CfE Es and Os: Modern Languages

Using film in a range of classroom activities can contribute to wide learning in the curriculum and deliver many Experiences and Outcomes.

Below is a list - by no means exhaustive - of some of the experiences and outcomes you can help deliver in Modern Languages through work with film.

I develop and extend my literacy skills when I have opportunities to engage with and create a wide range of texts in different media.
I develop and extend my literacy skills when I have opportunities to extend and enrich my vocabulary through listening, talking, watching and reading.
Awareness of social, cultural and geographical aspects of the countries where a particular language is spoken.
Learning through the languages area of the curriculum enables children and young people to use different media effectively for learning and communication.
I enhance my understanding and enjoyment of other cultures and of my own and gain insights into other ways of thinking and other views of the world.
I explore how gesture, expression and emphasis are used to help understanding.

You might also be interested in signing up for this free online course: Short Film in Language Teaching.

The One in Charge [El Encargado]

Research aspects of that culture revealed in the film and present them in some form.
Choose 10 words from the film and ask the class to find synonyms.
Choose a speech or section of dialogue from the film and transcribe it. Ask pupils to translate this or answer questions on it.
Teach the names of camera shots in your chosen language. Ask them to find words to describe certain shots (e.g. intense, isolating, energetic...)
Translate a favourite film quote into a lovely poster.

Create a storyboard in another language for a film you love, or that continues a foreign language film you’ve watched, or for your own foreign language film!
Write a film review in your chosen language.
Choose a character from the film and write a diary entry, postcard, email, text message as them.
Pupils draw a character from the film and surround it with words to describe their personality/actions. (Also works for describing a setting.)

Show a film clip and ask pupils understanding questions in your chosen language.
Get pupils to act out an additional scene for the film in that language.
Use the iMovie Trailer template to make a foreign film trailer.
Pupils film an activity and add a commentary in their chosen language.
Make a film for the SEET Our World filmmaking competition.

Make bingo sheets with key vocabulary from the film and have pupils mark off the words while watching.
Use Sound On/Vision Off: Show a short film or clip with the picture off. What have they understood about what is happening? Show it again with the picture on to see how accurate they were.
Pupils make a multiple choice quiz on a given section of the film and test each other.
Ask pupils to watch a film in a language they don’t know and make a list of 10 key words they learn from it.

For more information about BGE Modern Language Es and Os achieved through film education and suggested activities, check out our guide to BGE Modern Languages Es and Os Met Using Film.