As videocassettes of foreign films become more available, teachers will be able to show more films and bring students closer to the second language and culture. However, unfocused viewing will not develop language and cultural proficiency adequately. Class time is better spent in preparing for or reacting to the film than in viewing the film in its entirety. Students can view the film independently or in small segments. Pre-viewing activities, which can reduce the tension students feel at the dialogue's pace, can focus on linguistic features such as vocabulary and slang, cultural and historical background, scene previews, reading the screenplay, characters and plots, cinematographic topics such as directing style or the film genre's conventions, and what the student's will need to know or observe for the postviewing activities. Focused viewing exercises can stress listening, reading of credits or other writing on the screen, and observation. Postviewing activities including written assignments and class discussion can emphasize the film itself or appeal to the students' imagination and creativity. Teacher-developed viewing guides distributed to students help in each of these phases. (MSE)