EFL Activities for Integrated Skills through Movies and their Original Books

Based on my actual teaching experience in Japanese higher education, such as universities and technical colleges, this article discuss how we can develop integrated skills, i.e., speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, through movies effectively, especially EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classes in Asian countries. Various studies on "Teaching English Through Movies" in Japan have shown both advantages and disadvantages of the lessons. In addition to them, focusing on characteristics of EFL settings in Asia, this article lists three merits of the activities: i) exposure to large quantities of English "input", ii) exposure to authentic materials, iii) opportunities to raise learners' intercultural awareness, and then, lists three problems as well: i) lack of output ii) lack of spontaneous learning activities at home, iii) Lack of clear goals/objectives and criterion for evaluation. To attempt to solve these three problems, I have designed a syllabus for one-year EFL course and classroom activities using movies and their original works. I provide the lesson plan and the breakdown of the evaluation I have actually used, and end by considering some issues that require further study.