Many students in Taiwan feel that English is difficult, the method of studying it is boring, and the results after studying it are discouraging. How can students learn English easily and effectively? The whole language approach may be the answer because its aims include learning language naturally and successfully.
This dissertation first describes what the whole language approach is and then asserts that teaching English with this approach is feasible in Taiwan, at least for colleges and universities. Some of the whole language principles that can and should be implemented in Taiwan are emphasizing learner-centeredness, providing activities and materials relevant and interesting to the learners, learning from whole to part, paying attention to meaning before form, integrating the four skills, and evaluating the learning process.
There are unlimited activities and materials suitable for the whole language approach. This study focuses on one recommended type, feature films, for detailed discussion. After explaining the reasons for using feature films, the legal regulations, and the selection criteria for feature films, the author elaborates on how to teach college English with feature films based on the whole language approach. Principles and illustrative examples are provided to help design activities.
Finally, this dissertation depicts how Beauty and the Beast was employed by the author in college English classes. All the activities were devised to meet students'' needs and interests. Students'' enthusiastic involvement and positive feedback indicated that feature films were enjoyable and effective teaching material for college English. It was also found that students evaluated the use of the whole language approach very positively.