People like movies because they are entertained. For a period of time we are transported into a new setting and different situations than the reality of our own lives. When someone is learning English as a Second Language, movies can be a great way to learn new vocabulary, improve listening comprehension, and be entertained at the same time.
When I was at a University in Armenia, we used American movies the students had seen paired with essays and short stories as the basis for lessons. One of the movies had an inaccuracy which I pointed out and was told by students that they had a word that covered such things along with anomalies, inconsistencies and incongruities in movies: “keex”. Discussing the inaccuracy in movies sparked great discussions and I realized even more so, how movies can help those learning English as a Second Language use their English not only for listening comprehension and vocabulary expansion, but also for speaking practice.
I mentioned this to my student here at Cincilingua, when we discussed movies he had seen, using the movie L.A. Confidential as an example. The story is set in 1953 and one scene takes place on a street corner where there is a dark blue post office box. Until 1955, post office boxes were painted a drab olive color; between 1955 and 1971, they were painted red, white, and blue; and not until 1971 were they painted solid dark blue, like the one in the movie. (Oops!)
My student then gave me his experience with “keex”. The movie was Brazilian and showed the characters climbing a long flight of stairs up a steep hill that he recognized as a landmark of Rio de Janeiro, but once they reached the top, the panorama that was shown in the movie was that of a totally different city.
Since my first experience with “keex”, I am always on the lookout for incongruities in movies, as my student probably will be as well.
Regardless if you find it interesting looking for the incongruities, or if you just enjoy the story lines of the movies you watch – when you are a student studying English as a Second Language, movies are a great way to help you on your journey of learning.
