Journal Review part 4: Effect of Using Video Materials in the Teaching of Listening Skills for University Students

Author:

Kretsai Woottipong

Technology has played an increasingly important role in the methods of instruction. One technology is video which offers instructors a wide variety of resource material to be employed in EFL classrooms to improve students’ listening comprehension. Music and setting elements can make for an enjoyable experience by learners. Video materials can be used an alternative instructional tool for teaching listening since they are a rich source of conversation and dialogue by English speakers. This can greatly facilitate comprehension of pronunciation. 

Secules, Herron & Tomasello (1992 cited in Keihaniyan, 2013) mentioned that the employment of video-based instruction is preferable to audio-only instruction in teaching language learning due to its multiplying input modalities that can motivate learners and attract their attention to the aural input. As a result, the use of video material is widely employed as an instrument to practice listening skill in English language learning. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the effects of using video materials in the development of listening skills in an EFL classroom.

In order to choose video material for the classroom, topics must be chosen based on students’ interest and their level of English proficiency, as well as cultural aspects. In addition, Nunan (2003) stated that the design of listening cycles is an important consideration, which involves selecting the content of the video or audio recording and dividing it into sections for presenting in stages to learners. Instructors can design cycles of activities in which learners can participate. The instructor should also be a reflective observer in order not to distract the learners’ attention from the video. Therefore, it would be very beneficial for instructors to select video materials that are conducive to language learning. Learners are more motivated to cope with the instruction when given the opportunity to study with the use of video materials.

The sample of the student population for this study was 41 first-year English major students in the second semester of the academic year 2012 at Thaksin University, Thailand. They were selected by simple random sampling. The study was conducted over 20 teaching periods. The one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented in this study. The instruments used in this study were lesson plans, English comprehension tests (pretest and posttest) and a questionnaire of the students’ attitude. Regarding the data analysis, mean, percentage and t-test scores for the dependent sample were employed. The result indicated that the students’ English listening comprehension ability increased significantly after learning with videos and students had positive attitudes towards using videos in teaching listening skills.

The findings of this study revealed that the use of video materials to develop listening comprehension of first-year English major students seemed to be effective, as indicated by the post-test score which was significantly higher than the pre-test score. Analysis of the students’ responses questionnaire from this journal revealed that they were more interested in learning English if the teacher used English videos as teaching materials. In addition, the keyword preview before watching videos motivated them to learn English. They explained that it was easier for them to remember and understand vocabulary in the video. Overall, students agreed that videos were beneficial in learning English, and that English subtitles in video movies were an excellent aid to learning English.

Based on the result of this study, it can be implied that video can contribute positively to language learning and processing. It helps learners in developing listening skills, in learning new lexical terms and in encouraging autonomous learning. Video-based instruction can be used to develop students’ listening and speaking skills. Activities associated with video-based instruction such as gap-filling, group discussion, and oral presentation, can also develop students’ listening and speaking skills.

The advantages

Video can be a very valuable tool for language learning. The advantages this tool provides, which this section will discuss, include the provision of samples of real-life communication, motivation for language learning, and promoting language acquisition. The first major advantage of using video is that it can provide samples of real-life situations. Learners can use video to study how language use may be employed by age and how the relationship between language use and paralinguistic features can be focused, including how to convey moods and feelings. Another reason why video is more advantageous than other forms of authentic material; it presents “slices of life.” Normally, teachers work with dialog in textbooks or audio cassettes; however, video presents communication more contextually. According to Allan, this makes video a valuable addition to language learning. Teachers should be well-trained in the use of video and how best to exploit its inherent advantages in a learning environment. Furthermore, the selection of the video content should be appropriate to the level of students’ English proficiency. The topics of the content should be matched to their interests and their background knowledge in order to motivate them to learn.

This journal is almost otherwise perfect in my opinion. But, there is one problem which is the weakness of this journal. Namely, there are several word repetitions that make this journal a little boring to follow.