English for Wizards

Movies merging with amusement parks

By John Moore

世界4都市にあるアトラクションや公開映画が紹介されているユニバーサルスタジオのサイト

Summertime means many action movies, and you almost can't tell if you're watching a movie or riding an amusement park ride. This year, we actually have two movies based on Disneyland rides: "Pirates of the Caribbean" with Johnny Depp, and "The Haunted Mansion" starring Eddie Murphy.

How do I know about future movies that haven't even been advertised yet? It's all on the Internet, of course. Try going to "Greg's Previews of Upcoming Movies" at http://upcomingmovies.com/. You'll find lots of information about future Harry Potter films, the last Star Wars movie (to be released May 25, 2005) and the future plans for all your favorite stars.

Both movies and amusement parks are good for learning English, because they are generally more exciting than ordinary English-learning materials. Here's an idea for a class: Have students watch the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie and then go to Disneyland and ride that ride two or three times. Later, the class can write about and discuss the differences between the film and ride.

You can read information about big amusement parks online, too. Tokyo Disneyland has a great English page you can compare with its main Japanese page. Go to www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp, and then click on the "English" tab at the top-right. Or you can try Universal Studios (http://themeparks.universalstudios.com), which has different attractions in Hollywood, Florida, Osaka and Spain.

By the way, last week I talked about using movie scripts as study materials. My son Peter and I have been busy studying English this way, and if you want to try the same lessons as Peter, you can. That's because I uploaded them to the Internet. Please take a look at www2.gol.com/users/johnm/movie-lessons.htm. You'll find one "Star Wars" lesson and one "Back to the Future" lesson, with scripts, exercises and answer keys. Just download them and save the Microsoft Word files, rent the videos from your local video shop, and enjoy studying!

These lessons may not be exactly right for you, but at least they give you an example of how to use popular movies as serious English-learning materials. Also, if you are interested in other things on my personal Web site, just erase the "movie-lessons.htm" part of the URL and press the Enter key.

This is fun studying. While Peter was doing the Star Wars lesson, he used the TV remote control like a Jedi's light saber. That way, he could stop Darth Vader cold, simply by pressing the Pause button. See! I told you he was a powerful wizard. Just like Yoda.

Shukan ST: Aug. 1, 2003

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