ELT 512 - Using the Cinema and Literature in ELT

This course explores the integration of literature and cinema into English Language Teaching (ELT) to enhance language learning and cultural understanding. Students will examine theoretical frameworks, pedagogical strategies, and practical applications for using literary texts and films in the ELT classroom. The course emphasizes the development of critical thinking, cultural awareness, and language proficiency through engaging with authentic materials.

First, learners’ engagement with issues of power and prejudice might have strong emotional repercussions, and it is crucial that critical studies in literature and film are fostered respectfully in an inclusive classroom. Another consideration is that students vary in their acquaintance with the texts and films because of differences in age, socio-economic background, and cultural interest. These issues might also be intensified in an international context where students come from different cultural backgrounds, and texts might not be as known to some as they are to others. The instructors, therefore, need to provide some way of setting and scaffolding to help individuals understand the course materials. In the age of post-conflict, with recovery still underway, access to technological equipment is still limited in some parts of the country. Many did not access the internet and, therefore, did not have access to cinema while growing up and did not partake in cinema-going culture. While pop culture was once dominant and easily assimilated into communicative tasks in English, some aspects of the pre-internet era might be less known to younger generations in Generation Z. Furthermore, although many have been exposed to Westernized lifestyles in one way or another, it might still not necessarily translate into understanding people from the West and vice versa; the fear of misportraying a different culture is very real to some. Even if serious logistical barriers are not present in the West, this perspective might help eliminate any misunderstandings about a film or the underlying issues it contains or might engender, which could be easily dismissed by an educator faced with a somewhat disinterested student body.