WHY DO WE REQUIRE FILMS IN RCS COURSES?

The presence of movies on course syllabi in fields as diverse as literature and medicine, anthropology and history attests to cinema's broad appeal and accessibility. A medium familiar to all of our students, film provides an immediate bridge between the individual student's experience, culture, and knowledge, and the new material to be studied. As artifacts of both popular and high culture, and reflections of the times and audiences for which they are made, movies lend themselves to countless approaches of study.

The advantages of studying film are particularly significant in language classes. Among the most accessable authentic texts (made for native-speaking audiences of a given country), movies bring a variety of voices, accents, gestures, and scenes to the language classroom, as they present French and Francophone cultures from within. And just as important, films motivate students to continue to learn French.

The study of film is especially appropriate in the French curriculum, since the rich tradition of "le septième art" plays a central role in French popular and high culture.

From a strictly pedagogical perspective, research shows that Content-Based Instruction (CBI) benefits students by strengthening language competence and knowledge of subject matter, as it fosters confidence, and inspires and motivates students to continue learning languages. CBI takes several forms, including theme-based language studies, Language Across the Curriculum, and the teaching of a subject (math, history, cinema as an art form) in the target language, with additional attention to language development. We have chosen a theme-based approach to French and cinema because it provides the benefits of CBI without requiring specialized knowledge on the part of the instructor.

  PRACTICAL CONCERNS

Do instructors have to teach the films for which exercises have been posted?

Course chairs are welcome to select a new film (with the input of their teaching teams) as long as they are willing to provide pre-viewing, viewing and post-viewing exercises.

The decision to use a new film must be made early and approved by me, so that both the French Department and the library can look into the possibility of buying copies of the film. Films are frequently removed from the market, and funds for the purchase of films are not always available.

Where are the film activities?

In the interest of easy access and saving paper, most of the activities have been posted on the departmental web pages (http://www.virginia.edu/french/resource/pw).

Students should not have to print out much at all from these pages. Most of the activities are meant to be done in class. The teacher may present these with an overhead or project them directly from the web site. Students will need to print out the grids and fill-ins assigned for homework, or they may simply paste these into their own files to avoid printing out the entire web page.

If we are unable to link new exercises to the web site, we will distribute them via attachments to be posted on Toolkit.

When and where do TAs preview the films?

The French Department owns multiple copies of each required film (for teachers) , as does the Robertson Media Center (for students). Be sure to sign for videos and DVDs that you check out from the French Department, and return them in a timely fashion.

When and where do students see the films?

Each student must see the required film on or before the date designated by the course chair and printed or posted on the course syllabus. Students have five options for viewing the film:

• They may attend the course-wide group screening scheduled by a TA in the French department.



• They may see the film together as a class (outside of class) if the individual instructor would like to schedule a screening. This is extra work, not at all required or expected of TAs.



• They may watch the film at the Robertson media Center (Clemons Library) where multiple copies are placed on reserve. Students are encouraged to watch these films in groups of two. Since it will not be possible to schedule a group or even a class screening that is convenient to all students, it is likely that many students will watch the film at the Robertson Media Center.



• If the film available at a video store, students may watch it at home. This is the riskiest option. Students should plan ahead of time and reserve the film at their video store in order to complete the viewing on time.



• Experienced teachers may show the film in class, in 10-minute segments over several weeks. Because we cover so much in the language courses, it is important to use these film segments to the best advantage, weaving them into the grammar lesson and linking them into as many of the day's goals as possible. If you tend to get through chapters quickly, this is a good option for you. See http://www.virginia.edu/french/resource/teachers/teaching/video.htm for guidelines on using video in class.

Timing is everything:

• Announce the date by which the films must be seen often, and well in advance. Make sure they have access to viewing exercises.



• Be sure to warn students that if they wait until the night before to see the film on reserve, it will very likely be checked out.



• Announce a one-minute quiz, based on the viewing exercises.

  PEDAGOGICAL CONCERNS

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE FILMS

Above all, do not feel obligated to cover all of the activities provided for each film, and do feel free to modify them according to your interests and those of your students.

• Consider dividing up the labor. Assign one Internet activity to two students, each discussion question to a different pair of students, etc. Encourage students to watch the films together and/or to complete certain viewing tasks together, in small groups.



• All of the prepared activities apply to viewing, understanding, and discussing the film itself. In other words, they are not textbook-dependent, and have not been designed to reinforce a specific grammar point or vocabulary unit. The exercises were intentionally designed in this way, so that the films could be shown at any time in the semester, no matter what textbook is being used in a given course.



• However, any film may be used to reinforce any specific grammar structure, if the film serves as a springboard for productive skills (speaking, writing,) and if the film serves as context for even the most basic grammar exercise.



• Do bring to class brief (2-3 minutes0 segments of film containing a focus grammar point as context for grammar presentation and for listening comprehension.



• See http://www.virginia.edu/french/resource/teachers/teaching/video.htm for ideas on how to use short segments of film in class to reinforce culture and language skills.



• You may use brief clips in class before students have seen the whole film. This preview may pique students' interest while serving as a global pre-viewing exercise: students may hypothesize about the plot and characters based on one brief sequence; they may make connections between the style and content of the film and other films they have seen; etc.



• Likewise, using brief clips in class after students have seen the whole film may serve the double function of reinforcing a language lesson and starting up a discussion, role-plays, etc.

Types of Film Exercises Available

Recherches sur Internet

These exercises are not site-specific, so you do not have to worry about outdated links. They are meant to encourage students to surf the net in French (and sometimes in English for comparison), and to familiarize themselves with the filmmakers, genres and subjects presented.

• Assign these to be done outside of class, approximately two class periods before the students are to have seen the film.



• Have students share the "sites utiles" with the whole class via e-mail.



• As always, accountability is essential. Students should know they will have to report their findings in class, via e-mail, through a brief presentation, or on a one-minute quiz.

Avant de voir le film

• Most of these exercises are meant to be done in class, in whole-group and/or small-group discussion. Students don't need to print them out. You may wish to keep them on an overhead, or to project them from the web site if your room is equipped.



• Teachers should guide the brainstorming activities, mapping information on the board.



• Teachers should not feel obliged to do all of these. Select one or two that you like best.



• Try to present (and or elicit) the most important vocabulary during brainstorming activities. Use semantic mapping, word families, etc.

Vocabulaire utile

• This reference vocabulary (comparable to words glossed in a reading) will help students speak and write about the films.



• Students should copy and paste the vocabulary lists into their own files. They may wish to print these out. Some of the vocabulary may be practiced in class, but students will need to work at home, too, looking up the words they do not know.



• Many of the vocabulary exercises may be done in class (small-group work

Pendant la projection

• These exercises should be completed while students are watching the film. If students read them over ahead of time, they will find that most of them do not need to be printed out, or can be printed out on just one page. They may copy/paste and condense them if they like.



• As with pre- and post-viewing exercises, consider dividing up the tasks, making each student responsible to pay attention to certain viewing tasks.

Après avoir vu le film

Discussion questions and expansion activities are meant for in-class use

• Consider assigning one or two questions to each student as oral preparation
.


• Consider dividing the class into groups of 2-3 and assigning each a question. They should then present their results to the class.

A l'écrit

The three writing topics are listed from most basic to most challenging. Decide in consultation with your course chair if you would like to assign any of theses. They may be used as discussion topics as well.

Atelier: Creative writing and reaction writing. The least analytical of the three.
Exposition: Requires students to group information from the film in order to make a point.
Analyse: Requires the most critical thinking of the three. Students defend a thesis using the film as support.

If you assign one of the writing topics be sure to consult guidelines for assigning compositions linked tot the departmental Web site. Then add accordingly:

• Length and format requirements (300 words, double-spaced etc.)



• Due dates



• Requirements for each draft



• General guidance on grammar and register (what tense to use? Who is the implied reader?)



• Specific grammar requirements based on material begin studied(i.e., use three relative pronouns)



• Specific vocabulary requirement when appropriate (vocabulary from the film or from the textbook chapter)

Liens culturels

Like the Recherches sur internet these activities are designed to be completed outside of class, in preparation for in-class presentation and/or discussion.