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This study contends that film can be used to improve reading comprehension to teach cultural and/or literary theory in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom. Research on the reading comprehension skills of English language students in EFL courses have had limited success when applied to EAP courses. Prior research suggests that students have difficulty transitioning from the short varied readings of EFL classes to the conceptually dense prose in content courses. Alternative methods to the continued use of standard comprehension activities and skill-building exercises are required. Using the holistic, task- and text-specific reading strategies established by the New Teacher Center (NTC), this study proposes that the Disney Pixar animation film Cars can be used to supplement and illustrate the structuralist work of Claude Levi-Strauss and Will Wright. It is argued that Cars is a Western narrative that constitutes a modern myth of American culture and society. The study provides suggestions on the use of the NTC reading comprehension strategies when teaching the course Cultural Theory. The article concludes that the use of film is an effective resource to teach cultural and/or literary theory that may be difficult for students to conceptualize by using only the textbook and lectures. |
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