Enhancing employability skills through the use of film in the language classroom

Abstract

Employability is increasingly becoming a central aspect of higher education in the United Kingdom and it is becoming imperative that modern foreign languages teachers engage directly and sincerely with the employability agenda. This article proposes the use of feature films as a successful method for developing and promoting employability skills in the language classroom, an approach which has not thus far been adopted. I begin by discussing different models for the delivery of employability skills and I provide an overview of employability initiatives that have been undertaken by languages departments. The key issues of embedding versus stand-alone modules and the role of academics are addressed. While many employability initiatives focus on the development of transferable skills, I argue that the development of commercial awareness among undergraduate students has been neglected and that film is a suitable medium to rectify this. In the final section of the article, I provide some sample activities which use clips from feature films to develop employability skills at all levels of proficiency, focusing on linguistic competency and the development of commercial awareness.

Notes

1. These resources are available now online and include topics focusing on doing a job interview and compiling a video CV. See http://languagebox.ac.uk/2533/

2. The first part of this activity draws on an activity described in Etienne and Sax (2006).