How to enliven ELT classes

    By no means should a teacher refrain from incorporating a video into a lesson if there exists such an opportunity. It is a terrific aid that genuinely enlivens classroom atmosphere and provides visual contexts for authentic language pieces, which beyond all doubt, are two of the most important aspects in language teaching. Furthermore, the students can be easily encouraged to watch English programs and films on their own if they are introduced to it in the classroom environment.
    The future of video use appears to be very bright when it comes to foreign language teaching. I hope that soon every single class will be equipped with an appropriate hardware, at least a video and a television set and then of course, these will be sacrificed for another interactive media players, namely, DVD (Digital Video Disk).
    The “youth of today” is raised in the era of movies and computers where audiovisual interaction is of great importance. Thus, my prediction that the use of video in the foreign language teaching environment will or at least should evolve.

Sample lesson plans with using video

    Lesson plan 1. The topic- “Neighbors”.

RECENT WORK
 grammatical exercises on phrasal verbs take, look and run
 listening for detailed information
 discussing symbolism on the basis of dreams

OBJECTIVES
1. To create interest in the topic, discuss and personalize
2. To practice descriptive skills
3. Raise students’ interest in the video material
4. To practice listening, predictive and communicative skills
5. To prompt discussion

CONTENT

Objective 1: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Students’ lives.
Activity/class
organization: An introduction to the topic of neighbors. Teacher shortly tells students about his neighbors and then asks students where they live and what kind of neighbors they have. Teacher works in lockstep and points individual students to answer the questions.
Aids: None.
Language: All and any.
Possible
problems: Students can be unwilling to provide examples on their own. Teacher is ready to elicit some responses.

Objective 2: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Pictures of buildings (see appendix 1.1); students’ imagination.
Activity/class
organization: Students work in pairs and describe pictures in their course books. They are to talk for at least one minute considering the kind of people that might live there and which place they would prefer to live in. Optionally teacher helps students with the vocabulary about different names of houses and writes them on the board (For detailed instructions see appendix 1.1).
Aids: Course books, board.
Language: All and any; vocabulary connected with houses.
Possible
problems: Some students may fail to lead the discussion between themselves for one minute. Teacher monitors students’ work and is ready to prompt students by asking additional questions.

Objective 3: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Students’ background knowledge.
Activity/class
organization: Teacher asks students whether they live next to any fussy neighbors and if no they are asked to think for a minute and imagine the worst possible one. Then some of the students are asked to perform their descriptions aloud. Teacher informs that they are going to see a footage featuring such a “nightmare” neighbor.
Aids: None.
Language: All and any.
Possible
problems: If students’ descriptions are not satisfactory, teacher provides his own description.

Objective 4: (estimated time: 15 minutes)
Context: Piece of video featuring neighbors from “As Good As It Gets” (see appendix 4).
Activity/class
organization: Students view the first part of a video with the sound off. They are put in pairs and asked to describe the situation and think of what the characters are possibly saying to each other. If necessary the teacher plays the first part again. After checking students’ description and predictions the first part is played again with the sound on. Then the teacher asks about what is going to happen next and provides students with some clues of the subsequent events. When students run out of ideas, the teacher reveals the second part of the footage.
Aids: Television set, video recorder, videocassette.
Language: All and any.
Possible
problems: Some students may not work with their partners as it often happens. Teacher is ready to get them “back on track” by providing clues or asking questions.

Objective 5: (estimated time: 15 minutes)
Context: A text about neighbors (see appendix 1.2).
Activity/class
organization: The teacher links the video footage with the text saying that a similar situation is described featuring also a dog. Students are asked to read the first paragraph and are asked to discuss their predictions about the rest of the text in pairs. They do so with the second and third paragraph similarly. When the reading is finished the teacher divides the class in groups of three and asks each group to summarize both stories -the one from the tape and the one they have just read- and consider similarities and differences between them. Teacher suggests that the comparison can be put on paper.
Aids: Course books, copybooks.
Language: All and any.
Possible
problems: If students are unable to provide predictions, the teacher tries to help them by elicitation. Later when they work in groups the teacher constantly monitors students’ work helping where necessary.

EVALUATION
This lesson was conducted on March 3rd this year and it was the first time I ever used a video with any students. Surprisingly it worked quite well and it was not so difficult to handle a video recorder after all. I fully succeeded in harnessing my stress and keeping my nerve. When it comes to the lesson itself students were motivated and willing to participate. As I observed my use of video surprised them and I could see that it is not often that their teacher provides them with video materials. The footage that I incorporated was subtitled, therefore, before the silent viewing activity I had to cover the bottom part of the screen with a cardboard. Fortunately, it did not disturb students as they eagerly supplied their predictions and descriptions. During the pair work and group work there was always a “positive noise” in the classroom, which involved little of my contribution as students represent a good knowledge of English. Occasionally, small vocabulary help was needed but it was all. The fact that the piece of video was subtitled resulted in aroused students’ interest in particular vocabulary items, which I explained and put on the board. After the class was finished I was approached by a student who asked me if I could lend him the full version of the movie from which the footage was taken. I enjoyed this lesson a lot and was glad to hear that some students were willing to pursue the whole film on their own.

Lesson plan 2. The topic- “Asking for advice”.

RECENT WORK
 comparing present perfect and past simple tenses
 using and talking about gestures
 describing pictures
 listening for detailed information
 written work based on listening

OBJECTIVES
1. To create interest in the topic of asking for advice (personalizing, individualizing).
2. To actively involve students in describing pictures. To practice speaking skills
3. To rise expectations and interest in the listening task.
4. To practice listening, prompt discussion and confirm expectations.
5. To write about a problem as to an advice column.

CONTENT
Objective 1: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Students’ own lives and experiences.
Activity/class
organization: The teacher and the students work in lockstep. The teacher talks about asking for advice and inquires students whether they have ever asked for advice in any way.
Aids: None.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: Students may be reluctant to provide examples of their own. The teacher is ready with his examples or to prompt participation if necessary.

Objective 2: (estimated time: 10 minutes)
Context: Pictures of couples (see appendix 2.1).
Activity/class
organization: Students work in pairs and describe pictures. Student A compares people in both pictures and is asked to think what they might say to each other. Student B describes relationships between those people and is to say which of those is closer. After students are finished the teacher asks individuals to perform their descriptions before the rest of the class. For the specific instructions to this activity see appendix 2.1.
Aids: Course books.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: Students may encounter lexical problems when describing peoples’ relationships. Teacher monitors students work and helps with vocabulary if necessary.

Objective 3: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Students’ imagination and background knowledge.
Activity/class
organization: The teacher talks to students about the most common way of solving problems in the United States which is going to the psychiatrist and asks for some ideas, predictions. Particular vocabulary items e.g. “shrink” are written on the board. This activity serves as an introduction to the listening task.
Aids: Whiteboard, board pen.
Language: All and any; specific vocabulary items.
Possible
Problems: Students may find it hard to concentrate after the previous activity.

Objective 4: (estimated time: 15 minutes)
Context: Piece of video featuring a visit to a “shrink” from “Tin Cup” (see appendix 4).
Activity/class
organization: The teacher explains the task and distributes handouts with questions (see appendix 2.2). Students work in pairs and read their questions. Teacher plays the tape and then stops it twice to ask for some predictions. Students discuss their answers after they have seen the footage. If some of the questions are still unclear, the teacher plays the scene again.
Aids: Television set, video recorder, videocassette, handouts.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: It is possible that students will not get all the answers after the first watching. The teacher is ready to play the tape again and explain necessary lexis.

Objective 5: (estimated time: 10 minutes)
Context: Problems- the world/student’s lives.
Activity/class
organization: The students are given a small piece of paper and are asked to write a few sentences about their problem individually. Then they hand their piece of paper to the student on the right who is to provide a solution. Before the teacher informs students about the additional examples of letters to an advice column that can be found in students’ books (see appendix 2.3). Next the teacher asks for volunteers to read out the questions and answers.
Aids: Square pieces of paper, ball-pens, course books.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: Students should not encounter any major problems. After performing previous tasks they should have plenty of ideas and be eager to state them on paper. Yet, in case of difficulties, students are asked to read the sample letters in their course books. It is possible that this activity will be continued as homework.

EVALUATION
This very lesson was run on April 12th and it happened to be my examination lesson evaluated by a methodology teacher. My intention was to make the best impression I could by using the video, yet the final communicative activity did not turn out as I had planned.
I started off with the lead-in and gradually worked on arousing students’ interest in the subject matter. By the time I “got” to the video presentation stage, the students were already prepared for the footage i.e. they had a clear idea what it was going to be about and what to expect. I was fully aware that the language featured in this piece was rather complex and that it could cause difficulties in comprehension. Fortunately enough I had a subtitled version of the video what proved extremely advantageous and even resulted in students’ interest about particular vocabulary items what would not have taken place if the scene had been without subtitles. I presented the material twice. During the first presentation I used the freeze-frame technique and asked students for predictions what worked really well. They were willing to provide their guesses and were actively involved.
However, the next exercise I introduced was a failure. Students received small pieces of paper and on the basis of what we had discussed so far they were to come up with a problem of their own. Some students’ examples appeared to be completely inadequate as I found out while monitoring their work. As a result this activity suffered since I had to wait for some students to rephrase their sentences. In addition, a number of students could not think of any problems thus the activity continued to delay. Only later was it explained to me that the subject matter of the video and the following writing exercise were unsuitable or rather too “serious” for secondary school students. It became clear to me that these teenagers were not experienced enough or too insecure to come up with problems of their own and therefore they decided to make fun of it. Another mistake was that I should have provided some examples of possible problem areas that students might have considered before they started writing about their own problems. In my opinion it was a grave mistake that spoiled the communicative value of this last activity. A lesson to be learned from this class is that above all an authentic video material should be carefully and appropriately selected and activity instructions crystal clear for only then one can be certain about a success of a fixed activity.


Lesson plan 3. The topic- “Gambling in Las Vegas”.

RECENT WORK
 review of conditionals
 practicing reported speech
 writing an essay

OBJECTIVES
1. To provide students with clues about the subject of the lesson.
2. To practice grammar and prompt discussion in groups.
3. To rise students’ interest in the subject of gambling and a reading task.
4. To read to confirm expectations.

CONTENT
Objective 1: (estimated time: 10 minutes)
Context: A short video footage from the movie “Leaving Las Vegas”
(see appendix 4)- creating expectations.
Activity/class
organization: The teacher informs students that they are going to see a short video without sound. They are to guess the subject of the lesson by paying attention to the setting and characters. In addition, they are to think what the characters might be saying to each other and describe the situation. Because the footage comprises Polish subtitles the bottom of the screen is covered with a cardboard. After seeing the video students discuss and exchange their ideas in pairs. Later the teacher discusses with students their guesses finally directing them to the subject of the lesson.
Aids: Video cassette, television set.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: Students may fail to recognize the clues presented in the footage. The teacher is ready to elicit some responses.


Objective 2: (estimated time: 20 minutes)
Context: The footage from the movie “Leaving Las Vegas” (see appendix 4).
Activity/class
organization: Students are told that they are going to see this video again also without sound but this time with the Polish subtitles on. The teacher pauses the tape after every single utterance and students working individually are to provide an English translation that will eventually constitute a short dialogue. After students are ready with their “versions” they are organized in groups of three to compare their dialogues and come up with a final version of it. Then some groups are pointed out to read their dialogues aloud and finally the video is played again with sound to check for an original version of the dialogue.
Aids: Copybooks, ball pens, videocassette, television set.
Language: Featured in the subtitles.
Possible
Problems: Students should not encounter lexical problems, however, some phrases provided by students may stray from the original text. They are advised not to try to be literal as incorrectness will not be punished.

Objective 3: (estimated time: 5 minutes)
Context: Pictures of gambling centers (see appendix 3.1).
Activity/class
organization: Teacher refers to the video and asks what possible problems people may have when gambling and what it is that attracts people to gambling centers. Next, students’ attention is focused to pictures. They are divided into pairs and are to describe the pictures and people in them (for detailed instructions to this activity see appendix 3.1).
Aids: Course books.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: There should not be any major problems apart from that students may not have much to say. Help with vocabulary may be needed.

Objective 4: (estimated time: 10 minutes)
Context: Text about a young gambler (see appendix 3.2).
Activity/class
organization: Teacher inquires students whether they are aware of the word “addict” and provides its slang counterpart “junkie”. Then the students are to skim the text and say briefly what it is about. Then, after teacher’s instructions, they work individually and supply the missing sentences into the body of the text (for exact instructions to this activity see appendix 3.2). After students are finished answers are checked in lockstep.
Aids: Course books, pens.
Language: All and any.
Possible
Problems: The task is rather easy and should be done smoothly by the students, yet some words may cause problems. The teacher is ready to list the problematic words on the board.




EVALUATION
This lesson took place on April 26th. This time I decided to use video at the very beginning of the lesson to find out whether it was going to be a successful way of introducing the topic. Indeed, it appeared to work very well as students did not expect it at all. I managed to actively involve students in the discussion and was glad of the number of speculations and guesses they provided. Next, they worked on their translations. This activity was applied from “Video” by Cooper, Lavery and Rinvolucri and proved to be successful too. This time I carefully selected the material, which involved only two speakers having a conversation. The language was quite easy but still challenging. I motivated my students to both- practicing grammar and communicative skills, as they worked anxiously in groups comparing their translations and “polishing” them up. Then, after some of the groups had read their versions I played the tape. However, just before that I had one group of boys read their version of a dialogue. It seemed to me that they were making every effort to jeopardize this activity and make me feel uneasy. Somehow they managed to incorporate a few taboo words although the context did not provide such a possibility. They were reprimanded for their behavior since it was already the second time they tried to spoil my lesson. Apart from this minor flaw, as I observed, this activity worked tremendously well for the students. It also provided some interesting clues for the next speaking part.
Being objective, I wish to say that this particular class was very difficult to manage. Having observed some of my colleagues, I noticed that those discipline problems are not new to them either. Unfortunately nothing could be done to improve the comfort of running a lesson since some students continued to cause problems even after they have been reprimanded and re-sited by their teacher.

Specific video-based techniques

    There is a great variety of activities that can accompany the use of video in the language classroom. The kind of technique that teacher chooses depends solely on learners’ needs, teacher’s objectives or the video itself. It is useful to find an appropriate video sequence first and then plan a relevant task. When planning communicative activities a teacher should take the advantage of VCR technology to create an information gap. Stop/start, wind/rewind and freeze frame buttons offer an obvious advantage of video technology over television. They enable the teacher to present or skip different sections of a footage in various ways as well as control the sound. The following are such examples of four video-based techniques (Harmer 1996:214).
SILENT VIEWING.
    This technique works best with dramatic sequences that contain strong visual cues (see lesson plan no.1, 3). Learners can be asked questions about the characters or events that take place and also to put down the dialogue (see lesson plan 3). Teacher may stop the tape e.g. every few seconds and ask the students to “jog down” what the characters are saying. Moreover, the teacher can stop the tape and ask students directly about what they see e.g. to name all the items visible on the screen. Of course all of these variations pivot on the kind of video material chosen to be used in the classroom.
JIGSAW VIEWING.
     This term describes the activity when one half of the class watches the video without sound and the other half listens only to the soundtrack. Then the students are put in pairs or groups and combine their information. It is advisable for the teacher to state some additional questions to help the students reaching a consensus. This kind of technique is rather time consuming for it involves two groups of students to leave the classroom interchangeably. “Split viewing” is another variation of this technique that is easier to apply. One group of students instead of leaving the class is seated with their backs to the screen and hears only the sound whereas the other group hears the sound and sees the picture simultaneously.
FREEZE FRAME.
     Freeze frame is a simple technique basically involving stopping the tape and asking students for predictions (see lesson plan no. 2). Before employing it the teacher must carefully plan in what specific moments on tape it can be used. After it is thoroughly planned it may swimmingly foster learners’ attention and curiosity about the particular video piece.
SOUND ONLY.
     It is yet another type of predictive technique where the students only listen to the sound and the television screen is covered with a cardboard or blackened. A suitable activity may require students to speculate about the setting, action and characters but this speculation is exclusively based on audible clues e.g. gunshots, background noises, dialogues.

Authentic video materials- characteristics, types & sources

    Authentic or non-English Language Teaching (non-ELT) materials are spoken in real English. Learners should rather be exposed to this kind of language that is spoken and designed for native users of English than to an oversimplified versions provided by course books which often aim at the presentation of grammatical rules. Therefore, my personal desire to concentrate my thesis rather on authentic than non-authentic video materials.
    Authentic videos are not aimed at learners of the language thus, they do not patronize them. They are certainly more enjoyable and genuine in contrast to non-authentic ones, which often develop a feeling of cheap imitation of real life among students. Culture is an important factor, too. These “real slices of life” not only represent the language but peoples, customs, food or other certain values characteristic for a target society. Consequently, carefully chosen materials may provide countless topics for cross-cultural discussion and writing activities. When learners successfully comprehend the material intended for native speakers, they have a sense of accomplishment and are motivated to look out and try to understand some other authentic materials on their own (Haines 1995:63).
    Undoubtedly, choosing the right video material according to the level of learners is crucial and wrongly selected material can lead to frustration. Nevertheless, the right material used in an appropriate way can be fun and effective for learners, particularly if it is subtitled. Allan (1991:24-30) suggests the following five categories of authentic video materials.
Drama.
    A common thing for all kinds of films is that they are acted thus a simulation of reality, which is the main issue here. There is no doubt that subtitles do help students a great deal when it comes to complex language structures. Carefully chosen piece of subtitled film may even serve as a successful introduction to a grammatical problem, which is to be discussed during the class. What is more, a subtitled piece in students’ native language may serve as a perfect aid for practicing grammar and communicative skills as well (see lesson plan no. 3).
Documentary.
    Since pieces of films are adequate to use in more animated classes when introducing situational language, documentaries are rather destined to present more serious topics. The factual information and opinions are most often presented verbally what can be discouraging for students, therefore, the teacher should be obliged to select the kind of material that incorporates pictures or photographs which would make exploiting of the topic easier. An obvious advantage of documentary to film is that it involves a commentary, presents location, people and interviews. These features give the teacher freedom of choice and decision of what to adapt to his lesson. An exercise involving the comprehension of a commentary may be used with more advanced students and, on the other hand, location images should be the most successful with intermediates or even beginners.
Current affairs and news programs.
    These are very similar to documentaries but much more condensed and shorter. Their advantage over documentaries is that they can be fully used, from the beginning to an end within a forty-five-minute class since their length should not exceed ten minutes. Similarly, the verbal message is rather difficult and challenging but visual cues that news are often accompanied with will certainly be facilitating for students.
Cartoons.
    Cartoons are originally made for children but there are no obstacles to presenting them before grown up audience. A great advantage seems to be length and a simple storyline that ends with a moral. However, cartoons are very likely to create comprehension problems among learners since their language is very colloquial and pronunciation often distorted what makes them difficult to follow. A subtitled version of a cartoon would, beyond all doubt, be the most beneficial.
Advertisements.
    Advertisements are excellent aids for language teaching. Every word and visual carries its meaning as commercials are aimed to play and stimulate viewers’ perceptions. They can contain good examples of language like description or persuasion but sometimes play with the meaning of words. Although incorrect pronunciation and spelling are frequent phenomena, advertisements may be extremely effective as prompts for communicative activities, namely role-plays.

SOURCES
    A desire to use video materials in the classroom is connected with the obvious problem of obtaining them. To dexterously handle and plan communicative activities in advance, a teacher should be in a possession of at least small video collection. The easiest possible solution are off-air recordings. With the use of VCR a teacher can record a number of suitable material for later use. However, cable television is not the only source. DVD (Digital Video Disk) is a relatively recent phenomenon that offers movies with a choice of subtitled version. It is an immense advantage for teachers from around Europe since they can always switch to subtitles in students’ native language no matter the country. It is a pity though, that this is rather costly an equipment and not so popular in Poland yet.

General guidelines for teaching with video

    There is no one fixed way of using the video in the classroom, therefore my intention of presenting general guidelines that the teacher should mind when working with the video. The following are excerpted from “Video in Second Language Teaching: Using, Selecting, and Producing Video for the Classroom” by Susan Stempleski and Paul Arcario editors.
Show short sequences.
    Since authentic video materials are tremendously dense a medium it is advisable to present it in chunks. Lengthy pieces of films may appear to be to complex for students and so active viewing will be likely to suffer. Usually two to three minute sequence is enough and provides a sufficient amount of material to work on for the whole lesson, provided that it is carefully and well selected.
Allow for repeated viewing.
    Most often it is not enough for the learners to see the footage only once. If the task involves listening for detailed or specific information, students should be shown the material twice for better comprehension.
Encourage active viewing.
    The tasks and activities associated with the particular piece of video must be challenging and encourage students to view the material actively and not passively. It is difficult for learners to undertake an extensive writing or reading tasks while watching the screen thus reading or writing load that is to be performed simultaneously with viewing should be kept to a minimum to allow learners to focus their attention on the video material itself (Lonergan 1990:11).
Present activities before viewing.
    It is important to present and explain the tasks to the students before viewing as it helps them to focus their attention more effectively on the particular aspect.
Familiarize yourself with the material.
    It is absolutely vital for the teacher to know the material that he or she is to present in the class. It is commendable to view it several times before preferably with a script, familiarize with the language and be ready to answer learners’ alleged questions.
Get to know your equipment.
    The success of using VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) in a classroom depends on teacher’s ability to operate it. It is crucial that the teacher be aware of the use of remote control and other refinements in order to lower the possible stress and what-if-something-goes-wrong attitude. For instance, making use of the counter and fast wind/rewind buttons it is easy to locate or skip a desired section of the video.

Methodological model for applying video

    There are six stages in the model where the fourth one is optional (Harmer 1996:189).
Lead in.
    It is a kind of foreword or introduction to the topic which is to be presented to the students. The teacher’s job is to give students a reason for listening or watching, create expectations and arouse interest in the subject matter. This may be achieved by means of predictive skills or elicitation.
Instruction stage.
    Here the teacher states and explains the specific task or tasks that students are to perform. It should be sufficiently realistic and motivating for the learners so they could perceive a purpose in it. Language in the video material should be authentic, challenging but not too difficult for the students, exposing them to roughly-tuned input.
Listening for general idea.
    Students perform the particular task, which involves listening for the gist. It may consist of general questions about the story, setting or characters presented in a footage.
Listening for details.
    Here a more careful and detailed comprehension is required from learners. The task does not have to be based only on verbal cues but also on visual ones. Since it is the second time a particular video is played, students find it easier to focus on details knowing what the story is about.
Feedback.
     Learners can be asked to check their answers among themselves. Later the teacher must check if the task was completed correctly and explain problems if any.
Follow-up activities.
    This stage involves organizing follow-up task related to the video material. It can be done in a written form e.g. homework where learners could be ask to predict the rest of the story.

Disadvantages of listening

    It is extremely important that the characters showed in a video material speak clearly and not too fast since problems with enunciation, speed and accent are very likely to be encountered by learners. What is more, the background noises such as fighting, engines or loud music can often serve as successful “distracters” and lower learners’ comprehension. Authentic video materials often comprise slang or specialized language totally unfamiliar for students; therefore teachers should beware of these features while selecting materials. Another disadvantage is that the language rules taught by teachers are frequently broken. Double negations and spelling mistakes are, for instance, very popular in advertisements or feature films.
    Another difficulties are that at times students need to hear the material twice and not always are willing to ask the teacher to replay it. It is most often the teacher that must decide whether to play the footage one more time or not. Failure to recognize “signals” given by the speaker is a common difficulty, too. Students need to learn to listen for certain gestures, mimes, expressions in order to be able to perceive various utterances in the way the speaker intended to connect them. There are also problems with interpretation of specific word items, yet video supplies viewers with visual context what makes the task of interpretation much easier. Last but not least are the problems with students’ concentration that can be caused by uninteresting topic, poor acoustic conditions or simply by poor sound quality of the recorded material (Underwood 1990:16-9).

Communicative value of video materials

    “Video is a supercharged medium of communication and a powerful vehicle of information. It is packed with messages, images, and ambiguity, and so represents a rich terrain to be worked and reworked in the language learning classroom” (Cooper, Lavery and Rinvolucri 1992:11).

    Allan (1991:48-9) presents several points that clearly explain the communicative value of video materials. First of them is that video is a source of realistic “slices of life”. When the teacher wants to present spoken language he or she must depend on her own abilities, textbook or an audio tape that gives a variety of background sounds and effects that may foster comprehension. However, the use of video adds moving pictures to the above list what makes the listening even more realistic and comprehensible as students can observe people communicating not only verbally but also visually. It also helps learners to concentrate because they are provided with a focus of attention while they listen. Secondly, video material is more likely to get students to talk provided that it is appropriately selected according to students’ needs. Consequently, it can be used to set the scene for role-play or initiate a debatesson a controversial subject. It also offers variety and entertainment. The sources of video materials are limitless and above all video is fun for students. Their expectations toward video are no different from the ones developed in a non-language learning environment and so teachers can encourage these positive attitudes by using video in a flexible way.

Oral and written communicative activities

    It is well established a fact that it is very hard to get students to talk in a foreign language classroom. Thus lowering the students’ intimidation and promoting e.g. discussion is teacher’s inevitable responsibility. Students must be aware of the fact that language is above all a communicative medium and it is one of the most important purposes it serves. One of the ways of preparing learners to be able to communicate in a foreign language is presenting a piece of video e.g. a story. It is much more beneficial than an audio tape or a text which may serve similar purpose. Apart from the spoken language a lot of the story is told visually and music or other effects only facilitate students’ perception (Doye 1998:61). There are various specific video-based techniques, which are discussed later in my thesis paper that can be successfully applied to achieve communicative purpose. From the list of oral activities suggested by Harmer (1996:122-138) discussion and role-play seem to be the ones most frequently used and may be characterized as typical communication activities. When it comes to written activities they are often associated with homework and not so popular as oral ones. However, as Harmer (1996:139) points out, communicative writing can play a valuable part in the foreign classroom situation.

Receptive and productive skills- importance of listening

     In the foreign language classroom the tape recorder and video seem to be the only source of  “real” spoken language apart from the teacher himself. That is why he or she should encourage students to listen and expose them to as much authentic speech as possible. Listening does not only mean paying attention to what the speaker is actually saying. It also involves the ability to comprehend the meaning from what is said. Therefore, when it comes to foreign language, teachers should provide their students with the best possible conditions for receiving the language. This may involve the accent of the speaker, good quality and    accurate length of the recording and above all context. As pointed by Underwood (1990:2) comprehension occurs only when the listener is able to place what he hears in a context. 

    In students’ native language it does not take much to decide when or where the interaction takes place and who the participants are but in a foreign language it seems a lot more complicated. Introducing a piece of footage to students perfectly overcomes the problem of context as one does not have to imagine it any more. It clearly shows the setting, participants or channel and moreover what the speakers are wearing, how they are behaving, gestures, mimes etc. These features contribute to something what is termed “visual context” (Harmer 1996:214).