Film is an excellent way of spicing up everyday lessons and integrating authentic materials into your lesson plans.However, because of time constraints and less advanced language levels, it can often be hard to find a way to use film as something other than a teacher relaxation facilitator (although there’s nothing wrong with that every once in a while). I have found that using trailers as prompts for writing activities or vocabulary brainstorm sessions has been very effective in injecting a sense of authenticity into the learning process and capturing students’ imaginations and attention spans, while keeping the lessons on track and relevant.
Here are a few sample lessons to give you an idea of how you can work trailers into your classroom activities, plus some tips on developing your own lesson plans.
2012: Making Predictions, Practicing Future Tenses and Environmental Vocabulary
Level: Pre- to Middle-Intermediate
Language Skills: Speaking, Vocabulary, and Writing
Grammar Practice: Future Tenses
Vocabulary Practice: Environment and Nature
Teacher Preparation: Find the trailer on YouTube (Easy, right?)
The trailer for 2012 offers a great opportunity for practicing natural disaster vocabulary and making predictions about the future.It can also spark conversation about climate change and environmental awareness, new age prophecies, and how cheesy Hollywood films are.
Have students watch the trailer and write down every natural object or event they see (e.g. wave, earthquake, falling rocks, etc…).Then, write the words on the board and cover any vocabulary they may not know (e.g. fault line, asteroids).Take this opportunity to discuss, clarify, or laugh at anything that may have appeared in the trailer.
You can then take the lesson in any direction you’d like. Students could practice writing sentences in future tenses (“In 2012, a tsunami will destroy New York City”), or making predictions (“In 2012, a tsunami might destroy New York City”). You could also use the trailer to open a class discussion on the potential environmental effects of climate change or the repercussions of recent natural disasters.
Paranormal Activity: Extreme Adjectives, Film Vocabulary, Emotions, and Talking about the Supernatural
Level: Intermediate
Language Skills: Speaking and Vocabulary
Vocabulary Practice: Ghosts and the Supernatural; Extreme Adjectives; Emotional Reactions
Teacher Preparation: Find the trailer on YouTube (See how easy this is getting?)
Trailers for horror films are a great chance to practice Halloween vocabulary and describing emotions.They also open the door for ghost story speaking or writing activities.I used the trailer for Paranormal Activity for all of the above, as well as practicing talking about films and using extreme adjectives.
Have the students watch the trailer and make a note of everything creepy they see, such as mysterious footsteps, or bed sheets moving on their own.After a short clarification of missing vocabulary, have the students watch the trailer again and make a note of the words critics used to describe the film in the trailer (e.g. “spine-chilling,” “horrifying,” or “thrilling”).As a class, compile a list of these words and discuss any other films the students consider spine-chilling or horrifying.I also took this opportunity to discuss the difference between “horrifying” and “scary,” as well as to brainstorm other extreme adjectives. Another good approach would be to concentrate on the reactions of the audience and talk about how we express emotions and react to fear.
Developing Your Own Exercises
Film trailers date really quickly, especially among younger learners.The above exercises are examples of the different ways in which trailers can be used, but it is pretty much certain that in 2013, the film 2012 won’t provide many opportunities for making future predictions.That’s why it’s best for you to develop your own activities.
Luckily, it is pretty easy to work trailers into your lesson plans.Look at your current vocabulary themes and reading materials and think about films that might pertain to those topics.For example, vocabulary about emotions works well with drama or romance, and workplace vocabulary shows up in films like Wall Street. Bro-mances are usually popular and well known among students, plus they make for great discussions about the differences between men and women. (Is drinking beer and hanging out really gender specific?)
Once you have figured out your vocabulary theme, it is not difficult to work in an appropriate grammar point.Practicing present continuous to describe actions “in the moment” or present simple to describe successive actions are great for lower and intermediate levels, while more advanced levels might speculate on what will happen during the actual film by using conditionals.
The most important thing to remember when using film trailers is that they should never detract from the purpose of the lesson.They provide students with the opportunity to practice the material they have learned in class in a way that seems both authentic and relevant to their lives, but should never take the leading role in the classroom.
Sarah Castille - When Sarah Castille was 6 years old, she decided that when she grew up, she was going to get a perm, move to Paris, and become an artist, ...
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