Can a cinema be a classroom?

For this Step, we ask ‘can a cinema be like a classroom’? In fact, should it be used like a classroom, or should the cinema experience be held sacred, like going to a church?

The clip that opens this Step is set in BFI Southbank in London, where the education department offers up to 70 events a year for school groups to come and study some aspect of film. You may have noticed that the focus of the session in the video is on learning French, for students studying the language. England, like most countries in Europe, has no formally mandated place for film in its national curriculum. This means that the most effective way of bringing young people to the cinema is by offering events where film supports education.

A typical BFI study day event will take a whole morning, more than two hours, working on the ways in which film can support language learning, with short interactive activities, in the chosen language. The presenter stands on stage, and manages quite a large group (up to 450 students) using her voice, a microphone, and the big screen. The students are learning the target language, and about French culture, which makes film an ideal vehicle. But they are also learning abut film language – see the focus on shot size, and audience engagement.

Task
From the evidence in the clip, but also your own experience:

• can a cinema be used like a classroom? Do you think it should be?
• what limitations are placed on learning in a cinema, that aren’t present in a school classroom?
• what can learning in a cinema offer that a traditional classroom can’t?

Post your thoughts in the comments box below.