[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

[Kieran]

Hi Gail,

Thanks very much for your great analysis of the six activity sheets.

(3)The “tell me” questions are interesting and very varied. I would definitely use some of them, not all. I would concentrate on several, depending on the film and what is important in it. (I think I would try to rephrase some of the questions so that they are not “yes/no” questions – if possible).

Yes, the “tell me” questions are varied and work very well in the language classroom. I think it’s an excellent idea to rephrase some of the questions so that they are not “yes/no” questions.

Language study – This is an interesting sheet but there is too much to do here and I don’t really like to teach this way. I would choose one language topic at a time.

Yes, I think this is a very good point. it might well be a good idea to choose to focus on one language topic at a time.

The third part is problematic since it is asking the students to write down expressions that they don’t yet know (so, I ask, how can they write them down? How can they know whether they are important?)

You make another good point here. I think perhaps the focus should be on expressions they find interesting and perhaps aren’t that familiar with, or expressions that are repeated throughout the film and therefore the students see them as important or useful.

(6) Film trailer sheet – There are a variety of questions here, some informative with one-word answers which are either correct or incorrect, others require deeper observation and thought. It really depends on the class, its level and what my goals are. I would not use this sheet as it is at the moment.

I take your point here but I think it would be possible to adapt it to make it suitable for your purposes.

Thanks again for your great analysis, Gail.

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Gail,

Thanks very much for introducing yourself. Great to have you on the course. It’s really good to have a teacher of Hebrew 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 introducing yourself. Really nice to have you on the course.

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

All the best,

Kieran

[Kieran]

Hi Michael,

Thanks very much for introducing yourself. Great to have you on the course. The “Korean language and culture through film and media” course sounds fascinating.

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

All the best,

Kieran

[Author]

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