Sessions

Using a film adaptation of a literary work online

It has long been argued that literature plays an important role in the EFL classroom (e.g., Paran, 2006). On the other hand, combining learning a foreign language with the use of media and technology is a common practice nowadays (Heafner, 2004). This presentation aims to explore the potential of a film adaptation of a literary work in the EFL classroom at a Japanese university. It first shows how the film, "The Remains of the Day", adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same title, was used as the main material in the online course. After students’ answers to the open-ended questions on interpretations of some specific scenes in the film are introduced, their responses to the film and the activities are analysed based on questionnaire data. The results show that a film adaptation has the potential to motivate and engage students and to deepen their cultural and historical understanding of societies in which the target language is spoken. Furthermore, it is suggested that the use of this type of material in the synchronous classroom provides some advantages for students compared with practices in a regular face-to-face class.