English movie club – the movie as teacher
“Feel like watching the original version of an English movie?” We’ve been using that slogan for ten years now. “You have to see it to understand it” We’ve been saying that for that long too. But in a nutshell*, we offer you a unique educational programme accompanied by the original movie in English with subtitles. Our programme runs entirely in English and introduces slang expressions, new vocabulary, listening comprehension practice as well as comments by native speakers to the audience. Here’s a little intel (information in general – H. K.) on our humble joint*.
When you start communicating with native speakers, you soon decide you’re “fluent”. Hell, you can pretty much say anything you want to (with a ridiculously charming Russian accent), and you’re getting close to understanding most of what they say to you. You’ve almost accomplished your goal of true bilingualism. Slow down, buddy*!
Wait till you watch an American movie. You’ll feel lost and humbled. Movies are difficult to understand precisely because they are so “real world”, at least from a linguistic perspective. This may make watching them incredibly frustrating, especially if you’re at that level where you feel fluent, but still can’t follow a lot of the dialogue. And yet, the fact remains that there is probably no better source of linguistic input than a good movie, if, paradoxically, you could just understand what is being said! It is for this reason that we created English Movie Club.
Movies are a tool for fluent students. They are ideal for those English language learners who fall into the linguistic zone of “frustrated fluency” discussed earlier. They are designed for upper level English learners, for the simple reason that they’ll be most effective as learning tools if you can already understand English well enough to generally hear where one word ends and another begins.
That being said, we should make a few more comments on the contents of our programme. You may have already noticed that some of the vocabulary is considered crude, or even obscene*. Certain people may not wish to study such language, and may even take offense at the idea. That’s your choice, but the programme is based on the dialogue which reflects the way people speak in the real world.
While you may feel more comfortable in a typically sanitized English class, you should realize that overly sensitive ears impede* real-world comprehension. No one is suggesting that you actually say things like “You’re such a son of a bitch!” However, if your American girlfriend does tell you this, it’s at least better to understand what she’s saying rather than just smile blankly, and then wonder why she’s implying that your mother is some sort of dog.
So, the goals of the Club are:
To help maintain your English proficiency
To upgrade it
To give you chance to enjoy original movies in English
In 2002 we developed a methodology called “Foreign Languages through Films and Media” which is a copyright and is now used as a base for the Club’s shows. We soon plan to start our programme in Kyiv and other major cities of Ukraine. So, give it a shot*!
Eternally yours, English Movie Club
VOCABULARY LIST
in a nutshell – коротко, двома словами, стисло; in essence; briefly
humble joint – скромна спільна дія
buddy – chiefly US and Canadian an informal word for friend
obscene – непристойний, неподобний; offensive or outrageous to accepted standards of decency or modesty
impede – затримувати; перешкоджати, заважати; to restrict or retard in action, progress, etc.; hinder; obstruct
give it a shot – (idiom) це варто того
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What are the goals of the English Movie Club?
Do you have English Club TV Channel at home with the English Movie Club in it? If no, would you like to have such a channel?
Do you think the way of learning English via films is effective?
Assume that you have been named director of a local television or radio station. What types of programmes or music would you air? Would you develop any standards for your staff that spell out which types of programmes or music to actively seek out and which type to avoid? Would you introduce the requirement for your staff equally binding for all to have a good command of English? Outline a mission statement for your station, including any broadcast standards you can think of.