Using film in the classroom

I. Pre -viewing activities

most "pre-reading activities" can be adapted and turned into "pre-viewing activities"!

• title of the film: Have you seen x...? What do you know about y...?
• associations: What do you remember about minorities in the USA?
• you have read the book ... describe the first scene of your personal film version
• what can we see/hear/smell/taste/feel in the first scene?
• where would you place the camera?
• which props do we need?
• which actor would you choose?/what do you expect them to look like?
• using quotes from the film: who says this to whom?
• soundtrack on tape (cassette recorder):
• which scene do you imagine to go with the music?
• bring along three different pieces of music - which one would you choose to go with this particular scene? why?
• conversation on tape (cassette recorder!): describe the setting - what do we need to create an atmosphere typical of ... (the 1920s, WW II, Ireland etc.)
• "hot chair" and "freeze frames": you are Marilyn Monroe in ......... . In this scene, you are .............. Who is with you now? What clothes are you wearing? etc. - students ask questions; before watching the film, character constellations might be set up in class by using freeze frames etc.
• tell students the key terms of a scene - now describe the scene
• students can ask 10-20 etc. yes/no-questions and have to guess what the film is about
• after reading the text: find the key terms, then try and "make" the film

II. 'While-viewing activities '

a) watching - working - (watching) - discussing

• worksheet to analyze the film (characters/camera angles/language etc.)
  • concentrate on a few elements only
  • make sure the students can write onto the sheets
  • tell them to take notes and not to write full sentences
  • watch the scene at least twice; in between, leave some time to complete the worksheet

Some standard questions:

• Who are the characters?
• What do they look like? Features? Clothes? etc.
• Describe the setting of the scene
• What does A tell B (before/after the ... accident/...)
• Who uses the following words/phrases?
• True/false-questions
• Find 5/... differences between the film and the text
• What would you not find in a German film about ...
• What does A think/feel when...

• watching the film without the sound: what's happening here?/what does A say to B? why do you think s/he looked so happy?/which social differences can you identify?/what job/profession might these people have? etc.
• show parts of the film in fast-forward mode: speculate on what's happening here (summary of a scene)
• show two different parts of the film (beginning, end: how has the protagonist changed?)
• show parts of the film in slow motion: analyze character constellation/camera angles/facial expressions/lighting etc.
• show parts of the film in review mode: students talk about the plot
• count the cuts of a particular scene: what effect(s) does this have?
• split class into groups: one can see the film (no sound), others can listen to the sound only (no picture) - students tell each other what they think is happening
• split the screen using cardboard etc. - different groups see half the screen only, tell each other what they have seen
• transcription of dialogue/text; hand out jumbled version, students have to get the order right
• dialogue: students get one part only, have to complete the second part
• dubbing a German film: students are in charge of about 1 minute of film - they take notes, then get some time to "dub" their scene; watch the film a second time, volume turned down, students give an English version, accompanying the pictures (good for "landeskundliche" films)
• students write vocabulary sheet; homework: find 10 words central to this film
• Karaoke and sing-along videos

b) stopping the film

students need time to get used to your stopping the film, they hate it and want to go on watching!

• active pause: how does the film go on? what's the protagonist doing next? whose foot is this coming through the door? etc.
• fast-forward mode and stopping anywhere (by chance): where in the film are we? what happened before? what's going to happen in a minute? etc.
• stopping film and talking about scene/the effects/techniques employed by the director: where is the camera now? how is tension created here? etc.
• speech bubble made of cardboard and held next to the screen:
• what's A/B/C ... going to say?
• stopping at/near the climax of the film: what do you imagine the next scene to look like? when will there be a cut?
• cf. language lab: stop film, ask students to repeat words/phrases
• student can be in charge of stopping the film when problems arise (don't use this in forms 7-9, discipline)
• stopping and finding "headlines" for individual scenes/cuts
• stopping and comparing film/text

 

III. Post-viewing activities

most "post-reading activities" can be adapted and turned into "post-viewing activities"!

• summing up the film
• find soundtracks to accompany a scene
• students bring along pictures from magazines: make a film-poster to go with the scene; afterwards exhibition in class and taking a vote
• re-writing the scene: what would happen if ....../what would be different in 20 years' time? (also: acting out the "new" scene in class)
• using a camcorder to make your own version of a scene
• letter-writing/diary/conversation ... what does A think/feel/do?
• adding scenes which are not in the film but in the book
• "blowing up" minor scenes (e.g. telephone conversation, what did they really say)
• change of perspective: conversation from Y's, not X's angle/point of view
• writing a tapescript (listening comprehension)
• comparing film and film-scripts (now widely available, e.g. HMV in London has hundreds of titles on stock!)
• writing a film review (see Internet for examples!)

 

STANDARDGEMÄSSES ARBEITEN UND  MEDIALE KOMPETENZ
AM BEISPIEL FILM

I. Bildungsstandards – Kompetenzen und Inhalte

In zahlreichen Rahmenplänen und Bildungsstandards der einzelnen Bundesländer schlägt sich der Umgang mit Texten bzw. Filmen im Sinne eines erweiterten Textbegriffes vor allem im Bereich der KOMMUNIKATIVEN FERTIGKEITEN nieder. Hier werden meist das Hör- und Hör-/Sehverstehen ausgewiesen. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler sollen u.a. bis zum Abitur in der Lage sein,

• authentischen Hör- und Hör-/Sehtexten (Tonaufnahmen, Tondokumenten, Rundfunk- und TV-Sendungen, Nachrichten, Reportagen, Interviews etc.) aufgabengemäß Informationen zu entnehmen
• die Handlung eines Films strukturiert wiederzugeben und eine eigene Bewertung vornehmen und zu begründen
• Spiel- und Dokumentarfilmen wesentliche Aussagen zu entnehmen beziehungsweise die wesentlichen Elemente der Handlungsentwicklung (plot) zu verstehen
• grundlegende Begriffe der Filmanalyse auf einen Spielfilm anzuwenden
• unterschiedliche Darstellungsweisen eines Themas zu vergleichen (Film, literarischer Text)
• Merkmale des Mediums Film zu erläutern und einen Spielfilm mit angemessenen Fachbegriffen zu analysieren

II. Konsequenzen für die Arbeit in der Sekundarstufe I und II

a) was muss in Kl. 5-10 bereits angebahnt werden

• Hörverstehensübungen verstärkt im Sinne von listening for gist
• Training von „summary“ anhand von Hörverstehenstexten
• möglichst große Vielfalt der Hörverstehenstexte: from ‘scripted’ talks to ‘unscripted’ natural spontaneous conversation to ‘semi-authentic’ texts, i.e.  “ language produced for a pedagogical purpose but exhibiting features which have a high probability of occurrence in genuine acts of communication ”
• Schärfung der Fähigkeit zur Bildbeschreibung zunächst anhand des stehenden Bildes
• Veränderung der Sehgewohnheiten: Filmbetrachtung bedeutet nicht Freizeit und Wohnzimmer, sondern Arbeitsmittel; deshalb Gewöhnung an spielerisches Repertoire des Filmeinsatzes (mit/ohne Bild/Ton, mit/ohne Untertitel, fast forward mode etc.)
• Hör-/Hör-Sehverstehen zunächst anhand kurzer semi-authentischer Sequenzen, die z.B. das Lehrwerk begleiten können (erste Beispiele der Verlage liegen vor)
• Einsatz von kurzen Filmsequenzen im Verlauf von/ergänzend zu Unterrichtseinheiten (z.B. auch lektürebegleitend)
• selbständiger Umgang mit dem Medium Film, z.B. im Rahmen von Präsentationen, „film reports“, etc.
• Hinweise zum selbständigen Ausbau des eigenen Wortschatzes anhand englischsprachiger Filme

b) was muss nach Klasse 10 ausgebaut werden

wichtig erscheint beim Übergang vor allem die Tendenz zu(m):

• zunehmend detaillierterer Informationsentnahme
• komplexeren Anforderungen an Sprechtempo, aber auch Dialekte/Soziolekte
• verstärkter Auswertung von Meinungen/Einstellungen der Akteure des Films
• Strukturierung/Zusammenfassung auch längerer Filmpassagen
• vermehrter eigener Bewertung von Filmen
• Darstellung und/oder Kommentierung unterschiedlicher Standpunkte
• Vergleich verschiedener Darstellungsweisen (Text, film script , Film)
• detaillierter Filmanalyse, v.a. im Bereich der Verfahren/Fachbegriffe 

 

c) methodische Überlegungen, Hinweise und Forderungen für den Lehrgang Englisch insgesamt

• wichtige Trainingsphasen mit dem Medium Film
  • Strategien zur Entschlüsselung schwieriger Passagen, z.B. Vorhersagen machen, Signalwörter erkennen, Loci-Technik und Mind-Mapping, Notizen machen etc.
  • Vermittlung von Einsichten in die Besonderheiten gesprochener Sprache, z.B. spontaneous speech including repetitions, pauses, fillers, restructurings in complex sentences, self-corrections, false starts, incomplete utterances, contracted forms, a random order of information, speakers speaking at the same time or interrupting each other, and a higher proportion of colloquial language with a variety of accents etc.
  • Geläufigkeitstraining/Festigung kommunikativer Strukturen und nonverbaler Parameter (Mimik, Gestik) durch Imitation, Nachspielen, Simulationen etc.
  • Erzeugung von Spannung durch Techniken des Films (im Vergleich zu geschriebenem Wort)
• konsequente Verwendung von DVD mit/ohne Untertitel, zweisprachige Sequenzen
• konsequenter Einsatz von pre-, while und post-viewing activities
• Aufnahme der medialen Kompetenz in den Bereich von Assessment & Evaluation

 

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