Find out which films to use in an EFL classroom and why!
Summary: After being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.
Director: Carol Reed
Stars: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis
Duration: 153 min.
Themes: musical, orphanhood, friendship, poverty, conscience
Summary: A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
Director: Taika Waititi
Stars: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata
Duration: 101 min.
Themes: losing a loved one, family, manhunt
Summary: A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend – a fascinating beast named Okja.
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Stars: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Seo-hyun Ahn
Duration: 120 min.
Themes: environment, animal rights
During these times of climate protests, carried out by the teenagers of today, discussing these topics in a classroom setting is almost necessary. Okja provides the ideal opener. Instead of having to watch a documentary, which can often become a tedious endeavour, the students can watch a fantasy film that at the same time shows the reality of modern day life.
This film also shows the effect multinationals have on current day economy. Is all of this ethical? Can we not find a better solution? These are some of the questions the students might ask themselves. The teacher can let students discuss using the think-pair-share method, in which the students first think about certain topics individually, then discuss in pairs to finally share their thoughts with the rest of the class.
Summary: Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in order to win her heart.
Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin
Duration: 112 min.
Themes: music, superheroes, comic strip, love
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is especially fun to use in the classroom because of the uncommon film techniques that were used. Many elements that can be found in a comic strip are shown in this film. In fact, the motion picture was adapted from an existing graphic novel with the same name. A fun activity in class could be to compare the two and see if there is an added value the film provides.
The film eventually garnered a cult following, which allows the teacher to introduce the genre of ‘cult film’ without having to show a film that wouldn’t resonate with his or her audience, being the young students.
Summary: An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.
Director: Bo Burnham
Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson
Duration: 93 min.
Themes: anxiety, puberty, social media
Since its release last year, Eighth Grade, has been praised for its sense of humble realism. This directorial debut of young comedian Bo Burnham portrays the life of a fourteen-year-old in a funny, yet endearing way. This film could be used to show cultural differences between the students themselves and peers from another country. They can list the problems and choices a typical American teenager encounters and check whether they run in the same ones.
The main theme of this film, though, is anxiety: an everyday issue in teenagers’ lives all over the world. Eighth Grade deals with this topic in a realistic but humourous way, which makes it perfectly suitable in an EFL classroom.
Protagonist Kayla wants to become a YouTube vlogger (although she hasn’t had her breakthrough just yet). Maybe as a creative task, the pupils can talk about something they’re interested in / scared of in a vlog and upload it to the internet. This type of exercise allows the students to develop their digital literacy, which becomes increasingly important in this era of technology.
Summary: Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.
Director: Duncan Jones
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott
Duration: 97 min.
Themes: loneliness, identity, loyalty, future
This film is an ideal pick if you want to let your students discuss what the future could look like and whether they agree with all of the progress that has so far taken place. Because of the plot line, one could even organise an actual debate concerning the ethical principles of modern day technology. The film shows some unethical practices, without showing gruesome images, which makes it usable in younger class groups as well.
Moon is also great to use when you want to show the importance of certain film techniques such as use of colour, sound, camera angles, zoom, etc. Having outer space as a setting is ideal for showing examples of all of the above.
Finally, one could also discuss the fact that we only hear Kevin Spacey, since he plays the part of a robot. A fun creative activity to carry out in class could be to act out a short dialogue between a human and a robot (played by two seperate students).
Summary: A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out to find them.
Director: Wes Anderson
Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton
Duration: 94 min.
Themes: friendship, love, childhood, adolescence
This film shows the adventures of two children growing up on a secluded island with not much to do. We follow them as they run off together to start a new life. Both the childish naivety of our main characters as the exaggerated reaction of their guardians will definitely put a smile on every viewer’s face.
Moonrise Kingdom can be used in the EFL classroom for several reasons. One being the analysation of the special directorial features of Wes Anderson. Another element to discuss is the progression of the relationship between the two characters. Finally, one could also analyse the many fast-paced dialogues that take place in the film.
Welcome to my website! In this blog, I will give advice on which films you can use in an EFL classroom. Underneath each film, you will be able to find additional information, such as a summary, the themes, notable film techniques, possible activities, etc. If you have more suggestion, do feel free to contact me.
It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you watch them on a screen.
Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
Films in the classroom 