Lecture by Thomas Simpson, September 27, 2013

The Making of a Soap Opera to Develop Students’ Foreign Language Writing and Speaking Skills

by Thomas Simpson, Northwestern University

This seminar describes a third-year, quarter-long language course centered on the creation by students of a parody of an Italian television soap opera. Students are called upon to act as writers, actors, directors, videographers, and editors of three episodes of an original soap opera. Using a simple formula for composition and with the assistance of a media center technician, participants learn the basics of a user-friendly video editing software such as iMovie, which they use to compose filmed video into a narrative sequence. With the instructor functioning mostly as facilitator and delighted observer, the course calls upon students to work collaboratively to build writing and speaking skills. The process of observing their own performances on video compels students to analyze and correct their verbal production and that of classmates.

Friday, September 27, 2013
3:00 – 5:00 pm, 33 Dwinelle Hall

This event is co-sponsored by Italian Studies and Berkeley Language Center

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