Abstract:

Today, learning is a combination of receiving information and getting entertained and foreign language learning is not an exception. Thus movies were used in this study as sources of pleasure to motivate learners and help them learn more easily. The main aim of the study was to examine the impact of Movie Discussion (MD) on Iranian secondary school level EFL learners’ attitude toward language learning. Different instructional methods were designed to present MD which could contribute to the development of learners’ attitude toward language learning. Three movies were chosen by the participants among nine. Short clips were extracted from the movies and various tasks were designed in a way that allowed the learners to discuss and interact in their groups. MD was held in three weeks, one movie for each session. This qualitative research relied on data collected through questionnaire responded by selected learners, as well as interviews. The questionnaire was extracted from Gardner’s motivation and attitude test battery (MATB). The findings of this descriptive study revealed that the use of MD had a positive impact not only on students’ attitude toward language learning but also on participants’ confidence to speak. Although as part of learning process, learners took MD as a break and enjoyed doing the tasks and activities. They admitted that MD tasks were meaningful, absorbing, exciting and pleasant. Thus MD minimized attitude problem as students became more interested with activities designed using MD and its tasks.

Keywords:

Movie discussion, interaction, attitude, communicative task.