The English Language Arts hundred years’ war: Subverting the stigma of film in America’s English classroom

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the century-long stigma associated with film in America’s English classroom, which persists despite its codification in the English Language Arts (ELA) standards, this study investigated the question: How do American high-school English teachers make sense of and instruct with film? Employing semi-structured interviews with 12 high-school English teachers who instruct with film, from suburban, urban, rural and private school settings, the findings suggest that the stigma staining film in America’s English classroom is systemic. Participants shared their view that film is not an inherently passive medium, and when purposefully and actively facilitated, it possesses unique and efficacious pedagogic promise. Employing strategies typically associated with teaching printed texts, maintaining high classroom expectations, and integrating twenty-first-century pedagogic technologies when teaching with film may allow instructors to fulfil film’s remarkable learning potential, and consequently subvert misperceptions of, malpractices with, and the stigma surrounding film in America’s English classroom.