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What is it?

At it's core, MovieTalk combines the co-creation of a narrative with powerful visual images to help the learner comprehend language.

MovieTalk was originated by Dr. Ashley Hastings, using full length movies to teach English as a Second Language. It was later brought to the TPRS world by Michelle Whaley, a Russian teacher in Anchorage, Alaska.

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Why & How?

Language teachers use any animated shorts or other short video segments to co-narrate stories in the target language.

Skills utilized in this strategy include things like Circling, going slow, pausing and pointing, pre-teaching vocabulary with gestures to aid comprehension and recall, and more.

Movie Talk in action

Featured video: Adriana Ramirez demonstrates MovieTalk in her Level 1 Spanish class. Notice where she pauses the clip. Check out her TPT store for MovieTalk resources, embedded readings and more.

Teach Language with MovieTalk

By Martina Bex

It's All About The Story
by Cécile Lainé

A Note to Teachers Who Use MovieTalk

by Dr. Ashley Hastings

More
Ideas & REsourCes

Comic Strips with Clips
by Ms. Lees Bees

A fun option to use video clips and comic strips based on those clips

MovieTalk Tips & Strategies
by Kristin Archambault

MovieTalk Database

Thanks to the effort of many teachers, a comprehensive MovieTalk Database exists with a wealth of clips & linked resources including embedded readings, games, etc.

How Do I Do MovieTalk?
by Chris Stoltz

Planning for a MovieTalk
by Alina Filipescu

A MovieTalk with Blaine Ray
by Haiyun Lu

More Thoughts and in-depth Discussion

What kind of film clips do you use?

The most effective film clips are short, 1-3 minutes in length or a short scene from a full length film. Animated shorts are an entire film category that have excellent options to explore. These films usually don't have any dialogue, which allows any language teacher to adapt them to their target language.

What about using authentic resources?

Since the goal of any proficiency-oriented classroom is always comprehension first, it is up to the teacher to decide if a film clip from a source in the target language would be appropriate to the level of the class. Anything can be made comprehensible to our students. Some video clips take MUCH more effort and time to scaffold than other clips.

How long do you spend on MovieTalks?

That depends. You may spend a class period preparing for the MovieTalk by going through an embedded reading and series of PQA to introduce students to the content in advance. Then the actual MovieTalk could take as many class periods as you want/need. Finally, following up with longer embedded readings or other strategies is essential for students to further internalize the language used.

I've heard of MovieTalk. Is Clip Chat similar?

Dr. Ashley Hastings originated MovieTalk as “comprehensible input through narration of interesting movies”. He states that anything that distracts from that (ie. circling, targeting specific vocabulary or specific structures in a grammatical sequence) is a departure from the foundations of MovieTalk. Today, teachers who target specific structures using short videos are requested to use the term “Clip Chat”.

WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER MOVIE TALK?

Embedded Readings

Embedded readings are a great way to extend a MovieTalk. Each reading adds more details to continually push your students' acquisition, following Krashen's i+1 principle. These can be used before and after the MovieTalk to get students engaged with a written text. Adding questions, short quizzes, comprehension checks, and so forth makes sure the content is comprehensible. Write, Draw, Pass is another game that is great to extend the MovieTalk. Remember to shelter vocabulary, not grammar!

USE MOVEMENT!

Check for comprehension (aka formative assessment!) by getting your students moving. Ask yes/no questions based on the information discussed. If the answer is yes, students move (stand up, move to a new location, etc.) Ask a question with multiple options. Students move to a corner of the room that aligns with their chosen option... and so much more!

OTHER WAYS TO ASSESS...

Using the write-up from write & discuss, do a quick quiz or written assessment. Students take out a piece of paper and answer true / false questions, either/or questions, or open-ended questions about the MovieTalk plot. This falls under the "interpretive" category - students are receiving input and making sense of it, then demonstrating that comprehension.

Can-Do statements - have students self-reflect using Can-Do statements to see how they feel about their own capabilities. Free-writes - Give students 5 minutes to write down anything they can, bullet format or full sentences, drawing pictures or illustrations, to demonstrate their comprehension.

There are so many ideas for assessment! For a better, more comprehensive deep dive into assessments for standards-based and proficiency-oriented language teaching, read Martina Bex's article on assessments for language classes and standards-based grading. Also Scott Benedict's articles on assessments and standards-based grading.

MovieTalk

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