies on the cd which we do in English class every week which is part of their curriclum. I had an advanced class and we watched 'Matilda' and I got some notes and ideas from a movie website that caters for showing movies to children and provides lesson plans. It's a paying website but some time ago it provided free samples and 'Matilda' was there so I printed it off and used it in class. It was a little difficult for the kids but some of them got it.

For adults I have only shown "SuperSize Me" a couple of years ago. Mostly I teach company classes and they only want to study and reacted a little negatively to me showing them movies. Since then I have only show kids movies.

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With my advanced classes I show 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'

It fits in well with a lesson on wedding vocabulary, e.g. bride, groom, reception, toast, bouquet, etc.

First I present the vocabulary and set some practice exercises.

Next we have some discussion on weddings - 'what was the last wedding you went to?' 'Have you ever been a bestman?' 'Have you ever been a bridesmaid?' etc.

Then we watch the first 20 minutes of the video. The listening exercise is pretty easy and the main aim is a change of classroom activity and focus. While watching the students tick off from the list of vocabulary already presented the items they see in the film.

For homework they can rent the video and watch it all if they want. So far none of them ever have!!

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I occasionally show an episode of Fawlty Towers, the 70s English TV series about the terrible hotel and its crazy manager.

For the lead in I elicit what they expect from a hotel with regard to facilities, services and what staff you find there. Then we have a brief discussion about good and bad hotel experiences, then we watch the show. They also have a worksheet to do while watching and we stop the tape every so often to check comprehension. Clearly the hotel is nothing like the one from the lead in. It's rare that a class doesn't enjoy it.

Also the old Mr Bean shows are good. You can use them to present \ practice almost any tense. Stop the cassette and ask such questions as "What is he doing \ wearing \ eating \ writing \ etc etc?" or "What did he do first \ next \ after that etc etc?" You can get them to watch again and take notes to write up a summary for homework.

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Yeah, the old Mr. Bean shows are fail-safe.

One of the many ways in which I use them is for speaking practice of present continuous.

Put students in pairs. Student A sits with their back to the TV screen. Student B sits in front of student A so that they can see the screen. Play the video. As Mr Bean runs around making trouble for myself student B describes what he's doing to student A, e.g. "He's running along the side of the swimming pool. He's looking at the diving board. He's climbing the ladder to the top of the diving board. He's panicing.' Continue this for 5 minutes and then change the student's roles.

For feedback get the students to tell you what Mr Bean did - good practice of past simple.