What Do We Know About When We Talk About Teaching Grammar Through Movies?

Abstract

Grammar is probably one of the most difficult and unpopular categories of English study. For most English learners, grammar is about as much fun as a difficult formula in mathematics. That is, learners have to "memorize" it and apply it when answering questions in a test. One solution is to use movies for teaching grammar. Movies are motivating educational material and a rich source of a "real conversation." By using a movie, learners can see, hear, and fully understand how to use a particular grammar point in a meaningful context. Their passive grammar knowledge will become active, reinforced and meaningful. However, movies are generally too difficult, especially for lower-level learners. Most learners seem to find it almost impossible to understand foreign language movies without subtitles. This paper will show a solution for the above problem and demonstrate effective ways of utilizing movie segments to make a variety of exercises including grammar ones.