Graff- Can Movies Really Teach You How to Speak a New Language?

Can Movies Really Teach You How to Speak a New Language?

Figure 1. This figure is an image of a typical old-times movie theater. This figure was chosen in correlation with the topic that movies can teach adults a new language. Emily. (20 May, 2012). Movie at the Patio Theater in a Single Frame of Film. Flickr.com. Retrieved from: http://tinyurl.com/y2v75aqx

            Most movies are created and shown to entertain audiences. Major blockbusters include different genres from action to romance stories, but have you ever heard of someone learning a language just by watching movies? My grandmother exemplifies this idea greatly. Her first language is Hebrew, as she was born in Israel. However, I recall walking into her home and being shocked to find that she was watching a Telenovela, a Spanish soap opera. I thought to myself, "Why would she watch a show that she can't even understand?" She then further explained to me that she had been watching Telenovelas and had learned to speak fluent Spanish as a result of it. Could it have been possible that an older-aged woman like my grandmother was able to learn a completely new language just from her T.V.? According to “Learning English Through Movies: Adult English Language Learner’s Perceptions” it very much is possible. This article speaks on different studies that prove that movies aid adults in learning English. A movie is an innovative way of teaching adults how to speak English by improving language development, being authentic, having people learn on their own, and being culturally awakening. Through scenes and conversation, movies present the different aspects of language in an entertaining way. 

      Several smaller studies were conducted in order to test if movies are a good testament to teaching adults how to speak English. The research question for the studies is as follows: “How do language learners describe their experiences using English movies as tools to learn English? To what extent do adult language learners believe that watching movies to learn English is beneficial?” (Albiladi, Abdeen, & Lincoln). The first study was conducted by Li and Wang in 2015 and their study was focused on Chinese college students. Instead of teaching the students English in a traditional way (within a classroom with a teacher), the students were shown movies in English. The results show that the students were able to learn English very well because they were able to learn in a real language environment how people converse with one another. The students were also able to learn about the American Culture by watching Western Films, something that they wouldn't have been able to experience in a traditional classroom.
 The second study was conducted by Ismaili in 2013 in South East European University. This study was a bit longer as it was a 3-month period with 6 teachers and 60 undergraduate students ages 18-25. The control group within this study learned English in the traditional way and the other group was exposed to English speaking movies. Overall, there were major differences between both groups. The group that watched the movies had more motivation to learn the language and had better language skills than the control group.
In an additional minor study by Khoshniyat and Dowlatabadi in 2014, Disney movies were used to teach the students. The results of this study conclude that the various movies helped the learners comprehend idioms and learn the language greater than learning the language in another, more traditional manner.

            The major study that was included in this article used qualitative research, which allowed the researchers to understand the learner’s perceptions on learning English with the use of watching movies. The data was collected through interviews and there were 25 adult learners who participated in this study. Each learner had a different educational and ethnic background. The findings from this study revolved around 4 themes. The first theme was language development. The learners said that their speaking, listening, pronunciation and vocabulary ability were improved from watching the movies because they were able to listen to native English-speaking people interact with one another in the movies. The second theme was authentic learning which came about because watching the movies gave the learners the opportunity to catch onto the way that the language is spoken natively. They listened to an authentic dialogue, instead of learning from textbooks. The third theme was self-learning/ autonomy. The learners from the study appreciated that they were able to learn English on their own time and by themselves. There was no psychological added pressure when watching the movies, as there may have been in a traditional English class. The fourth and final theme was cultural awareness. The learners were able to get a glimpse of the American culture, which then helped them learn the English language. It is proven when teaching a language, that teaching about the culture where that language is spoken, helps the learner adapt to the new language. 

            Even though there were mostly positive results from this study, there were also few limitations to the study as well. The learners concluded in their results that even though the movies helped them learn English, they understood that movies shouldn’t be heavily relied on to teach the English language. This is because not all movies are primarily made to teach a language. The learners added that even though a person shouldn’t completely rely on movies to teach them English, movies should still be incorporated in classrooms because they are an added help.
              I found this article to be very resourceful and interesting. There were many studies used within the article that helped the authors back up their conclusion and prove that movies truly have an impact when learning a new language. I gravitated towards this article because I am a telecommunications major and I have a love for movie making! I also speak two languages fluently, which I find is an advantage especially as I am getting older. I was very interested to learn how my grandmother was able to learn a new language as an elderly woman and now know that I can do the same. 

By: Dana Graff, Second Year Student at the University of Florida 


Work Cited: 
Abdeen, Fahad H., Albiladi, Waheeb S., Lincoln, Felicia. (December 2018). Learning English Through
            Movies: Adult English language Learners' Perceptions. Literature resource Center.           http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0812.01
Emily. (20 May, 2012). Movie at the Patio Theater in a Single Frame of Film. Flickr.com. Retrieved                                                           from: http://tinyurl.com/y2v75aqx