Communicative English Through Movies

Abstract

The target student group is composed of Korean adults in their thirties who work in a global graphic design company and all members of a film club in the company, and consequently, the 6 students have similar interests and purpose. They have individually and collectively decided to improve their communication skills, including both accuracy and fluency. All the students have achieved a TOEIC score of over 800 as required by their employer. They have been exposed to the English language since middle school, and have been actively studying English for the past 3 years. Most of the students believe that they may have the opportunity to work in an overseas branch office, or they may be required to attend and participate in a conference or similar event in the near future. Both working in a branch office abroad and participating in a field-related conference requires a high level of listening and speaking proficiency. Moreover, people should be able to address common issues which might arise in their everyday life. Based on the conducted interviews, people tend to lose their interest when they are forced to talk about their opinion, however; students have shown great interest in social, political and other more controversial issues and frequently have conversations in Korean. By taking part in this course, students will improve their English while discussing social issues, and compare and contrast cultural differences between the West and Korea.