This paper argues that the spoken dialogues are not the only source of input that can be taken from movies for listening activities, and it introduces a technique, named Visual Narrative Method, that utilizes the movie "content" to provide comprehensible aural input. The instructor focuses on the visual content of the movie, rather than the dialogues, and describes orally what appears on the screen, such as objects, people, actions, feelings, and events. The purpose is to create an environment where the visual information from the screen can assist the learners to understand the aural input they receive. It is argued that used in this way, movies can be effective for building up global listening skills. The paper describes the basic procedures of the VN method, and the typical coursework organization. It also discusses preceding languageprocessing research findings, both positive and negative, with regard to aspects of the method.
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