Have you ever considered the storytelling power of films for educating probably the most visually literate generation?
Learning from films is enjoyable, and they are deft at motivating the students as well.
There are a large number of visual learners today and one of the best ways to reach out to these learners is movies.
The generation of today is more comfortable browsing websites and playing video games than you were in your growing years. If you want to convey a message, films are a much better medium as compared to spoken or printed words.
How can you use films to teach your students?
Teach a Language
Showing films are one of the best ways to teach a language. The language teachers have been using films in class since quite some time. Make sure you find films in the language you are willing to teach.
Find the original version of the movie in the targeted language. Never make the students watch a dubbed movie. That is a cardinal sin since in that way, the students will never be able to learn the new language. Moreover, much of the cultural experience also gets lost in this case.
Motivation poses as one of the most significant points when it comes to making language acquisition successful. Television shows and films occupy a significant part of the students of today and thus, it is quite sensible to introduce them in the classroom settings. Films expose the students to the natural flow of speech. So, even if a given student is not living in a place where that language is spoken by the majority, you can easily teach the students a new language through television programs and films.
Motivate the Unmotivated Readers
I am sure, there are several students in your classroom who has no intention to read the assigned novel. You can help your students feel interested in reading the novel by showing them the film version. Don't show them the whole movie at a single go. Try to show in parts. Pick up the most interesting parts of the movie and then show it to your class. This will help the students feel interested in going through the book. Reading out the interesting parts of the novel may also work but it is better to use the movie version as that proves more beneficial for the visual learners.
Ex-teacher Adwoa Oforiwa says that films are "a vehicle through which students can see literature in a new light, access new worlds and fantastic experiences, and which can encourage them to seek out and read the original stories for themselves."
Help Students Focus
Almost all teachers and parents would agree in unison that movies cause the students to lose focus. This is not the case always.
You must have encountered days when your students are more unfocused. It may be the first day after Christmas holidays or in case they are busy practicing for an inter-school tournament. On days like this, you are bound to face hardships in helping the students focus. How about making them watch a movie connected to the topic that you are teaching presently? You will easily get the attention of all the students and moreover, you can approach the topic as well.
Build Interest in History
The historical films are one of the most popular tools the history teachers use for engaging the students. History is a boring subject for most students. You can use the historical feature films to enlighten the students of a given phase. This will not just help to engage the students, but they would be able to retain information longer as well. This also has a role to play in helping the students examine other available historical documents.
While showing a historical film, make sure to inform the students that the facts and fiction may be different. There are several films that are forced to change a few details to make it interesting.
Films have remained a distraction for quite some time. Today, this is no longer the case. Remember that if you can use it properly, you, rather your students can accrue significant advantages of it.
Contributed by: www.myprivatetutor.sg
