[Kieran]

Hi Daniela,

Thanks very much for your in-depth evaluation of the scene.

1) Setting:

-The action takes place in a dining room of a family house. It is evident from the very start of the scene as there are all the elements: a table, with an elegant table cloth, plates, cutlery, candles, glasses, jug of water, etc. And people are sitting and eating at a table. It is clear that it’s a house, because we see a window with curtains an a door from where the girl enters the dining room to join her family for dinner.

Great analysis of setting!

2) Sound:

– The background music is quite soft, and relaxing, it is a sort of slow swing, a lounge soft music, that turns into a more classical sound with violin playing in the very end of the scene. The effect it gives to the scene is to create a contrast, to express contradiction: in fact while the atmosphere may seem relaxed and elegant, there is actually a strong argument going on and strong language been used between the couple.

Excellent analysis. The pleasant music contrasts with the unpleasantness of the argument and language, doesn’t it?

3) Characters:

– The main character, husband and wife, are having a strong argument, there is verbal aggressiveness, screaming and some violent reactions from the man. All these elements show that there is conflict between the two, and this conflict is just bursting out in this scene. The woman does not show much appreciation for her husband, while the husband is trying to get more respect from her wife. He seems to be trying to assert his virility, his power as husband and father. They don’t like each other. This is quite evident.

Great analysis of the dynamic between the two characters.

4) Composition: What does the main actor’s gestures tell us about the personality of his character?

– The man’s gestures are very assertive, showing authority and power. His voice and his body language proceed according to an increasing intensity, reaching a climax in the moment when he throws the plate of asparagus onto the wall, out of any patience or calm. All his gestures tell us that he’s quite neurotic and he’s very likely aggressive and probably violent.

Really good analysis of the character’s gestures and how they reflect his personality.

I think the framework is really effective: I’ve just seen how, if we choose the right questions for our students, the framework can be adapted even to a short scene of an entire movie. Another very interesting aspect is the fact that we can select specific questions according to the aspects, themes, issues, language, etc. we want our students to focus on.

Absolutely. the selection of the questions is key and the framework can be adapted to just one scene in a film or even a short film.

It is really helpful and I think it gives both teachers and students a good structured activity, easy and clearer to tackle.

I’m delighted you like the framework so much.

Thanks again for your excellent comments, Daniela.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Michael,

Thanks very much for your in-depth evaluation of the scene.

S1 — Setting

I think it would be important in any analysis of this specific scene, to remind ourselves of what has happened up to this point, as it would explain why the characters are behaving the way they are. The father is quite obviously in the middle of a mid-life crisis or a mental breakdown, in addition to having (not) lost his job; the mother is manic which is typical for her (and could provide the spark for a discussion of another ‘hysterical’ female character) and a bit obliviously self-righteous (if I remember correctly she’s already having an affair – could be wrong about that as I’ve not seen the film in years); the daughter is both literally and figuratively ‘stuck in the middle’. The drama of the scene is pitted against a mundane setting: a boring dining room; yet, at the same time, isn’t it the dining room where events like this often happen? I might also ask my students what ‘family fights [at the dinner table]’ look like in their particular culture.

Fantastic analysis of setting! I completely understand what you mean about reminding ourselves of what has happened up to this point, but I think we could also use the scene in isolation without students having seen the rest of the film and get them to speculate about what might have happened before.

“Call me irresponsible” by Frank Sinatra is used as background music for the majority of the scene. It’s a very interesting choice, in that his wife is accusing him of just that. His responses (which make a certain amount of sense?) are lost on her until he, in an apparent improvisatory move, hurls the plate of asparagus against the wall. I find it intriguing that the character in the song is actually replying to this accusations by expressing how much he loves the person making the accusations – is this meant to be ironic, or expressing the husband’s deeper feelings in a different way? His final comment that they’re sick of the Lawrence Welk sh*t, draws the viewer / listener’s attention to this.

Excellent analysis of the music. The choice of music is brilliant, isn’t it?

How can one not look at the characters here??? The contrast in behaviour between the three of them (manic wife, befuddled offspring, and slightly drunk husband in the midst of / beginning of a midlife crisis) is wonderfully represented. But how they each compare to where they were earlier in the film is what is really interesting; the characters are both getting exposed for who they are (eg. The wife), where they’re headed, i.e. toward disaster (both the husband and wife), and the poor daughter remains ‘stuck in the middle’

Great analysis of personality of the three characters and the dynamic between them. I love that you’ve spotted that the daughter is figuratively and literally the poor daughter remains ‘stuck in the middle’!

The composition of this shot shows us a mid shot of a couple having dinner. The distance between them seems accentuated by the candles, which also bookends the negative space where the daughter should be. Later, when she appears it seems like she is what ‘fills the gap’ or, perhaps ‘holds the family unit in place’. Their relative placements are static, until the husband (vaguely menacing?) crosses over to the wife’s side, but returns to his own side.

Really excellent analysis of setting.

I think there’s sooooo much more to this scene, but this will have to do for now!

There is so much going on in this scene, isn’t there! I know psychologists who use this scene to teach trainee psychologists about dysfunctional family relationships and family conflicts.

I think this framework is going to be a great addition to my new class (Korean language and culture through film), though we might end up focusing on one certain ‘c’ more than other elements (at least in class). Still, it’s going to provide a consistent point of departure for class discussions and (some?) independent work!

I’m delighted the framework is going to be of use to you in your classes.

Thanks again for your excellent analysis and comments, Michael.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Marialena,

Thanks very much for your great answers!

Certainly! Nowadays students are exposed to countless multimodal texts daily thus it is imperative to be able to ‘read’ them actively and effectively, especially due to the fact that they often associate visual media to entertainment and thus neglect to evaluate the information they receive indirectly beneath the entertaining facade.

Great answer! I think your point about students often associating visual media to entertainment and thus neglecting to evaluate the information they receive indirectly beneath the entertaining facade is an excellent one.

Not only should more countries adopt this skill in their curricula but adults should also get relative training in order to understand in depth the world as it is now.

Absolutely. The need for adults to get training in evaluating multimodal texts is also imperative.

Absolutely! I would even say that the word traditional should also characterise the skill of ‘viewing’. Visual media and visual communication are nothing new – the format might be in constant development but the need to ‘read’ visual media has been here for decades – not to say centuries (look at cave paintings). It’s quite sad that we approach this skill as something new and/ or innovative within education when it should have always played an important role in the curriculum.

You make excellent points here. The need for visual literacy has indeed existed for decades.

I didn’t know any of these frameworks as such so the videos were really helpful.

I’m delighted you found the frameworks useful.

Even though I like ‘See, Think and Wonder’ I’ve had negative experiences with using questions such as “What do you think about what you see? / What does it make you wonder?” Especially in regards to ‘wonder’ I find that students are often confused and expect that they should wonder about something particular and thus don’t really engage with the task. I’ve gotten responses such as ‘I don’t wonder anything’ in the past so I think it might be more effective to start with the 3Cs, 3Ss framework – which seems more guided – and once students get familiar with ‘reading’ visual media gradually more towards See, Think and Wonder.

What you say about students struggling with the ‘wonder’ question is interesting. I haven’t heard this before but I can imagine it happening. Perhaps you might need to scaffold this element more by giving lots of examples of ‘wonder’ in sentences describing a painting or photograph.

Activity 2:

It explains visually what the 5th skill is all about. Music and the voice of the narrator are additionally employed to compliment the visuals.

Yes, it does describe the fifth skill of viewing.

What do you think the film’s message is?

Be active, not passive!

Do you agree with its message? Why or why not?

Isn’t this how we should approach life in general…

That’s a very interesting perspective and I can see exactly what you mean.

Thanks again for your excellent responses, Marialena.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Marialena,

Thanks very much for your thorough analysis of the worksheets.

1. I would mostly use this activity if the students could identify (at least in one way) with the characters of the film e.g. if they’re the same age, live in a similar environment, have similar hobbies or are troubled by the same type of concerns.

I think you make a good point about students being able to identify with a character in the film.

It seems like a simple activity which could be used at different levels as the ‘why’ question allows students to reflect differently according to their own language level.

Absolutely. It is a simple activity but as you point out it does allow students to reflect differently according to their own language level.

2. I would probably use this one in combination with the first one for relatively higher levels as this might allow the students to consider different aspects of why they like a character or not.

Quite a lot of teachers like to use this in combination with the first worksheet.

Nevertheless, it could also work nicely with lower levels – perhaps without the ‘body language’ and ‘facial expressions’ parts – for practicing adjectives or describing clothes, body etc. In this case I would ask them to do this activity while watching a silent film so they could entirely focus on the characters.

Yes. it can work very well with lower levels. I really like your idea of using it with a silent film so they focus entirely on the characters and are not distracted by the dialogue.

3. One of my three favourite ones! It covers many different linguistic aspects and allows the students to reflect on what the film/video really was about.

This is a very popular one with both teachers and students. The “tell me” questions are very simple but powerful.

4. I’ve noticed that many of my students are particularly engaged by this type of prediction tasks as either predicting correctly or coming up with something more intriguing than what the film really shows gives them a profound sense of accomplishment (one of my favourites as well).

I agree with you that many students are engaged by these type of prediction tasks. They tend to activate students’ schemata, get them thinking creatively and give them a reason for watching the film.

5. I think it’s pretty vague and that students would get lost.

Yes. As Gail pointed out this one could be much more specific about the language students should focus on. Perhaps teachers could adapt it to choose the language they want students to focus on.

6. Another one of my favourites since it also teaches students to critically watch trailers.

This is another very popular one. Trailers work very well in the language classroom and I agree with you that the tasks here encourage students to critically watch trailers.

Thanks again for your great analysis, Marialena.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Marialena,

Thanks very much for introducing yourself. Great to have you on the course. I hope your MA thesis defense went well!

I’m looking forward to working with you on the course.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Daniela,

Thanks very much for your excellent answers.

1. Do you think the governments of Canada, Australia and Singapore were right to add the fifth skill of viewing to their English language curricula? Why or why not?

In the 21st century we experience the world and acquire new information, knowledge, data, etc. not only through reading an article, listening to the radio, or watching TV. So in order to be a “fully-developed” citizen of the digital age, you need to be able to interpret millions of messages that are being conveyed through videos and images.

I really like your point about citizens needing to be able to critically analyse images to be able to particpate fully in society.

ICONS are everywhere: I see every day that I (37 years old) cannot always understand “memes” or photos posted by teenagers on the socials, for example, as much as my mother (63 years old), cannot laugh at the same “memes” as I do. It’s like I cannot “read” nor “understand” those “texts”, so my mother and me are “illiterate” on those specific cases. As much as my students are “illiterate” in front of some specific texts that are familiar to me. This proves that viewing is one more skill to be acquired to be fully literate in this age, and to live critically in today’s and tomorrow’s world.

This is a great point. If we can’t read visual texts, it makes us effectively illiterate as images are becoming the primary mode of communication.

today’s life is strongly based on advertising, profit and non-profit campaigns, social networks based on video sharing or picture sharing (it’s not by chance that teenagers say to me that Facebook (still based on text/verbal communication) is for the elderly, while Instagram and Tik Tok are for the younger).

Absolutely. Young people’s preference of social media sites such as Instagram and Tik Tok which are primarily visual is very revealing.

I appreciate those little samples of how to operate according to this new methodology, which I think can bring a revolution in the way I teach English. I imagine it like teaching English without making students notice it’s a language lesson: this will make it a more natural process, a little bit more similar to acquiring L1. What strikes me more is that I see a lot of speaking carried out by students, and little speaking by the teacher, which is just what we should aim at!

These are very good points. These frameworks can make language learning seem more like a natural process rather than something artificial. Yes, the frameworks can be very learner centred.

If I must choose, I may say that the VTS is quite attractive for me, because I think it adapts to elementary and higher levels of L2, and also it would be a good way to start the “revolution”: the questions are simple and any student can answer them; questions stimulate their critical skills, and also their scientific thinking, as far as they must motivate their opinions based on elements they can see.

Yes. VTS is a very popular and powerful framework. The questions are simple, robust, encourage students to justify their inferences and look deeper into the image.

The next one I want to try with my classes is the 3Cs and 3Ss framework: what I like about it is that as teachers we can choose some of the questions, adapting the framework to the class, to the movie, to the learning objectives we have set.

This is my favourite framework for using with short films and videos. It’s more flexible than the other routines as the facets and questions can be used in any order.

The film message could be probably condense in the slogan “Why viewing matters”. It wants to tell the audience “don’t be a passive spectator, don’t be bombarded by the millions of images”: stop – think – act.

Absolutely. The message is about getting students to be active viewers rather than passive consumers of images.

I totally agree, and I find the message in the video is going to fill a space that is being left empty in today’s teaching.

That’s a nice way of putting it.

Thanks again for your excellent answers, Daniela.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Michael,

Thanks very much for your great answers!

Absolutely! Given the amount of viewing that people do, and that it is now very often the primary means of information consumption, it makes sense. Also, written and especially spoken are now embedded in video.

Yes. This answer makes perfect sense.

Yes. Just as understanding a spoken text (i.e. not only linguistic, but paralinguistic, pragmatic, socio-culturally, etc.) or a written text (e.g., genre, register, etc.) demand specific skills, we need to develop skills that can help students process what they’re seeing on a daily basis.

I like what you say about needing to develop skills that can help students process what they’re seeing on a daily basis.

Solid illustrations of how the frameworks can be implemented. As ever, the teacher needs to be conscientious as to how this is done.

Yes, absolutely. These frameworks are very simple but also robust, and have stood the test of time.

I’ve used the see / feel / wonder thinking routine a lot over the past several years. It’s a simple routine, which doesn’t need much explanation, can be reused repeatedly, and works very well in mixed-level / conversation classes

Absolutely. This routine is very popular among both teachers and students because it’s very easy to implement and generates a lot of thought and language.

What do you think the film’s message is?
To me, the message of the film relates to the importance of being active, critical interpreters of what was see (as opposed to passive ‘sheep’).

Yes. The message is very much about getting students to be active viewers rathers than just being passive consumers of images.

Do you agree with its message? Why or why not?
I would add that I feel it is critical to train students how to ‘properly’ view the materials they see due to the amount of misinformation, disinformation and straight up falsehoods that circulate these days.

You make an excellent point here. With so much misinformation, disinformation and falsehoods circulating, the need to critically analyse and interpret images is more important than ever.

Thanks again for your excellent responses, Michael.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Daniela,

Thanks very much for introducing yourself and telling us about your teaching context and background. Great to have you on the course.

I’m really looking forward to working with you on the course.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Daniela,

Thanks very much for your great answers!

I think film and video should be used in language education because it has been proved (by research and experience) that students learn better and probably even faster if all their senses are involved. Films and video are also a valid simulation of real-life situations, so I think they reproduce in the class an authentic experience with L2. In a student-oriented perspective, motivation, authenticity and visuality are for me the most important reasons why we should use film and video in the language class.

These are all great reasons for using film and video in the language classroom.

1. “film characters” activity sheet: it is quite simple and adaptable to the lower and the higher levels; I think it would work well to start the discussion, in pairs or in small groups, and then to share and compare opinions about students’ preference.

Yes, it’s definitely simple and adaptable. As you point out, it’s also a good way to introduce a discussion of characters.

2. “character appearance” activity sheet: it seems particularly suitable as a “while-watching” activity, guiding the students, making sense of what they’re watching and also helping them keep focussed all the time, which is impossible if they’re not given anything to do.

I agree that this one definitely works best as a while watching activity.

4. “film predictions” activity sheet: it seems very useful to break the movie into smaller chunks.

Yes. Breaking the film into manageable, student-friendly chunks is vital.

You can pause the movie and give the students this worksheet, which I find useful to practice or revise grammar (present perfect, present simple or continuous, and future forms for predictions/intentions) and to analyse or summarize what they’ve seen up to that moment.

These are nice ideas.

6. “Film trailer” activity sheet: very useful also for my classes who study film making, as this activity could be used to focus on how a good film trailer is made, for example.

Yes. I can also definitely see this one working with your students who study film making.

Thanks again for your excellent responses, Daniela.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response to the questions.

I think they were right to make this addition. It seems to be an indication of the important role that images, in all forms, play in the modern world. Students in today’s education system are digital natives and are surrounded (perhaps overwhelmed) by visual content – on TV, on computers/tablets/smartphones. Adding viewing to the curriculum allows teachers to help students be able to understand, reflect and critically evaluate these images.

Excellent response to the question.

I do wonder if/how viewing is assessed – do students get any sort of grade and how is that measured?

This is a very good question. Here’s a link to a PDF, where you can see how viewing is assessed in this Canadian viewing framework

https://tinyurl.com/5ncf8f2t

As the article says, modern communication is multimodal, and while it incorporates elements of the traditional four skills, it goes beyond this. For example, when we send messages on our phones, we don’t just use text – there can be gifs, which themselves consist of moving images and text, and emoticons (which sometimes replace text completely). Instagram, by its nature, is a photo and video sharing app and posts there consist of pictures, text, labels, colours, sounds. This is true for other social media platforms too.

Great examples of how we produce our own multimodal texts today.

In particular, the primary school class seemed very well trained and came up with some very imaginative ideas, which they were able to justify with evidence from the picture. This seemed like quite a large class and it does seem a little time consuming with the teacher paraphrasing everything that the student has said.

Absolutely. The teacher is very proficient in the use of VTS and has received specific training and has lots of experience in this routine. You’re right that it is time-consuming and teacher led.

The teacher also has to be careful not to misinterpret or put words in the students mouth because then it becomes the teacher’s thoughts not the student’s.

Yes, the teacher has to be highly skilled and, as Gail pointe dout in her comments, needs to know the painting or photograph very well.

I liked See, Think, Wonder most. It’s simple and effective and gets students to start thinking, imagining and making connections. It’s student-centred and because responses are short it allows all students to participate. It’s an activity that I think could work really well with some of my students.

Absolutely. See, Think, Wonder can be used much more easily without training than VTS. It’s a routine both teachers and students can become proficient at quite quickly.

The film itself is very visual – with multiple still and moving images that are strong and impactful – along with music and narration. It gets the viewer to think, make personal connections and reflect. It find the narrator’s voice and selected music calming and it captures my attention.

Very good analysis of the film.

I think the film’s message is that we need to be active viewers, reflecting on images that are presented to us and taking time to think more deeply about their meaning. I agree, but it’s something I’d like to be better at!

As one of the creators of the video, I can say that you’ve got the message spot on!

Thanks again for such a thoughtful and insightful response to the Activity, Andrew.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Gail,

Thanks very much for your excellents about viewing.

I definitely think the governments of Canada etc. where right because, as you say in the visual manifesto and throughout this unit – we encounter images and multimodal forms of communication everywhere and we need to learn how to understand what we are seeing and to think critically about these things. We also must learn these skills.

Absolutely. I completely agree with you that we need to learn how to understand what we are seeing and to think critically about what we are seeing.

I liked the videos of the classrooms. The students were engaged and active, they had learned what questions to ask themselves and to answer. They learned to support their answers with what they had observed.

They’re great videos, aren’t they? It’s really striking how all the students support their answers with what they had observed. They’re obviously done these routines many times before and are very comfortable with them.

The VTS is wonderful – I have been using it for years after learning it at courses at MOMA.

That’s fantastic that you did VTS courses at MOMA. That must have been a brilliant experience.

With the VTS, the teacher leads the students to the same way of thinking as does the “See, Think, Wonder” – however, I think I prefer the “See, Think, Wonder” because it gives the tools right to the student and is less dependent on the teacher. The extension of the VTS used by MoMa is that the teacher then provides information about the work that the student doesn’t know. This is not elaborated upon here, but is also very important.

I also prefer “See, Think, Wonder” as it is less dependant on the teacher. You’re absolutely right that in VTS the teacher provides information about the work that the student doesn’t know, so has to be more of an expert facilitator.

For viewing film, the 3cs, 3Ss is very instructive. I would imagine that – depending on the film – one would ask about these 6 aspects of film in differing orders.

Yes. The 3cs and 3Ss framework can be done in any order and it’s not necessary to use all of the facets of film.

I love the visual manifesto – it makes so many very important points in a short time. The visuals are lovely and supportive of the message: we cannot be passive recipients of what we are bombarded with. We are being manipulated – and we have to be aware of this. Slow down, reflect, think critically. Wonderful!

I’m delighted you like this video so much.

Thanks again for your excellent comments, Gail.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Angie,

Thanks very much for your great analysis of the worksheets.

Film and video should be used in class because it makes the abstract come to life and touches students emotions, a sure way to improve the learning outcome.

These are great reasons for using film and video in the language classroom.

Film Character – Great! Definitely can be done with a variety of levels. There is also a motivation to look up unknown vocab to better express ones take on the characters.

Yes, this one can definitely be used with a variety of levels. It does motivate students to find out the meaning ogf vocabulary they don’t know.

Character Appearance – Can be used in combo with “Film Character” to get into a deep analysis (for more advanced level students) of the characters and how all aspects help create the character. Or can be used by itself for simple descriptors for lower level students.

I really like your idea of using this one in combination with the Film Character worksheet.

Tell Me – Great! And great to have a wide variety of Qs. For class I would select maybe my top three from this list depending on the film being watched.

This one is very popular with both students and teachers. Excellent idea to select the top 3 questions cepending on the film.

Prediction Qs – Can get interest going, get engagement in the topic, get a discussion going on the outcome

Definitely. Getting students to predict is a great way to activate their scemata and background knowledge which is a vital stage in the learning process.

Language Study – I don’t really get the purpose of the first task (classifying questions), I would need to see an example, I assume the students would too.

I think you’re absolutely right that students would need an example here. perhaps the teacher could supply one.

I like pulling out expressions the students choose themselves. By default it is something that caught their attention, which they might be curious to learn more about and wouldn’t necessarily pop up in a text book.

I agree. Getting students to choose language they think could be useful to them is nice.

Trailer – Trailers are great for generating interest in the film, and analyzing it with the worksheet develops critical thinking skills, esp. to the techniques being used to generate intrigue/interest.

I agree. Trailers are excellent for generating interest and curiosity in a film.

I had students watch 3 trailers and discuss and then vote on the movie they wanted to watch in preparation for their final exam.

I think this is a lovely activity.

Thanks again for your great analysis, Angie.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Angie,

Thanks very much for introducing yourself and telling us about your background and context which are both very interesting.

Great to have you on the course.

I’m looking forward to working with you on the course.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of the worksheets.

I also like how film and video is authentic – students are exposed to a world beyond the classroom and can hear natural conversations and different accents. It can be a surprise for students to find out that people don’t speak like how they speak in the course materials and is great for improving their listening skills and boosting their confidence.

The authenticity of film and video is definitely a great advantage and reason for using them in the classroom.

– Film characters: I like the simplicity of this activity sheet, and it can be used by students of all levels. It gets students to think about the characters and offer a personalised response. Depending on their level, students could write down key words/phrases or they could write a more detailed response. With my classes, I’d then use it for a survey activity to find out which students liked which characters and why.

I really like your idea of extending this with a survey activity.

– Film Trailer – This is my favourite of all the worksheets and is the sort of activity that would work well with my students who are in middle school (B1 level). Film trailers are short and generate intrigue and it’s the sort of activity I could do during class-time. It encourages students to work in pairs and share ideas. I like the variety in the questions, with some of the answers being in the trailer, so students need to watch and pay attention, and others being the students’ own opinions

Yes, trailer sare fantastic for the language classroom. They do generate intrigue and get students interested and motivated to find out more. The questions are good and do get students to pay attention.

– Character appearance: there’s some quite specific language here, for example build, posture, facial expressions, body language. I’d possibly follow this up with a role-play or get students to create a new character for the film using these prompts.

Great idea to extend this with a roleplay or getting them to create a new character.

– “Tell me” questions – These could be used where differentiation is needed in the classroom. All students could start with the basic questions and the general/special questions could be used for fast finishers.

Great idea to have all students to start with the basic questions and then use the other more advanced questions with the fast finishers.

Students could select a certain number of questions and could give a written response or the questions could be put up on the classroom wall and student do a gallery activity, going round and discussing the questions in pairs/small groups.

Lovely idea.

Thanks again for your great evaluation and ideas, Andrew.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Michael,

Thanks very much for your great evaluation of the worksheets.

My students (here in Korea) spend far too much time using (not very high quality) books. Anything that gets their heads out of books can help to put them in a different head space.

I think getting away from the coursebook is a good reason for using film and video!

1. I like this as an ‘entry level’ worksheet, as it allows students to begin with questions that allow them to express their personal opinions + there are no wrong answers. In later, adapted versions, I can see asking questions such as “Is this a typical Korean character?” or “Who is the ‘most / least’ Korean character?” in order to get students to reflect on our work on the various aspects of Korean culture.

Yes. This can definitely be used with very low levels. I really like the questions you’ve adapted to your context.

2. I quite like this and would use it to practice English descriptions. I might also have one sheet for a specific character with the two columns allowing students to write the answer in both Korean and English (they could work in teams to get this done).

I really like how you’ve adapted this to your context.

4. I think this worksheet would be excellent as the starting point for a discussion of how our own cultural embededness plays an important role in predictions and compare the different predictions made by students.

Yes, this definitely works well to explore cultural aspects.

6. Trailers are awesome! I would use this sheet with the content as is, for sure. I can also see having a bilingual version as well as an L1 and an L2 version. Students start with their L1, and as the course progresses, they move to a bilingual version, and finally and L2 version at the end.

I agree that trailers are brilliant in the classroom. I really like how you’ve considered using both an L1 and an L2 version of the trailer.

Thanks again for your great evaluation, Michael.

All the best,

Kieran

[Author]

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