Help With Choosing Appropriate Family Movie For Lesson

Hi Everyone,
I'm in need of some ideas. I have some students that I tutor privately, one of them being a woman from China who is at the upper intermediate/advanced level. She expressed an interest in our doing some lessons based on family-oriented American films, as she's interested in learning about family life and culture in America through film.

I'm not a huge family film fan (I'm a classic film freak myself :D) so I'm not sure what I could use for her level and that might interest her. She's a professional businesswoman, so I don't want anything too silly or annoying.

If anyone has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it!

Djuna

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Originally Posted by djunamod

Hi Everyone,
I'm in need of some ideas. I have some students that I tutor privately, one of them being a woman from China who is at the upper intermediate/advanced level. She expressed an interest in our doing some lessons based on family-oriented American films, as she's interested in learning about family life and culture in America through film.

I'm not a huge family film fan (I'm a classic film freak myself :D) so I'm not sure what I could use for her level and that might interest her. She's a professional businesswoman, so I don't want anything too silly or annoying.

If anyone has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it!

Djuna

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Hi
Welcome to the forum Djuna
How about 'desperate housewives'. It's worth a try. Full of nice words and expressions and on top of that full of everyday life conversations.
Good luck.

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Originally Posted by moonlike

Hi
Welcome to the forum Djuna
How about 'desperate housewives'. It's worth a try. Full of nice words and expressions and on top of that full of everyday life conversations.
Good luck.

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Oh my goodness! I'm pretty sure a professional businesswoman from anywhere isn't going to want to watch Desperate Housewives, a diabolical film full of skinny, botoxed sex-obsessed idiots. If you're looking for a family film, then maybe It's a Wonderful Life (yes, it's old and black and white, but it's a great film!), or something like Free Willy.

Thank you for the suggestions. I was thinking of "It's a Wonderful Life" (probably because of the holiday season). I actually adore classic films, so I might just check this one out. Another film I've been thinking about (though it's not exactly a family film) is "You've Got Mail". I know it's romantic comedy, but it's light and funny and does involve American culture.

Djuna

I liked You've Got Mail as well, but it's not a family film, as you say.

moon - I hate to tell you, the life of the women on Deperate Housewives is NOTHING like everyday life. It's like saying that Harry Potter gives you everyday conversations about what life is like at an English boarding school.

Free Willy made me think of Winter, a Dolphin's Tail (I think it's Tail instead of Tale, because the dolphin lost her tail). The new-classic A Christmas Story is really funny too. The remake of Miracle on 34th Street is a modern version of the classic, and also sweet.

Fly Away Home was also nice.

But to give it its due, it's got nice words and expressions. Some common words that are really useful. However, I think the classic ones don't contain these nice words. Words like: freak out, screw up, hang out, etc. some words that the students need in their conversations to sound more informal.

How about "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Terminal", "Forestgump", "the dead poet society", "What a girl really wants", "Hachiko", "The princess' diaries", "I am Sam"? I liked them all.