TASK 2: ARTICLE REVIEW

PART A

The title of the chosen journal article is The Effectiveness of Using Movies in the EFL Classroom–A Study Conducted at South East European University, which was written by Merita Ismaili on May 2013 focuses entirely on the helpfulness of using media which is more motivating apart from the usage of books and CDs in teaching English. The journal article, Volume 2 No 4, it concerns in proving the effectiveness of using movies in teaching, a study has been conducted on how movies are helpful in teaching and learning process especially in terms of the students’ competency and performance in the educational setting. Before the study is conducted by Merita Ismaili, several other researchers have also conducted the similar study regarding on this issue. Herron and Seay (1991) conducted a research which focuses on using video in listening comprehension for EFL students while Pezdek, Lehrer and Simon (1984) prove that movie fragments help enhance memory and recovery of information in reading and listening based on the study that they have conducted.

PART B

1. Aims

One of the main purposes of conducting this research is to provide elaboration and examine the efficacy of the usage of movies or films in developing students’ language competency and performance in the learning process. Secondly, it also focuses on looking at the engagement and usefulness of using movies in attracting the learners’ interest in the reading activities. Another aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of using movies in the classroom as the bridge between learning skills and language objectives (output).

2. Methods 

In conducting the research, the researcher has used two main methods in collecting the data which are questionnaire and quiz. In the first method, questionnaire, it emphasises more on studying teachers and students’ attitude towards movie-based teaching and learning process. A 5-point Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree.” is being used in designing the questionnaire. The questionnaires are being distributed to 60 students and six LC English teachers. The second method that is used in conducting this study is quiz which is distributed at the end of the reading section. The distribution of the quiz involves both controlled and experimental group. For the experimental group, 28 students are involved. These students are requested to watch a novel-based movie in English before their reading class where they are going to read the same novel after they have watched the movie. On the other hand, the control group which consists of the remaining 32 students are not requested to watch the movie although they are going to be reading the same novel. Both groups will have to attend a quiz after the reading section. This method of data collection is being used since there is a study that has been conducted saying that the normal in-class reading without the use of movies is rather boring and the students are easily get distracted. Thus, this method can really look at the effectiveness of movies in teaching.

3. Subject/Sample

The study is carried out at the South East European University (SEEU) in the academic year 2012. In getting the teachers’ perception on using movies in English classroom, six teachers who agree to get involved in this study and have implemented the usage of movies in their teaching and learning process are being given a set of questionnaire. Apart from the teachers, the questionnaires are also being distributed to 60 male and female selected students between the ages of 18 to 25. All the students are from the multicultural classroom setting and their proficiency level is pre-intermediate and intermediate. Besides the distribution of the questionnaires, a quiz has also being conducted where the students are being divided into two different groups; experimental and control groups. The quiz has been conducted after the reading section has ended. The study takes place over three month period of time.

4. Findings

The findings can be reviewed from two different perspectives; teachers and students based on the questionnaire and quiz that have been conducted to both parties.  From the distributed questionnaires, the teachers agree that movies have a positive impact on the students’ language learning process. The teachers claim that the students are more active in the classroom activities apart from the improvement in their language competency. From the students’ perspective based on their answers in the questionnaires distributed, most of the students claim that they enjoy the assigned activities in the classroom and more motivated to see and listen to real-life situations than to follow the activities in the graded book. Besides, the usage of movies provides a relaxed learning atmosphere for students. They also agree that using movie is a good way to improve English vocabulary and provides them with more opportunities to practice the language. Most of students said that they have learned new words (approximately 3-5) mainly because those words that have been repeated many times throughout the film. Apart from the results from the questionnaires, the quiz that has been conducted after the reading section shows significant differences between experimental and control group of students. The experimental group of students show better performance in the quiz compared to the control group. It can be conclude that motivational factors associated with movie-based teaching helped to increase the efficiency of the teaching and learning process.

PART C

1. Does the research interest you?

Attracting the students’ interest in learning English by implementing movies in the classroom really get my interest. Living in an era where technology is being widely used, the traditional way of learning which involves reading, writing, listening and speaking alone is rather out-dated causing the students to be less fascinated in learning. Thus, using movies in teaching could be one of the best ways in teaching the students nowadays which can be practices by the teachers and future teachers out there in order to make their classrooms more livelier and fun.

2. Do you think the research is well-conducted?

It is undoubtedly true that the research has been successfully conducted since it has revealed the significant impact on the usage of movies in teaching and learning process. The findings have proven that movies can help in increasing the students’ motivation and urge to learn English in the classroom. However, there is always a room for improvement. It might be better if the researcher get the teachers who never or rarely use movies in the classroom and look at their opinions and thoughts regarding on this issue. Hence, the research can be used to look at the pros and cons of using movies in teaching.

3. What is/are the implication(s) of the research in the teaching and learning of ESL (in the general and Malaysian contexts)?

In general, this research can be an eye-opener to teachers and future teachers so that they can be more creative and inspirational especially in making the students wanting to learn. It can clearly be seen that reading is no longer the best method in teaching especially during this globalised era. The usage of media can be really helpful since it is more attractive especially to the learners. In Malaysia, the statistic shows that the amount of books read by Malaysians are around 2 to 5 books per year. Apart from the decreasing of interest in reading, there are researches that have proven that movies can be very helpful especially in teaching the students speaking since the language used is more authentic and it can be practiced by the students inside and outside of the classroom. Thus, the research has successfully widen up the horizon of the educators to be more creative in teaching.

Website:

www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/ajis/article/viewFile/114/270