fun way to learn english

Mona Lisa Smile, December 9, 2007 9pm on ATV World

Synopsis:

1953 America was a time ripe for change for women and when Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts) arrives to teach Art History at Wellesley College, she finds the institution drowning in outdated mores. While the nation struggles with the fears that accompany a shifting political culture, the powers that be at Wellesley seem to want to re-corset the women who had been the backbone of the World War II workforce just a few years earlier. A passionate educator, Katherine takes on the establishment and in doing so, deeply affects her students who in turn lead her to alter the course of her life forever.

Learning English through watching films works for me as I enjoy movies so much. Also I can learn a lot of slang expressions and colloquial English that interest me a lot. Learning a language could be a very difficult and straining process unless you find out the optimal way that suits you best.

Back to this film. I like it a lot after I have first seen it in cinema. A very liberal teacher is opening up her students’ world through contemporary Art and her own liberal way of teaching. I admire the teacher a lot as it is not easy to be liberal and be your own way among the group of people with “legitimate” orthodoxy in the world of tradition. I especially like its idea of chasing after your dreams and doing what you are capable of against just staying at home and looking after a bunch of kids. If you have the talent, you should try your best to self-actualize yourself and push your potential to the fullest. However, being a stay-at-home mom and housewife is not that bad either. It can bring you the greatest feeling of achievement. Other people might give you a lot of ideas of what you should or are supposed do in your life and you might feel confused at times. After all, life is about finding out your true self. You can just take your time.

Remarks:
1. Check out another great film (another of my favorite) about an unconformed teacher who inspires his students to think, appreciate Art (poetry to be precise) and to dare to dream and aspire with a vision, Dead Poets Society. This film inspires me so much.
2. In the film, the teacher shows her students a huge painting by Jackson Pollock, my favorite painter. Read more about him at Wikipedia if you are interested. To me, his paintings have so much power that could just suck me in his (what seems to be) chaotic swirls of oil colors. And I haven’t even seen his real paintings! I’ve only seen them on TV and already the effects are so overwhelming.
3. Wellesley College is a very well-established liberal arts college in the United States. Famous alumni include Madame Chiang Kai-shek - Soong Mei-ling 宋美龄, former First Lady of the Republic of China.