Bologna, Italy October 27, 2011 FINAL SEMINAR FILMS –COPING WITH UNKNOWN

Why should I use a film in teaching? there is a very good material about the country, topic etc. I want to teach; I want some changes or a variety in my teaching work; students ask for a video; make the language learning process more exciting

Advantages of film usage in foreign language teaching: possibility to use visual and audio senses; hear, see and experience native speakers and their environment; a way of socializing, doing something together; it is possible to make follow-up tasks after the film; learn the language and also the topic the film is about

Disadvantages of the film usage in foreign language teaching: it is not always possible to get a film that would be appropriate for the topic, length; special equipment is necessary; preparation for the film show and follow-up assignments can be quite time consuming for the teacher; students may think – Oh, a film today! So its not too serious and I can skip the class, for it is just a film.

Recommendations for teachers: explain the students why we are watching the film, prepare them for the film; give students certain tasks while they are watching the film; follow-up exercises are really motivating to watch the film properly and think about it also after the film.

Practical tasks: what things describe a nation? what food is common and at the same time different for most of the nations? watch the film and listen to the language (how does it sound to you?) do the pictures remind you something of your childhood, any associations come into your mind? can you hear a word which means something into your native language? degustation.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION! Vintra Pūķe, PSLC Liepāja Branch Phone: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Project number LLP DE-KA2-KA2NW