Preparing a DVD/video film
activity
By Viv Quarry
(www.vivquarry.com)
Choosing the film
The golden rule is to select a film which you like. You will probably have to watch it over and over again, so make sure it's a film you enjoy a lot.
Certain types of film should be avoided. Historical films might have a lot of old English, action and war films will probably have a lot of background noise, and dramas set in working class districts could have a lot of slang and dialect. These films would only be suitable for the highest levels of English, resulting in preparation of material for a restricted audience. I believe that if you're going to invest time in this sort of classroom activity, it's best if the final result can be viewed by nearly all the students (see note on beginners in 'using DVD in class' worksheet). The ideal number of parts a film should be divided into is four, or five at most. Therefore, films which are excessively long (2 hours +) are not ideal for this type of activity and should be watched as an extra-curricular activity outside class time in one session (subtitles in English or no subtitles depending on the level).
Potential audience
Students at the initial stages of a language course, beginners and classes which may have difficulty completing the syllabus by the end of term, are not suitable for this type of activity. Video can be used with these students, but in short graded activities, perhaps video of a news broadcast, weather forecast or a specialized EFL video/DVD. The teacher should be aware of how they are going to deal with swearing and bad language. Working in Brazil, I have decided to include most of the swearwords in the dialogues. Younger students are often very interested in this type of language and it should be stressed that it sounds ridiculous when non-native speakers use swearwords in the wrong context. See Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, section 589 for a comprehensive summary of taboo words and swearwords. Basically, if you think that anyone in your class will be offended by this language, remove it from the dialogue reading activity.
Preparing the classroom activities
Use the 'Select a scene' menu on the DVD to decide approximately where the film will be divided. Don't forget what the producers of soap operas and TV series do - try to stop the film at a memorable moment creating expectancy about what will happen next. In order to maximize the potential audience, try to select film divisions which will enable a one hour class to use the activity (40 mins. max. viewing time).
Activity preparation
While setting up DVD activities for my students I have designed a DVD preparation worksheet, which can be copied and adapted to suit your needs. Here are the stages I recommend:
1. Watch the film alone with the preparation worksheets for levels 1 and 3. Make a note of what time you start viewing and when the chosen part will end. Also note down the best places to switch subtitles on and off (and between English and the students' own language), and where each part will end - be careful, the picture shown on the 'choose a scene' menu is often not where the scene actually starts! I think it's easier to administer if you can keep these subtitle changes at more or less the same place for all levels. Also note down any vocabulary you need to pre-teach for these two levels, bearing in mind that level 3 students will be watching more of the film without subtitles and will need more language help. Always aim to be able to turn subtitles off at some point in the film - for all levels.
For level three students I transcribe some of the more difficult dialogue in parts of the film to be viewed without subtitles. These dialogues can be read out loud before viewing, with students (and teacher) taking the parts of the actors in the film.
2. Transfer your notes for levels 1 & 3 to a Word processor document, then create a level two activity choosing the vocabulary and subtitle changes according to the level of the intermediate level students. As mentioned in the example DVD activity for level 2: " In my opinion, the intermediate level is the most critical of all. Those in the initial stages (intermediate-) will lack confidence when listening, and have a very limited vocabulary base. Students over half way through the course (intermediate+), will be more confident and, probably happy to attempt to follow the film with English subtitles. You can always ask the students to choose!" As a rule of thumb, when level one students need subtitles in their native language, level three students will need subtitles in English.
Before each viewing, I print out a draft copy of the worksheet so that I can adapt and improve it in future.
Dialogue & synopsis
The internet can be a useful source of background information on the film. I used these two sites when preparing the 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' activity:
http://www.filmsite.org/onef.html http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/
Viewing the film
The first time you do the activity in class, the duration of the classroom activities before and after viewing. This will enable other teachers to use your material and will help you time the activity so that it can be completed before the end of the class. Always try to allow time for discussion - for me, it's the main justification for using this type of exercise as a classroom activity!
The duration of the class will affect how much time can be dedicated to discussion, and the frequency of classes how long it will take to view the entire film. If you plan to do a film activity with various classes at the same time, I advise you to use a table like this checklist. After completing each part with a class, tick off the appropriate box. This will help avoid the embarrassment of jumping a part or asking questions about part of the film the students haven't seen yet!