Watch and learn
GO for classes, do worksheets, read books – these are what most would recommend if one asked for ways to improve one’s English proficiency.
In the latest collaboration by Star Media Group (SMG) and Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC), students can now turn their movie trips into language learning opportunities through a junior movie club programme.
As part of creating and delivering enriching cinematic experiences, the country’s leading cinema operator is hosting three special screenings at its 16-screen GSC Paradigm Mall Johor Baru multiplex. These screenings will be preceded by language activities and quizzes.
The movie screening of Christopher Robin was held in August with much success. The second movie selected for screening on Oct 27 is Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. The third one to be screened in November is The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
The movies, which are all based on books, will offer an avenue for English language appreciation through visual storytelling. These screenings are held for students from various schools in Johor Baru. One guardian or sibling is invited to accompany the participating student to the event.
The junior movie club sponsorship is undertaken by GSC as part of its corporate social responsibility to continuously invest in the betterment of the communities that it operates in. Through this effort, GSC aims to champion English literacy for schoolchildren, using films as a method to educate and entertain youngsters to enhance their comprehension and mastery of English.
This initiative also falls in line with SMG’s English for Better Opportunities (EBO) project. A multi-level platform, the EBO project is aimed at making immersive-driven English language programmes interactive, fun and accessible to all. This project is an extension of SMG’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme, which is now in its 21st year.
The media company is expanding its English language programmes through a host of activities that include holiday camps, outdoor challenges, confidence building workshops, theatre workshops, as well as a junior movie club. Movies provide non-native speakers a simple and entertaining way to learn English, one in which they get to see the language used in context.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween introduces viewers to the small town of Wardenclyffe on Halloween Night. Two boys – Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris) – find a manuscript in an abandoned house, previously owned by R.L. Stine (Jack Black).
When they open it, they release Slappy (Avery Lee Jones), who plans to create the Halloween Apocalypse with the help of his monster allies. Now, Sonny and Sam, alongside Sonny’s sister, Sarah (Madison Iseman), and Stine himself, must work to stop Slappy before all is lost.
The screenings are exclusive to students from schools subscribing to Star-NiE. Students from participating schools who are interested can contact Sundarrajan at 016-288 3682 for more information.