Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

niques in Teaching, Foreign Languages, confirms the vitality of this device and constitutes proof that the development in this direction, foreseen by Ginsburg, is now an established fact. Thanks to a number of pioneers in the field of FL instruction, the teacher of French, Spanish and German today is confronted with ample material, carefully graded, most of which is available, on a purchase or rental basis, through the audiovisual departments of our leading colleges and universities. Whether in black and white or color," these films are adding a new dimension to foreign language teaching by taking the student— on a field trip as it were— far beyond the classroom walls directly in to the foreign country' and giving him the opportunity to see and hear the world about him. According to George Borglum,* the foreign language teaching film is "more educational, more entertaining, more efficient and more motivating than written materials alone. It brings the learner into direct contact with the object, activity, situation or concept whose linguistic symbol is being learned. This becomes a part of the student's own experience and serves as an indestructible frame of reference in the use of the language." As Elton Hocking' puts it, "The motion picture film with foreign language sound track can be a more authentic foreign experience than the average tourist trip. This experience of the foreign culture is, when well planned, no less valuable educationally than the linguistic aspect of the course. However, both aspects should be combined, thus reinforcing and completing each other. Even if the language alone is sought and taught, the visual context is uniquely valuable for it identifies the referent without recourse to English; moreover, the identification is culturally authentic, which the printed word often is not." Three or four repetitions of a film suffice to fix the association between the object and the sound which represents it, and helps the student feel that he is a part of the larger world. When considered in this light, the foreign language film, graded in difficulty, constitutes the educational fixative par excellence. "Certainly," says Gilbert Highet,* referring to the need of making subjects relevant, "every teacher of a modem foreign language ought to use the newspapers and films produced in that language." If we grant that the teaching film is invaluable in foreign langauge instruction, the vital question becomes: what are the conditions for optimum utilization of this audiovisual device? Under what circumstances will it best serve the student of foreign languages? Experience with foreign language teaching films, both at Syracuse University at the Plainview and East Islip High Schools, confirms the fact that prior teacher-student preparation constitutes the sine qua non for the establishment of optimum communication conditions. For the teacher who is disposed to go to the trouble involved and for the student who is prepared and willing to make a wholehearted effort, such preparation should yield gratifying results. As Louis Forsdale'' suggests, ". . . film is not an automatic form of communication in which meanings are transferred without effort from screen to the viewer's awareness. Effort and skill are involved, as in reading, although the skills are different. We may even learn, some day, that skills of film 'literacy' should be taught systematically in schools." Here, too, the fine art of listening, until recently largely disregarded in foreign language teaching, is given free play through the foreign language film. Every new film is a new adventure through foreign lands. The student is keyed up, tout oreilles. Furthermore, good listening habits, fostered and developed during the early stages of foreign language instruction will make the later unlearning of poor listening habits unnecessary. According to Olwyn O'Connor,' "Audiovisual equipment and materials are 'naturals' for teaching effective listening skills The classroom orientation prior to listening to records, viewing films, filmstrips, etc., established a favorable frame of reference for listening and seeing. Such materials also illustrate the interrelationships of visual stimuli in conjunction with audio. Listening is thus demonstrated as not just hearing but as a composite awareness and interpretation of all stimuli present." The study guides issued by most film distributors usually offer a complete text of the film narrative, a simplified vocabulary, information on grammatical forms, verb conjugations, idiomatic and syntactical structures together with pertinent suggestions for productive post-screening activity. Language Arts, Inc., permits us to hear several voices in "Taxco de mis amores"—a new Spanish language film designed for elementary and intermediate groups. The overall effect would, however, be much more striking were the student permitted to see as well as hear the narrators. The drill tape of the sound track available on a 7-inch reel, considerably augments the usefulness of this film. The most comprehensive of these study guides are those pubhshed by Carlos Castillo, University of Chicago, and that of George Borglum, Wayne State University, whose workbook admirably covers a series of five delightful one reel 16mm graded French language teaching films. The supplementary use of color slides and tape recorded exercises based on this film series considerably augment the scope and potentialities of the audiovisual presentation. The advantage of tliis supplementary material lies in the possibility of its application for post-screening review and for intensive study by the slow or retarded student. To John O. Fritz," who looks upon this 'supplementary' instructional device as "an additional resource to assist liis direct teaching efforts," we might add that in our experience no audiovisual medium has proved as resourceful as the foreign language teaching film, virtually projecting the student into and saturating him with the foreign language ambient. The foreign language teaching film, preferably with workbook and guide, judiciously spaced and integrated into the curriculum, aboimds in potential ways and means readily available to advance the teacher's task. These constitute new weapons in his armamentarium for breaking down hnguistic and cultural barriers thereby facilitating the student's mastery of foreign language skills. Eventually we shall see further refinements incorjiorated either on the film or on tape or disk to facilitate optimum utilization of the foreign language teaching film. 310 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — June, 1962