When Malaika Vaz was a kid, living in Goa, India, she was constantly surrounded by nature. Among her childhood experiences, she recalls journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic, climbing mountains, diving, and windsurfing.

At some point in her late teens, Vaz realized adventure didn’t really mean anything if there wasn’t an intention to protect the natural spaces we were exploring in. Motivated by her passion for filmmaking, she began to seek a way that would both satisfy her appetite for adventure and allow her to advocate the protection of the species and ecosystems she interacted with.

Today Vaz wears many hats in the filmmaking world, as a documentary director, producer, and presenter. After falling in love with manta rays (蝠鲼), she discovered they were being hunted illegally and started to dress herself as a seafood trader to get as close as possible to the issue. She traced sellers to figure out why the threatened species were being killed. She shared the shocking details in Peng Yu Sai, her Green Oscar-nominated film on the matter.

The subjects that grab her attention, Vaz admits, run the gamut. When she was asked to define her focus, she replied that she preferred variety. She always argues that the issues she looks into are more interrelated than they may initially appear. “I think that it’s exciting to dive into the different aspects of environmental stories,” she says.

Her work doesn’t stop at recording important stories; she also ensures the message is heard. From Vaz’s viewpoint, real improvement in planetary protection lies in the hands of each of us rather than just those of several environmentalists. “If you’re an engineer and you care about the natural world, you can change the kind of construction materials you use. If you’re a teacher loving nature, you can bring that into the learning for your class.” she says.

As a filmmaker, Vaz believes it’s important to figure out ways that attract the audience who can push for the protection of the natural world.

Learning from films is motivating and enjoyable.

Motivation is one of the most important factors in learning second-language, while films are an important part of students’ entertaining lives. 【小题2】 So it makes perfect sense to bring them into the language classroom.

【小题3】

Students can use examples of English from films in real situations outside the classroom. Films expose students to natural expressions and the natural flow of speech. If not living in an English-speaking environment, perhaps only films can provide learners with this real-life language input.

Films give a visual context.

The visuality of films makes them an invaluable language teaching tool. They enable students to understand more by transforming the language in a full visual context. Students can listen to language exchanges and see facial expressions and gestures at the same time. 【小题4】

Films bring about variety and flexibility.

Films can extend the range of teaching techniques and resources, helping students to develop all four communicative skills. 【小题5】 They can also act as a starting point for follow-up tasks such as discussions, debates on social issues, role plays, reconstructing a dialogue or summarizing.

Given the benefits of using films in language learning, it’s not surprising that many teachers are keen to use films with their students. An increasing number of them are successfully integrating films into the language-learning courses.