Short Film in Language Teaching (FutureLearn)

Research has shown that short film has much to offer language teachers in helping learners develop their knowledge of language and cultural awareness. This online course will share ways of teaching languages through the medium of short film that will inspire and motivate both teacher and learner, and improve attainment significantly.

What topics will you cover?

- Some key pedagogies and approaches to teaching languages using short film.

- Assessing language learning using the different dimensions of film including sound, image and time.

- Film language and language learning.

- Film sound and languages, and how sound can be exploited for language learning.

- Teaching with film music and genre.

- Film dialogue and language learning.

- The film image and language learning - how the varying dimensions of the film image can be used in language teaching and learning.

- Exploring body language, facial expression and the image in film, for use in the languages classroom.

- Film time and languages - flashbacks, backstory and the past tense. Present tense, narrating and ellipsis. Flash Forward, prediction and future tense.

- Working with creative technologies in language learning.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- Discuss the principles behind working with short film in language teaching

- Ability to design effective teaching strategies for working with film in language teaching

- Develop an understanding of what the language of film, especially short film, offers in support of language teaching

- Explore the use of creative film technologies to support effective language teaching