Wednesday 23 January 2013

ES(O)L Film Festival 2013

The 2013 ES(O)L Film Festival Needs You!

This spring my learners and I are planning to start work on a new film project.  We would very much like other ES(O)L classes to join us!

Our plan is to start an international ES(O)L festival of short films which will be available online from September 2013. Learners will be able to watch and comment on each others' films.









I have written before on the benefits of film work with ES(O)L learners. Here's a quick recap:

  • Film projects provide a tangible end product which learners can enjoy sharing with their friends.
  • Film work in the classroom caters to a range of learner intelligences, abilities and personality types. 
  • It provides the learners and teachers with a record of language spoken, making it easier to pin point areas for improvement in language and features of pronunciation. 
  • Film making opens up numerous opportunities to involve the local community, and raises the profile of learners in a positive way. 
Finally, making films is lots of fun! Still not convinced?  Watch our last film here http://vimeo.com/46025864 or better still, come to the IATEFL ES(O)L Special Interest Group pre-conference day on April the 8th, where I will be reflecting on my recent experiences of working on film projects with my class of ESOL learners, and providing some practical tips on film project work. Find more information about the PCE programme at: http://esolsig.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/upcoming-esol-sig-event-iatefl-annual-conference/

Interested in taking part in the first international ES(O)L film festival?  Please get in touch by email. Alternatively, you can reach me on Twitter where I go by the name of  @ShetlandEsol.

Over the coming months I will document our current film project in Shetland, setting out some ideas for film project work and sharing links to useful websites and film maker blogs.


 photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanmolin/5531608804/">Sean Molin Photography</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>