I tried “Movie Talk” for the first time on Friday.  It was a light version just to get a feel for it.  There is a tutorial for movie talk here.  I tried it in two sections of Spanish 2.  Basically, Movie Talk is showing a movie clip and pausing it frequently to discuss in the target language. The discussion can include circling and pointing for new vocabulary.  I used this clip for my first attempt.  It was an example clip from the tutorial.  I was pleased with the results and, more importantly, excited about the potential for future use.  I used the clip to review structures (The dog wants to get thin.  He can’t run because he is fat.  He is sad.  There is a red car . . . etc.) The students were attentive and answered questions very well.  I know that to be most effective in the future, I will need to spend longer at each pause, especially if vocabulary is new.  Adding some personal questions and circling will help.  As with any CI activity, the trick will be finding a balance between repetition and interest.

It is suggested that movie talk be done with a full-length film shown a few minutes at a time.  After my first mini-attempt, I could see that working well.  I think I would have to movie talk some parts and let other parts play.  It could be a nice Friday activity that would not take up more than 10-15 minutes.

The value of Movie Talk was confirmed to me today as I was watching videos with my 2 year old daughter.  She likes to watch youtube videos of puppies, kitties and alphabet songs.  As we were watching them today, I was asking her many questions about each video.  Without thinking about it, I was using circling and PQA with the video.

I’ve been doing some investigating into Embedded Readings and hope to begin using them soon.  I see a strong connection between Movie Talk and Embedded readings, and I hope to use them together.