Video in ELT—Theoretical and Pedagogical Foundations

1. Video in ELT—Theoretical and Pedagogical Foundations

2. Early Work—1980s Lonergan, 1984. Video in Language Teaching. Allan, 1985. Teaching English with Video. Stoller for other FL Stempleski and Tomalin

3. What do we do with video? Showing videos to students Videotaping student activities

4. Advantages of Using Video Input in target language Naturally used language (although scripted), varieties (regional, socioeconomic, ethnic, gender, age), levels of formality, etc. Show nonverbal behaviors Show cultural artifacts and behaviors Appealing, colorful, story line motivating

5. Purposes for Using Video To provide language input To provide a stimulus for language output—speaking or writing To illustrate pragmatic and nonverbal behaviors To illustrate elements of culture To teach content, media literacy, etc.

6. Kinds of Videos ELT videos Educational videos Movies/films TV programs Internet Home movies

7. ELT Video Made for ESL students Carefully scripted grammar and vocabulary for students’ level Clear pronunciation Possibly uninteresting and not challenging Is it authentic? Is speed normal? Is that important?

8. Films Variety of genres Innocent to X-rated 90 minutes plus (could segment into scenes) Many ranges of language May have multi-language captions (DVDs)

9. Television Many genres—more than films Not 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

10. The Internet Images sometimes small and shaky Sound quality not always good Speaking and mouth not always in sync Availability of materials Problem with downloading Are sites reliable?

11. 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)

12. What are Authentic Tasks? Watching movies Watching sitcoms Watching news stories Watching travel shows And so forth …

13. Listen and comprehend Write down some key information Talk about what we heard with others Summarize it in a letter or e-mail

14. 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

15. Strategy Use Using background knowledge to fill in gaps in information—educated guessing Prediction—what will happen next? Use knowledge of genre type Use knowledge of context/situation and human nature

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Multiple Intelligences Gardner 1983. Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Tatsuki 2001. Multiple Intelligences and Video.

20. 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)

21. Linguistic—videotape storytelling and provide immediate feedback Logical mathematical—illustrations of physics concepts (DVD, CD-ROM)

22. 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

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

24. 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

25. Tips for Using Video in Class Don’t just show a whole movie in one class Use shorter clips Have students watch with a purpose Watch again to check work Segment a film into several sessions OR Have students watch the rest on their own time

26. Activities with Language Input Comprehension questions (not too many) True—False Multiple choice Checking off from a list or grid Filling in a chart or grid Cloze

27. 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 gap Prediction—tell the story up until now, or predict what will happen next

28. Reaction to controversial or thought-provoking input in speech or writing Out-of-class preparation of longer speaking or writing activities Projects

29. 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

30. 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