Foreign Films In The Classroom: Gateway To Language And Culture

Abstract

The teaching of culture has become gradually more significant for all teachers involved in language education; it has been referred as the “hidden curriculum” of foreign language teaching. Because of  limited time available in the classroom and curriculum constraints, the inclusion of cultural lessons often comes second to the teaching of the language at all levels of education. This paper will discuss the inclusion of foreign films to develop culture-based contexts for language in the classroom. While the description of the course focuses on Italian-language students who have achieved intermediate-mid or intermediate-high oral proficiency, according to the ACTFL oral proficiency guidelines, the article describes how the principles illustrated can be adapted for use with other languages and at other levels of instruction.