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Movies
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Movies can be a wonderful resource for listening comprehension activities.  They are visual, they usually have an interesting plot, and vocabulary is often repeated.  There is also an abundance of dialogue.  On the other hand, movies are long and students may have trouble understanding.  As a result, it is important to prepare students to watch the movie by doing the following:

  • Always preview the movie before showing it to students.
  • Before showing the movie, conduct pre-listening activities.
  • During the movie, provide activities to keep students focused.
  • Stop the movie often to discuss what is taking place and allow students to ask questions.
  • Depending on students’ attention span and class length, you may need to break up the movie over several class periods or only show clips instead of the whole movie.
  • Make sure students understand the rationale behind the movie and that it is not a time for them to goof off.



Movie Activities

    Character Analysis
    1. Inform students they will analyze a character.
    2. Before the movie begins, read out character descriptions, show video clips, and give background information. 
    3. Divide students into groups with one character per group.
    4. Each student chooses a different character.
    5. Show the movie.
    6. Students analyze their character using the questions below as a guide. 
    7. Afterwards, students meet with their groups and discuss the film together. 
    Literature-Based Movies
    1. Select significant passages from the book. 
    2. Play the movie.
    3. Stop it and discuss the important scenes as each one arises.
    4. Afterwards, students read excerpts from the book.
    5. Compare and contrast the movie and the book version.
    6. Restart the movie. 
    7. Continue until the movie has ended.
    Match Expressions to Scenes
    1. Preview the movie, listening for expressions that you want your students to know. Focus on high frequency words and useful phrases.
    2. For each phrase, note significant features of the scene from which the phrase comes. 
    3. Show the movie, stopping it bit by bit to discuss each phrase.
    4. Students share:
      • What they think the phrase means
      • Why they think it was used in that context
      • Provide examples of other situations where they would use the phrase. 
      • After the movie has ended, students match the expression to the scene.

    Movie Dictation
    1. Dictate lines from the movie that are comprehensible and thought provoking.
    2. Afterwards, students put the dictated line into its context by writing in Spanish:
      • Who said it
      • When it was said
      • Where it was said
      • Why it was said
      • What the result or reaction was

    Paraphrase the Conversation
    1. Students watch a scene from the movie.
    2. Discuss the conversation and key vocabulary used.
    3. Afterwards, students paraphrase the conversation.

    Recreate a Scene
    1. Students watch a movie.
    2. Put students in groups and instruct them to recreate a scene from the movie, incorporating expressions and vocabulary used in the movie. 
    3. Before they begin, brainstorm possible expressions they could use. 

 

Resources
I don't show movies very often in my own classroom. However, if it fits the curriculum and if it truly supports learning, then I will show one. I generally show movies that are in Spanish and are created by native Spanish-speakers or I will show a movie in English with a Spanish theme.  I have also spoken with teachers who show an English movie that students are familiar with that is dubbed in Spanish.  Those teachers felt that students learned a lot and paid attention because they were familiar with the plot and already liked the movie.  I guess it depends on your objectives and whether you want to include a cultural element or just focus on the language.  Below I have listed some movies from Spain/Latin America and movies with cultural themes. Just make sure you preview the entire thing before showing it to your class.

Links

Spanish Video Worksheets - Video exercises created by Richard Russell


Spanish Movies

Amor Real PG 13
Ay Carmela! (Spain)  PG 13
..al fin, el mar (Argentina/Cuba) PG 13
Aqui, el que no corre...vuela (Spain) PG 13
Blue Diner - Puerto Rico & Assimilation to U.S. culture
Breve vacanza (Spain) PG
Calle 54 (Spain) G
Christmas in Mexico
Casi casi (Puerto Rico) PG 13
Cortazar (Argentina) PG
Cerca de la frontera (Argentina) PG 13
Cilantro y perejil (Mexico) PG 13
Cosas que olvide recordar (Spain) PG 13
De eso no se habla (Argentina) PG 13
Despabilate amor (Argentina) PG
Danzon (Mexico) PG 13
Diarios de motocicleta
El Silencio de Neto
El viaje fantastico en globo (Mexico) G
El abuelo (Spain) PG
El amor brujo (Spain) PG
El coleccionista de cadaveres (Spain) PG
El nido (Spain)
El viento se llevo lo que (Argentina) PG 13
Encrucijada para una monja (Spain) PG
Eva Peron (Argentina)
Emilio's Adventures in Costa Rica
Felicidades (Argentina) PG 13
Friendship Field-Migrant Workers
Guadalupe (Mexico) PG
Goal PG
Glup (about recycling)
Hay que matar a B (Spain) PG
In the Time of the Butterflies - Dominican Republic/Las Mariposas
La caza de oro (Spain) PG
La furia del hombre lobo (Spain) PG
La isla misteriosa y el capitan Nemo (Spain) PG
La leccion de tango (Argentina) PG
La nona (Argentina) PG
La Olimpiada en Mexico (Mexico) G
La residencia (Spain) PG
Los amores de Kafka (Spain) PG
La nube (Argentina) PG 13
La vida de nadie (Spain) PG 13
La vida segun Muriel (Argentina) PG 13
La Historia Oficial
La isla encantada (Mexico) G
Los Balunis
Los Olvidados
Los Supertramposos
Los Tres Caballeros
La Bamba - Richie Valenzuela
Las bicicletas son para el verano
La lengua de la mariposa
Machuca
Man of La Mancha
Manuelita (Argentina) G
Mar adentro (Spain) PG 13
Maricela - Immigration/El Salvador English
Missing - Chile/Allende English
Mi verdad (Mexico) PG 13
Momentos robados (Argentina)
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios
Mundo grua (Argentina) PG 13
No te mueras sin decirme adonde vas (Argentina) PG
Ojos que no ven (Peru) PG 13
Perez, El ratoncito de tus sueños.
Plata dulce (Argentina) PG 13
Pon un hombre en tu vida (Spain) PG 13
Pequenos milagros (Argentina) PG
Portrait of Teresa
Romantico PG13
Romero - El Salvador
Selena
Sol de otono (Argentina) PG
Sus ojos se cerraron y el mundo sigue andando (Argentina) PG
Se quien eres (Spain) PG 13
Secuestro (Spain) PG 13
Siega verde (Spain) PG 13
Spanglish (United States) PG 13
Sweet 15
Stand and Deliver - Jaime Escalante/L.A. kids
Tarzan en la gruta de oro (Spain) G
Tango, no me dejes nunca (Argentina) PG 13
The Devil's Miner PG 13
The Grandfather
The Miracle of Marcelino
The Road to El Dorado G
The Sea Inside
Tortilla Soup
Un lugar en el mundo (Argentina) PG
Valentín (Argentina) PG 13
Viva la Causa PG13
Walkout PG 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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