Raising Intercultural

Awareness While
Teaching Target Culture
through Films
Presenter: Dailyn Brown
San Diego Mesa College
Master’s Candidate
at University of San Diego
A little background Information
A little background Information
By the end of this presentation you will be
Able to:
★ Define Interculturality
★ Reflect on why talking about all cultures
in your classroom is valuable
★ to create your own lessons using Films
based on the topics you are teaching
 Learning a language

★ How many people here have learned

another language?
★ Can you think of any ways that you
learned the language that were
particularly memorable to you?
★ Why is the discussion of all cultures
represented in ESOL classrooms with
diverse student populations important?
What is Interculturality?
 “
Becoming more competent in the
target language by understanding
how its culture relates to our own
culture.
According to
Kramsch, “The
process of learning
about another
culture entails a
reflection on the
target culture”
(p.83).
why is it important in my
classroom?
 195
Countries in the world
Where are your students from?
 The Teacher as A Bridge

“The teacher acts as

a bridge between
their students’
differences and the
culture of the
dominant society”
(Nieto, 2009, p.18).
Nieto, S. (2009). Language, culture, and teaching critical perspectives. London: Routledge.
Choosing a Film (example)

Directed by Jon Favreau (2014)

 IDeas From one Film

Plot Summary
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/plots
ummary
Key Words
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2883512/keyw
ords?ref_=ttpl_sa_3
 IDeas From one Film

▸ Cooking
▸ Food culture - Foodie, food truck vs. restaurant
▸ Family - Father/son relationships, divorce
▸ Stages of Life
▸ Social Media - pros and cons
▸ California vs. Miami - Comparing cities ,
national road trip
 Warmer ONE

In groups, share your favorite foods/meals or

typical food from your country
★ Home-cooked meal
★ Meal at a nice restaurant
★ Street food
 Warmer Two

★ What is a quarter-life crisis?

★ What is a mid-life crisis?
★ How old are you when you might deal
with such a crisis?
★ Can you list 5 signs you might be having
one?
★ Are there any similarities between the
two?
★ Are they real medical conditions?
★ Is there a cure?
 Warmer three

★ How would you describe a typical family

in your home country?
○ How many children?
○ Do other family members live at home?
★ What does family mean to you?
 Warmer Four

★ In groups 4, make a list of some pros and

cons of social media

★ Have each group write some examples on

the board to generate discussion

★ How is social media used

in your country vs. the USA?
 Brainstorm
Get into groups of 3-4 and list some topics
or themes you are using in your class now
or plan to next semester.
 Sample topics and film pairings

Education Work and Class Technology

★ Napoleon ★ Good Will Hunting ★ Ex-Machina
Dynamite ★ Office Space ★ Looper
★ School of Rock ★ The Shawshank ★ Her
★ Stand and Deliver Redemption ★ The Social
★ Waiting for ★ Inocente Network
Superman ★ Edward ★ Wall-E
★ Freedom Writers Scissorhands ★ Multiplicity
★ Walkout ★ Fight Club ★ Gattaca
★ Dead Poets ★ RENT
Society
 Sample topics and film pairings

Health Age/relationships Immigration

★ John Q ★ The Graduate ★ DIrty Pretty Things
★ 50 First Dates ★ Garden State ★ The Joy Luck Club
★ Supersize Me ★ Eternal Sunshine of the ★ An American Tale
★ Forks Over Knives Spotless Mind ★ A Separation
★ Moonrise Kingdom ★ Sin Pa í s
★ The Fall
★ Harold and Maude
★ The Bucket List
★ 13 Going on 30
 Some films that focus specifically on Culture

Cult Film/Film
Cultural Family
Culture/Advanced
differences ★ Chef discussion and
★ Crash ★ Freaky Friday analysis
★ Babel ★ Willy Wonka and
★ Seven
★ Outsourced The Chocolate
Psychopaths
★ My Big Fat Greek Factory
★ Donnie Darko
Wedding ★ Big Fish
★ Mr. Nobody
★ Soul Surfer
★ The Big Sick ★ Inception
★ Children of Men ★ Se7en
★ Lost in Translation
★ Real Women Have
Curves
★ The Fifth Element
 Pros
★ Authentic materials can be:
○ Engaging/memorable learning
○ Different from the norm
★ Authentic materials have:
○ Descriptive grammar
○ Realistic speeds of speech
○ Variety of accents
○ Slang and idiomatic expressions
★ A foundation to support lessons
and create unique opportunities
to incorporate culture and
reflection on culture into your
classroom
 Cons

★ Can be time-consuming to create materials

★ Can be time-consuming in class
★ You have to be aware of certain aspects of
films that may be culturally insensitive
★ Resources aren’t available
★ Administration may not see
the value in it
 Thank You for attending!

any
questions
?

If you have further questions, you can find me at:

dailynbrown@sandiego.edu/dailynbrown.weebly.com