Case Study of the Use of Video Material in an English Classroom

Abstract

With the widely available use of multimedia in an English classroom, a great possibility of moving away from traditional forms of teaching arises. One of the options is to invoke video material as a method to arouse students’ interest, facilitate understanding of the topic and encourage communication. Thus, the paper presents an overview of benefits and shortfalls in employing video as a tool for teaching a language by also looking at some types of video material available for language instructors. Further analysis dwells on the extent of video material use at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) where more than 311 students varying from B2 to C1 English proficiency were anonymously questioned about their experience and opinion on the rele¬vance of video material for learning English. The summarized results were compared and contrasted to those obtained from the responses of language teachers at the same university. The results have demonstrated that a little less than a half of the respondents (students) believe the tool is not used often enough. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents unanimously agree that video is a lucrative source for teaching a language and therefore the use of video in language classes should be intensified to satisfy the needs and interests of the modern-day learners.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.25.8341