(1404) FILM-INDUCED LEARNING OR HOW TO DEVELOP INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS IN ESP

摘要

The use of audio-visual materials has a long and well-established tradition in English LanguageTeaching (ELT): video-clips, trailers, movies, TV spots, cartoons, and the like have been successfullyused in every educational level, from preschool to higher education. If, in the early 80's, the use ofvideo on a regular basis in English classes was an innovative way to open a window to the worldoutside the classroom, today's information society is everywhere and knowledge can be easilyaccessed with the click of a mouse. In this new and complex environment, teaching and learningEnglish for Specific Purposes (ESP) poses some additional challenges to ELT in general;;i.e. studentslearn the language as a means to an end, the content instruction being a “must” and the linguisticcomponent is a bit behind. In addition, English, a language spoken by more than 750 million nativespeakers, while maintaining its status as lingua franca- has grown to what is known as “WorldEnglishes” or “Global Englishes”. The term “global Englishes” describes the wide range and variety ofEnglish used by global users in the multicultural society we live in today. This multicultural society,therefore, requires an intercultural approach to teaching and learning.This paper presents a pilot project conducted with a group of English language learners of 2nd year ofTourism degree at the Faculty of Economics (University of Valencia).The project had a twofoldobjective: to improve students' learning skills and to develop their intercultural awareness throughmovies. The film chosen was “The Best Exotic Hotel Marigold” (Johan Madden, 2011) where Britishand Indian cultures meet and whose characters show instances of cross-cultural and interculturalcommunication. Students were divided into two groups: Group A (a focus group, with volunteerstudents ready to do some preparatory work -reading a dossier on language, culture, customs andetiquette on India, prior to watching the film) and Group B (the rest of the students in the class whowatched the film, without any prior knowledge). To assess the level of intercultural awareness, aquestionnaire was performed before and after watching the film;;in addition, a worksheet based on themovie was designed to enhance an “active viewing” of the film and to assess the learner'scomprehension and understanding of the plot and the linguistic content.Preliminary findings show that Group A students were satisfied with the experience, appreciated thedossier provided as it improved their comprehension and enjoyment of the film;;besides theyconfirmed to be willing to continue watching films in their spare time. In conclusion, having a dossierand doing pre-, while- and post-viewing activities was a pull factor that enhanced their motivation tolearn English and to develop intercultural awareness in this group of ESP learners.