Using QuickTime Movie Trailers in Culture Class

When your schedule is packed, as is often the case in ESL classes, QuickTime movie trailers offer an authentic, timesaving alternative to watching full-length films.

This semester I used QuickTime movie trailers along with Nicenet in my Culture I class. We were studying U.S. arts and entertainment, so I added links to six movie trailers on our Nicenet class website. The links were for The Alamo, 50 First Dates, The Passion of the Christ, Radio, Shrek 2, and Spiderman 2. Many of the movies took place in the United States. Most had American actors and actresses, and all planned to be shown in the U.S. if they were not already playing in American theaters. Students viewed some of the trailers and then wrote a letter inviting a friend to one of the movies with them. In their letters, they also had to describe the movie and give reasons for wanting to see it. The class really seemed to enjoy the trailers. Some of them laughed during the funnier ones. They had no problem writing a friendly letter, but they did have a hard time understanding the storylines. Even though they were able to replay the clip, grasping the meaning of the fleeting images and fast-paced speech was difficult for Level I students.

In addition to inviting and expressing preferences, QuickTime movie trailers may be used to carry out other language functions. You could have your students view the trailers and then recommend one of them to the class. (This could be done through Nicenet conferencing where students could reply to another’s posting.) You could select trailers for movies that are currently in theaters and have your students inform the class about the movie times and locations after they look that up on the Internet or in a newspaper. Students could analyze the trailers and discuss what makes each “American.” You could also supplement the trailer with a published movie review. They could give their opinion in a review of their own, or write a response to the review they read. The variations on this task are endless.

So if you would like to integrate media and culture into your ESL class, check out the resources at QuickTime. And while you’re there enjoying your next movie clip, don’t miss QuickTime’s other Channels: Education and News and Entertainment.

Links from this article

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/radio/

http://www.ali.apple.com/

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/whatson/news_entertainment/

Using QuickTime Movie Trailers in Culture Class

TELL@ELI Email: gorenczo@ehelios.acomp.usf.edu

Text Box: ... I added links to six movie trailers on our Nicenet class website. The Alamo, 50 First Dates, The Passion of the Christ, Radio, Shrek 2, and Spiderman 2.

You might have overlooked a valuable teaching resource the last time you saw your favorite movie trailers on the Web. Complete with video and audio, these short advertisements provide a unique glimpse into American culture. Take the movie Radio, for example. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as a young man with mental retardation who lives in a middle-class southern neighborhood during the 1970s. The other characters struggle to accept him into their community. The movie features regional accents, family strife, high school scenes, pop music, and plenty of football. And all of this can be gathered from viewing a two-and-a-half minute trailer!

By Elizabeth de Sousa