- Published: November 17, 2021
- Updated: November 17, 2021
- University / College: Western University
- Language: English
- Downloads: 3
I hereby would like to declare that this project is my own piece of work. I also declare that this research paper hereby submitted to the University of liberal Arts Bangladesh for the degree of Bachelors in Arts to the Department of English and Humanities. The paper has not copied is anyway from anyone. This project has not been published anywhere yet and has not previously been submitted by me for a degree at this university or any other university, but it’s my own work in design and execution and all materials contained therein has been fully acknowledged. Name: ……………………………Name: ..……………………………(Signature of Supervisor)
Acknowledgement
First I am very grateful to my Almighty for whom I can compose this research paper successfully in due time. I am obliged to my honorable instructor, under whose guidance and support, this research paper is composed with patience and sincerity. He always motivated me to work on this topic. I would also like to thank the students who helped me to complete the survey by participating with patience. The research topic I have used in this paper is based on my experience in the major ELT courses at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh.
Dedication
Abstract
This research paper was prepared to study the effectiveness of acquiring second language by audio-visual method. The paper shows a detail discussion on the effectiveness of this method. The responses and comments about this method were taken from as many as twenty different students belonging to different universities of the country. The universities included both public and private. The main instrument used to elicit data for the study was a written questionnaire and an interview. The study of the responses found that audio and visual materials were very much effective in acquiring a second language.
Introduction
The use of Audio-visual materials has largely proven to be very much effective in teaching a second language. In recent years, a great tendency towards the use of technology and its integration into the curriculum has gained a great deal of importance. Particularly, the use of video as an audio-visual material in foreign language teaching classrooms has grown rapidly due to the increasing emphasis on communicative techniques, and it is also obvious that the use of video is a great help for second language teachers in stimulating and facilitating the target language. Language learning is generally a complex process. In this process, language teachers cannot be far away from the technology, which is the application of scientific knowledge to practical tasks by organizations that involve people and machines. It is a fact that technology cannot be separated from society. Machines have social origins and they emerge from the needs of society. Therefore, teachers need technologies relevant to the teaching-learning situation. If the educationalists want children to be technologically equipped, all the changes and preparations ought to be done within the curriculum, school, architecture, teaching organization and finance. It is a well-known fact that audio-visual materials are a great help in stimulating and facilitating the learning of a second language. According to Wright (1976: 1) many media and many styles of visual presentation are useful to the language learner. That is to say, all audio-visual materials have positive contributions to language learning as long as they are used at the right time, in the right place. In language learning and teaching process, learner use his eyes as well as his ears; but his eyes are basic in learning. River (1981: 399) claims that it clearly contributes to the understanding of another culture by providing vicarious contact with speakers of the language, through both audio and visual means. One of the most appreciated materials applied to language learning and teaching is, of course, video. A recent large-scale survey by Canning-Wilson (2000) reveals that the students like learning language through the use of video, which is often used to mean quite different things in language teaching. For some, it means no more than replaying television programs on a video recorder for viewing in class or private study. For others, it implies the use of a video camera in class to record and play back to learners their activities and achievements in a second language teaching. The research has been able to state that audio-visual materials are very effective in teaching a second language.
Research design
Research question
The central purpose of this paper is to study about the effectiveness of audio and visual materials for teaching a second language. Two categories of questions were asked to the students in order to get both elaborate and distinct answers from the participants. The two categories of questions asked areIn what ways are audio visual materials effective to acquire second language? How is it suitable, significant and important for acquiring a second language?
Participants and Settings for selecting universities
Students from five universities of the Dhaka, both public and private were selected to answer to the questions. The universities are University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University, North South University, BRAC University and United International University. As many as twenty students from these five universities took part in the survey. So, a total of one hundred responses from the students of university were studies. The universities selected are the leading universities of the country. The students come from diverse background and they represent a lot of schools and colleges of the country. All these universities offer English Honors Programs. However, the questions did not only ask about the using of the materials in the university but also if they have experienced in their earlier education life.
Literature review
Not many researchers have been done in this field. Moreover, very has been done in Bangladesh. It is obvious that non-native speakers of a language rely more heavily on visual clues to support their understanding and there is no doubt that video and audio materials are obvious medium for helping learners to interpret the visual clues effectively. According to a research, language teachers like video because it motivates learners, brings the real world into the classroom, contextualizes language naturally and enables learners to experience authentic language in a controlled environment. Moreover, in this issue Arthur (1999) claims that video can give students realistic models to imitate for role-play; can increase awareness of other cultures by teaching. Although less research has been done in this topic, many teachers and linguists suggested the implementation of this material. Along with personalities abroad, some teachers of our country also suggested that this idea might be implemented. They emphasized on the need of the introduction of this method. Many focused that the use of audio and visual aids was very much essential, especially in today’s perspective where technology has advanced so much. Keeping pace with other sectors language learning also needs to adapt with the advancing technology. Khanum(2008) opines that “…. Through the words they encounter in the text or through explanation of the unknown words by teachers during classroom lessons. They also picked up word from other sources e. g. by watching news, movies and other programs on English TV channels. Students may recognize a word written or spoken from and think that they already know the word, but they may not be able to use that word properly in different contexts or pronounce it correctly. …Here television and other visual aids are important of learning English vocabulary” We also find Al-Quaderi (2008) said in his research that ” Most of the teachers said they taught their students that reading printed English materials was the best way to increase vocabulary. However, many teachers also think that using audio aids can help a great extend in this regard” Basu (2009) also expressed that ” Suggestopedia uses music as an instrument to teach foreign language in the classroom. Music is one kind of audio material. It has three functions in therapy; to bring about the increased self-esteem through increased self-satisfaction in musical performance; and to use the unique potential of rhythm to energize and bring order” Yule (2006) says ” The use of audio devices was strongly influenced by a belief that the fluent use of a language was essentially a set of habits that could be developed with a lot of practice”
Data Collection Procedure:
Questionnaire
The research was based on asking questions to the participants. The questions were given to them and then the responses were analyzed. The survey questionnaire was employed in order to answer the questions of the study (see Appendix ). The questionnaire, distributed to all hundred initially selected potential participants, first defined answered closed and then open questions. The participants were given one day to complete the questionnaire. Comments and interviews were also taken from them in order to clarify the issues more clearly. The answers were studies thoroughly and then a conclusion was drawn. In this way the research was conducted.
Results and Analysis
Step: 1: Introductory questions
Name: College id /university id /class roll: Sex: University name: Age: Course name: Type: major/non-major/credit/non-creditFirst of all an introductory question was taken from all the participants. This was information of the particular participant. The personal information was kept confidential but was collected to analyze and differentiate the response from the students of different universities.
Step 2: Open Questions
In the second phase of the questions the students were asked to answer to twenty questions. The answers were multiple choice, the students ticked the answer that suit them the most. The questions are given in the boxes below, with their analysis below. In some cases the percentage and ratio is also shows through different graphs, charts and tables. 1. Have you ever introduced with audio-visual method before under graduation level? Yes noThe students were asked if they experienced any use of audio-visual method before under graduation level. The answer was positive in many cases. They said that in their school they were introduced to such materials. They said that there were activities of listening in the ” English for Today” book, which is widely used in our country. It was learnt that schools of the city were advanced and many teachers used visual aids in the primary level to learn a second language. However, it was also found that the students admitted that although there had been scope of using these aids, teachers in many cases avoided using them. The graph below shows the percent of using the materials, where it is seen that 80% students gave positive responses, while the rest 20% gave negative responses. Chart no 01- Use of Audio-Visual Materials2. If answer is yes, which level you have been introduced with audio visual method? A. Preprimary educationB. Primary educationC. Secondary educationD. Higher secondary educationThe second question was related to the first question. It was an elaboration of the positive answer. It was asked to answer in which level the students experienced the use of the materials. It was marked that most of the students were introduced to the materials in the primary level. And the second rating went to the higher secondary education. The schools which were dedicated in teaching a second language beside the native language used these materials in the primary level. In English Medium School this rte seemed very high. Apart from that when the students reached a stage of higher secondary, they were taught in the system to keep pace with the second language. The pie chart below elaborates the complete result and it shows that 60% were introduced in primary level, 30% in higher secondary, while 10% at the secondary level. Chart no 02- The level in which the material is introduced3. If answer is no, what was your second language acquisition method? A. Grammar basedB. presentation basedC. Translation basedD. Focus on bookTo those students who answered ” no” in the first question were asked to identify which method of language was they taught with. Students said either they were taught in grammar method or in translation method. The percent is shown in the chart below. Here 45% students gave answers as grammar based, another 45% as translation based, and the rest 10% said that the acquisition method was from book. Chart no 03- Method of Teaching4. In your fundamental English courses which method your course curricular follow? A. Grammar translationB. Based on teachers lectureC. Authentic materialD. Audio visual methodThe fourth question was asked to know about which method did their course curriculum follow. In most cases it was found that the grammar translation method was followed. Some said that audio visual method was followed. The responses shows grammar translation as 70%, teacher lecture as 10% and audio visual method as 20%Grammar Translation70%Based on teachers lecture10%Authentic material
—
Audio visual method20%Table no 01- Method that was followed5. Do you prefer learning second language in following ways? (You can pick more than one option)A. Teacher based introductionB. Text bookC. Listening to radioD. Computer basedE. OthersThe students were asked to mention their opinion about the way of using the second language. The students were given options to tick multiple answers. The maximum count went to computer based and teacher based introduction. The use of computer meant the use of modern technology and use of multimedia. Teacher based introduction meant the active participation and authority of the teacher. The chart below shows that computer based is 50%, teacher based as 40% and test book based as 10%. Chart no 04- Learning equipments6. What types of materials does the teacher use in the class? A. Text bookB. Multimedia projectorC. ComputerD. OthersMost of the questions above were about the student’s experience before the graduation level. Now the questions were directly asked about the method that is being followed in the graduation level. All the five universities in which this research was conducted offered English Honors courses. The students who took part in the research were also part of the Department of English. They said that now, in the graduate level their teachers equally use textbook and multimedia projector in the class. The response suggests that all the universities have the connection with the new technology, where teachers use slides to give their lectures. Here the answers were received equally, that is 50% for text book and the rest 50% as projector. Chart no. 05- Types of Materials used7. Do you enjoy the types of material the teacher use in class? A. Yes B. NoThen the question was asked if the students were comfortable with using the materials used in the classroom. Almost all the students agreed that they liked the materials in the class. A few students said that they did not like the materials because they wanted the implication of more modern facilities like, light pen, touch screen, web enabled devices, and the use of smart devices. Here 80% said yes and 20% said no. Chart no. 05- Contentment of the students8. Which audio visual method do you prefer? A. video tutorialB. power point presentationC. TelevisionD. ComputerThe students were asked to identify the device they preferred most as audio visual method. Most students selected power point presentation and computer, a few selected video tutorials. Here 40% supported power point, another 40% on computer, and the left 20% at video tutorial. Chart o. 06- Preference of audio visual methods9. Do you watch English movie, serial or reality show? A. Yes B. NoMany researchers found that movie and video of the target language helps a lot to learn that language. The students were asked if they watched English movie, serial or reality show. All the students agreed that they have seen them, that is 100%. Chart no. 07- Video Aids10. Do you think watching English movie, serial or reality show helps you to learn second language? A. Yes B. NoAgain all the students agreed that watching English movie, serials and reality shows helped them to learn the second language. Here also it was a 100%. Chart no. 08- Video Aids11. Which real life work do you support to learn audio visual method? A. BBC JanalaB. You tubeC. social networking sitesD. OthersThen the students were asked to answer which real life audio visual method supports them t learn the second language. Most of them said social networking sites were a good medium, while some also supported the activities of BBC janala. BBC janala is a program coordinated by BBC to teach English through audio visual methods. We can find that 60% gave answers as social networking sites and 40% as YouTube. Chart no. 09- Audio Visual aids12. Which one is more perfect for audio visual method? a. Distance learningb. Direct LearningAnother question was asked to know when was perfect for audio visual method between distance learning and direct learning. Most of the students agreed that direct learning was more perfect. They opined that in case of direct learning the listener and the teacher was in front, so communication would be easier. The listeners could also ask questions instantly. However, the also opined that distance learning could also be done in a perfect manner with the advancement of technology. By video conferencing and instant messaging, distance learning has earned a new shape. 90% said direct learning, while 10% preferred distance learning. 13. How often do you experience with audio, video clip and picture in class room? A. fewB. oftenC. most of the timeD. Not at allStudents informed that they experience audio, video and picture in the class room often. However, it varies from subject to subject. Teacher’s ability also a factor in this case, many teachers are yet to come up with these new technologies. The highest response was for ” often” which was 70%. 14. How much suitable your classroom is for audio visual method? A. 0%-20%B. 21%-40%C. 41%-60%D. 61%-80%E. 81%-100%In this twenty first century, all the educational institutions have tried to give all the new technologies. The universities of Bangladesh have also tried its best. The students of private universities told that they have 81% to 100% space for using these materials, while the students of public universities said they had 61% to 80% scope of using it. They said the percentage would have risen if all the classrooms were equally equipped. They urged that they had both new and old classrooms, and the old ones were less suitable for the technologies. Private Universities81%-100%Public Universities
61%-80%
Table no. 02- Suitable for technology15. Do you think Audio visual materials in order to learn English ( 2nd Language) can help you to know the grammatical rules of the language perfectly? A. Yes B. NoThe answers were analyzed to the question if audio and visual materials can help the grammatical rules of the language perfectly. All the students agreed to this point and said the visual effects made the rules more clear. It was found that 100% said yes. 16. Do you think your previous education made you ready to understand an audio visual class? A. Yes B. NoThe students were asked if they were made ready to understand an audio visual class by their previous education. The students who studies in the Dhaka city said they were made ready but the students having early education outside Dhaka said they were not familiar with the high tech classes earlier. Here 60% said yes and the other 40% said no. 17. Do you think to communicate with classmates is a core in audio visual method? A. Yes B. NoThe students were told to answer if communication with classmates was a core in audio visual method. Most of the students answered it in negative; they thought that the audio visual method clarified everything, so there was less things to discuss. So, it can be seen that yes was from 90% and no came from 10%
Yes
90%
No
10%
18. Which way is more effective to learn Second language? A. Classroom activitiesB. Outside activitiesC. BothThe opinion was asked to know if classroom activity was more effective to learn a second language or outside activities. The students answered that both inside and outside learning was effective in learning a second language. Here 60% was ticked for inside while the other 40% tick went for outside. Inside60%Outside40%19. Does a conversation with a foreigner (those who speak English) can help us to develop acquiring second language? A. Sometime B. Completely C. Moderately D. Not at allA native speaker of a second learning knows the language very well than the learner. Communicating with the native speaker enhances the ability of the learner more. So, when the above question was asked, all the students agreed acquiring a second language was completely supportive in case of conversation with a foreigner. A 100% positive response was received for option ” B, completely”. 20. Is it helpful for the students to acquire second language when their Instructors use English during their class time? A. Completely B. Moderately C. Not at allThe last question is this section was asked if it was helpful when the Instructors use English during their class time. The students here also completely agreed. They thought that in the first time, it would have been difficult, but as some classes’ passes, this direct method was very effective. A 100% voted for: completely”. Chart no. 10- Use of English in classStep 3: Close Questions (Instruction was given to answer in maximum 20 words each)In the third phase of the question, the students were asked to answer five short questions. They were limited to answer the questions within twenty words each. The questions are given in the boxes and the analysis is also given below. How much audio visual method is suitable in our socio-economic condition? From the responses it has been found that the introduction of audio visual materials is not that difficult in our society. Our society is not very rich but not also poor to cope up with the modern facilities. The individual might sometimes not afford all the materials but all the classes can have one material each. Mention three points you may suggest to your class environment as an audio visual classroom. From the collective responses, the most suggested things are the use of projector, short video and interesting dialogues. Many of them suggested that the class should be small and friendly. They also emphasized that the teacher has to be very much skilled and efficient. How much is audio visual method effective to develop your skill? In response to this question the students said that this is still a new method in our country. The effectiveness of this method is huge. However, many educational institutions are yet to introduce it. Another important issue that was brought that the teacher has to adapt with it and has to believe in this methodology. What is the significance of practicing yourself in audio visual method? Here, the students also gave positive response. They said that the use of audio and visual materials was really a milestone. They were eager to learn in a new and colorful manner. They also said that the class was very lively, attractive, soothing and friendly by using these materials. 5. What is the significance of class teacher in audio visual method? The teacher has many roles in this method. Firstly, the teacher is a creator and advisor. Unlike books, the audio and visual materials are not common. So, the teacher has to make new materials according to the syllabus. He has to modify and then present it. The teacher has to demonstrate everything in the class and then also answer questions and queries. The materials do not mean that the teacher will relax and rely on them only. Rather the teacher acts as a bridge between the materials and the students.
Discussion
Richards (1990) explains that the role of the second language teacher is to provide a purpose for utilizing the target language; the moviemaking process provides such purposeful motivation. Not every student will want to become a professional video producer, but some might become home-movie editors, or they might be required to use video editing software in a future job. With the current revolution in online video and portable video viewing devices, it seems both appropriate and useful to acquaint students with video editing technology; indeed, this technology will likely only become increasingly important in the long term. Along with the teachers, the students will also be experienced in using the audio and visual materials. Use of Audio-Visual Materials The use of audio visual materials should be widely practiced in the classroom. So far the students have given positive responses. It suggests that is accepted in learning a second language. Availability of the materials The teacher and the students should be familiar to the materials use. The teacher should make the materials and update them by his own. The students should at the same time also be well known to the things. Teaching The teaching is the most important thing in this method. The teacher has to be very skilled and has to know each and everything about the content and the syllabus. The teacher is the maker, moderator and modifier of the materials. LearningThe students should have a positive attitude towards this method. They should accept it and solve their problems as soon as possible. The classroom will be friendly and interactive discussion will be taking place after teachingClass Size The class size should be small. The students should be given room and taken care individually. This is a problem in our country. The number of student is very high. However, the class number has to be optimized. Keeping pace with the world Newer and newer technologies and methods and emerging day by day. It is very much necessary to adapt with those technologies. Increase of Use This method can be a very useful way of teaching the second language. This method is to be studied and implemented more. Many of the educational institutions of the country is yet to develop. English is the popular second language that is taught in our country. Everyone needs to learn it for a better live and better communication. So, the learning and teaching process has to be developed more. If these materials are used widely in primary and secondary level, the students can learn the second language in a good manner.
Limitations of the study
There are a number of limitations of this paper. The first limitation is related to the literature view. The literature view is not large enough. Another limitation pertains to the data collection procedure. In the survey, only five universities were covered. The result would have been better if many other colleges and universities could have been covered. The analysis of the data was limited since the students questioned or interviewed are very few considering to the large number of students in the country. Lastly, another questionnaire could have prepared for the teachers to know their attitudes. The result of the research was that the second language learning can be very much effective by the introduction of audio-visual method. However, the country needs to work on it at a large scale. There are many scopes but very few implementations. This opportunity should be circulated to everyone.
Conclusion
These materials benefit the modern classroom, but they are often used in ways that leave ultimate control over content with the instructor, thus diminishing student agency in the process of learning. Several articles have discussed the potential impact of using videos in second language study. Herron, Cole, and Corrie (2000), for example, offer evidence that showing videos in the classroom allows instructors to expose language learners to authentic cultural information. Moreover, research suggests that Internet-based audiovisual resources can be effective language learning tools. Hanson-Smith (2004) describes the pedagogical benefits of using online videos as in-class learning resources. In addition, she lauds the fact that the Internet is increasing access to professional audiovisual resources that are free, authentic, and suitable for language learning development. Languages are not fixed but constantly changing, so is the media; television, radio and newspaper which are an extraordinarily rich source of language in use. In order to expose second language learners to the target language the use of technology need to be exploited in the classroom as much as possible. For that reason a great tendency towards the use of technology and its integration into the curriculum developed by the second language teachers has gained a great importance. To reach successful and effective results with teaching language through video, the learners and the teachers should perform their tasks perfectly. Moreover they should be informed of the new methods and techniques in ELT. To do this, seminars can be organized. A group of teachers and experts should prepare video cassettes, which will enable the schools to obtain them easily. These cassettes should be modern, interesting and in parallel with the syllabus. In a word, it can be concluded that the use of technology is nowadays inevitable in the classroom. When used appropriately, video is quite beneficial for learners and teachers as long as they are considered only as mere entertainment, but carefully chosen films can be a useful and extremely motivational teaching tool for both practicing listening skills and stimulating speaking and writing.
Appendix: The Questionnaire
Dear respondents, below is a survey relating to the effectiveness of Audio –visual material to acquire second language. As an under graduate student at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhaka, I am required to conduct research for my dissertation as part of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts program. The aim of my research is to analysis the effectiveness of using audio-visual materials to acquire a second language.
Step: 1: Introductory questions
Name: College id /university id /class roll: Sex: University name: Age: Course name: Type: major/non-major/credit/non-credit
Step 2: Open Questions
1. Have you ever introduced with audio-visual method before under graduation level? Yes noComment2. If answer is yes, which level you have been introduced with audio visual method? A. Preprimary educationB. Primary educationC. Secondary educationD higher secondary educationComment3. If answer is no, what was your second language acquisition method? A. Grammar basedB. presentation basedC. Translation basedD. Focus on bookComment4. In your fundamental English courses which method your course curricular follow? A. Grammar translationB. Based on teachers lectureC. Authentic materialD. Audio visual methodComment5. Do you prefer learning second language in following ways? (You can pick more then one option)A. Teacher based introductionB. Text bookC. Listening to radioD. Computer basedE. OthersComment6. What types of materials does the teacher use in the class? A. Text bookB. Multimedia projectorC. ComputerD. OthersComment7. Do you enjoy the types of material the teacher use in class? A. Yes B. NoComment8. Which audio visual method do you prefer? A. video tutorialB. power point presentationC. TelevisionD. ComputerComment9. Do you watch English movie, serial or reality show? A. Yes B. NoComment10. Do you think watching English movie, serial or reality show helps you to learn second language? A. Yes B. NoComment11. Which real life work do you support to learn audio visual method? A. BBC janalaB. You tubeC. social networking sitesD. OthersComment12. Which one is more perfect for audio visual method? a. Distance learningb. Direct LearningComment13. How often do you experience with audio, video clip and picture in class room? A. fewB. oftenC. most of the timeD. not at allComment14. How much suitable is your classroom for audio visual method? A. 0%-20%B. 21%-40%C. 41%-60%D. 61%-80%E. 81%-100%Comment15. Do you think Audio visual materials in order to learn English ( 2nd Language) can help you to know the grammatical rules of the language perfectly? A. Yes B. NoComment16. Do you think your previous education made you ready to understand an audio visual class? A. Yes B. NoComment17. Do you think to communicate with classmates is a core in audio visual method? A. Yes B. NoComment18. Which way is more effective to learn Second language? A. Classroom activitiesB. Outside activitiesC. BothComment19. Does a conversation with a foreigner (those who speak English) can help us to develop acquiring second language? A. Sometime B. Completely C. Moderately D. Not at allComment20. Is it helpful for the students to acquire second language when their Instructors use English during their class time? A. Completely B. Moderately C. Not at allComment
Step 3: Close Questions
(Answer in maximum 20 words each)How much audio visual method is suitable in our socio-economic condition? Mention three points you may suggest to your class environment as an audio visual classroom. How much audio visual method effective to develop your skill? What is the significance of practice yourself in audio visual method? 5. What is the significance of class teacher in audio visual method?
