Community Through Technology: An Online ESL Instructor Toolkit

Short Films and Clips

Active Discussions

The shared experience of viewing a clip or short is like going to the movies together as a class; this and high student engagement with the medium promotes active discussions

Instructor Presence

The instructors' selection of clip(s) and design of the activiy, along with active moderation of the discussions

Story-embedded Content

Use of video shorts or clips that depict parts of your course content or concepts in storified ways

Short Films and Clips: Video and Screencast Overview

Inferences

"Pigeon Impossible"

directed by Lucas Martell

Students view this short as part of the at-home introduction to inferences. The video asks the viewer to make inferences at 6 points during the film. At each of these places in the video, students are tasked to write down their respones, and we discuss as a class in the synchronous session.

"The Present"

directed by Jacob Frey

Students practice more with inferences with this short, responding to the following questions:

Why does the boy seem to get so angry when he sees the puppy has three legs?
Why do you think the boy uses crutches and not a prosthetic leg?
Why does the boy ultimately go outside to play with the dog?

Critical Thinking and Critical Reading

I use these two scenes from the movie "Mona Lisa Smile" to introduce the concept of critical thinking. Students complete this activity asynchronously as part of a hybrid class, and then we discuss their findings when we meet synchronously. Below each clip are the instructions I provide to students

Critical reading is the process of becoming actively engaged in what you are reading by (1) understanding the author's main ideas and supporting ideas and then (2) investigating what you have read by questioning the author's ideas and evaluating their supporting evidence based on your knowledge of the world and by verifying claims as needed using other information sources.

A key component of critical reading is critical thinking, defined by Oxford as "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment."

To get started with this week's topic, let's first take a look into critical thinking by viewing two clips from the movie "Mona Lisa Smile." To begin, read a short summary of the movie in the "Plot" section of this Wikipedia article to get an idea of the movie's plot.

Next, view the first scene above. In this scene, the professor is about to walk into the classroom to teach her first art class at the college. Another professor issues her some words of advice (or warning) before she enters: "They can smell fear" - meaning, in essence: These students are tough, so be confident because if you are not, they will eat you alive.

After viewing the first scene, students read the below, view the second scene above, and then respond to the questions. I have placed the artworks referenced in question 3 below.

Now, view this second scene. In this scene, the professor has reflected upon how her first class went, and she enters the second class with a new approach. After viewing, write down your thoughts to the following questions:

Why does the professor show the art pieces of the carcass and her childhood drawing?
Why is your professor showing you movie clips to introduce a lesson on critical reading?
Finally, which of the images below would you consider art? Why or why not?