The feasibility of using poems in the movies for ELT classroom

Yoon, Jae Woong

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2007;8(2):1-16.
Published online December 30, 2007.

The feasibility of using poems in the movies for ELT classroom

Jae Woong Yoon

영어 수업을 위한 영화 속 영시의 활용 방안

윤재웅

Abstract

This study aims at exploring the feasibility of using poems in movies for ELT classroom. Poetry can offer many advantages in the foreign language classroom. It is primarily a source of enjoyment in use of language for learners. Poems also have the advantage of shortness of length-many poems are generally considered to be well-suited to a single classroom lesson. Poetry moreover enables learners to experience the power of language beyond that used in standard written sentences. Nevertheless, the difficulties of comprehension caused by the complexity of the poetic language turn the teaching of poems into a boring process of explanation. However, if learners can be given help with the resources for understanding poems, they will be able to attain the deeper understanding and full enjoyment of a poem that comes from a sense of shared intimacy with the poet's created world. This kind of help can best be offered through scenes where poems are recited. Learners often feel difficulty gaining the meaning because they lack understanding of the context of the poems. So if, before learning poems, learners become familiar with their context or themes through watching them performed, their understanding should be increased. In this case, the language learning process is promoted by involving the learners' visual and emotional faculties. In other words, watching the scene from a movie before learning can be a substantial warm-up to arouse the learners' curiosity or their schemata.

Key Words: feasibility of using poems in movies;scenes where poems are recited;musical elements of poetry;class model;high-order questions;low-order questions;logical thinking;imagination;intelligence