Innovative technologies in teaching English

To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world

(Chinese proverb)

As you know, the main condition for foreign language acquisition is its active usage. During the process of teaching English (or other foreign language) to pupils (students) an expressive drive is needed: they want to talk and express ideas through words. One of such methods is the usage of feature films. It is characterized as a powerful method of art-technologies. Usually, a new application of different types of art is defined as art-technologies. I would like to write about the usage of feature films in teaching English. There are 3 stages in film processing: 1) preparatory stage; 2) watching stage; 3) fulfillment stage.

To my mind, the main interesting stage is the fulfillment stage. I mention as an instance, the following tasks:

1) internal monologue. It is the inner voice you "hear" while thinking, i.e. the "conversation with yourself" you produce when thinking using a language. So, a teacher asks to make an internal monologue after watching a specific film fragment. You can see a goos example of this task from the feature film "The Great Gatsby".

- Hello, Daisy!

- Hello, Jay! We have not seen each other for a long time.

- Almost 5 years. 

- Too much time has passed.

- I haven't noticed. Here you stand before me as though it were only yesterday. I had a feeling I'd see you again. I thought about you every day.

- I also thiught about you.

- The fate joined us both that we never split up. Do you agree with me, Daisy?

- Yes, I guess so.

- I love you, Daisy!

2) subtitling and dubbing. Pupils (students) have to create own subtitles to some frame. In the picture you see a vivid instance of subtitling and dubbing based on the feature film "In time".

Thus, the usage of art-technologies makes the lesson more visual, accessible, emotional and highly effective. Surely, pupils derive pleasure from learning English.
I hope, this information will be useful and helpful for you!