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Using Various Types of Media to Make Learning English Fun

岐阜聖徳学園大学教育学部専任講師　ロナルド・クロスビー

If you were to ask a child what their favorite subject in school is, one likely answer would be a class that they find to be fun and interesting. Making English fun can be a very difficult thing to do. Many children may not enjoy studying, the grammar can be difficult, and text books may not be interesting to most students.

I believe most teachers need to find ways to make English fun for students. Pop culture, which usually has things that appeal to the young, can make learning interesting. For English classes one of the best items pop culture offers for learning are comic books. This is because comic books cover many genres, so students have a good chance to find a story that they enjoy and wish to continue reading. Comics are also mostly written as conversations. This is important since they are written for native English speakers, it is unlikely that they will have strange, or unnatural, English. This is important because sadly, many textbooks students use have very mechanical and unrealistic examples of English use. By using comics students will be able learn many types of conversations. For example, seeing how to speak to older or more respected people, friends and peers, and even those that dislike each other. If students read these aloud a comic book can also turn into a speaking activity.

Another way I find to be far more enjoyable than simply using textbooks is the use of international TV shows and movies. Out of the two I have found that TV shows are a bit better as the stories take place across many episodes, similar to comics whereas a movie is usually a single and contained story. Modern technology has also greatly increases the potential of this method. People can now enjoy many foreign shows and movies even while on the go. They may listen to it in their native language first and then move on to a second language. This attaches the student to the flow and theme of the show or movie and helps them link word use between their own language and English. Additionally, if students listen to English dialog, as well as read English subtitles, they will find both their reading and listening abilities will get better over time. Students can also use shadowing techniques to help them with their speaking.

Now, especially, language learners have many types of study tools, both online and offline, to choose from. Additionally, most of these materials are now available all over the world and on demand. Importantly, in many cases, these come at no extra cost. That makes now a great time for language learners to just immerse themselves in the adventure of learning another language and broaden, if not amplify, their goals.