The use of sitcoms to teach English.

An interactive approach to motivate

communication!

Lic. Jesús Quintero.CENTRO PROFESIONAL PARA LA ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS.

cpeidiomas@gmail.com

Ray Barone : You're already planning the wedding? Debra Barone : I've been planning it since I was 12. 

Ray Barone : But you didn't meet me until you were 22. Debra Barone : Well, you're the last piece of the puzzle. 

What is a sitcom?A situation comedy, a specific genre of television, is a kind of comedy which has a storyline and features recurring characters that act in common situations such as a family, workplace, or a group of friends.

Merchetti y Hudson (2006)

ROCHELLE ROCK I'm gonna slap the black off of you!

Advantages of using sitcoms in the EFL classroom:

Sitcoms, in particular, expose students to contexts of real language use. The language students interact with has not been graded to suit the students’ level of learning. Sitcoms have the advantage of being 30 minutes in length making it simpler for the teacher and learners to fulfill their objective over a realistic period of time. Sitcoms are also an obvious way to bring real world into the classroom

Merchetti y Hudson (ob.cit)

Other advantages of sitcoms to teach EFL:The use of contextualized language.Due to its funny nature they create a more relaxed atmosphere in the classroom.They present cultural aspects of the target language.It is possible to practice active listening of the target language.Images constitute a support that leads to a better understanding.They present a wide variety of aspects which allow teachers to create different activities and assessment tasks.

Joey: Actually, you know what? I am. That whole thing with Rachel made me realize that maybe I'm ready for a more serious relationship. You know? Like I'd like to meet a nice mature commitment-minded lady. And looks aren't as important as...Nah, she's gotta be hot.

Steps to follow when working with sitcoms in the EFL classroom:

1. Choosing a sitcom.

Select a sitcom you are familiar with.

Nuttall`s principles: suitability and exploitability.

Charlie Davies: Now, let's test your knowledge of American dogs. [starts throwing up flashcards quickly]Gupta: Hot dog. Corn dog. Chili dog. Snoop Dogg.Charlie Davies: Very good.

2. Choosing a scene.It allows you to select the specific aspects of language you want to work with.It makes it possible to control the amount of time in the case you do not have enough.It allows you to extract useful language.

[Donna and Kelso are hiding under a bed]Donna Pinciotti: Is that your hand on my ass?Michael Kelso: It was an accident.Donna Pinciotti: Kelso, your hand's still on my ass.Michael Kelso: IT'S STILL AN ACCIDENT.

3. Designing the tasks and assessment.

There are lots of different ways that you can exploit sitcoms in the classroom from simply pre-teaching any relevant vocabulary, watching a clip and then having a follow-up discussion - to using prepared worksheets for consolidating grammar structures or lexis.

Bilsborough (2009)

Arthur Spooner: Darling, I need to borrow the iron.Carrie Spooner Heffernan: Dad, I told you. If you want a grilled cheese sandwich, I will make you one.

The key to using this type of material effectively is dependent on the creation of appropriate tasks that support and develop learners’ linguistic competences.

Merchetti and Hudson (ob.cit)

Leonard: You have a TV in your room, why don't you have breakfast in bed?Sheldon: Because I am neither an invalid nor a woman celebrating Mother's Day.

When choosing to deal with sitcoms in the classroom, it is vital to promote tasks which help students to succeed and leave the class with a sense of achievement and joy.

Brick: I wish I could stay home and watch TV and have you make me soup.Frankie: Oh, sorry honey. Wrong family.

Sample activities based on sitcomsSample 1.Writing.Step 1: Watch the Sitcom.Students will be asked to write all new words they find in the episode.Step 2: List the VocabularyStudents will be asked to write the new words in the board.Step 3: Discuss the VocabularyStudents will be asked to discuss the meaning of the new words and will write sentences with them.

Christine Campbell: [talking about Stan] He has certain attributes that make him appealing.Richard Campbell: Ugh. Are you talking about the size of his...Christine Campbell: No, no. You know that size doesn't matter to me.Richard Campbell: [long pause] How would I know that?

Sample 2. Speaking.

Divide the class in two groups, one group must leave the classroom for some minutes while the other is inside watching the sitcom, then let them in and ask the first group to explain what was the episode about.Ask the first group to describe the characters.Play the sitcom again and ask the students to play the roles of the characters in the sitcom.Ask the students to give their opinions about the plot.

Charlie: Oh, by the way, you need to buy Kandi a diamond necklace.Alan: Wha-What?Charlie: You told me to cover for you. I said you were out buying her jewelry.Alan: That's all you could think of?Charlie: Well, I could think of a lot of things, but only one made me laugh.Alan: I can't afford to buy her jewelry.Charlie: I know, that's what makes it funny

Other suggestions when using sitcoms in the EFL classroom.Pre-viewing: before you watch the sitcom/ scene. The idea behind this is to arouse curiosity and make predictions about the content of the sitcom, the characters, the main topics, etc. Viewing: while you watch the sitcom/scene. The objective is to confirm predictions and practice different listening strategies while watching. At this stage, you may also extract and introduce the items you would like to exploit and consolidate later in class. Sitcoms present students with a great amount of real language in use. It is the task of the teacher to point out and practice existing language and to choose which new language items they would like their learners to focus on. Follow-up: after you watch the sitcom/scene. At this stage you may want to introduce discussion topic areas, do some writing e.g. a review, and consolidate language.

Conclusions

The use of sitcoms provides a funnier and more relaxed atmosphere when learning English.Sitcoms provide students with language being used in real contexts.Sitcoms present language in the way it is presented to native speakers.Sitcoms have expressions that are possibly not found in books or other kind of material with educational purposes.

A good reason to use them is that everybody likes to laugh and that many

students watch at least a bit of television every day!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!