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Delta Teacher Development Series
Film in Action
Caution! No English version! Polish release.
696 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
June 5, 2023
Providing an insight into learning through both watching and producing video, the book adopts a hands-on approach to using authentic films in English language teaching.
The book is divided into three parts:
A) this part centres around the role of film in society and education, visual and social literacies. It also gives a broad overview of the history of using film in education, its educational value etc.
B) it focuses on activities aimed at encouraging students to actively watch and produce films;
C) the emphasis here is on how to incorporate teaching through film into school syllabi.
Weaknesses (DISCLAIMER: most of the stuff mentioned here is addressed to the publishing house, not the author):
1) the print is so small it can literally cause eye strain (I mean, honestly, if you skimp on paper, your best bet is an e-book);
2) an awful lot of links offered in the book are dead;
3) I guess in this day and age it would be more relevant to generate QR codes instead of subjecting readers to typing each and every individual link;
4) there was precious little information as to which language items the activities are best used for;
5) nothing was said about how to incorporate the videos into the major syllabus without overtaxing both yourself as a teacher and your students with too much vocabulary. What I mean is selecting vocabulary and ensuring it is revised and recycled. Let’s face it, this is one of the most common pitfalls of using authentic materials in class: multiple teachers hardly ever bother using them for one simple reason – it’s a real pain making sure the vocabulary from the video is recycled and revisited down the road.
Strengths:
1) a good few of the activities are low prep, which is a huge upside given that most teachers are time-starved;
2) there are a lot of activities that could be used to practice language for speculating;
3) even though a number of activities are offered without specifying which language items could be practiced using them, an experienced teacher can find a way around it;
4) most of the activities encourage collaboration;
5) many of the activities can be used both in group settings and one-to-one classes;
6) a number of activities encourage digital literacy.
Somewhere along the line, I sensed that the book is geared towards teaching English for film-making, rather than towards general English.
Despite some minor niggles, the book is bound to make both a valuable and compelling read for any teacher set to bring their lessons alive. It sure is a perfect fit for those who take an interest in using authentic materials in their classes.
The book is divided into three parts:
A) this part centres around the role of film in society and education, visual and social literacies. It also gives a broad overview of the history of using film in education, its educational value etc.
B) it focuses on activities aimed at encouraging students to actively watch and produce films;
C) the emphasis here is on how to incorporate teaching through film into school syllabi.
Weaknesses (DISCLAIMER: most of the stuff mentioned here is addressed to the publishing house, not the author):
1) the print is so small it can literally cause eye strain (I mean, honestly, if you skimp on paper, your best bet is an e-book);
2) an awful lot of links offered in the book are dead;
3) I guess in this day and age it would be more relevant to generate QR codes instead of subjecting readers to typing each and every individual link;
4) there was precious little information as to which language items the activities are best used for;
5) nothing was said about how to incorporate the videos into the major syllabus without overtaxing both yourself as a teacher and your students with too much vocabulary. What I mean is selecting vocabulary and ensuring it is revised and recycled. Let’s face it, this is one of the most common pitfalls of using authentic materials in class: multiple teachers hardly ever bother using them for one simple reason – it’s a real pain making sure the vocabulary from the video is recycled and revisited down the road.
Strengths:
1) a good few of the activities are low prep, which is a huge upside given that most teachers are time-starved;
2) there are a lot of activities that could be used to practice language for speculating;
3) even though a number of activities are offered without specifying which language items could be practiced using them, an experienced teacher can find a way around it;
4) most of the activities encourage collaboration;
5) many of the activities can be used both in group settings and one-to-one classes;
6) a number of activities encourage digital literacy.
Somewhere along the line, I sensed that the book is geared towards teaching English for film-making, rather than towards general English.
Despite some minor niggles, the book is bound to make both a valuable and compelling read for any teacher set to bring their lessons alive. It sure is a perfect fit for those who take an interest in using authentic materials in their classes.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review