Movie talks!

One of the things I enjoy doing with my students are movie talks.  You have to have a bit of basic vocabulary first, but there are some movie talks that don’t require a huge amount of vocabulary to be successful.  Sometimes using a commercial or a short clip can work better for absolute beginners. 

This year I have five sections of French 1-2, so I may not be able to use some of my favorite ones for a little while. The general idea of a movie talk is to choose some basic vocabulary that can be repeated as the story is retold.  You can then add details as desired.  You can adjust movie talks to different levels – you might tell the story in the present tense for level 1, but past tense for level 2.  You can choose to not show the end of the clip and ask students to make predictions in order to practice the future, or you might ask students what they would do so you can use the conditional. 

Pre-viewing activities might include vocabulary and matching images to descriptions of the image, while post-viewing could be as simple as putting events in order, true or false questions or fill in the blank or as complex as having students retell the story. I have a variety of movie talks in the store, as well as a few freebies.  If you’ve never used one before, I’m offering this one – Rose – as a freebie.  It’s the story of a girl who goes away to college and recognizes that no matter how grown-up she is, she still needs her mom. You can watch the accompanying video here and download the freebie here.

Videos to use for movie talks

If you’re interested in trying some of the other movie talks I have, here are some of my favorites:

Alma: A little girl is entranced by a doll in a shop window – it’s just like her!  She wants to get the doll, but what happens when she does? This one is a favorite of my students. You can watch the accompanying video here.

Pip: A little dog dreams of being a guide dog for the blind, but he’s not exactly gifted in this area.  Can he overcome his challenges to become a guide dog? You can watch the accompanying video here.

Laundry Quandary: The local superhero is spending laundry day in the laundromat, but a monster is attacking the city!  How will he save the city without his superhero costume? You can watch the accompanying video here.

Wishgranter: A couple dreams of finding love and makes a wish in a fountain.  A mechanical malfunction seems to be in the way, though. You can watch the accompanying video here.

Print your Guy: A woman sees an ad for a new service that will end her dating troubles – or will it? You can watch the accompanying video here. If you decide that you enjoy movie talks and would like to try a variety of them, there is also a bundle of them at a discount.