Little (1991) claims that students need to be encouraged to set their own learning goals and to take responsibility for their own learning. The use of various input materials is one of the ways in which foreign language teachers can stimulate their students and help them develop confidence in their own ideas and in their ability to work independently. The intended outcome of such a mode of learning is that students should acquire good learning strategies and so become more autonomous and self-directed. Authentic video material, as Stempleski (1990) states, is intended for native speakers - people who are already familiar with the language. It includes ungraded and unsimplified language, spoken at a natural pace and in regional accents. Such language is also real in the sense that it is current; that is, it often makes use of idioms and expressions common in contemporary target language environments. Lonergan (1983) admits that video material is too often used solely for entertainment or language content, not for effective language teaching. However, with sufficient preparation it can be a versatile teaching tool because it brings authenticity, reality, variety, and flexibility into the second-language classroom. The values of authentic video material, according to Lonergan, are numerous: it diversifies the process of learning, adds an extra dimension to the course design, provides cultural experiences, and brings an air of reality into the classroom. Another special value of authentic video material is presented by Stoller (1994), who claims that it provides students with natural exposure to a wide variety of authentic speech forms of the target language; forms which are not normally encountered in the more restricted environment of the classroom. Stempleski (1990) states that fundamental to the success of any learning activity is the motivation of the student, which must be engaged and maintained during the process of learning. When our students comprehend the material we supply them with, especially when it is spoken material intended for native speakers of the target language, they have a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, when students successfully deal with and understand authentic video material in a classroom situation, they may be motivated to seek out and try to understand other authentic materials on their own. They realise that with a bit of extra effort and practice, along with some guidance from the teacher, the 'real language' is not beyond their comprehension. Stoller (1994) adds that 'the visual experience' also has a powerful motivational impact on the students during both actual viewing and in doing accompanying activities. Willis (1983) states that the utilization of authentic video materials incorporates the study of culture as well. They provide exposure to a wide variety of native speakers of the target language and an opportunity to study both language and cultural features in context. Stempleski (1990) adds that feature films and other programs intended for native speakers of the foreign language show students how people in the foreign country live - their values, customs, clothing, food, and interactions with one another - and how they look at themselves. Carefully chosen authentic video material can provide, according to Stempleski, countless topics for cross-cultural discussions and writing activities. The students and teacher can compare and contrast customs in the foreign language speaking culture with those of their own. She adds that it heightens students' awareness of their own culture in addition to that of people who speak the target language. According to Stoller (1994), the versatility of authentic video materials should enable teachers to incorporate them into the process of a second language learning and structure their use to meet the course objectives. However, she observes that the effective incorporation of video materials requires careful attention. All too often video materials are used ineffectively and are thus viewed as unjustifiable time fillers. Their productivity depends in great measure on how ably they are used. When they are employed appropriately, they are powerful classroom resources. Their potential is attained when they serve as a rich experience which the teacher and students talk back to, interpret, generalize, think critically about, and respond to in other intellectual ways. Allan (1985) agrees with Stoller, writing that the teacher who wants to involve authentic video materials in teaching the foreign language does not only 'show' films but uses them, making them a vital part of the course and a memorable learning experience for students. Unlike home television viewing, which encourages passive, mindless involvement, classroom viewing should promote active participation from the very beginning of the lesson. Willis (1983) ensures that video materials are effective springboards for other classroom activities. They provide background information and proper stimuli for subsequent reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities. In this sense video materials should be seen as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. That is, the screening of a video material should be the catalyst for subsequent thematic development and language use rather than a simple viewing session that terminates at the end of the video material. However, Willis (1983) makes us aware that because students are often not conditioned to perceive the 'screen' as a teaching tool (as they see the textbook), the teacher must be certain that they understand the instructional objectives of a screening session at the outset. This is one reason why careful selection of video materials is of the utmost importance. Arcario (1990) admits that not all films - or video materials - are suited to the students' levels of ability or educational objectives. Selection is further complicated by the fact that each video material will dictate different types of activities, thus it will require careful teacher consideration. It is also important whether we want to use the video material as a vehicle presenting language to students, or a stimulus eliciting language from them. However, both types of activities can be used in conjunction. When we select video materials to present language to our students, Arcario suggests that we should keep in mind the degree of visual support, clarity of picture and sound, density of language, speech delivery, and language content and level. He defines the 'visual support' as the degree to which the visual element (i.e. picture) aids in the comprehension of the verbal messages. When using video materials to present language, it is important to choose scenes with a high degree of visual support, because students who do not know a word of the foreign language can easily deduce what is happening thanks to the visual image. Arcario states that a scene with a low degree of visual support is less useful for presenting language, but it can still be used as a stimulus to elicit language. For example, if students' task is to imagine, hypothesise, or predict what is being said based on the visuals, a lower degree of visual support provides a desirable ambiguity. If the visuals make the situation too obvious, there is nothing for the students to hypothesise about. As far as clarity of picture and sound is concerned Lonergan (1983) notes that most language students have little tolerance for poor picture and sound quality which can easily prevent them from comprehending a scene or situation. In addition, nonlinguistic elements on the soundtrack (e.g. music, or background noise) can also distract our students. However, Arcario (1990) adds that when using video material as a stimulus, the teacher might show a scene with the sound turned off completely and ask students to think about what is happening in that scene purely on the basis of what they see. Another factor to consider in selecting video programmes is the 'language density,' described by Arcario (1990) as the amount of language spoken over the course of a particular scene. In his opinion, it is usually the density of language that contributes most to a video scene being perceived as easy or difficult to comprehend. Clarity of speech and accent are also factors which determine the degree of difficulty in understanding a video sequence. For example, British accents can be difficult for students accustomed to American accents (and vice-versa). Arcario (1990) informs us that language content and the level of difficulty are also important factors in selecting material for comprehension-type tasks. Video materials presented to our students should include an appropriate level of linguistics factors (grammatical structures, language functions, or colloquial expressions) unknown to them, so that the students do not become discouraged by the amount of unfamiliar language. Of course, one advantage of using a videotape is that the teacher can always provide repetition by replaying a sequence. Arcario further writes that if we are using video material primarily as a stimulus to elicit language from students, the factors mentioned above may be less important. There are, however, some factors to consider as to whether the video material presents or elicits language. Student interest, which is generated not only by the video programme itself but also by the activities done together with viewing, is one of them. Arcario is aware that a particular programme is seldom interesting to everyone, therefore, he advises that it is often more practicable to develop interest by accompanying the programme with a variety of challenging tasks and activities. The length of the sequence also needs to be taken into consideration. In Stoller's (1994) opinion, the ideal film length is difficult to specify because of the numerous factors that need to be considered, for example: linguistic and nonlinguistic information processing, attention span, memory, objectives, the students' proficiency level, etc. However, she further writes that if one chooses to use films and video materials for more than language comprehension - that is, as springboards for other language activities, it is important to select video materials that are long enough to convey meaningful content, yet short enough to allow classroom time for accompanying activities. According to Stempleski: "Video, particularly authentic material intended for
native speakers, is an extremely dense medium.
Material from feature films, for example, can often
be successfully exploited if presented in 'bite-sized'
chunks that are more easily digestible for the
learner. A 2- to 3- minute sequence can provide
enough material for a 1-hour lesson."
Stempleski (1990: 11) |
Other proponents of teaching with video materials also advocate the use of short excerpts: Tomalin (1986), for example, recommends using excerpts of less than 5 minutes long. Arcario (1990) suggests that 5 to 10 minutes of video can easily provide enough work for an hour-long class period. Furthermore, he advises that while using a complete film, the teacher could break it up into a series of scenes and use it once or twice a week over the course of the semester.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - Allan, M. 1985. Teaching English with Video. Harlow, England: Longman.
- Arcario, P. 1990. Criteria for selecting video materials, in Arcario, P. and Stempleski, S. (eds.). Video in Second Language Teaching. TESOL. Rowley: Newbury House.
- Little, D. 1991. Autonomy: Definitions, Issues and Problems. Dublin: Authentic.
- Lonergan, J. 1983. Video applications in English language teaching: An introduction, in McGovern, J. (ed.). Video Applications in English Language Teaching. New York: Pergamon Press.
- Stempleski, S. 1990. Teaching communication skills with authentic video, in Arcario, P. and Stempleski, S. (eds.). Video in Second Language Teaching. Rowley: Newbury House.
- Stoller, F. 1994. Films and videotapes in the content-based ESL/EFL classroom, in Kral, T. (ed.). Teacher Development. Washington: English Language Programs Division.
- Tomalin, B. 1986. Video, TV and Radio in the English Class. London: Macmillan.
- Willis, J. 1983. 101 ways to use video , in McGovern, J. (ed.). Video Applications in English Language Teaching. New York: Pergamon Press.
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