Storytelling, Communication and Film in ELT A Prototype for Developing Discursive Analytical Skills

Abstract

Two films, The Joy Luck Club (Wayne Wang, 1993) and The Visitor (Tom McCarthy, 2007), establish their performative potential within the realm of postclassical narratology and the politics of identity. Their discursive practice is examined as a symptom of society (i.e. multiculturalism), and a reflection of culture (i.e. identity). Regarding EL students’ attitudes towards films, a preliminary survey has been conducted at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (2020/21); Films are mainly watched for entertainment; Hence this paper aims to contextualize film representations in shaping the Western viewer’s cultural experience. While the discourse-driven analysis provides useful insights about questioning the myth of American Creed, the storytelling strategies assist in clarifying the character-based relations to the identity stereotypes. The research results present the context and language-based means of cognition through visual and verbal binary oppositions, which are engaging and potentially applicable in work with students in English language teaching. Film representations are phenomenologically encompassed in the prototypical communicative strata as relevant tools for developing critical visual analytical skills. It assists in utilizing films as tools not only in second language acquisition, e. g. ELT, but also in accessing cultural nuances through language learning.