Pixar films, popular culture, and language teaching

The potential of animated films for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Bibliographic Data

ID13005388
AuthorsJudith Hofmann (0000-0001-5484-6413, University of Cologne, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume8
Issue3
Pages267-280
Publication date2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Studies of Childhood (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2043-6106 • E-ISSN: 2043-6106
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/2043610618798929
OpenAlexW2891746057
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited16

This article aims at taking a look at a genre that is popular with both children and adults, yet mostly neglected in curricula: animated films. As a study conducted in a German secondary school demonstrated, the potential of this genre for Teaching English as a Foreign Language lies mostly in its strong visual language as well as its connection to the daily lives of the students. After briefly discussing why animated films by Pixar can be considered as a genre and how this genre (re-)presents popular culture, the theoretical basis for the integration of the films into Teaching English as a Foreign Language will be laid out. The topics addressed by Pixar animated films will then be described. Also, a task typology and some actual tasks that can be used when addressing the topic in the English as a Foreign Language classroom will be introduced. Finally, one task that was actually used during the empirical study, and how the students responded to it, will be brought into focus. The main example will be the film Up (2009) but other films from the Pixar œuvre will occasionally be referenced to illustrate certain points

Animation · Art · Curriculum · Foreign language · German · Linguistics · Pedagogy · Sociology · Task (project management · Typology · Visual arts · Computer Science · Engineering · Gender Studies in Language · Linguistic Education and Pedagogy · Media, Gender, and Advertising

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