ACADEMIC JOURNAL

This is the link of journal academic
http://asian-efl-journal.com/5897/teaching-articles/2012/10/teaching-interactive-strategies-with-video-clips/

Teaching Interactive Strategies with Video Clips

Troy Miller

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies

Bio Data

Troy has been teaching EFL in high schools and universities in Japan for 20 years. He currently resides in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, with his family and teaches at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. His research interests are non-native speaker negotiation and learning through interaction.

 Abstract

Young EFL learners are often hesitant to speak up and participate in Oral Communication courses. This paper presents an effective use of Near Peer Role Modeling (NPRMing) combined with video clips as a way to model interactive strategies. This paper looks at the theoretical background behind interactive strategies, interaction and learning, and NPRMing. It also explains and gives examples of how to use the clips in activities or as strategy reviews in conversation classes.

Key Words: Near Peer Role Modeling, Interactive Strategies, Learning and Interaction. 

 

Introduction and background

Interactive strategies, also referred to as conversation strategies, are a common component of language learning textbooks and curricula for Oral Communications courses. There are many approaches to presenting, teaching, and reviewing these strategies. An effective approach I have developed and used in my Oral Communication courses is by combining Near Peer Role Modeling (NPRMing) and video clips. In this paper, I would like to give the background behind this idea and then offer some examples of activities that I have used in my classes to demonstrate the video project.

Theory

Strategies

Although the importance of strategies on learner acquisition is well documented, a clear categorization of these strategies is hard to find. According to the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics (2010), a strategy is a “procedure used in learning, thinking etc., which serves as a way of reaching a goal.” Similarly, in the business or sports world, a strategy is an action undertaken to improve chances at success. In language learning, strategies have a wide range of meanings from a general approach to teaching such as the Communicative approach all the way to specific actions or techniques such as the phrases used to ask your partner how to spell something. Cohen (1996) attempted to classify and further define strategies with his Hierarchy of Strategies. Cohen divided strategies into two groups, Second Language Learning (SLL) and Second Language Use Strategies (SLUS). The distinction between the two groups is that in SLL, learners are improving their knowledge in a target language and in SLUS, learners are employing the language that they have in their current interlanguage. An example of the former might be students who realize they are having a hard time conjugating verbs and make lists of verbs in their notebook. Then they divide the list into regular and irregular verbs. Later they transfer the harder to remember conjugations onto flash cards. In this example, the students have chosen a strategy to help them improve their knowledge in and of a language. An example of a SLUS strategy would include a retrieval strategy. A retrieval strategy helps a learner to recall a word or item from his or her memory. Japanese language learners often employ retrieval strategies in order to remember the written stroke order of Kanji. In his book, Remembering the Kanji, Nanzan professor, James Heisig, encourages students to create shocking stories based on the various radicals in order to internalize and better remember them. 

The word strategy as previously defined by Longman insinuates that strategies are a conscious action that learners are aware they are doing in order to improve their ability. In this paper, I would like to include the distinction that if leaners are aware they are using a certain expression or technique, it is a strategy. If they are able to use the strategy unconsciously, then it becomes a skill. For example, beginner students start showing some improvement in their conversational ability but realize they are responding to a lot of their partners’ responses in Japanese. The students make an effort to study some common English interjections, write them down in a notebook, and attempt to use them when speaking with their teacher or fellow students in class. Later they go to a foreign country as an exchange students and while slightly overwhelmed in the surroundings of their host family begin to interject in English without realizing the change. At this point, they have internalized the expressions and made them part of their lexicon; thus they are no longer a strategy but have become a skill.

Interactive strategies are the gambits, phrases, and expressions used by learners when they face communication difficulties during classroom guided conversations. The ability to be able to use these strategies can help support student conversations. In Swain’s definition of part of communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980, p. 30) she explains the role and importance of this use of strategies. “Strategic competence is made up of verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that may be called into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to performance variables or to insufficient grammatical competence.” Interactive strategies could be classified as both SLL and SLUs in Cohen’s Hierarchy of Strategies as they not only inform and assist learners in improving their knowledge in English but also have the students use the language they have learned in order to communicate for meaning.

Learning and Interaction

The second theoretical idea behind the video project is learning through interaction. Especially relevant to this project is that most university students in Japan have studied English for academic purposes and test taking and not with a goal of improving their communicative ability. As a former high school teacher in Japan, I was witness to the endless hours students spent working through complex uncontextualized sentences the teachers had adapted from text books. The grammar translation method and teacher-fronted classes often leave students either, afraid, unable, or even occasionally hungry for authentic interactions in English. Giving students the chance for output and the realization that they can improve in new areas by interacting with each other brings into focus the importance of learning and interaction. 

In Lightbrown & Spada (2006, p.150), having students learn from interacting with each other is explained by negotiation of meaning. The students “are compelled to ‘negotiate for meaning’, that is, to express and clarify their intentions, thoughts, opinions, etc., in a way that permits them to arrive at mutual understanding.” They further explain that students learn words and grammatical structures by negotiating meaning. Sato & Lyster (2007) looked at learning opportunities that occur during learner-native speaker interactions and learnerlearner interactions. Surprisingly they found that “interactional moves hypothesized to facilitate L2 development” might be found more in learner-learner interaction. 

Near Peer Role Modeling

The final part of the theory behind this project is near-peer role modeling. According to Murphey & Arao (2001) Near Peer Role Models (NPRMs) are “peers who are close to one’s social, professional, and/or age level, and whom one may respect and admire.” By using these peers or role models to interact with relatively novice language learners they can have a positive and motivating effect. According to Lantolf & Thorne (2006, p. 256), learners who interact (in this case writing) with NPRMs provide more “proximal and obtainable proficiency goal(s)” than native speakers. 

In the activity proposed in this paper, older students’ examples are used to model strategies for younger, less proficient students. Some of the key points are 1) younger students observe older students, 2) the older students’ examples provide evidence to the younger students that they can and will improve in the future, 3) the younger students will be motivated to improve to become more like their advanced peers.

Video Project (Procedure)

The video project explained in this paper draws on the three ideas previously explained, namely strategies, interaction and learning, and NPRMing. As coordinator of first and second year Oral Communication courses in my department at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies (NUFS), my curriculum instructs teachers to have students speak in “guided conversations” for 30 minutes or more per class. This emphasis on output is supported not only by a text book which provides topics and vocabulary, but also by interactive strategies that help students to be able to negotiate and learn from each other. The video project has been an effective way to present and teach these strategies to students. Students in first year classes watch clips taken from their peers in second year classes. The clips can be used to supplement interactive strategies being taught in the text book or they can be used to review strategies in the middle or end of the semester. The collection and classification of clips is an ongoing process that also requires the permission of students.

The process began with making a comprehensive list of strategies. Next, I arranged the strategies in order of difficulty and then started filming student conversations. While viewing the conversations, I selected clips of exemplary use of strategies. Later, I used these exemplary clips to teach specific strategies or for reviews.

Examples of Activities Using Video Clips

Example 1: Asking your partner the same question

This strategy is important for beginning students in order to keep the conversation going and also forces them to listen to the answer of the partner and then formulate a question based on the answer. Although this strategy is simple to understand, it also serves as a good example to young learners of the importance of interaction.

The first step to using this strategy is to introduce the strategy and explain it to the students. The students can read through the examples from their handouts and repeat the necessary question (i.e., “How about you?”). Next I choose a student and read through the short example conversations in order to show him or her an example of the strategy. The examples are of a typical conversation that lacks interaction and also of a conversation that is more interactional because of the use of the strategy.

Next I have the students read through the conversation from the video, also on their handouts. This is a cloze exercise where I have them try to fill in the answers before I play the video clip. I do this because it isn’t a listening exercise and I want them to think about the language that is being used. Finally, I play the clip and have students check their answers. 

The final part of this activity is something that I do with all of my strategy activities; I have them try to use the language we have just studied in a speaking activity. I have found that students can better understand the strategies, not only by watching the clips, but by trying to use the strategy while producing language. 

In this case, I want them to have an opportunity to use the strategy so I give them a simple task like talking about what they had for dinner last night. I encourage students to give answers and then ask their partner the same question. 

Example worksheet 1: 

Video Clip 1: Asking Your Partner the Same Question A basic strategy to increase interaction and make a conversation more natural is to ask your partner the same question that he or she just asked you. You can do this by saying, “How about you?”, “And you?”, or by repeating the question (e.g., “What’s your favorite color?”). Common example of beginner’s conversation: A: Which baseball team do you like? B: I like the Dragons. A: Who is your favorite player? B: I like Ibata. A:…I like the Tigers.  A better example: X: Were you in a club in high school? Y: Yes, I was on the softball team. X: What position did you play? Y: Shortstop. How about you? X: Me? Y: Were you in a club? X: Yeah, I was on the volleyball team. Look at the conversation below. Try to guess what the speakers are saying. Watch the video and check your answers. that’s great                               what kind of riceball           how about you                            what did you eat for breakfast A: _______________________________________________________? B: Breakfast? A: Yes.

B: I eat a riceball…for breakfast.

A: Oh_______________________________________________________?

B: It’s salmon.

A: Salmon, oh.

B: I like Salmon.

B: Yes, me too.

A: _______________________________________________________?

B: Uh, I ate rice and miso soup.

A: Miso soup?

B: Miso soup, yeah.

A: Oh,_______________________________________________________!

Speaking Activity: Ask your partner questions about what they ate for dinner last night. Practice using this strategy by asking them the same question after you give your answer.

Example 2: Offering clarification

I chose this video clip because it is often a necessary and useful strategy for EFL learners and it is also a more difficult example than the previous one. For this strategy, I first explain what clarification means and why it is important to offer clarification when you aren’t sure if your partner understands you. Then I have the students read through the questions about the clip before showing it. Because it is important for students to watch the clip, I insist they put down their pencils and watch the clip. I let them write the answers to the questions the second time I play the clip. Finally, I have them check their answers with a partner and then I elicit the correct answers as a class.

As a follow-up to this activity, I try and elicit some more ways to offer clarification and help students come up with several more examples. The last part of this activity is to try and have the students use the strategy to further understand and internalize the language. In this case, I have them try to brainstorm some unusual foods they have eaten, then explain the foods to their partner, using this strategy if necessary, and using gestures, too.

                                 

Scene of student B gesturing taken from video clip

Example worksheet 2: 

Video Clip 2: Offering clarifcation If you think your partner doesn’t understand what you are saying, it is important to offer clarification.  Activity: Watch the video and answer the questions. 1.       The male student wants to know if the girl eats more buns, rice, or noodles. What question does he ask? _________________________________________________________________________________ 2.       The male student does two things to clarify what he is trying to say.  A.     What does he say? __________________________________________________________ B.      What does he do? ___________________________________________________________ What are some other ways to offer clarification: _________________________________________________   _________________________________________________   _________________________________________________   Speaking Activity: Talk about an unusual food you have eaten. Use language or gestures to clarify.

Discussion

After compiling video clips, creating activities, and using in several classes the past year, I have found the idea of showing exemplary interactive strategies to other student peers to be an effective way of teaching the strategies. Although many text books try to match topics with strategies that would likely be used in conversations about those topics, this video approach goes a step farther by using NPRMs who are “in the moment” and using authentic language that is near their peers’ own ability. Although the project takes time to start and requires permission from students and possibly the administration, the long-term benefits have proven to make doing this project worthwhile. Students have shown immense interest in the videos. Although I haven’t yet tried pre-test and post-test research on student retention of strategies, there has been an obvious increase in student interest and attention to strategies. In addition to the video project, the course has two group speaking tests to review topics studied in the semester. The speaking tests are graded on several competencies, one of which is using strategies. The students receive feedback from the beginning, middle, and end of the year on their competencies. By combining feedback with an interesting source of strategies I am confident this course will be more effective and dynamic than before I used these video clips.

REFERENCES

Canale, M. & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1:1-47.

Cohen, A. (1996). Second language learning and use strategies: Clarifying the issues. University of Minnesota, Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition.

Heisig, J. (2008). Remembering the kanji 2: a systematic guide to reading the Japanese characters. University of Hawaii Press.

Lantolf, J. & Thorne, S. (2006) Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lightbrown, P. & Spada, N. (2006). How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Murphey, T., & Arao, H. (2001). Reported belief changes through near peer role modeling. TESL-EJ. Retrieved from <http://www.cc.kyotosu.ac.jp/information/tesl-ej/ej19/a1.html>.

Richards, B. & Schmidt, R. (Eds.). (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics ( 3^rd edition). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Sato, M. & Lyster, R. (2007) Modified output of Japanese EFL learners: Variable effects of interlocutor versus feedback types. In A. Mackey (Ed.) Conversational interaction in second language acquisition (pp.123-42). Oxford: Oxford University Press.