Joining a movie club can enhance English comprehension and provide a supportive environment for discussing films.
Learning English in a group setting allows for interactions with peers, fostering collaborative learning and preparing learners for real-world conversations.
Deep dives
The Benefits of Learning English through Movie Clubs
Joining a movie club can offer numerous advantages for English learners. By watching movies together, learners can understand films more deeply and have discussions that enhance their comprehension. Movie clubs also provide a supportive environment where participants can share insights and interpretations. The Level Up English Movie Club, run by Kara Leopold, focuses on helping learners understand and analyze movies. The club incorporates workbooks, discussion forums, and live Zoom sessions, allowing learners to engage with the material and each other. Kara organizes a one-week movie challenge where participants watch clips from famous high school movies to immerse themselves in English and generate insightful discussions. This challenge is a preview of the main movie club, which offers a monthly membership that allows learners to watch, understand, and discuss new movies on a continual basis.
Exploring Groundhog Day as a Profound Movie for English Learners
When it comes to teaching English, the movie 'Groundhog Day' stands out as a popular choice. This 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray offers more than just laughs—its underlying message has captivated viewers for years. The film follows the story of a weatherman trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive the same day over and over again. As the protagonist, Phil Connors, evolves throughout the movie, learners can draw inspiration from his transformation. 'Groundhog Day' delves into themes of personal growth, introspection, and finding meaning in life. Its thought-provoking storyline and relatable characters make it a powerful tool for language learning and self-reflection.
Benefits of Learning in Groups Rather Than One-on-One
Learning English in a group setting offers distinct advantages over traditional one-on-one instruction. In group learning environments, English learners can benefit from interactions with peers, gaining perspective from different accents, viewpoints, and experiences. By engaging in discussions, learners can learn from their classmates and develop their speaking and listening skills. Learning in groups also prepares learners for real-world conversations, where they are likely to interact with a variety of English speakers. The collaborative nature of group learning fosters mutual support, allowing learners to fill in each other's gaps in knowledge and provide valuable insights. Group environments also promote learner autonomy and independence, empowering students to take charge of their learning.
Interesting Movie and TV Series Recommendations
For English study and entertainment, several noteworthy movie and TV series recommendations have emerged. TV shows like 'Dave' and 'What We Do in the Shadows' offer humorous and engaging content. However, it is essential to note that some shows may present comprehension challenges due to dialogue speed or dialects. Another standout choice is 'Derry Girls,' a Channel 4 comedy set in Northern Ireland during the troubles. While it provides insights into the historical context, accents might pose difficulties for non-native speakers. These recommendations, along with classics like 'Groundhog Day,' can expand learners' horizons, improve their language skills, and inspire meaningful discussions.
Cara Leopold (Leo Listening) joins me once again on the podcast to discuss the benefits of learning English in groups with her experience teaching group classes based around movies, as well as some good movies and TV series she likes to use to practice and teach English.
If you've caught this episode in 2023, Cara is relaunching her Movie Club course. You can try it out for one week in September to see if you like it. We talk more about this in the episode too
Cara Leopold is the creator of the Leo Listening Movie Club where she helps film-loving English learners understand and discuss movies together so they can master conversational English.
From September 13th-20th Cara is organising the Back-to-School Movie Challenge, a 1-week taste of what it's like to be in a movie club. By watching and discussing clips from high school movies together, you’ll learn new vocabulary, catch fast-spoken English and practice your speaking and writing skills with other movie-loving English learners. The challenge includes access to a discussion forum as well as a live Zoom session on September 20th to chat with me and other film lovers about the movie clips.