Hey everyone. We’ve got time to fill since it’s the end of the year and some of my teachers wants media in English that will fill in the time.
Because the students are low-level we’re using Japanese subtitles. I don’t think the objective is for the students to really hardcore learn from it, but it should at least meet the bar for somewhat trying to learn English.
The problem is that we have 75 minutes to fill for one class. I’ve managed to cover the other two classes using Men in Black and Spiderman. So we’ve decided for this class to show multiple episodes of a show.
Their requirements are:
1) Nothing lovey, sexual or any references to adult things, like beer drinking.
2) Has to be entertaining and not slow, apparently first years have low attention spans.
3) Real world shows are more preferred.
4) Nothing too kiddy.
My suggestions so far were:
1) Early Simpsons episodes, though I’m not sure how high school students would find them.
2) Community, teacher said the show was too slow-paced however.
3) Brooklyn 99, we’re looking into this one still, just need teachers’ opinions.
Options I don’t think would work:
1) How I Met Your Mother, references to drinking and sex.
2) The Office, too slow I feel if they think Community is slow.
Yeah, apologies for the request, I think my teachers are too tired to teach at this point so they just want to fill time, which I get.
tl;dr: 75 minute media, either movie or multiple episodes of tv shows. must be entertaining. cant be adult-like. bar for english learning low.
24 comments
So uhhhhh how old are the students?
If you want to go down the animated route, may I suggest *Avatar: The Last Airbender*? It’s available on Netflix and does provide Japanese dubs and subs. I know that it’s a Nickelodeon show, but it does explore some heavy topics like conflict, politics, cultural and religious differences.
If that’s not to your liking, then perhaps something like *The Office* might suffice?
How about “Saved by the Bell” (2020 version) or “Girl Meets World”?
Certain episodes may have more adult topics, but you can screen those out.
I would suggest the original versions from 1990s, but they may be a little outdated.
Late edit… Modern Family, one of JpnGal’s favorites.
My friend who teaches HS has shown Modern Family before she just started at the first episode and the students really liked it.
If my memory is correct I think Gloria says something about her boobs? That may be as adult as it gets
The Good Place might be a really good show if you’re looking for something a little cleaner, but still funny. Doctor Who might also be good if the goal is to just keep them entertained.
I seem to recall there being a “learn English with Friends” series on youtube
I would go a different route and look for non-episodic YouTube videos. Ones about history or sciences can both be amusing and not necessitate understanding tons of culture-specific allusions to appreciate. Generally, also, the language in expository videos is grammatically (albeit not lexically) simpler.
Something a bit different, but Nailed It! on netflix is very family friendly, and depending on the class can have kids in stitches. But it really does depend on the atmosphere of the class.
Doraemon on English.
Also, Disney+ has all the blockbusters with Japanese subtitles.
Basically, movies they already know but can watch again on English
Man just check Netflix for subtitles. Maybe some she ra, Steven universe , dogs in space is interesting and colorful, or hilda. Final space, especially if you’ve got some boys. For real world you could do the good place, which is fast action at the start, 3% with an interesting concept and some death. Maybe the new cowboy bebop?
Do something like a Playposit (or just straight YouTube) with Mr Bean and have the kids decide in groups what he will do next. Give them a time limit, work in groups on a whiteboard, take turns writing and standing up with the answer. Take turns saying answers etc
If you want to make it easier, give options. If you trust them and want to let them stretch their legs, make it free form or give a grammar pattern model.
Alternatively, have them watch a scene and then give them a quiz on it. Mr Bean at the restaurant ordering steak tartare: name items on the table, etc
Nickelodeon shows, Disney shows like Hannah Montana
Brooklyn 99 might work. I think a fair amount of episodes have some kind of adult theme or situation but it could work if you choose the right episode.
In this case I’d probably pick a documentary of some kind. Planet Earth is beautifully shot but it may come off as slow paced. Netflix has other documentary type shows.
There’s s series called High Score which is all about videogames.
Food shows are always good so what about Street Food: Asia?
72 Dangerous Animals: Asia? There are a few of these series. I think there’s also a 72 Cutest Animals.
There’s a series called Explained which breaks down various topics in a simple to understand way.
Best Leftovers Ever! is a cooking show where 3 contestants have to reuse leftovers to make original dishes.
Anyway, good luck!
The first episode of Glee is really good for high school students. It’s got lots of music and shows a bit of American high school life.
No matter what you choose, Id still bring a big backup of animated shows or clips. Drama and comedy live action TV is full of native phrasing and idioms, not to mention cultural references, that students will not get and quickly become bored with unless there is some sort of physical or on screen antics to keep them interested.
Some one mentioned Mr. Bean, which would be a great choice to keep their interest. You could also try shows that have lots of break away story telling like Macolm in the Middle, The Middle, Bernie Mac Show, etc.
If you truly need live action content, how about game shows? They usually have the simplest dialog on TV and cater to a very wide audience. They are family friendly and can teach English as well. Some I have enjoyed using in class are America Says, Family Feud, Chain Reaction, and Double Dare.
I usualy use clips from youtube. Try checking out the video lessons islcollective.com. If you find a clip on youtube, you can use this site to make your own video lesson. You can allow the students to replay a part the video for listening
Comprehension. Sometimes there are subtitles on YT videos, too.
Find some classic Japanese films that are dubbed, so they can be familiar with the story and won’t be lost, and can provide context!
PBS kids with vpn.
Mr. Bean gets a lot of play in my city, but it generally has almost no dialogue.
Clarence from Cartoon Network is good
Anything from like Disney XD is good too I think.
Thank you guys for the advice! The teachers have decided to show them…
150 minute class: Spiderman Far from Home
110 minute classes: Men in Black
75 minute class: 2 episodes of Brooklyn 99 and The Simpsons if they don’t like Brooklyn 99.
Great contenders for backup: Modern Family and Avatar.
We’re going to utilize Mr. Bean in the next semester during fun lessons where we want students to describe in their own English capacity on his actions.
Thank you all again for your help.
You didn’t mention their age group, but from some of your suggestions, I would look into:
The Newsroom. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1870479/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1870479/)
Elementary. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2191671/)
Suits. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632701/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632701/)
24. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331/)
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Something a little lighter:
Young Sheldon. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6226232/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6226232/)
Chuck https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0934814/
I suggest Netlfix’s Salt Fat Acid Heat.
The kids will love the Salt episode since it’s featured in Japan
>Because the students are low-level we’re using Japanese subtitles.
I promise you that if you show Japanese subtitles, **every single kid in the room who can see them is going to ignore the English and just read the subtitles.** I understand most of the Japanese in easier anime like Ranma1/2 and I still have to block the english subtitles with a piece of paper or my eyes automatically go to them and read them.
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I might also recommend you look up [MovieTalk](https://comprehensibleclassroom.com/how-to/movietalk/). I’ve never used it myself but I’ve seen it used and it might add to your movie classes, who knows.
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Some of this stuff also feels incredibly counter-intuitive.
1. Why are you showing stuff like MiB and Spiderman to beginner students? A friend of mine **showed similarly leveled movies to intermediate students and they were lost** as all hell even with English subtitles to read.
2. Speaking of which, why not just use English subtitles? Why exactly are you using Japanese subtitles in an English class? **You’ve essentially turned English class into a movie break**. **It does nothing to help their English.** Go talk to the anime-loving community. Tons of them have watched every episode of Naruto (for example) in Japanese with English subtitles, which in total comes to about 85 hours of listening. They know like 5 Japanese words including “sensei”, “jutsu”, and “ramen”.
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Sorry that I don’t have any actual show recommendations for you but this entire situation seems off and I think your teacher needs to reconsider it from the ground up.