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As a languages teacher I am always keen on finding ways to make the learning process relevant to young learners. Without a doubt, learning a language takes a great deal of commitment, practise and patience. Just like learning any difficult skill, the best way to achieve success is through using different methods. This motivates the students and they are then more likely to apply themselves.

Language teachers have always recommended that students watch films in the target language to improve linguistic skills. In this post, I will not go into the reasons why this method of study is beneficial but how I use it with teenagers in a classroom setting and what I gain from it.

Firstly, I had to find appropriate content for the age of my students which they would find entertaining. For my Year 11 class I chose "Unbreakable Kimmy" which is rated 15. For my younger students I opted for " A Series of Unfortunate Events". You may think this task to be straightforward but with a classroom full of teenagers, they have different ideas about what is acceptable and interesting. Namely, films/programmes which are rated 15/18 are the most popular. It is important that the content is appropriate for an educational setting and not to be swayed by "My mum lets me watch it" or "Go on Sir! We won't tell anybody."

With older students we watch 10 minute slots in the target language with English subtitles. Their first task is to make a small tick in their exercise book when they hear a word they recognise. What I am trying to achieve is for students to focus and avoid losing concentration. Next, I am trying to train their ear to the rhythm of the language. This is a very important skill for GCSE listening exams where understanding one or two words in a short description is the key to getting the answer right. I explain to student that listening for gist and not being overwhelmed by trying to understand everything is an important language skill to develop. Another activity is to give students a list of short expressions from the programme and they have to translate them after having watch the clip. It is necessary to have expressions where there are unknown words and encourage them to work things out from context.(Avoid using dictionaries here) Next, students work in pairs to manipulate the expressions. For example, changing from past tense into the future tense or changing the subject of the sentence. I am pleased that I now have older students who have continued to watch content on Netflix in the language they are studying.

With younger students I prefer to have subtitles in the target language and the audio in English. There are a number of reasons for this. The main one being, several students would struggle to comprehend the English in the time allowed. I tend to do the same activities as with older students. So, when they see a word in the target language and they have to put a tick in their books. It never ceases to amaze me how students of all ages are surprised that the language they learn in class can be seen in a wide range of authentic situations. They have the impression that the language they are studying only appears in exams and textbooks! Also, they are starting to understand that to be able to communicate effectively in a foreign language requires a solid base of a few hundred words embedded in the their long-term memory which is feasible for most learners to achieve.

Finally, students request that I do this activity more often so use this as part of my behaviour management strategy. If the class gets noisy and start to talk over me, they know they won't be able to do the activity later which often leads to the students managing each others' behaviour which is a godsend at the end of a tiring day!

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"What we learn with pleasure we never forget" Alfred Mercier 1816-1891 As a languages teacher I am always keen on finding ways to make the learning process relevant to young learners. Without a doubt, learning a language takes a great deal of commitment, practise and patience.

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What makes for a successful song-based lesson? Adam Simpson, second-time winner of the British Council's Teaching English blog award for his post on conditionals (written with Paul Mains), explains.
One of the big problems we all face, whether teaching English to children or adults, is maintaining learners' interest throughout our lessons. Consequently, we often have to be very creative in the techniques we use. What makes music such a great teaching tool is its universal appeal, connecting all cultures and languages. This makes it one of the best and most motivating resources in the classroom, regardless of the age or background of the learner.
Planning for the use of songs in class
The process of selecting a song is one of the most difficult aspects of using music in a lesson. Here are some things you probably need to think about to ensure you get the right song.
Carefully examine what it is you want your class to learn in the lesson
Is this going to be a lesson focusing on vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, or a particular topic? I once used 'You're so vain' by Carly Simon to introduce a text that looked at vain people. In another lesson, I used 'In the air tonight' as it uses the present perfect continuous tense. Whatever your focus, remember that this doesn't necessarily place a limit on what you can do with the song. For instance, you might wish to use the song in question to exemplify a particular verb tense, and structure your lesson accordingly, but you might at the same time wish to take the opportunity to look at those interesting idioms in the lyrics!
Think about the language level of your class
The language level of your class will determine not only which songs you can use, but also what other activities - such as games or written exercises - you will use to develop the lesson. Lower levels will become extremely frustrated with fast-delivered lyrics, for instance, while simple repetitive lyrics might not be interesting for more advanced-level learners.
How old are your learners?
If you're a teacher of young learners, you will probably want to use songs that are repetitive and very easy to understand. For teenagers, however, use contemporary or fairly recent pop and rock songs. My advice: it's often best to ask them 'what's cool'. Alternatively, for adult learners, who will probably have a more open approach to classes, use songs that are interesting to their age group.
Are there any specific cultural issues regarding the make-up of your class?
What kinds of things are generally unacceptable in the culture in which you teach? Whatever you do, don't use music solely based on your own cultural norms. Consider the audience and their sensibilities; even better, let them choose the songs that you use.
What kind of access do you have to the song?
Let's face it, this is the age of YouTube and you can find practically any song on this website. Nevertheless, an mp3, which doesn't require a connection, or even a good old-fashioned CD, can often be a useful backup.
Six steps for making a song the focus of your class
My intention here is to provide a basic outline you can use with any song. Remember, these are just suggestions so make sure to keep the profile of your learners in mind.

That's it - start things off by just listening. It's important to remember that this is supposed to be a fun activity; don't make it too serious or boring.

As an alternative, you can show a video clip if you have one - in fact, I strongly recommend it, as it will cater to more learners' learning preferences.

Ask learners if they've heard it before, and don't overload them with tasks at this point; simply let them enjoy the music.
2. Ask some questions about the title
Here are a couple of examples of the types of questions you can ask:

For John Lennon's wonderful 'Jealous Guy':

'What is a 'jealous guy'?'

'What are three things a jealous guy might do?'

'What kinds of jealousy are there?'

For Queen's classic 'We are the champions':

'What is a champion?'

'What kinds of champions are there in the world?'

'What activities have champions?'

Such questions tend to work really well as conversation starters, so group three or four learners together and then get feedback from each group on their thoughts. If you think it would help, make this your first step, i.e., before the initial listening.

Alternatively, prior to having listened to the song you can teach a couple of words and give a simple task for the first listening. My favourite strategy is to give three or four words from the song and ask to them to listen out for the words that rhyme with them. You could also brainstorm possible rhymes before listening.
3. Listen to the song again, this time with lyrics
This time, you should give learners the chance to read the lyrics to the song. At this point you might do one or more of the following activities:

Learners can just read the lyrics while they listen. They can possibly highlight unknown words for later discussion.

You can make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; learners fill in the gaps as they listen.

You can make cut-out strips of selected missing words and again make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; this time learners match the word strips to the gaps as they listen.

4. Focus on a particular verb tense or aspect of grammar
Virtually every song centres on a particular verb tense. This is too good an opportunity to pass up in terms of uncovering the grammar. My suggestion is to start with questions such as these:

How many examples can you find of the past simple in the lyrics?

Why did the writer of this song choose this verb tense?

This acts as a springboard for discussing the function of a specific tense, as well as examining its form. Furthermore, it often tends to raise awareness of grammatical flexibility and 'poetic licence' in the construction of song lyrics. Students often expect songs to obey the grammatical rules that have been drummed into them. In a surprisingly large number of cases, this can lead to the enlightening discovery that rules can be broken!
5. Focus on vocabulary, idioms and expressions
We've noted that many songs bend the rules of grammar. It's also useful to focus on the creative and artistic use of vocabulary we encounter in lyrics. Start with questions like these (again, for Queen's classic song 'We are the champions'):

What does 'I've paid my dues' mean?

What does 'my share of' mean?

What does 'I've taken my bows' mean?

Go through the meanings, illustrating with other examples if necessary. Songs often serve as really good contexts for phrases and idioms, but it's good to make sure that the meaning is clear. As with grammar, years of misunderstanding can come to light in this way!
6. Round things off with some creativity
Creativity is an important part of maintaining motivation but it shouldn't be limited to the teaching approach. Depending on the factors highlighted in the first part of this post (age, language level, cultural specifics, etc.), you might want to try finishing things off with an activity that stimulates creative thought. Here are a few examples of things you can do to get the creative juices flowing:

Write another verse of lyrics, maintaining the same mood and style as the original. This can be done individually or in groups. These new lyrics can be presented to the rest of the class. Perhaps several groups can work on this to come up with a completely new set of lyrics for the whole song.

A song tends to give you the perspective of the singer. Write a response (this can be a paragraph, i.e., not necessarily in lyric form) from the point of view of the person the song is being sung about, or any other protagonist.

Have the learners plan a music video for the song. In groups they decide the location, the characters, and what happens. Then each group explains their idea to the rest of the class and the learners vote on the best one. The results can be surprising, as they frequently come up with an interpretation that hadn't even occurred to you!

Write a diary entry for a character in the song. Get learners to examine the thoughts and feelings that inspired the story being played out in the lyrics.

Visit our award-winning website for more tips and activities for the English language classroom.

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How to use songs in the English language classroom

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What makes for a successful song-based lesson? Adam Simpson, second-time winner of the British Council's Teaching English blog award explains.

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5 reasons to use Netflix in the classroom

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Imagine yourself back in a high school classroom and the teacher is getting ready to discuss how the next 40 minutes will play out. It's your last class of the day and all you want to do is finish...

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When you see a Lady Gaga music video, do you think of it as a teachable material for your classroom? Probably not. But for some visionary teachers, pop culture is a useful tool that can help get students interested and engaged in learning, and even offer resources for better understanding classroom material.

Why Teach Pop Culture?

Pop culture offers an opportunity for educators to meet students where they are. Students spend much of their time interacting with popular culture, and using it as an educational tool allows teachers to make that time more productive. A 2010 Kaiser Family Institute report indicates that youth between the ages of 8 and 18 spend approximately 7.5 hours per day, seven days per week using media, including TV, music, video games, and books. That's up to 53 hours every week that could potentially be directed into learning.

Meeting students where their interests lie allows educators to better communicate with their pupils. Students who aren't interested in discussing historical details are likely to open up quickly when you mention a popular YouTube video or sports team. Although bringing popular culture into the classroom isn't always directly related to learning, it does allow teachers to capture the attention of students who would otherwise not be interested.

"Let them tell you about their world and you'll have a much easier time telling them about yours," says history professor Clay Morgan. "Effective teaching hinges upon communication, and you can't communicate without entering into the world of those you wish to reach."

Thanks to popular shows like Sesame Street, students today are now used to learning through "edutainment." In fact, PBS reports that there are more than 74 million "graduates" of Sesame Street in the United States alone. Learning through entertainment is nothing new to the current generation of students, so it feels natural for them to experience learning through pop culture in the classroom. They may not even know that it's happening. "Students go home laughing about the TV we discussed and often fail to realize that we conducted a sociological study," Morgan says. "That's edutainment."

Pop culture consumers, including students, are interested in learning about science and history through media. You only need to look at box office hits to understand that students can appreciate edutainment. Titanic is the second-highest grossing movie of all time. The movie may not have followed complete historical accuracy, but this does show that the interest is there for educators to capitalize upon.

Pop culture outside the classroom inspires learning as well. It's important to note that although students are spending nearly 53 hours every week enjoying some sort of media, time spent reading books and other printed media is included in that figure. Overall interaction with media is on the rise, and that includes reading. In fact, time spent reading books has increased over the past 10 years. Students are connecting with media, no doubt, but educators can influence and steer at least some of that connection into media that offers educational value.

Success Stories in Teaching Pop Culture

Using pop culture in the classroom is not a new idea, and many teachers have found success putting it to work. Music videos, video games, and even Internet memes have all helped educators engage students in learning and help them find deeper conceptual understanding.

Rachel Schneider teaches Women's Popular Genres, and has used pop culture to introduce students to reading practices in the course. In the first week of her course, Schneider's students examined Destiny's Child Independent Women Part I in close reading, taking notes on the lyrics, costumes, dancing, and more. Students were able to read the material deeply, and also put it into musical and political context, considering the video in terms of feminism and cultural relevance. Schneider believes that this video provided good material for rhetorical and literary analysis, and at the end of the course, the students identified this particular text as a favorite.

Three teachers at Centennial High School in Gresham, Ore., have found success in bringing pop culture to the classroom. Rana Houshmand, Eli Nolde, and Nicole Johnston use pop culture lessons to teach state standard material in a more creative way. They use pop culture as a tool for improving students' literary critical thinking skills. Houshmand first asks students to analyze the lyrics in a Lady Gaga song, then moves on to a Robert Frost poem, where they can use their interpretation skills they've learned through material they're already familiar with. Houshmand's colleague Nicole Johnston explains that bringing pop culture into the classroom makes students excited and engaged in learning:

"They're making very interesting points about the texts. They're posting other YouTube videos. It's sparking a lot of conversation beyond the initial classroom discussion."

Morgan uses pop culture to help students better understand difficult topics. In one lesson, Morgan explained that the Zombieland rule of "double tap," or, shooting twice to make sure a zombie is actually incapacitated, is much like the post-WWII Morgenthau Plan that was designed to keep Germany from getting back up and going on the offensive. "My students will never forget the stakes of the post-war world with such a powerful visualization, " Morgan says.

Love them or hate them, it's difficult to escape the parodies of Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song, "Call Me Maybe." Two middle school science teachers, Diane McDonough and Tara Tetreault, brought their version to class with " Call it Density," a parody designed to introduce the concept of density to students. The teachers report that students enjoy their video and find it fun. Some students even asked to have the video shared online. But the real value isn't in entertainment; it's the way they've captured student interest and provided them with a good introduction. After viewing the video, McDonough and Tetreault bring the concept of density to life in their classrooms, showing students how to capture and graph data.

How to Use Pop Culture in Your Classroom

Create lessons that will linger in students' minds.
One teacher completely rewrote the lyrics to Dynamite by Taio Cruz, creating a new song, Satellite (I'm Galileo), complete with historically correct references. Students may not remember every single one of those references, but as they struggle to get lyrics like "I throw my telescope in the air sometimes/Saying AYO-/I'm Galileo" out of their minds, you can be certain they're thinking about Galileo.

Use popular culture as a conversation starter.
Spark discussion in your classroom by showing relevant film clips that get students interested. The National Education Association recommends using clips as a focal point for discussion, and as a resource that encourages interaction. Film is especially useful for starting conversations, as students may have a strong opinion about what they've seen and naturally will want to share.

Encourage students to write about what interests them.
Teacher Gaetan Pappalardo encourages other educators to allow students to write on subjects that matter to them. Relating a story of an eight-year-old student who couldn't believe he was allowed to write a paper about Transformers, Pappalardo explains the value behind giving students freedom to express their interests:

"Being told what to write year after year can be compared to a wild animal held in captivity for a very long time. When it's released back into the wild (writing freedom), when the iron door lifts, their eyes say, 'What the hell do you want me to do now?'"

Giving students some freedom in their writing may allow them to be more excited and passionate about writing.

Examine popular culture as a model for studying educational materials.
Prepare students to study poetry by passing out popular song lyrics and asking them for feedback, discussing word meaning, tone, and composition. Former English teacher Gaye Weintraub used this idea to familiarize students with the idea of poetry and show them how to engage in close reading, first with songs, and then with poetry. The result? "Most students ended up in the library looking for more books on poetry and brought poems they discovered on their own to me," says Weintraub.

Make ideas more relatable and easy to understand.
When Clay Morgan explained post-WWII double tapping through Zombieland, he wasn't dumbing down history. Rather, he was speaking his students' language. Students may find it difficult to identify with international relations, but put it in terms of zombie warfare, and they'll get it.

Encourage students to create their own media.
Explore the lives of historical figures by asking your students to create fictitious Facebook or Twitter accounts for them. Create and share videos of dramatic historical reenactments as played by action figures on YouTube. Get students involved in the creation of these resources, and they're likely to understand the educational ideas behind them.

Become familiar with what students enjoy.
Most teachers are at least one generation removed from their students, so it can be difficult to relate to their interests. You may even feel awkwardly out of touch when exploring pop culture for use in education. Fortunately, there are resources that can help, including Urban Dictionary, teen magazines, and Facebook.

Be careful about explicit content and copyright.
Although pop culture can be fun and useful in the classroom, it's not always the right fit. Consider the age and maturity of your students when presenting material, and be sure that if you are sharing explicit content, it is academically relevant. Educators should also become familiar with fair use guidelines that govern copyrighted material. Although fair use allows for generous educational use of copyrighted works, some material may not be used in its entirety or distributed as copies in the classroom.

You may feel silly or out of place bringing pop culture into the classroom, but the benefits of its educational use are too great to ignore. Pop culture is more than entertainment; it's a useful tool for connecting with students, improving engagement, and deepening understanding. And of course, it's fun to turn students from uninterested zombies into students interested in zombies.

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Cool Teachers' Guide to Pop Culture in the Classroom - Online Universities.com

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When you see a Lady Gaga music video, do you think of it as a teachable material for your classroom? Probably not. But for some visionary teachers, pop culture is a useful tool that can help get students interested and engaged in learning, and even offer resources for better understanding classroom material.

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Rascunho do relatório

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I was a late Netflix adopter, which is probably a surprise to many of my readers. Renting movies through Blockbuster or borrowing them from the library became a non-thinking habit. Late charges, having to actually go to a place to search for and pick up the movies, and high rental rates were just a few of the hardships I endured. Sure, I had heard of Netflix and many of my friends sang praises of their services. But I never took the time to really research and understand what Netflix was or how it worked until . . . I bought my first Internet-enabled HD television. Then, my movie-accessing and -viewing world was completely and irreversible transformed.

Once I realized I could not only have movies delivered to my home free of charge, but could also stream HD content on demand to my television for a relatively inexpensive monthly subscription, I was hooked. I will warn you that a Netflix subscription will require other expenditures-high-speed Internet, an HD television or computer, and a Blu-ray player to watch Blu-ray discs sent through the mail. But if you already have these devices and features, then Netflix is just a click away.

If you need television recommendations, I've been extremely happy with the Vizio televisions with Vizio Internet Apps as well as their Internet-enabled Blu-ray disc players. Sony also makes a good network Blu-ray disc player, but you'll need to also purchase a wireless card if you want to connect to your network this way. (The Vizio Blu-ray disc player already has an integrated WI-fi built in.)

But you don't even need a television to watch Netflix movies and other media. You can watch Netflix content on any computer, which makes it a perfect match for a classroom with a computer and projector. With a Netflix account ($7.99 a month for streamed media only, no CDs) you could select from a vast array of content to enrich your classroom.

Here's an excellent resource that lists various types of content offered through Netflix that could be used in the classroom: Stream Your Education Online at Netflix.

Think about the many ways you might use multimedia: a video to serve as a pre-reading activity in an English class, a documentary film that brings history alive and can provide lively conversations about film genres, an interactive tour of the Louvre to enrich art history, a PBS series on U.S. government, a foreign film to enrich a foreign language class . . . the list is endless.

How can a school provide Netflix content to its classrooms? A school could purchase a Netflix account which could stream to 6 different devices (6 teachers' classrooms). They would need to purchase additional licenses, for additional teachers. But at $7.99 a month and unlimited streaming of content, this could be an excellent way to augment a teacher's digital library.

Netflix in the classroom. Its time has come.

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Image via CrunchBase I was a late Netflix adopter, which is probably a surprise to many of my readers. Renting movies through Blockbuster or borrowing them from the library became a non-thinking habit. Late charges, having to actually go to a place to search for and pick up the movies, and high rental rates were...

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How many ways are there to use moving images in the classroom? English language teacher Svetlana Urisman, who won last month's TeachingEnglish blog award, shares her advice. Comment below this post if you have further tips. Why TV series are sometimes better than films
One of my favourite things to watch are series - they are shorter, they let you come back to the characters again and again and predict what will happen to them next. They often reflect real life, which means people in them use real language and grammar.

As for the grammar, I've always liked films and series as a great source of that - 'real', spoken grammar. My dream for several years already has been to make a kind of grammar workbook or even a video based on film examples. I keep collecting suitable extracts (send me more in the comments, please). Just to give you an idea, here's an example of 'neither do I' in the BBC series Sherlock (episode 1, season 2):
Mycroft Holmes: My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher and yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?
Driver to Betty: 'It would be, wouldn't it?, or '... I could say no, couldn't I?' Dr. John Watson: I don't know. How do you make business English interesting? Watch the right films!
How to get your classroom to choose: Trailers Mycroft Holmes: Neither do I. But initially, he wanted to be a pirate.
Or tag questions, such as this example from Mad Men (season 2, episode 1)
Reviews make classroom discussions richer and more focused
I find that showing a short extract (up to about two minutes) out of a film when characters use a structure or a grammar point you are working on brings a whole new perspective to your class - students see that the grammar you are introducing is not just something they have to study because it's in the book - they need to study this because people who speak English as their native language use this, as they have just seen on a film. And, as a positive side effect, students might get interested in series and start watching in their free time.
Subtitles: on or off?
Some films are great for business English, an area where you wouldn't think of watching films as a first choice. But films do help - to generate a discussion, to compare how business used to be done and how it is done now, to set a business-like atmosphere, and so on. Try Wall Street (1987) for all the stock exchange atmosphere and vocabulary, Other People's Money (1991) and even What Women Want (2000) for brilliant presentation skills and speech examples. When, together with my students, we feel we'd like to watch a film, or make this into a regular feature of a course, we usually decide on a film to watch, they watch it at home, and then a discussion part follows.
Join our TeachingEnglish Facebook community for further tips, resources and discussions or see our offer for teachers. Read Svetlana's winning post on using newspapers and magazines.
At this stage - when choosing a film - I find trailers a great thing to turn to: instead of telling your students about a film, you can just show a trailer and so give them a general idea of a film to watch; they bring suspense and generate interest in your class. Once, when I didn't know what film would be more interesting for my group, I set up a small 'trailers' parade' - we watched several trailers and then chose one film to watch and discuss.

However, the only downside to trailers might be that the speech in them is often very quick, and the language is less contextualised, so some learners at lower levels can experience difficulty understanding trailers. In this case, you could always use pictures (several screenshots of a film's important moments would do) or - an intriguing option - show a trailer with the sound off, letting your students guess the content.

One more 'real-life' thing to use at a lesson is film reviews - online or offline. If you are planning to discuss a film that students watched prior to your class, find several reviews and ask students if they agree or disagree with them. This would make a discussion richer and more focused. You can find a lot of good reviews on the IMDb website, both from ordinary viewers and from critics.

It's also important to decide if you want to use subtitles, and if yes, how to go about them. I usually prefer not to use subtitles (if we watch a film or parts of a film in class - which is more possible in our teaching-learning situation), but to prepare my students for the difficulties they might encounter: pre-teach some vocabulary, set the scene to make understanding easier, discuss the plot before they watch, etc. On the other hand, if I ask my students to watch the film on their own at home (quite a frequent option for us), I suggest they use subtitles to make understanding easier - but only if they really need to.

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How to use TV series, trailers and films in language class

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How many ways are there to use moving images in the classroom? English language teacher Svetlana Urisman, who won last month's TeachingEnglish blog award, shares her advice. Comment below this post if you have further tips.

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Metodologia e pesquisa

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Movies and television shows can provide us with much more than just great entertainment. English-speaking versions can also be a hugely valuable way to develop your language skills in an enjoyable way, on your own or with friends.

You may be gripped by a crime drama or thrilled by an on-screen romance - and you're not alone. English-speaking films and television shows are enjoyed by viewers all over the world. As people gain more English skills, they are choosing to watch original content rather than waiting for the version in their own language.

Blockbuster English learning aids

Almost 58% of English learners have already stated that they use film and television shows as study aids to help them learn English. Global film franchises are popular among these learners, with 36.5% of the overall vote for the Harry Potter movies, followed by 20% for Lord of the Rings.

In third place was Star Wars and recently Star Wars: The Force Awakens has provided more opportunity to boost English skills. Taking $529m at the global box office in its opening weekend, the movie has been seen by millions worldwide.

Listening to conversations between characters and understanding their relationship is a great way to gain a new perspective on English. The fast dialogue and use of slang may seem daunting but it will help you to get used to the natural flow and sounds of the language. It is also useful to see facial expressions and hand gestures, as these will give you more understanding of the conversation.

Improving English skills through the small screen

Learners also use television shows to improve their English. Popular English-speaking programmes that are viewed by millions of people globally include the CSI shows, The Mentalist and Downton Abbey. Documentaries are also particularly popular. In 2015, when we asked learners which TV shows helped them improved their English skills the most House of Cards came in a clear winner followed by Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey:

Subtitles are a great idea as you can check on the meaning of a word or you can pause the movie and repeat a sentence you would like to learn. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Portugal, movies and television programmes in English are subtitled. However, dubbing is still used in France, Italy, Spain and German-speaking countries. In Spain, officials are asking for an end to dubbing and replace it with subtitles on all programmes in the television schedules. It's part of an educational plan to improve the nation's English. And in our research, we found quite a range of popular TV programmes across the globe:

If you would like to begin using television shows and movies as study aids to help you learn English, try starting with some children's ones. These are a rich source of simple, authentic English with lots of visual clues.

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Learning English skills with TV and films

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Movies and television shows can provide us with much more than just great entertainment. English-speaking versions can also be a hugely valuable way to develop your language skills in an enjoyable way, on your own or with friends. You may be gripped by a crime drama or thrilled by an on-screen romance - and you're not alone.

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Do you use pop culture in your classroom?

If yes what type of media do you use the most?
Musica, movies, series, books, game

What's the use, teaching purpose or fun?

In a rate from 0 to 5 what's the level of motivation of your students when you use it.
0 meaning unmotivated and 5 highly motivated.

In a rate from 0 to 5 what's the level of efficiency do these activities have. 0 meaning unsatisfactory  and 5 fully satisfactory.

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The use of pop culture as a tool for English Language teaching

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The use of pop culture as a tool for English Language teaching

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Language, Culture, and Identity in Online Fanfiction

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Language, Culture, and Identity in Online Fanfiction

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Preservice English teachers experienced the concept of teaching with media. They incorporated film, music, television, and visual texts that they viewed as having potential in teaching English classes....

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Intertextuality and Hybrid Discourses: The Infusion of Pop Culture in Educational Discourse

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This article examines the intertextuality or discursive hybridity associated with spontaneous references to pop culture in teacher-led discussions in ...

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Amolto Call Recorder for Skype - Call Recording for Skype

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- Inspire
- Imagine
- Brainstorm
-  Design
- Investigate
- Create
- Share
- Evaluate

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Look for motivation theories - articles !!!!!

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Look for motivation theories - articles !!!!!

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SurveyMonkey Brasil: criar pesquisas nunca foi tão fácil

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Crie um formulário ou uma pesquisa online com IA e modelos prontos para pesquisas de mercado, inscrições em eventos e mais. Comece gratuitamente.

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The Internet TESL Journal

Ferit Kilickaya
kilickay [at] metu.edu.tr
http://www.metu.edu.tr/~kilickay
Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey)

This paper aims to answer the questions of when and how authentic materials should be used in EFL classrooms, and how cultural content may be included in the curriculum. To address these questions, the paper is organized in two parts. In the first part, the definition of authentic materials is given. Then advantages and disadvantages of the use of authentic materials are discussed. In the second part, the definition of culture is given and then, why and how cultural content should be used is discussed.

Introduction

The use of authentic materials in an EFL classroom is what many teachers involved in foreign language teaching have discussed in recent years. We have heard persuasive voices insisting that the English presented in the classroom should be authentic, not produced for instructional purposes. Generally, what this means is materials which involve language naturally occurring as communication in native-speaker contexts of use, or rather those selected contexts where standard English is the norm: real newspaper reports, for example, real magazine articles, real advertisements, cooking recipes, horoscopes, etc. Most of the teachers throughout the world agree that authentic texts or materials are beneficial to the language learning process, but what is less agreed is when authentic materials should be introduced and how they should be used in an EFL classroom.

Authentic Materials: Definition

The definitions of authentic materials are slightly different in literature. What is common in these definitions is 'exposure to real language and its use in its own community'. Rogers (1988) defines it as 'appropriate' and 'quality' in terms of goals, objectives, learner needs and interest and 'natural' in terms of real life and meaningful communication (p. 467). Harmer (1991), cited in Matsuta (n.d., para. 1) defines authentic texts as materials which are designed for native speakers; they are real text; designed not for language students, but for the speakers of the language. Jordan (1997, p. 113) refers to authentic texts as texts that are not written for language teaching purposes. Authentic materials is significant since it increases students' motivation for learning, makes the learner be exposed to the 'real' language as discussed by Guariento & Morley (2001, p. 347). The main advantages of using authentic materials are (Philips and Shettlesworth 1978; Clarke 1989; Peacock 1997, cited in Richards, 2001):

They have a positive effect on learner motivation.

They provide authentic cultural information.

They provide exposure to real language.

They relate more closely to learners ' needs.

They support a more creative approach to teaching.

We can claim that learners are being exposed to real language and they feel that they are learning the 'real' language. These are what make us excited and willing to use authentic materials in our classrooms, but while using them, it is inevitable that we face some problems.
Disadvantages of Using Authentic Materials

Richards (2001, p. 253) points out that alongside with these advantages, authentic materials often contain difficult language, unneeded vocabulary items and complex language structures, which causes a burden for the teacher in lower-level classes. Martinez (2002) mentions that authentic materials may be too culturally biased and too many structures are mixed, causing lower levels have a hard time decoding the texts. There comes the question of when authentic materials should be introduced and used in a classroom; in other words, can we use authentic materials regardless of our students' level?

Using Authentic Materials: At Which Level?

Guariento & Morley (2001) claim that at post-intermediate level, the use of authentic materials is available for use in classroom. This might be attributed to the fact that at this level, most students master a wide range of vocabulary in the target language and all of the structures. They also note that at lower levels, the use of authentic materials may cause students to feel de-motivated and frustrated since they lack many lexical items and structures used in the target language. Matsuata (n.d.) states that the use of authentic materials is a burden for the instructors teaching beginning students as they have to spend a lot of time to prepare for authentic materials regarding the ability level of the students.

Do all these mean we are not able to use authentic materials in lower-level classes apart from post-intermediate and advanced levels? According to the findings of the survey carried out by Chavez (1998), learners enjoy dealing with authentic materials since they enable them to interact with the real language and its use. Also they do not consider authentic situations or materials innately difficult. However, learners state that they need pedagogical support especially in listening situations and when reading literary texts such as the provision of a full range of cues (auditory and visual including written language).

What Can be Done to Overcome Difficulties We Face?

We may conclude that learners feel better with authentic materials helping them involve in the 'real' language as long as we, as teachers, provide them with pedagogical support. In order to achieve this, we have a wide range of choices.

Martinez (2002) suggests that teachers may use authentic materials for the learners to listen for the gist of the information presented and also he adds that by using authentic materials teachers will have the opportunity to encourage students to read for pleasure especially certain topics of their interest. Matsuta (n.d.) claims that using audio-visual materials aiding students' comprehension is beneficial since it will prevent students especially beginning ones from being frustrated about authentic materials. Materials such as popular and traditional songs will help us to create a non-threatening environment.

Guariento & Moley (2001) suggest that authentic materials should be used in accordance with students' ability and adds that suitable tasks can be given to learners in which total understanding is not important. According to Jordan (1997), in the earlier stages, non-authentic materials can be used, but stresses that upon students' dealing with materials from their own subject area, authentic materials should be introduced.

Cultural Content

Westerhuis (as cited in Cheung, 2001, p.56) defines 'culture' as the customs, values, laws, technology, artifacts and art of a particular time or people. Culture in English language teaching materials has been subject to discussion for many years. The reason for the use of cultural content in classroom is for the supposition that it will foster learner motivation (McKay, 2000, p.7).

Changes in linguistic and learning theory suggest that culture can be used as an important element in language classrooms, but many students say that they do not want to learn about the culture of the target language . This might be because of the fear of assimilation into what they perceived as something strange to them. Also, misrepresenting cultures by reinforcing popular stereotypes and constructing these cultures as monolithic, static 'Others', rather than as dynamic, fluid entities might result in failure in making cultural content an effective element in language learning and teaching (Guest, 2002).

I believe that cultural content is a key to effective teaching and learning a language provided that problems arising from introducing culture into EFL classroom are dealt with effectively and teaching strategies and learning materials are chosen appropriately.

Why Should We Use Cultural Content?

As all we know, knowing a language goes beyond the knowledge of grammatical rules, vocabulary items and pronunciation of these items. Successful language learning requires language users to know that culture underlying language in order to get the meaning across. Also, Tseng (2002) suggests that culture effects changes in individual perception and is vital for expanding an individual's perspective of the world.
According to Stuart and Nocon (1996),

Learning about the lived culture of actual target language speakers as well as about one's own culture requires tools that assist language learners in negotiating meaning and understanding the communicative and cultural texts in which linguistic codes are used" (p. 432).

Also, Shanahan (1997, p. 168) states that cultural content provides exposure to living language that a foreign language student lacks. So, culture is not something consisting of facts to be learnt, but a helpful tool to make learners feel the need to speak and use the target language.

How Can We Deal with Problems?

Today, English teachers have a lot of choices in terms of textbooks, and it is surprising that many of them rely on uninteresting textbooks that focus students' attention on grammatical structures, and on practice in isolation. Also, the activities chosen are based on teacher-talk and student-listen routines as suggested by Cheung (2001). These practices are unlikely to lead students to develop a genuine interest in learning English. Students lacking motivation to learn a language need variety and excitement. We should help them to notice that learning a language is not just learning its grammatical rules, vocabulary items and so on.

The reason for the use of cultural content in classroom is that it will foster learner motivation (McKay, 2000, p. 7). She, like many other experts, believes that there should be a variety of culture in the materials and not only an overload of western culture in ELT classrooms. Besides, learning about a culture does not mean accepting that culture. If the role of the culture in the materials is just to create learner interest towards contents and thus towards language, that is highly desirable. But overuse of cultural material in the language classrooms will constitute problems not for students but also for the teachers and decrease the motivation.

McKay identifies three types of cultural materials: target culture materials, learners' own culture materials and international target culture materials. For her, the best one is international target language materials, which supposedly covers a variety of knowledge from different cultures all over the world using the target language (McKay, pp. 9-10). That will most probably increase the learners' interest rather than imposing only one culture all the time and prevent learners from having the fear of assimilation into a specific culture, and help them respect other people's cultures. Students' own culture should be discussed together with target culture. In other words, home and target culture should be integrated. Robinson (as cited in Stuart and Nocon, 1996, p. 435) refers to this integration as 'Color Purple'. According to Stuart and Nocon, this synthesis is created when one becomes aware of one's own cultural lens (e.g. blue) through the recognition that a person from another culture has a different lens (e.g. red). Neither person can escape his or her own cultural lens, but each can choose to overlap lenses (e.g. purple) in order to understand better the other's perspectives and arrive at shared meaning. While using cultural content in classrooms, teachers should keep in mind that English is an international language, and culture is an aid to motivate our students rather than something to be taught.

How Can We Introduce Cultural Content in Our Classrooms?

There are a lot of activities we can use in our classrooms in order to create interest towards the target language by using cultural content. The key point is that we should create a relaxing environment where our students can discuss their own culture together with the target culture in meaningful and communicative tasks and activities. This will ensure that students are doing something with a purpose in their mind.

Sources and Techniques for Cultural Content

Today, with the help of technological developments, we have access to many sources easily and quickly. Almost all the printed materials are on the Internet in electronic forms and we can easily search anything anytime. As a result, we do not lack cultural content to use in our classrooms. Cullen and Sato (2000) suggest practical techniques and a wide range of sources for teaching culture in the EFL classroom using three different parameters, namely, information sources, activity-types and selling-points and also Kodotchigova (2002) discusses the role of role-play in teaching culture for classroom suggesting quick steps for classroom implementation. Jordan (1997, p. 105) lists sources of cultural information:

Newspapers: these are a good source of cultural information: local papers will give more of a flavour of everyday life in towns.

Video: a number of published ELT video tapes are a good visual source of cultural information. (Today, we have CD/DVD versions of these video tapes, which provide us with better quality.)

Talks/discussions: some topics may be suitable for giving information to students in a plenary session.

Role play/dramatizations: these can be used to initiate discussion and introspection.

Culture quizzes/tests.

Conclusion

Authentic materials enable learners to interact with the real language and content rather than the form. Learners feel that they are learning a target language as it is used outside the classroom. Considering this, it may not be wrong to say that at any level authentic materials should be used to complete the gap between the competency and performance of the language learners, which is a common problem among the nonnative speakers. This requires the language patterns being put into practice in real life situations. Since learning about a culture is not accepting it and the role of the culture in the materials is just to create learner interest towards the target language, there should be a variety of culture in the materials, not a specific one.

References

Chavez, M. (1988). Learner's perspectives on authenticity. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 36(4), 277ff.

Cheung, C. (2001). The use of popular culture as a stimulus to motivate secondary students' English learning in Hong Kong. ELT Journal, 55(1), 55-61.

Cullen, B., & Sato, K. (2000). Practical techniques for teaching culture in the EFL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 6(12).
Retrieved July 11, 2004 from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Cullen-Culture.html

Guariento, W. & Morley, J. (2001).Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom. ELT Journal 55(4), 347-353.

Guest, M. (2002). A critical 'checkbook' for culture teaching and learning. ELT Journal, 56(2), 154-161.

Jordan, R. R (1997). English for Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource for Teachers. Camxbridge. Cambridge University Press.

Kodotchigova, M. A. (2002). Role play in teaching culture: Six quick steps for classroom implementation. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(7).
Retrieved July 11, 2004 from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kodotchigova-RolePlay.html

Martinez, A. (2002). Authentic materials: An overview. Karen's Linguistic Issues.
Retrieved November 20, 2003 from http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/authenticmaterials.html

Matsuta, K. (n.d.) Applications for using authentic materials in the second language classroom.
Retrieved June 5, 2004, from Asia University Cele Department Web site:
http://www.asia-u.ac.jp/english/cele/articles/MatsutaAuthentic_Mat.htm

McKay, S. L. (2000). Teaching English as an international language: Implications for cultural materials in the classroom. TESOL Journal, 9(4), 7-11.

Richard, J.C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shanahan, D. (1997). Articulating the relationship between language, literature and culture: Toward a new agenda for foreign language teaching and research. The Modern Language Journal, 81(2), 164-174.

Stuart. G., & Nocon, H. (1996). Second culture acquisition: Ethnography in the foreign language Classroom. The Modern Language Journal 80(4), 431-449.

Tseng, Y. (2002). A lesson in culture. ELT Journal, 56(1), 11-21.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. X, No. 7, July 2004
http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kilickaya-AutenticMaterial.html

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Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms

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The Internet TESL Journal Ferit Kilickayakilickay [at] metu.edu.tr http://www.metu.edu.tr/~kilickay Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey) This paper aims to answer the questions of when and how authentic materials should be used in EFL classrooms, and how cultural content may be included in the curriculum. To address these questions, the paper is organized in two parts.

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Pop culture and ESL students: intertextuality, identity, and participation in classroom discussions. (Media & Pop Culture)

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Changes:
* Only four questions
* Yes or no questions
* Questions like "In the rate of 0 to 5"
* True or false
*Ask if they are familiar with the theories

Use the results of the interviews to quote in the article.

Teacher's preparation to deal with this kind of students

Lack of theory?

Title
Abstract (No need to write in portuguese, a paragraph, at least five key words)

Introduction (brief, set the scene, talk about language learning in Brazil, present the context, talk about the teachers training to deal with autistic, experience in the classroom,  )

Theory (Motivation, engagement in learning, literature about it, what it says about the autistic and their learning process, create the background, talk about their relationship with another languages such as spanish, look for similar studies, justify your work with the lack of studies in this area)

Results of the data, brief talk about the method, graphics to show the results at the end or during the text, interpretation of the data, show the numbers, validate the hypothesis (or not)

Conclusion
Based on the results

Bibliography
references

Conclude according to the results of the interviews and survey