After having done different kind of activities in class, the students will have the extension work which will be achieved by the students as homework. They should consult the website that appeared in the video and find out other websites related to the same topic. After having found and read them, they should write a summary and present it in a power point the next day in class that will be a sequence of the previous day dealing with the same topic but without using videos.
It can be said that students will achieve different kind of activities taking into account the video selected. The main purpose of the idea about using the video in this lesson is to increase students" motivation and interest towards the environment and to develop the listening, speaking, writing and reading skills in the students. These are university students studying in the first level English as a second language.
The evidence suggests that the use of videos is very useful and important for both teachers and learners, but the students are the most favoured. In the case of the video selected it will develop students" target language, mainly the listening and speaking skills because they have the possibility to listen to an authentic material and then reproduce, talk and discuss about it. The material presented will increase students" motivation and interest towards the topic giving them the chance of adding a new or different detail about with respect to this issue. Besides if there is any student in class who was not interested in that topic, after watching it, he/she can feel concern and might start thinking about it. Then when students are learning and increasing the knowledge about any topic they are acquiring not only the knowledge concerning the target language, but also the culture and this is another main benefit that can be acquired by the means of the video. So, when talking about the benefits it is also significant its contribution with respect to the development of input. Students while watching and listening to the video are absorbing and making an effort for understanding and comprehending the information, so they are receiving an input that after doing the activities and discussing in class with the teacher and pair work with the students, this input will become output and the target language will be highly developed. In this sense, as students are acquiring the information through the eyes and ears they are learning a new knowledge in an explicit way that will be processed in their brains, this process is called working memory. So, after students had done a variety of activities that can repeat several times, it will be difficult for them to forget them and also if the video had a great impact on the students it also allows joined to the aspects mentioned before, the transition from the working memory to the long term memory.
It is clear from the above that the use of this video is beneficial for the students" development, but it also makes some contribution to the lesson because as Gallacher L. considered with respect to this topic, the video develops listening skills, listening for global understanding and listening for detail, it provides information, providing content relevant to students' needs and interests, presenting or reinforcing language, grammar or vocabulary. Additionally, the use of the video stimulates the production of the language. These are some aspects that allow enriching the lesson through the use of the video.
Besides, despite the fact, the video is short; it motivates students because it was spoken by natives and students enjoy listening to them and watch real situations. Both elements are evident in the video chosen and enhance the second language lesson.
It is clear evident that using video in class offers excellent opportunities for improving the teaching learning process of languages. However, it is not easy when the teacher is planning and writing the lesson, to find the appropriate video content from the web, as a support of it, because as Stannard R. (2007) argues it can take a long time to find things that are suitable for use in class. The trouble is that lots of the videos are too crazy, contain sexual images or really don"t have much of a storyline. So, the teacher should be very careful when selecting the video for using in class, it should be short interesting, and not very difficult to understand, otherwise, students can feel uninspired and do not pay attention to it.
That is why it is so important to achieve the motivation of students trying to get them involve in all the activities, but this is not an easy issue. The main key is the selection of the videos. According to the video content chosen from the web it adds important elements to the lesson that the teacher would not achieve with out it, because, it shows images in movement such as the aggressiveness of the sea crashing into the rocks, the tractor deteriorating the plantations, the animals running away trying to solve their lives, the video shows the cracks on the streets due to the gasses in the atmosphere, the darkness in the sky, so the whole environment getting worst every day. These images from the video really cause a great impact on the students that allow them to think about the damages in the atmosphere. Besides the video provides an authentic English language, that help students acquire the knowledge from the natives and this is a very favourable aspect to take into account. The background of the video is really amazing and makes students go deeper into the dramatic situation and it allows them to understand better the content of the video.
To conclude it can be said, that there are several reasons why the use of videos is beneficial to the teaching learning process of the languages in general. First, it contributes to the students" improvement, mainly in terms of linguistic and culture and second, it is a great support for an efficient development of the language lesson.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gallacher, L., (undated). Video and young learners 1. BBC World Service Bush House, Strand London, UK.
Available from:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/resources/video_young1.shtml
[Accessed 26th December, 2007]
Central Office of Information for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (2005). Climate Change – Tomorrow"s Climate – Today"s Challenge. Public Information Films.
Available from: http:// www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
[Accessed 26th December, 2007]
Stannard, R., (2007). Russell Stannard finds some funny films to feature in his classes. 49- WEBWATCHER R. English Teaching Professional. Publishing Ltd. U.K
Dudeney, G. and Hockly, N., (2007). How to teach English with technology. Pearson Education Limited. England.
Pictures from the video content title "Climate Change- Tomorrow"s Climate- Today"s Challenge".
Autor:
Yordanka Brunet Valle
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