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March 11, 2006
Living on a Budget – Free Movie Rentals?
Readers,
Living abroad? On a budget? Love to watch movies or read? Spend too much money on entertainment (a standard movie ticket in Japan is approximately $17 US!)? It’s time to checkout your local library!
Ok, so maybe this seems like pointing out the obvious, but I’ll tell ya, though I like to think I’m pretty quick, it took me a few months living in Japan before learning about the library and I couldn’t have been more surprised! Not only did I not expect English language movies and magazines, but the book selection was pretty impressive! To get a . . .
. . . library card in Osaka, I had to show proof that I resided in Osaka (I showed a bill with my address from my cell phone company) and foreigner’s registration card. The entire process took about 5 minutes and it couldn’t have been easier. Many library systems offer annexes for easy return of materials – there was one right near my house! Not only did I save money, but I met some new friends while browsing the titles!
Where do you rent films in your country? Is there a hidden resource somewhere you'd like to share with others. Let us know by commenting below.
Best,
Marlen Harrison
March 2006 Guest-Writer for ESLemployment
Looking for more articles about living on a budget as an ESL teacher? Click HERE!
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About the author of this entry:
Marlen hails from South Florida but has lived abroad in both Europe and Asia. His own international education experiences include a year at Kingston University in Surrey, England. In 1995, Marlen earned his B.S. in Psychology from Appalachian State University.and then was awarded the M.A. in Education and Human Development from George Washington University in 1997. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral program in TESOL after four years of teaching in a variety of settings in Western Japan. In addition to his liberal arts and educational background, Marlen is also a member of the Japanese Association for Language Teaching, acting as Co-Coordinator for their Learner Development special interest group.
Posted by ESL Lesson Plan at March 11, 2006 08:10 AM
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Comments
I'm in China where pirated movies are king!
6RMB for a DVD, new release or old favourite, which is 75 cents US
If you like movies, China is the place to be! :D
Posted by: Jonathan at March 13, 2006 12:55 PM
Jonathan...
75cents American for a DVD? I'm not even gonna tell you what the average cost is here in Japan...
Now that being said...are these pirated copies or legit?
Thanks for making me jealous. (lol!)
Marlen
Posted by: Marlen at March 13, 2006 01:05 PM
In Germany, libraries are public but you pay a membership fee annually (about 10 Euro a year, I think). Movies cost 50 cents a day to rent, but if you rent them on Saturday, they are not due back until Tuesday, as libraries (in my city) are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
50 cents a movie is a GREAT deal. My husband has a membership card. He checks out what we want to read and watch (with me with him, or I go look and tell him), and I return the movies.
The library is a wonderful source for movies. We have gone to see only two movies on the big screen (yes, in Deutsch) in the past year. Both times it was a huge treat.
Posted by: Kim at March 14, 2006 01:55 AM
Kim - that sounds great! Thanks for sharing this info with us! I can't remember the last time I went to a movie theater, though I'm thinking of going today...just because!
Posted by: Marlen at March 14, 2006 11:30 AM
As an excellent film, I recommend "The Milagro Beanfield War" directed by Robert Redford (1988) starring Reuben Blades and Sonia Braga. It was filmed in my home state of New Mexico, and offers some spanish (but is an English language film) and is a great stimulant for discussing ideas concerning economic development and its effect on communities, politics, cultural conflict, movie tropes, etc.
Posted by: robert tansey at April 7, 2006 08:44 AM
Hello.. Hope I am able to recieve some assistance with a problem I am having. I'm teaching Oral English at a small vocational school in Shanghai, China. My initial understanding of "oral english" was, I prepare a topic of discussion i.e, information, new vocabulary, viewpoints. Then I allow my students a chance to express their opinions. My students have no idea of how to "express" themselves, I know they are not stupid or lazy.. but lack the ability to formulate sentences or opinions. Where do I begin in building a foundation of speaking. I'm new at this teaching thing, so I would really appreciate any help I can get. The students range in ages from 17-19 and have varied levels of profiency, also the class size is about 30 students. I'm tired of doing all the talking and then sitting there listening to silence.
Thanks
Brian
Posted by: Brian at April 20, 2006 07:28 PM
