A Film Log for Teachers

A very simple, but useful, idea is to keep up a list of films and its possible uses on a blog. This way, teachers can share their ideas for using different films for different reasons.

One example of a good reference for a movie is, as follows:

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

Reasons besides being a good movie for whole film response activities

1) Language (scenes 7, 8 and 10)
2) Subtext (scenes 7 and 12)
3) Culture (scenes 12 and 13)
4) Roleplay (scenes 9 and 10)

You can, instead, list the above purposes for using films and relate the appropriate films and scenes below the category's name.

Language Use

1) E.T. - scenes 7, 8 and 10

Subtext

1) E.T. - scenes 7 and 12
2) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - scene 1


And so on. Both ways you can share valuable information about movies you and your colleagues have used well in the Language Classroom.

My Best Films List

That's a very simple activity that can be done without watching any movie in class.

You could, instead, create a rule that the most voted film in the class survey would then be watched and discussed in detail.

An example of a Class Survey result is:

1) Back to the Future I - 6 votes
2) Ghost - 5 votes
3) The Sixth Sense - 4 votes
4) Brave Heart - 3 votes
5) Seven - 2 votes

Try it out and be sure your students will have a lot of fun defending their own opinions about films, while using the language previously learned at the same time.

My Hall of Fame

A good idea is publishing your students' hall of fame, with their top 5 favorite actors and actresses, in a blog. Mine is this one below. In case you wish, you can try going for the top 10.

Explain your students the meaning of A-List Star and ask them to choose their actors and actresses as if they were the directors of a movie looking for A-List Stars for their new movie.

Men's Leading Role

1) Kevin Spacey
2) Al Pacino
3) Nicholas Cage
4) Dustin Hoffman
5) Tom Hanks

Women's Leading Role

1) Jodie Foster
2) Michelle Pfeiffer
3) Demi Moore
4) Julia Roberts
5) Meg Ryan



In more advanced levels you can ask students to explain why those are their choices. In this mode, students would have to talk about the movies in which the actors or actresses played important roles.

Well that's it, now tell us what are your top 5 actors and actresses? And why they're the ones?