I recently had a conversation with a former co-worker and while catching up, I told her that I have a movie club. She asked, “What is it?”.
I was a bit stumped.
I thought everyone knew what a movie club was.
Everybody knows what a book club is, don’t they? Well, it’s the same, but for movies.
But on my way home, I thought:
That’s why I am writing this post.
If you’ve heard about my movie club (or any club), but don’t know how it works, read on.
You will find out:
What is online movie club “Watch your English”?
A movie club is a bunch of people discussing a movie they’ve seen and liked. Our movie club is specifically aimed at learners of English. This means they watch the movie and discuss it in English.
Watching a movie alone vs participating in a movie club: what’s the difference?
Imagine: you watch a movie in English alone, just to see if you can do it. Yes, you can. Maybe you don’t understand everything the characters say, but you can understand the story. The film is over, and you’re sitting there thinking, “Is my English better now, or what?”
You don’t know.
You don’t feel like you’re better.
Are you certain you understood some important points? You know you’ve heard some new words and phrases, but so what? Can you use them yourself?
If you keep watching movies in English like this, you’ll keep feeling this way.
How does our online movie club work?
In the movie club, you get the title of the movie we’re gonna discuss next. And you get discussion questions. For example:
- Is the main character a good father? Which of his actions prove that?
- Why does his son act this way?
- How is this character treated by his classmates? Why?
So, when you start watching the movie, you are not only enjoying the story. You’re also paying attention to the things in the movie that will help you answer the questions.
And before the online meeting of the movie club, you’re collecting your ideas and trying to express your thoughts in English.
This way, you learn English:
- from the questions
- from the movie
- from trying to formulate your thoughts. Yes, you might not know all the words you need, so you are likely to look them up (and remember them later). And finally, when we’re talking at the meeting,
- you might pick up even more useful language from what other club members are saying.
That’s how the movie club helps you expand your vocabulary, improve your grammar, and activate your English: layer by layer, like a layer cake.
Compare that to watching a movie once, alone.
Which approach do you think is more effective?
