General Lesson Plan for Using American Movies or Video Clips to Teach 
				Listening and Conversation

				Level: beginner – high (can be adapted to any level)
				Time required: * blocks of 30-45 
				(could take as long as 3-4 hours, 
				depending on how much of the video you want to teach)
				Overview: Students love watching movies and engaging in conversations about movies. 
				By carefully planning your lessons, you can promote excellent conversations 
				that include discussions of idiomatic expressions and vocabulary, theme and conflict, 
				and controversies and dilemmas within a video segment or the entire film.

	Objectives:

		• Students will hear a variety of authentic speakers
		• Students will be exposed to idiomatic expressions within dialogs 
		• Students will become more familiar with American culture and traditions
		• Students will engage in conversations on a variety of topics 
		• Students will share their experiences about what they observed from the video

	Materials:


		• Video or DVD for computer or language lab VCR 
		  (close caption capabilities if preferred)
		• Script of dialog clips to supplement the video
		• Student question guide and lessons


	Procedure:

		• Spend enough class time thoroughly introducing the 
		   video you are about to teach, since this is a lesson that will probably take a few trips to the 
		   lab to complete.
		• Organize and plan your lesson well.  It is not always necessary to show the entire video.  
		  Decide what you would like students to learn from watching the video and whether or not
		  showing the whole video is important in reaching your goals of the video lesson.
		• Discuss some of the main topics of the video. Also, give the students a list of the main characters 
		  so that they are more familiar with the names as they appear in the movie.
		• Give the students a list of questions to answer and vocabulary to define as they watch the video. 
		  Tell students to use good note taking skills and write information down while they watch.
		• Set the counter on your VCR so that you do not waste time rewinding and fast-forwarding to find the 
		  parts you would like to show your students.
		• Do not be afraid to stop the video throughout the viewing to explain verbal expressions or 
		  actions as they occur.
		• Do not try to show them the too much of the video in one sitting; your lesson will be much stronger 
		  if you show one smaller segment of the movie and have a follow-up discussion to make sure 
		  your students are understanding what they hear and see.
		• It is not always necessary to use the close caption function; challenge your higher-level 
		  students to listen for key vocabulary and expressions by not allowing them to read 
		  the text at the bottom of the screen.

	Assessment:

	Observe whether or not the students are taking notes. 
	Are they unable to take notes because they do not understand what is happening or being said in the video?

	Stop the video often and ask students for feedback. Give them short, verbal quizzes 
	to make sure they are paying attention to important vocabulary.

	Allow your students enough time to discuss the culture and themes of the movie.

	Collect the list of questions to see whether or not your students could accurately respond 
	to your questions and define important terms from the movie.
	
	Have your students free write about a topic or theme in the movie that they thought was interesting or 
	important about American culture. Have students read or share their responses in front of the class.

	Self-assessment:

	~ Did you choose a movie that had suitable topics for your students?

	~ Did you choose a video that had the appropriate vocabulary level for your students?

	~ Did you spend enough time introducing your video and discussing the video with your students?

	~ Were all of your students able to respond to the movie through free writing or through class discussion?


go to Mary's Picks (for teachable movies)
go to more of Mary's Picks (for teachable movies)

Please give me suggestions to add to my list!