We seem to have been doing a lot of movie watching of late. The three older girls have just finished reading C.S.Lewis' 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' for their English class, and so they got to watch the movie. The younger children learnt 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' (yes, I just typed all that out!) and 'Spoonful of Sugar' in Singing class, so we thought it would be good for the children to see 'Mary Poppins'. Needless to say, the children love it, and we're thinking of showing them 'The Sound of Music' next.
Even in this short time, I can see so many benefits, that I wonder why movies aren't used more regularly in schools. The children's vocabulary has increased tremendously, they are learning new ways to phrase sentences, and their accents have improved. Since the kids I work with don't come from English-speaking homes, their only exposure to the language comes from school, so these are very important things.
Another aspect that struck me was the exposure to a different culture. Aside from the values that can be discussed after watching these movies, the children get a little more familiar with different cultures. So, when they come across stories from different places, for example, it's that much easier for them to understand.
Movies like 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' are known and talked about all over the world. It's nice to know that our students, who might otherwise never have even heard of them, will now also have things to say about them! Which brings me to the fun part of showing movies in school: Hearing what the children have to say about them.
My personal favourite was the time I overheard a conversation between two girls, which turned into quite a debate. The topic: "Who is prettier - Mary Poppins or the White Witch of Naria?"
