Republic of the Philippines

PRESIDENT RAMON MAGSAYSAY STATE UNIVERSITY

Iba, Zambales, Philippines
College/ Department College of Accountancy and Business
Administration
Course Code En+
Course Title Enhanced English
Place of the Course in the Program General Education
Semester and Academic Year First Semester AY 2022-2023

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course aims primarily to provide students with basic skills in the
use of English language as a tool for learning and for communicative
competence. This specifically includes listening, reading, spoken interaction,
spoken production and writing. At the end of the course, the students are
expected to become B2 level which corresponds to a more advanced and more
independent level.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the main ideas of both concrete and abstract topics;
2. To include technical discussions in his/her field of specialization;
3. To interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular
interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either
party; and
4. To produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain
viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of
various options.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

To enhance listening comprehension skills.
DISCUSSION
I. What is Listening?
To listen is to give attention to sound or action. When listening, one is hearing what
others are saying, and trying to understand what it means. The act of listening involves complex
affective, cognitive and behavioral processes. Affective processes include the motivation to
listen to others; cognitive processes include attending to, understanding, receiving and
interpreting content and relational messages; and behavioral processes include responding to
others with verbal and nonverbal feedback.
Listening is a skill for resolving problems. Poor listening can lead to misinterpretations,
thus causing conflict or a dispute. Other causes can be excessive interruptions, inattention,
hearing what you want to hear, mentally composing a response, and having a closed mind.
Listening is also linked to memory. According to one study, during a speech some
background noises heard by listeners helped them recall some of the information by hearing it
again. For example, when a person reads or does something else while listening to music, he or
she can recall what that was when hearing the music again later.
Listening also functions rhetorically as a means of promoting the cross-culture
communicative discourses. Ratcliffe built her argument upon two incidents in which individuals
demonstrated a tendency to refuse the cross-cultural discourses.
Listening differs from obeying. A person who receives and understands information or
an instruction listens carefully. Listening begins by hearing a speaker producing the sound to be
listened to. A semiotician, Roland Barthes, characterized the distinction between listening and
hearing. "Hearing is a physiological phenomenon; listening is a psychological act." People are
always hearing, most of the time subconsciously. Listening is done by choice. It is the
interpretative action taken by someone in order to understand, and potentially make sense of,
something one hears.

How does one listen?

Listening may be considered as a simple and isolated process, but it would be far more
precise to perceive it as a complex and systematic process. It involves the perception of sounds
made by the speaker, of intonation patterns that focus on the information, and of the relevance
of the topic under discussion.
According to Barthes, listening can be understood on three levels: alerting, deciphering,
and understanding how the sound is produced and how it affects the listener.
People listen for 45 percent of their time communicating.
 1. Alerting, the first level, involves detection of environmental sound cues. This means that
certain places have certain sounds associated with them, for example, any given home.
Each home has certain sounds associated with it that makes it familiar and comfortable
to the occupant. An intrusion, a sound that is not familiar (e.g., a squeaking door or
floorboard, a breaking window) alerts whoever lives there to potential danger.
2. Deciphering, the second level, involves detecting patterns when interpreting sounds; for
example, a child waiting for the sound of his mother's return home. In this scenario the
child is waiting to pick up on sound cues (e.g., jingling keys, the turn of the doorknob,
etc.) that signal his mother's approach.
3. Understanding, the third level, means knowing how what one says will affect another.
This sort of listening is important in psychoanalysis, the study of the unconscious mind.
According to Barthes, the psychoanalyst must suspend judgment while listening to the
patient in order to communicate with the latter's unconscious without bias. In the same
way, lay listeners must suspend judgment when listening to others.
All three levels of listening function within the same plane, and sometimes all at once.
Specifically, the second and third levels, which overlap vastly, can be intertwined in that
obtaining, understanding and deriving meaning are part of the same process. In this way
anyone, on hearing a doorknob turn (obtaining), can almost automatically assume that
someone is at the door (deriving meaning).

Active listening
Active listening involves listening to whatever is being said, attempting to understand it.
It can be described in a lot of ways. It requires good listeners who are attentive, nonjudgmental,
non-interrupting. An active listener analyzes what the speaker is saying for hidden messages as
well as meanings contained in the verbal communication. An active listener looks for nonverbal
messages from the speaker in order to comprehend the full meaning of what is being said. In
active listening, one must be willing to hear what is being said and try to understand the
meaning of whatever has been said. Multiple benefits can accrue from active listening. Being an
active listener enables one to become a more effective listener over time. It also strengthens
one's leadership skills in the process.
Active listening is an exchange between two or more individuals. If they are active
listeners, the quality of the conversation will be better and clearer. Active listeners connect with
each other on a deeper level in their conversations. Active listening can create a deeper, more
positive relationship between or among individuals.
Active listening is important in bringing changes in the speaker's perspective. Clinical
research and evidence show that active listening is a catalyst in one's personal growth, which
enhances personality change and group development. People will more likely listen to
themselves if someone else is allowing them to speak and get their message across.
 Active listening allows for individuals to be present in a conversation. "Listening is a key
factor in cultivating relationships because the more we understand the other person, the more
connection we create, as taught in nonviolent-communication Dharma teachings. As someone
recently stated, "We should listen harder than we speak."

In language learning
Along with speaking, reading and writing, listening is one of the "four skills" of language
learning. All language-teaching approaches, except for grammar translation, incorporate a
listening component. Some teaching methods, such as total physical response, involve students
simply listening and responding.
A distinction is often made between "intensive listening", in which learners attempt to
listen with maximum accuracy to a relatively brief sequence of speech; and "extensive
listening", in which learners listen to lengthy passages for general comprehension. While
intensive listening may be more effective for developing specific aspects of listening ability,
extensive listening is more effective in building fluency and maintaining learner motivation.
People are usually not conscious of how they listen in their first, or native, language
unless they encounter difficulty. A research project focused on facilitating language learning
found that L2 (second language) learners, in the process of listening, make conscious use of
whatever strategies they unconsciously use in their first language, such as inferring, selective
attention or evaluation.
Several factors are activated in speech perception: phonetic quality, prosodic patterns,
pausing and speed of input, all of which influence the comprehensibility of listening input.
There is a common store of semantic information (single) in memory that is used in both first-
and second-language speech comprehension, but research has found separate stores of
phonological information (dual) for speech. Semantic knowledge required for language
understanding (scripts and schemata related to real-world people, places and actions) is
accessed through phonological tagging of whatever language is heard.
In a study involving 93 participants investigating the relationship between second
language listening and a range of tasks, it was discovered that listening anxiety played a major
factor as an obstacle against developing speed and explicitness in second language listening
tasks. Additional research explored whether listening anxiety and comprehension are related,
and as the investigators expected they were negatively correlated.

Rhetorical listening
 Krista Ratcliffe contended that much of literacy teaching emphasizes rhetorical theory
that foregrounded speaking and writing but ignored listening. The goal of classical rhetoric
studies was to address what the audience should listen for, rather than how they listen.
Ratcliffe defined rhetorical listening "as a trope for interpretive invention, it can be used
as a tool to understand the experiences and voices of other people. Therefore, listening is a
means of interpreting, reflecting on, and making new meanings. To this end, Ratcliffe argued
that rhetorical listening provides a “stance of openness that a person may choose to assume in
relation to any person, text, or culture.” As an outcome of this openness, Ratcliffe claimed that
rhetorical listening cultivates individuals’ conscious and willingness in a way that promote the
communication, especially the cross-cultural one.
Steven Pedersen states that communication suffers when interlocutors harbor
stereotypes and prejudices, a practice that causes dis-identification. Rhetorical listening, in
contrast, promotes cross-cultural understanding and allows students and teachers to disrupt
reciprocal resistance.
Rhetorical listening requires the attendance of individuals’ intentions of seeking
understanding. This understanding cannot exist with mere listening.
Stenberg cautioned against any expected limitations of interpretation which might be
caused by these intentions. Therefore, within rhetorical listening the word understanding
inverts to be "standing under." This means standing under all the perspectives so that one can
(re) conceptualize his/ her ideas and ethics. Hence, individuals do not listen to accumulate
others’ ideas, instead they cultivate these ideas through which they can enhance their language
and change their visions that open a new avenue for other responses.

Practicing rhetorical listening in the classroom

Based on Krista Ratcliffe’s work on rhetorical listening, Meagan Rodgers developed the
intent/effect tactic as one way for students to practice rhetorical listening in the English
composition classroom. The purpose of applying this tool lies in disrupting racially
discriminatory stereotypes and utterances. Rodgers found in her classroom-based research that
even if a person does not perceive to be racist, racism or racial stereotypes are subconsciously
perpetuated when a majority/dominant group agrees with or laughs at racial differences of a
minority group member. Rather than confronting students and jeopardizing their willingness to
participate in classroom discussions.

Effective strategies for students:

1. consider numerous perspectives of a statement, and
2. understand that well-meant comments (intent) can be perceived as deleterious (effect) by
others.
3. improve cultural sensitivity in the classroom is by applying practices from Deaf Studies.

This kind of listening pedagogy requires students:

1. to be attentive and reduce distracting noises;
2. share their story, including their cultural background, so that classmates can be familiar
with their perspective;
3. engage in “critical dialogue” in order to understand others; and
4. pay attention to their classmates’ body language and the message it sends.

Rhetorical listening in the classroom can also be used to shed lighter onto why students
are silent. Janice Cools discusses several reasons for silence in the ESL/ELL composition
classroom, such as students holding back their wisdom on purpose to avoid being harassed by
peers and instructors for giving a wrong answer. The fear and doubt that can result from this
type of response might lead to feelings of incompetence and discomfort in an individual and
cause them to continue in silence in the classroom. A further reason why students choose
silence is because they were taught to be silent, especially at the secondary school level in
some cultures, e.g., Puerto Rico. Cools suggests to ask students in writing why they are (not)
silent in their classes, "how [they] interpret other students' silences [...] and what a professor
should infer from [students'] silence." Students answered that silence can be beneficial as it
shows their focus on the material, gives them an opportunity to get to know a different
perspective while listening to their peers, and allows them to reflect and process questions.
Moreover, discussions can be perceived as interruption because classmates do not have expert
knowledge. Cools concludes that silence in the classroom should be appreciated and respected.

Resources:
Halone, Kelby; Cunconan, Terry; Coakley, Carolyn; Wolvin, Andrew (1998). "Toward the
establishment of general dimensions underlying the listening process". International
Journal of Listening. 12: 12–28. doi:10.1080/10904018.1998.10499016.
Bass, Jossey (1999). "Listen, listening". Credo.
Michalek, Anne M. P.; Ash, Ivan; Schwartz, Kathryn (2012–2018). "The independence of working
memory capacity and audiovisual cues when listening in noise". Scandinavian Journal of
Psychology. 59 (6): 578–585. doi:10.1111/sjop.12480. PMID 30180277. S2CID 52155107.
Ratcliffe, Krista (December 1999). "Rhetorical Listening: A Trope for Interpretive Invention and a
"Code of Cross-Cultural Conduct"". College Composition and Communication. 51 (2):
195
224. doi:10.2307/359039. ISSN 0010-096X. JSTOR 359039.
Purdy, Michael and Deborah Borisoff, eds. (1997) Listening in Everyday Life: A Personal and
Professional Approach. University Press of America. ISBN 9780761804611. p. 5–6.
Schmitt, Norbert. "An Introduction to Applied Linguistics": 180–187.
"Listening: Are We Teaching It, and If So, how? ERIC Digest". www.ericdigests.org. Retrieved
2021-08-26.
"Active Listening". Search-credo reference-com.
Hoppe, Michael. Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead. Retrieved 5
December
2018.
Hoppe, Michael. Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead. Retrieved 5
December
2018.
Rogers, Carl Ransom; Farson, Richard Evans (1957). Active Listening. Industrial Relations Center,
University of Chicago.
Vásquez, Anete; Hansen, Angela L.; Smith, Philip C. (2013). Teaching Language Arts to English
Language Learners. p. 171. ISBN 978-0415641449.
Flowerdew 2005, p. 14.
"Listening | The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages –
Referencia Credo". search.credoreference.com. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
Bannister, Linda (March 2001). "Rhetorical Listening in the Diverse Classroom: Understanding
the
Sound of Not Understanding" (PDF). ERIC: 2. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
Ratcliffe, Krista (2005). Rhetorical listening: Identification, gender, whiteness. SIU Press.
Pedersen, Steven M. (2013). "Review: Rhetorical Listening by Krista Ratcliffe". Issues of KB
Journal. 9 (1).
Rivera-Mueller, Jessica (2020-10-18). "Enacting Rhetorical Listening: A Process to Support
Students' Engagement with Challenging Course Readings". Journal on Empowering
Teaching Excellence. 4 (2). doi:10.26077/0845-bae3. ISSN 2644-2132.
Rodgers, Meagan (2012). "The Intent/Effect Tactic: A Practice of Rhetorical Listening". CEA
Forum. 41 (1): 60–77.
Bannister, Linda (March 2001). "Rhetorical Listening in the Diverse Classroom: Understanding
the
Sound of Not Understanding" (PDF). ERIC. 2: 1–12.
Cools, Janice (2017). "Hearing the Silences: Engaging in Rhetorical Listening in the ESL/ELL
Composition Classroom". CEA Forum. 46 (2): 35–61.
Stenberg, Shari. "Cultivating listening: Teaching from a restored logos." Silence and listening as
rhetorical arts (2011): 250-263.

Further reading
Zenger, Jack; Folkman, Joseph (14 July 2016). "What Great Listeners Actually Do". Harvard
Business Review.
Lipari, Lisbeth. Listening, Thinking, Being: Toward an Ethics of Attunement. Pennsylvania State
University Press.
II. Understanding extended speech and lectures.
What is Extended speaking?
Extended Speaking is a type of speaking activity that involves learners speaking for
longer periods of time and in a freer form than controlled speaking practice. Extended speaking
is an opportunity to practice all the skills needed for communication.
Example:
The learners have been reading about xenophobia in different countries and they now
share their opinions on causes in an open
class discussion.
Extended speaking activities in the classroom can include speaking games such as ‘Just a
minute', presentations and discussions led by learners, interviews, and informal conversation.
Jigsaw reading or listening tasks may also give an opportunity for extended speaking.

Further links:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/improving-discussion-lessons
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/four-hats-discussion
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/group-discussion-skills
III. Understanding TV news and current affairs programs.
The news media are media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a
target public – cannot be disconnected from the subjects and events they report on. As news
media actors select, articulate, and disseminate information, they are implicated in the public
discourse that informs social beliefs and behaviors. News media is at once an indicator and a
propagator of the state of affairs in any given society, it serves as both “a mirror and an agent”
(Galvano IDB 2015). The manner in which violence against women is treated in media discourse
is crucial: if the subject is not treated carefully, media actors’ risk inadvertently further harming
the victim and/or compounding and perpetuating the enabling environment for violence
against women. Alternatively, it can play a crucial role in addressing those social norms and
stereotypes that condone violence.
Global research indicates that women’s representation, gender equality and violence
against women reporting are very weak and have remained so for decades. The Global Media
Monitoring Project found (GMMP 2015):
Since 2000, only 10 per cent of all stories have focused on women with the number
declining to 7 and 5 per cent in the areas of political and economic news respectively.
In digital news and news tweets, the number rises to 26 per cent, but remains well
below parity.
Gender stereotypes continue to be firmly entrenched with only 4 percent of news
(television, print, radio and digital) challenging gender stereotypes.
Domestic violence survivors are still largely portrayed negatively though there has been
improvement over a decade, with 27 per cent being portrayed as survivors in 2015 as opposed
to 6 per cent in 2005.

Understanding values and practices of news media

Broadly, the key guiding professional and ethical values of news journalism are a
commitment to: accuracy, fairness, balance and impartiality. The news media in most contexts,
especially where it is not state controlled or heavily influenced, usually does not see itself as
having a ‘proposition’ or as being aligned to any particular social or political cause. The values of
neutrality, autonomy and freedom should be central to editorial decision-making. Media
workers expect to be approached, less on the basis of the positive “moral” impact that the
story may have on society, and rather on the basis of a potential story with a strong ‘news
value’.
Regular editorial meetings usually determine which news stories should be covered
under tight deadlines and news journalists may then have only very limited time to find
substantiating information and to set up interviews and debates. News stories can change
extremely fast under the ‘24-hour news cycle’ as events unfold and different people respond,
meaning that many journalists often rely on people they know instead of seeking out for new
contributors. Positively influencing this challenging context requires a multi-faceted approach.

Approaching news media

Appropriate planning is necessary to design interventions for the news media, including
those that can respond to the shorter-term, ad-hoc and often hectic news cycle needs, as well
as, those that can contribute to a longer-term change through capacity-building of the
organizations and its personnel (staff and freelancers).

Women’s Media Center: She Source (USA)

She Source is an online database of female experts working across diverse topics related
to gender equality, including VAWG, available to speak to the media. It was created by the
Women’s Media Center (WMC) in response to the lack of female experts in media, and is
designed to serve journalists, producers and bookers who need female guests and sources.
Women can register themselves as experts and journalists, producers, and bookers can search
the database for the expertise they need. The WMC also supports women who do not feel they
have enough media experience to be comfortable being interviewed through their ‘Progressive
Women’s Voices’ programme, a media leadership training programme that gives women
advanced training and tools to position themselves as media spokespeople in their fields,
helping to change the conversation on issues that fill headlines.
Read more about the Progressive Women’s Voices programme:
https://www.womensmediacenter.com/about/training/progressive-womens-voices
She Source Expert Database: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/shesource/

Tips for radio

1. Prepare ahead of time
2. Conduct mock interviews and get feedback from friends or colleagues
3. Draft the essential points or key messages and practice them
 4. Avoid long sentences, using sharp short bites that get the point across quickly and
effectively
5. Pre-empt challenging questions that can be answered by general, but accurate
responses.

Examples of radio stations, see:

Women’s Liberation Radio News - https://wlrnmedia.wordpress.com/
Women’s International News Gathering Service - http://www.wings.org/
Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press - http://www.wifp.org/
For Feminist Podcasts, see - https://player.fm/featured/feminist

Examples of how video talks have been used to disseminate powerful messages around
important topics, see the following Ted Talks categories:
Feminism - https://www.ted.com/topics/feminism
Violence against Women – https://www.ted.com/search?q=violence+against+women
Gender Equality - https://www.ted.com/search?q=gender+equality
Masculinities - https://www.ted.com/search?q=masculinities

Resources:

The International Federation of Journalists Guidelines for Reporting on Violence against Women
http://ethicaljournalisminitiative.org/en/contents/ifj-guidelines-for-reporting-on-
violence-against-women
Media Guidelines for Reporting on Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Contexts-
http://gbvaor.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/GBV-Media-Guidelines-Final-
Provisional-25July2013.pdf
GLAAD's Media Reference Guide- https://www.glaad.org/reference
The Diversity Style Guide - https://www.diversitystyleguide.com/
Handle with Care: A Guide to Responsible Media Reporting of Violence against Women-
http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/handle_withcare_zerotolerance_20
11.pdf
Responsible Reporting Guidelines for Journalists -
http://www.evas.org.au/images/docs/Responsible-Reporting-guidelines-2013.pdf

Gender-Sensitive Language Guidelines - http://www.unwomen.org/-

/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/gender-
inclusive%20language/guidelines-on-gender-inclusive-language-en.pdf?la=en&vs=2129
Gender Terminology Database- http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/gender-inclusive-
language
IV. Understanding films
Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world, and so said the celebrated avant-garde
filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. He could not have been any truer! Interestingly though, we take
pleasure in being duped by a film. We momentarily suspend our disbelief and fit right in. On
second thoughts though, we can safely deduce that cinema is the most complete art form
around purely because of its ability to create an alternate reality and make people stay there.
While the level of passion might differ, it goes without saying that we all have been
influenced by movies in some way or the other. However, very few amongst us make an
informed attempt at deconstructing the wonderful medium and understanding its intricacies.
The fun of watching movies enhances manifold if we analyze the minute cinematic elements. By
cinematic elements, not only do we mean visible things such as the screenplay,
cinematography, editing style, characterization and location; we also mean more subtle things
such as theme, message, metaphor, subtext, motivation, motif and point of view.
Here, we shall try to decipher some oft-repeated yet misunderstood cinematic terms
just so that we can make better sense out of movies the next time we decide to watch one:
a. Theme
The theme is an assortment of broad ideas and allusions that are established by
repetition of technical and linguistic means throughout the film such as alienation, power and
control, transcendence through romantic achievements and the likes. Let us talk about the
movie ‘Memento’ by Christopher Nolan. The overriding idea throughout the movie is an all-
encompassing sense of loss.
b. Message
The message constitutes what the director wants to convey. Not always does a film
possess a central message. Sometimes, the film is left on an ambiguous note so that the viewers
could make their own interpretations. Let us take an example to understand this. If we consider
a movie like ‘Rang De Basanti’ (2006), directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, then we can
understand that the movie’s central message is the responsibility of the youth towards the
country.
c. Metaphor
 Metaphors are elements that represent something different from their explicit
meanings. Metaphors gain relevance only when they are connected with the larger connotation
of the film. In fact, there is a host of examples that we can take. If we look at a movie like
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976), we can understand that it talks about the Vietnam
veterans and their alienation from the mainstream American society.

d. Subtext
A film generally conveys numerous messages. These messages are sometimes beneath
the surface and often unintended. Interestingly, subtexts covey an altogether different meaning
than the intended message. If we look at Alex Proyas’ ‘Dark City’ (1998), we shall be able to
appreciate that it talks about Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’.
e. Motivation
Motivations are justifications given in the film for the presence of an element. Many
movies have motivated elements. We can take an Indian example to understand this. Ritwik
Ghatak’s ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ (1960) has a melodramatic scene where an Indian classical song is
being punctuated with the sound of a train. This is indicative of the imminent turbulence in the
life of the protagonist.
f. Motif
When an element is repeated in a movie such that it acquires a symbolic meaning, it is
known as a motif.A motif can be a technical feature, a sound or a piece of dialogue or music or
an object. A case in point could be Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ (1955). The same sacrificial
music permeates two deaths shown in the movie.
g. Point of View
Is the film in general told from a particular perspective or is it objective? Is the film’s
point of view chiefly intellectual or emotional or visionary or realistic? History has been witness
to a number of propaganda movies that have been told from a very biased perspective. Leni
Riefenstahl’s ‘The Triumph of the Will’ (1935), based on Hitler’s Nuremberg Conference is a
case in point.
Just in case one seeks to take the craft of understanding movies ahead and become a
film critic, he/ she needs to have a thorough understanding of all the cinematic elements, some
of which are mentioned above, in addition to a strong grip over existing film theories. However,
nothing can replace the good old practice of watching critically acclaimed movies.
As a viable career, film criticism or film appreciation is gaining grounds with each passing
day with the sheer number of online cinema portals growing at the rate of knots, not to
mention the print and electronic platforms. As cinema has its genesis in literature, an aspiring
film critic has to be proficient in literature as well. A comprehensive knowledge about the past
and present art movements can give extra leverage to a film critic as cinema, at multiple points
in history, has been influenced by the dominant art movements of those times.

Film analysis is the process in which film is analyzed in terms of semiotics, narrative
structure, cultural context, and mise-en-scene, among other approaches. If these terms are
new to you, don’t worry—they’ll be explained in the next section.

Common Approaches to Film Analysis:

1. Semiotic analysis is the analysis of meaning behind signs and symbols, typically involving
metaphors, analogies, and symbolism. This doesn’t necessarily need to be something
dramatic; think about how you extrapolate information from the smallest signs in your
day-to-day life. For instance, what characteristics can tell you about someone’s
personality? Something as simple as someone’s appearance can reveal information
about them. Mismatched shoes and bedhead might be a sign of carelessness (or
something crazy happened that morning!), while an immaculate dress shirt and tie
would suggest that the person is prim and proper. Continuing in that vein:
What might you be able to infer about characters from small hints?
1.1 How are these hints (signs) used to construct characters?
1.2 How do they relate to the relative role of those characters, or the relationships between
multiple characters?
1.3 Symbols denote concepts (liberty, peace, etc.) and feelings (hate, love, etc.) that they
often have nothing to do with. They are used liberally in both literature and film, and
finding them uses a similar process.
Ask yourself:
What objects or images are repeated in multiple instances?
In Frozen Elsa’s gloves appear in multiple scenes.
In what context do they appear?
Her gloves are first given to her by her father to restrain her magic. She continues to wear them
throughout the coronation scene, before finally, in the Let It Go sequence, she throws them
away.
Again, the method of semiotic analysis in film is similar to that of literature. Think about the
deeper meaning behind objects or actions.
What might Elsa’s gloves represent?
Elsa’s gloves represent fear of her magic and, by extension, herself. Though she attempts to
contain her magic by hiding her hands within gloves and denying part of her identity, she
eventually abandons the gloves in a quest for self-acceptance.
2. Narrative structure analysis is the analysis of the story elements, including plot
structure, character motivations, and theme. Like the dramatic structure of literature
(exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), film has what is known as
the Three-Act Structure: “Act One: Setup, Act Two: Confrontation, and Act Three:
Resolution.”
Narrative structure analysis breaks the story of the film into these three elements and might
consider questions like:
2.1 How does the story follow or deviate from typical structures?
2.2 What is the effect of following or deviating from this structure?
2.3 What is the theme of the film, and how is that theme constructed?
Consider again the example of Frozen. You can use symbolism and narrative structure in
conjunction by placing the symbolic objects/events in the context of the narrative structure. For
instance, the first appearance of the gloves is in Act One, while their abandoning takes place in
Act Two; thus, the story progresses in such a way that demonstrates Elsa’s personal growth. By
the time of Act Three, the Resolution, her aversion to touch (a product of fearing her own
magic) is gone, reflecting a theme of self-acceptance.
3. Contextual analysis is analysis of the film as part of a broader context. Think about the
culture, time, and place of the film’s creation. What might the film say about the culture
that created it? What were/are the social and political concerns of the time period? Or,
like researching the author of a novel, you might consider the director, producer, and
other people vital to the making of the film. What is the place of this film in the
director’s career? Does it align with his usual style of directing, or does it move in a new
direction? Other examples of contextual approaches might be analyzing the film in
terms of a civil rights or feminist movement.
For example, Frozen is often linked to the LGBTQ social movement. You might agree or disagree
with this interpretation, and, using evidence from the film, support your argument.
Some other questions to consider:
3.1 How does the meaning of the film change when seen outside of its culture?
3.2 What characteristics distinguishes the film as being of its particular culture?
 4. Mise-en-scene analysis is analysis of the arrangement of compositional elements in film
—essentially, the analysis of audiovisual elements that most distinctly separate film
analysis from literary analysis. Remember that the important part of a mise-en-scene
analysis is not just identifying the elements of a scene, but explaining the significance
behind them.
4.1 What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
4.2 How does the film attempt to achieve its goal by the way it looks, and does it succeed?
5. Audiovisual elements that can be analyzed include (but are not limited to): props and
costumes, setting, lighting, camera angles, frames, special effects, choreography, music,
color values, depth, placement of characters, etc. Mise-en-scene is typically the most
foreign part of writing film analysis because the other components discussed are
common to literary analysis, while mise-en-scene deals with elements unique to film.
Using specific film terminology bolsters credibility, but you should also consider your
audience. If your essay is meant to be accessible to non-specialist readers, explain what
terms mean. The Resources section of this handout has links to sites that describe mise-
en-scene elements in detail.
Rewatching the film and creating screen captures (still images) of certain scenes can help with
detailed analysis of colors, positioning of actors, placement of objects, etc. Listening to the
soundtrack can also be helpful, especially when placed in the context of particular scenes.

Some example questions:

5.1 How is the lighting used to construct mood? Does the mood shift at any point during the
film, and how is that shift in mood created?
5.2 What does the setting say about certain characters? How are props used to reveal
aspects of their personality?
5.3 What songs were used, and why were they chosen? Are there any messages in the lyrics
that pertain to the theme?
5.4 Writing the film analysis essay

Writing film analysis is similar to writing literary analysis or any argumentative essay in
other disciplines: Consider the assignment and prompts, formulate a thesis (see the
Brainstorming Handout and Thesis Statement Handout for help crafting a nuanced argument),
compile evidence to prove your thesis, and lay out your argument in the essay. Your evidence
may be different from what you are used to. Whereas in the English essay you use textual
evidence and quotes, in a film analysis essay, you might also include audiovisual elements to
bolster your argument.
 When describing a sequence in a film, use the present tense, like you would write in the
literary present when describing events of a novel, i.e. not “Elsa took off her gloves,” but “Elsa
takes off her gloves.” When quoting dialogue from a film, if between multiple characters, use
block quotes: Start the quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from
the left margin. However, conventions are flexible, so ask your professor if you are unsure. It
may also help to follow the formatting of the script, if you can find it. For example:
ELSA: But she won’t remember I have powers?
KING: It’s for the best.

You do not need to use quotation marks for blocked-off dialogue, but for shorter quotations in
the main text, quotation marks should be double quotes (“…”).

Here are some tips for approaching film analysis:

1. Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Focus your
argument by choosing a specific issue to assess.
2. Review your materials. Rewatch the film for nuances that you may have missed in the
first viewing. With your thesis in mind, take notes as you watch. Finding a screenplay of
the movie may be helpful, but keep in mind that there may be differences between the
screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of
discussion!).
3. Develop a thesis and an outline, organizing your evidence so that it supports your
argument. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment—make sure that your thesis
answers what the prompt asks, and check with your professor if you are unsure.
4. Move beyond only describing the audiovisual elements of the film by considering the
significance of your evidence. Demonstrate understanding of not just what film
elements are, but why and to what effect they are being used. For more help on using
your evidence effectively, see ‘Using Evidence In An Argument’ in the Evidence Handout.