Watching English Movies to Develop Students’ Critical Thinking and Their Listening Skills

Abstract

This current study aimed to explore the benefits of incorporating English movies into language learning, specifically concerning critical thinking and listening skills. Moreover, this study deeply investigated the students’ outcome in using English movies as a medium to improve critical thinking abilities and develop their listening skills in a classroom. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach. The participants of this study were students who have watched movies activities in a listening class and majoring in English Education Program. There were two types of data collection and analysis. The first stage involved collecting data through questionnaire which answered the first-research question regarding; how do English movies assist students in improving critical thinking abilities?. There were twelve items of questions modified from Rosa (2021). The questions were specially designed to assist students in evaluating their critical thinking abilities. Furthermore, the second stage conducted interviews to address the second-research question about; to what extent do English movies help students develop their listening skills?. There were five interview questions used Bahasa Indonesia made by the researcher. The question about the documentary movie “Seaspiracy” that participants have watched. The findings of this study indicated that students have shown positive results regarding the use of English movies as a teaching medium in the classroom in improving students’ critical thinking abilities and developing their listening skills. Based on the questionnaire results, watching movies helped them to connect what they watched with their real-life experiences, supported them to think critically, and also focused on the detailed issues presented in the movies. Subsequently, based on the interview results, each participant gave positive responses concerning how English movies contribute to developing their listening skills. Overall, participants believed that learning through movies was enjoyable. In English movies, the participants paid more attention to the movie’s storyline, related it to their daily lives, and also helped students to understand the movie’s content effectively. Keywords: listening skills, English movies, critical thinking