Video in ELT—Theoretical and Pedagogical Foundations

Early Work—1980s

Lonergan, 1984. Video in Language Teaching.

Allan, 1985. Teaching English with Video.Stoller for other FLStempleski and Tomalin

What do we do with video?

Showing videos to studentsVideotaping student activities

Advantages of Using Video

Input in target languageNaturally used language (although

scripted), varieties (regional, socioeconomic, ethnic, gender, age), levels of formality, etc.

Show nonverbal behaviorsShow cultural artifacts and behaviorsAppealing, colorful, story line motivating

Purposes for Using Video

To provide language inputTo provide a stimulus for language

output—speaking or writingTo illustrate pragmatic and nonverbal

behaviorsTo illustrate elements of cultureTo teach content, media literacy, etc.

Kinds of Videos

ELT videosEducational videosMovies/filmsTV programsInternetHome movies

ELT VideoMade for ESL studentsCarefully scripted grammar and

vocabulary for students’ levelClear pronunciationPossibly uninteresting and not

challengingIs it authentic?Is speed normal? Is that important?

Films

Variety of genresInnocent to X-rated90 minutes plus (could segment into

scenes)Many ranges of languageMay have multi-language captions

(DVDs)

Television

Many genres—more than filmsNot usually too offensive—but still

have to consider audience and variety of stations on cable

Various lengths of time, and can segment

Many ranges of language No possibility to vary captions

The Internet

Images sometimes small and shakySound quality not always goodSpeaking and mouth not always in

syncAvailability of materialsProblem with downloadingAre sites reliable?

Authentic Language

Different varieties—regional, ethnic, age, gender

Situational differences—level of formality, social position

Individual differences—speed of speech, voice quality, talkativeness, clarity, situation (e.g. on telephone, with food in mouth)

What are Authentic Tasks?

Watching moviesWatching sitcomsWatching news storiesWatching travel showsAnd so forth …

Listen and comprehendWrite down some key

informationTalk about what we heard

with othersSummarize it in a letter

or e-mail

Might practice note-taking, comprehension questions, ticking off

May also do less authentic things in the classroom for practice, such as filling in the blanks of a transcript to focus on lexical or grammatical usage

DANGER: don’t overteach transcript

Strategy Use

Using background knowledge to fill in gaps in information—educated guessing

Prediction—what will happen next?Use knowledge of genre typeUse knowledge of context/situation

and human nature

Asian students tend to decipher word by word, bottom-up

Turn off sound and force them to read the nonverbal behaviour and images

Look at how nonverbal behaviour as well as paralinguistic (intonation, stress, volume) modify the meaning of the words

Comprehensible Input

Many EFL materials do not challenge students—they just memorize and pick over the text word by word

Students and their teachers fear authentic material is too hard

The teacher can choose film clips and design activities such that students are challenged but can complete the activities—e.g. with the same clip beginners can listen and just check off a list of things they heard; higher level students can answer completion questions

Careful and appropriate pre-teaching helps

Multiple Intelligences

Gardner 1983. Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Tatsuki 2001. Multiple Intelligences and Video.

Use of video and film in relation to multiple inteligences

To profile multiple intelligences—view a complex film and then debrief; which features of the segment were attended to?

Film may provide an alternative route to understanding a concept (good teachers provide explanation/illustration in more than one mode)

Linguistic—videotape storytelling and provide immediate feedback

Logical mathematical—illustrations of physics concepts (DVD, CD-ROM)

Visual spatial—stop film and predict what will happen next; students make videotapes or documentaries instead of written reports

Bodily kinesthetic—student uses remote control; using moving images to illustrate concepts

Musical—interactive video disks (e.g. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: see score as it is played, hear individual instruments, read about composer)

Interpersonal—cooperative learning projects (making a short film, presenting favorite movies); teleconferencing

Intrapersonal—self-awareness and understanding through multimedia portfolios of students’work for self-reflection

Tips for Using Video in Class

Don’t just show a whole movie in one class

Use shorter clipsHave students watch with a purposeWatch again to check workSegment a film into several sessions

ORHave students watch the rest on their

own time

Activities with Language Input

Comprehension questions (not too many)

True—False Multiple choiceChecking off from a list or gridFilling in a chart or gridCloze

Activities for Language Output

Silent viewing—make up the dialogue, tell what is happening, etc.

Picture off—imagine and describe the visual from the audio

Paired viewing—information gapPrediction—tell the story up until now,

or predict what will happen next

Reaction to controversial or thought-provoking input in speech or writing

Out-of-class preparation of longer speaking or writing activities

Projects

Other Uses

Grammar—pointing out usage, such as verb tense, active/passive, person

Vocabulary—learning from the visual, naming what students see

Culture—noticing and comparing L1 and L2 cultural elements

Pragmatic and nonverbal behaviours--noticing and comparing L1 and L2 cultural elements

Out-of-class research—looking up background on the Internet, about actors, films, TV shows, etc.

Comparison of spoken English and L1 subtitles

Noticing how the film is made—film shots and angles, point of view, sound track

For teaching and supplementing content