Using Film to teach Language and Culture: Punjabi

Using Film to teach Language and Culture: Punjabi

Grant:
Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching
Academic Year:
2013 - 2014 (June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014)
Funding Requested:
$5,395.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
pjgill
Overview of the Project:
The proposed project aims to create modules based on Punjabi films for teaching Punjabi language, sociolinguistic nuances and South Asian culture. As Indian films cover a wide range of topics and varied and authentic language, I will experiment with carefully chosen clips to use as a teaching resource. The idea of using film in teaching a language is not new and I am currently using some films in my teaching, but it is not integrated to the degree that I would like and I want to create a consistent and systematic approach to take advantage of the rich content that films have to offer. I plan to incorporate films in my teaching material in the classroom and for homework assignments. Films are very useful in teaching language, communicating cultural values, and teaching attitudes and behaviors. It is my belief that film will prove to be very effective in bringing the outside world into my classroom. Film topics will stimulate interactive, motivating discussion and creative classroom applications. The students will have ample opportunity to watch the clips at home and learn and practice the language in appropriate contexts and situations. Activities targeting observation and reflection will also guide them to learn and develop an understanding of the target culture.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

Using content from Punjabi films to present current, authentic, varied and stimulating materials for Punjabi language courses and create a more authentic environment for the learner that will contribute to a deeper understanding of society and culture. Materials illustrate linguistic structures in real life situations as well as related vocabulary in context. Homework exercises and short essay topics are based on film clips so students can reflect on the culture. In-class activities (i.e. role plays, improvisation) foster active expression and extension of the featured linguistic structures to the student’s own lives and context. Quizzes and exams also include language and content elements based on the films (i.e. listening comprehension based on film dialogue, short essays, creative writing, or hypothesis based on a clip where students will need to demonstrate their understanding of the cultural and linguistic context.) In summary, lessons integrate all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Project Achievements:

Nine Punjabi films provided the source material for this project. I developed materials to explore the cultural themes of greetings and introductions, hierarchy of personal relationships, honorifics, family, home, neighborhood, weddings, health, travel and customs, social norms and contemporary social issues. Several activities are also based on language and culture of songs in Punjabi film. Weekly written and oral activities helped enhance students’ listening and speaking skills which are the most difficult when learning a new language. The written activities allowed them to reflect on what they observed in the clip and learn the vocabulary from the context. The speaking activities allowed the students to practice using new idioms, colloquial terminology and grammar structures in an informal way. Student feedback consistently indicates the movie clips as the best part of this class. They enjoy the activities and learning the language from “real-life” contexts portrayed in the films (as opposed to listening to lectures on culture). They appreciate being able to use the language and cultural information that they learn in class when they are speaking Punjabi in their daily life and constantly ask for more movies. It is very satisfying for me to see students learning in the relaxed atmosphere facilitated by the movie clips and conversational activities with their peers. It appears that students struggle less (and hopefully stress less) with learning a new language and may even learn at a faster pace than in previous years. Many topics, for example, gestures and customs, are especially easy to teach now with film media - much easier than explaining with words or reading. In addition, the nuances of interpersonal and social relationships are portrayed in the films in a way that students can observe and discover themselves and in a way that I could never reproduce or enact as an individual instructor in the classroom.

Continuation:
This project has been implemented and expanded each semester since the pilot, Fall 2014 in both first and second year Punjabi classes.

Based on student suggestions that they work with more clips for homework, I am exploring the media capabilities in Canvas and Kaltura as a platform for delivery. In the future, I would like to add recently released films to the collection of movie clips and create different vocabulary games based on the clips.
Dissemination:
This project was presented at the U-M Language Resource Center Showcase of instructional technology projects on April 15, 2015. In addition, this teaching approach was shared with colleagues attending the LRC Focus Group on Inclusive Pedagogies, March 9 2016.
Advice to your Colleagues:
Involving paid student assistants in the previewing and identification of potential clips that map to our themes, vocabulary and grammatical topics relieved me of many hours of preparatory work so I could focus on developing the pedagogical materials and integration into the curriculum. Keeping a detailed inventory (shared Google spreadsheet) of clips allowed collaboration among the development team.

I have shortened the length of clips (from 10 minutes to 2 or 3 minutes) and students attention seems to be more on target with the shorter clips - they do not get lost in the language and multiplicity of themes in long clips.
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