The use of video in the classroom has become much more than just a rainy-day activity or an end of term reward. We have also long since left behind the idea that a video is simply a moving listening comprehension (Goldstein, 2017). Since 1983, Jane Willis (cited in Goldstein, 2017) has been promoting video as a resource that holds a wealth of information, useful for inspiring lively conversations. Goldstein (2017) states that published materials have included comedy sketches, semi-authentic news programs, documentaries and VoxPops, to name a few, all rapidly developing over the past 30 odd years. Video is a relatively-speaking modern phenomenon in the world of ELT, so, let us have a closer look at what all the fuss is about.

Kieran Donaghy is a multi-award-winning materials writer and teacher trainer. His focus is the use of film in language education. In 2017, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts foundation for the contributions to the ELT field. Donaghy (2014) states that there are 4 main reasons for including moving image in the language classroom.

• Video is motivating
• Video offers access to authentic language
• Video provides a visual context to new language
• Video is varied and flexible

Donaghy (2014) argues that because film and video already play big roles in students’ lives, they are likely to be big motivators that “make the language learning process more entertaining and enjoyable” (Donaghy, 2014, p. 1). Furthermore, he advocates using film and video to provide authentic examples of communication that are difficult to achieve in the classroom, particularly conversation. Similarly, the ability to connect spoken language with facial expressions and body language is seen as advantageous. These ideas do all appear to be true and Donaghy has a lot of experience in the field, so perhaps we should just believe him, but it would be nice to see documented evidence of these claims.

One claim that cannot be refuted is the flexibility and variability that video brings to the language classroom (Donaghy, 2014). The internet gives us access to an almost unlimited quantity of possible material, the majority of which is free. Videos vary in length, style, genre and complexity. Once selected, any given video can then be used in a number of different ways, from providing discussion topic to script writing. Below, I will simply highlight some of my favourite ideas.

Video creation

Students are shown a video as an example and their task is then to create one of their own. This task lends itself nicely to genre analysis and imitation (for example, how-to videos or VoxPops). Self determination theory in SLA suggests that students are more motivated when they experience a greater level of autonomy in their education (Deci and Ryan, 2012). Although the teacher might define the genre, the students could be responsible for the choice of subject matter, the language used and the execution of the shoot. Students could then share their videos in class or on a streaming platform.

 

Video as the stimulus for debate

There is a wealth of powerful, often controversial, short videos made for sectors such as advertising and politics. When used in the appropriate teaching context, these could provide excellent resources from which to start talking about real, present day issues. Adult learners, especially, may enjoy the opportunity to practice talking about topics which they might encounter when speaking to friends or colleagues.

 

Videotelling by Jamie Keddie

Jamie Keddie is a Scottish materials creator and teacher trainer. His method focuses on the discussion of a part of the video first and completing a variety of related exercises, before finally viewing the original video at the end of the lesson, somewhat like a reward. He grounds this method in the ancient tradition of storytelling found in many cultures before the invention of the printing press. Storytelling, he claims, is still a naturally occurring event that we all participate in (TESOL Greece, 2011). Imagine recounting the latest episode in a series to your best friend, for example. Videotelling puts those words to moving images.

In last week’s post on adaptation, I described my use of video when supplementing a self-study worksheet on crime, making the lesson more engaging and motivating, as per my first principle. This week, I include another brief example of my use of video in a previous context. In a class of A2 level 11-year-olds, I used this clip from a popular animated film, The Lego Ninjago Movie. The objectives were to analyse the main features of a news report and then create a script for the clip. Together, we watched the whole video (2 minutes 18 seconds) without sound. I elicited that it was the Ninjago news and we discussed the topic of the report. The main activity was script writing. I split the class into pairs and each pair was allocated a 20 second section of the video. Phones were permitted in the academy and I helped the students find the video on YouTube. I stressed that their phones must be on silent for this activity. The week previous, we had been learning about adjectives and adverbs and I instructed the students to use some of their new vocabulary to make their scripts as exciting and dramatic as the video. Having helped with their character lists, I stepped back into the role of the observer, allowing the children to work together uninterrupted. I was available to help when needed but they were surprisingly independent. At the end of the class, we read the scripts over the video clip played at a reduced speed. The class was a success: the students practiced the target language and were motivated and engaged throughout. In fact, the only downside was that they then demanded that we use video in every lesson.

Donaghy has persuaded us that the inclusion of video in the language classroom is the best thing since sliced bread. Thinking back to our principles, made at the beginning of this course, video does appear to check every box. It is both engaging and motivating, as demonstrated above; it is adaptable and flexible, as can be seen by its wide variety of applications; it does not require complex instructions and it certainly exposes students to authentic language use. Many coursebooks would not live up to this. Video has taken the field by storm and there is so much information out there. When you start searching, it’s like a joyful Pandora’s box of innovative, user-friendly, actually rather wonderful resources.

The Party’s Over

However, there can be too much of a good thing. A large proportion of the texts I have read thus far on this subject are very upbeat and positive but appear to lack a grounding in academic research. It seems reasonable to state that the use of video is motivational (Donaghy, 2014; Clare, 2017), as does genuinely seem to be the case, but I am yet to find much in the way of proof.

We were asked to read an article by Antonia Clare, a freelance materials writer. In her article, The Power of Video (Clare, 2017), she makes a number of very powerful, definitive statements which support the use of video in the language classroom. The article is very striking, Clare is clearly passionate about her speciality and her writing creates a sense of excitement about future directions. She is so enthusiastic that on first reading it feels as though video has single-handedly perfected the field of ELT. Notorious problems related to emotions, cognition, authenticity and many other known areas of contention have all been solved by the introduction of video. Nonetheless, when one puts on their critical spectacles, it becomes apparent that many of her claims are not evidenced, at all.

“One of the greatest strengths of video is its ability to communicate with viewers on an emotional as well as cognitive level” (Clare, 2017 p. 36) has no reference. I would like this to be true. However, the evidence provided is: “We feel therefore we learn” (Clare, 2017 p. 36), which, quite frankly, doesn’t cut the mustard. Also being unreferenced, it does not reach the standard of evidence required to support such a bold claim. Similar statements are made regarding video “turning on the learning switch – the amygdala” (Clare, 2017 p. 36) and about how we “stop paying attention to stuff that we don’t think is important…[but] when you watch a video, the brain is stimulated and excitatory neurons wake up” (Clare, 2017 p. 38). These also lack evidence of any kind.

There are a few areas of the article that have been grounded in ELT theory, for example, Douglas (2000) has been referenced when discussing a tolerance of ambiguity. A philosopher has also been quoted whilst defining empathy (Clare, 2017, p. 40), however, there are no references in her article linking empathy with either ELT or video usage in the classroom. These attempts at anchoring the text to something more tangible are promising but not sufficient.

From this, I have drawn two initial (hesitant) conclusions. The first is that the evidence does exist and that Clare has not included the references in her article. I think this would be unlikely, as Clare is a respected ELT writing professional (having published over 31 books, according to Google). Therefore, the probability of Clare simply omitting solid references is, in my opinion, low.

The alternative conclusion is that this article represents a gap in the ELT materials literature, subject-wide. There are now a multitude of new avenues to explore and it could be that research has not yet caught up with this fresh branch of ELT pedagogy. This would present a rather more serious problem. Is it possible that this methodology is being somewhat blindly adopted amongst ELT practitioners? After the session, I decided to attempt to find the evidence myself.

The Importance of Referencing

By way of an internet search, I have now discovered that there is indeed empirical evidence for many of Clare’s claims: Berk (2009) finds a link between the use of videos and various cognitive benefits; Secules, Herron and Tomasello (1992) prove that watching videos of authentic natural communication positively affects students’ listening comprehension skills; Carmichael, Reid and Karpicke (2018) evidence a connection between the use of video and both students’ emotional and content engagement; Yang (2020) supports the claim that video increases student motivation. It took me less time find these academic papers than it took me to write and reference this paragraph.

To be fair to Clare, two of the above papers were published after her own article’s publishing date. There is the possibility that such a plethora of information was not available before 2017 and so it was difficult to include. Unfortunately, given the short time it took me to find this information, I severely doubt it. Perhaps this is a lesson in not believing everything you read, in scrutinising others’ writing. As it turns out, there was nothing to worry about: most of Clare’s claims have been evidenced in the research. However, I only know this for sure because I made the effort to find that evidence myself.

Welcome to the Fold, Video

As to be expected with any technological arrival on the materials scene, a number of problems have also been highlighted: there are issues of copyright, privacy, access to equipment and inappropriacy surrounding video’s contribution to ELT. Learners may also struggle with rapid speech, humour and slang. These factors must all be considered when evaluating video’s efficacy in the classroom. However, it’s been suggested that some of these “issues” could be turned into learning opportunities, if looked at in a different light. For example, as a result of the slight confusion caused by the slang and accent variation in a video, the students’ tolerance of ambiguity is increased (Douglas, 2000).

Having already used many videos in my classes (see Donaghy’s Film English lesson plans for inspiration) this topic was of particular interest to me. This week has left me wanting to increase my knowledge regarding video’s usage in the classroom, both practically and theoretically. The analysis of Clare’s (2017) article has highlighted the necessity for great ideas to be grounded in solid research. The evidence of such grounding is especially important when writing articles for publishing. It would be interesting to investigate further the inclusion of video into a broader programme of learning. It could be that each unit concludes with a video-based lesson, linked to that topic. Alternatively, students could study film making techniques and methodology over the course of the year, culminating in an end of year ‘film night’. The opportunities are varied and plenty. I’ll leave you here with my addition to the field.

Piper: Initial Ideas

I have chosen this video, produced by Disney, to use for the task this week. It is a 6 minute long computer animation. There are no words, spoken or written, included in the video, but there is music.

A very brief summary: the video shows the journey of one baby seagull, whose mother decides it is time for him to leave the nest. The young gull experiences a scary incident in the sea and doesn’t want to get back in. Later, he meets a family of hermit crabs and the youngest crab shows him how to collect food beneath the water. He is no longer afraid of the sea and collects food for his family and flock. Themes: fear, courage, growing up, friends, family, help and support, perseverance

Below, I present a few of my initial ideas. The bullet points are not designed to be followed in order, they are a variety of ideas for each stage of the class.

1. Pre-Class Tasks
   • Students look at some still images taken from the video and put them in order. Here, they answer some questions about the images. One question could relate to one of the themes, although, at this point, this would still be a mystery to the students. They then think about what might happen in the video.
   • Alternatively, students answer some questions about their own experiences of growing up with the idea of talking about them during the warm up. For example “Think of a time you overcame a difficult challenge. How did you do it? Be prepared to discuss this in class.”
2. In-Class Activities – Lead In
   • Students discuss the questions they answered about the still images. They could discuss it in small groups or as a class.
   • Students watch the first 30 seconds of the video. Here, they could either answer questions prepared by the teacher, either individually in groups, for example “Where is the video set?” “How does the music make you feel?” “Who is Piper?”. Alternatively, the students could make questions of their own.
   • Students write 3 sentences predicting what happens during the video. The teacher could collect these ready to compare the predictions with the actual video at the end of the class.
3. In-Class Activities – Main Activity Ideas
   • Students are put into pairs. They watch up to 1 min 19 seconds in the video and think of questions to ask their partner. They both have to answer a few questions set by the teacher, such as “What does the baby seagull want his mother to do?” “Are there things your parents did for you before that you have to do independently now?”
   • Students watch some of the video and, in pairs, write a script of the conversations between Piper and his mother. The teacher could ask the students to think of the things their parents say when encouraging them to do something.
   • Students watch up to 2 minutes 25 seconds and discuss how bad experiences affect people. The teacher could ask, “Why does the baby bird behave like that?” “What do you think will happen next?”
   • After watching up until 3 minutes 40 seconds, students discuss the importance of making friends that are different from you (here, the hermit crab has taught the Piper something that the seagulls could not). Students could talk about the different things their friends have taught them.
   • Students work in groups of 3. They watch up to 4 minutes and then write a role-play for the last 2 minutes of the video. The teacher reminds them of the characters they have met so far. They could perform this role play at the end of class.
4. Post-Class Homework
   • Students write a paragraph about a time that they helped or were helped by a friend.
   • Students write the whole script, if they previously enjoyed writing a small section in class.
   • Students watch the video through again from the beginning. They could then script in another character.
   • Students write an email reply to a problem, assigned by the teacher. This problem would relate to one of the themes.

As previously mentioned, I enjoy the use of video in class and would like to explore this avenue more thoroughly.

 

 

 

References

Berk, R. A. (2009) ‘Multimedia teaching with video clips: TV, movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the college classroom’, International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 5(1), 1–21.

Carmichael, M., Reid, A. and Karpicke, J. D. (2018) Assessing the Impact of Educational Video on Student Engagement, Critical Thinking and Learning: The Current State of Play. California: Sage Publishing.

Clare, A. (2017) ‘The power of video’, in Donaghy, K. and Xerri, D. (eds.) The Image in English Language Teaching. Floriana, Malta: ELT Council, pp. 43-52.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). ‘Motivation, personality, and development within embedded social contexts: An overview of self-determination theory’, in Ryan, R. M. (ed.) Oxford handbook of human motivation. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 85-107.

Donaghy, K. (2014) How can film help you teach or learn English? Available at: https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-can-film-help-you-teach-or-learn-english Accessed: 21 March 2021.

Donaghy, K. (2021) Film English. Available at: https://film-english.com/ Accessed: 21 March 2021.

Douglas, B. H. (2000) Principles of language learning and teaching. 4^th edn. New York: Longman

Goldstein, B. (2017) ‘A history of video in ELT’, in Donaghy, K. and Xerri, D. (eds.) The Image in English Language Teaching. Floriana, Malta: ELT Council, pp. 33-42.

Secules, T., Herron, C., and Tomasello, M. (1992) ‘The Effect of Video Context on Foreign Language Learning’, The Modern Language Journal, 76(4), pp. 480-490.

TESOL Greece. (2011) What is video telling – Jamie Keddie Interview at Big SIG day, TESOL Greece, 6-11-2011. Available at: https://youtu.be/-0gilkHXF3c (Accessed 21 March 2021).

Yang P. (2020) ‘The Cognitive and Psychological Effects of YouTube Video Captions and Subtitles on Higher-Level German Language Learners’, in Freiermuth M., Zarrinabadi N. (eds.) Technology and the Psychology of Second Language Learners and Users. New Language Learning and Teaching Environments. Palgrave: Macmillan.