Video Teaching Techniques Video a. Characteristics of Video
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3 Post-viewing
Post viewing activities aim at encouraging and stimulating the use of newly acquired knowledge that came from the video, and the use of both written and
spoken language. Stoller in Koksal 2004: 66 suggests such post viewing activities as class surveys, video summaries, alternate endings, comparisons,
discussion, agreedisagreeunsure activity, ranking group consensus, organization in writing, speed writing, role-plays, simulation, and debates. Students also can do
activities for specific language skill practice as presented below. a
Reviewing and answering general comprehension questions. b
Using freeze-frame options to check comprehension and answer unanticipated questions.
c Describing scenes, people, objects, etc.
d Discussing events, particular topics, body languages, actions, etc, and
predicting or guessing the end of the video. e
Playing the sound only and asking students to discuss what the scene might look like.
f Predicting the outcome of the events.
g Doing information-gap activity. The viewers are eyewitnesses and the
others are journalists. They interview the first group about the event. h
Viewing and generating an appropriate dialogue for the scene. The actual dialogue can be used as a model from which to adapt the students’ efforts.
i Practicing stresses and intonation.
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For example, the teacher asks students to mark stresses and intonation in a copy of the script, underline content words, and let them try to imitate the
model on the video tape. j
Giving commentary on some parts of the video with the sound turned down.
k Making role play sequences about what they have seen or whatever they
guess from having seen the video and asking them to answer a series of truefalse questions or to put series of events in order.
l Watching and summarizing a short paragraph of what they have heard.
Harmer 2001: 286 also states a number of teaching techniques which can be used in the teaching and learning process. These techniques will be useful for
teachers to be applied in teaching learning process with different purposes. 1
Viewing techniques The purpose of the design of the viewing techniques below is to awaken the
students’ curiosity through prediction activities. Therefore, when the students watch the video sequence in its entirety they will have some expectations and
considerations about it. a
Fast forward: the teacher presses the ‘play’ button and then fast forwards the video so that the sequence shoots pass silently and at great speed. After that,
the teacher can ask students what the extract was all about and whether they can guess what the characters are saying.
b Silent viewing for language: the teacher plays the tape at the normal speed
but without the sound. Students have to guess what the characters are
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saying. When they have done this, the teacher plays the tape with sound so that they can check to see if they guessed correctly.
c Silent viewing for music: the same technique can be used with music. The
teacher shows a sequence without sound and ask students to say what kind of music they would put behind it and why. When the sequence is shown
again with sound, students can judge whether they choose the same mood as the directorcomposer.
d Freeze frame: at any stage during a video sequence we can ‘freeze’ the
picture, stopping the participants dead in their tracts. This is extremely useful for asking students what they think will happen next or what the
character will say next. e
Partial viewing: one way of provoking the students’ curiosity is to allow them only a partial view of the pictures on the screen.
2 Listening and mixed techniques
Listening routines, based on the same principles as those for viewing are similarly designed to provoke engagement and expectations.
a Pictureless listening language: the teacher covers the screen, turns the
brightness control right down. The students then listen to a dialogue and have to guess such things as where it is taking place and who the speakers
are. b
Pictureless listening music: where an excerpt has a prominent music tract, students can listen to it and then say based on the mood it appears to convey
what kind of scene they think it accompanies and where it is taking place.
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c Pictureless listening sound effects: in a scene without dialogue students
can listen to the sounds to guess the scene. After that, they have to tell the story they think they have just heard.
d Picture or speech: The teacher can divide the class in two so that half of the
class faces the screen, and half faces away. The students who can see the screen have to describe what is happening to the students who cannot. This
forces them into immediate fluency while the non watching students struggle to understand what is going on, and is an effective way of mixing
reception and production in spoken English. Another expert also states other video teaching techniques that can be used
and selected to support the teaching and learning process. Davies 2000: 166 mentions some techniques of using video in the classroom.
1 The most obvious use of video is for listening comprehension. Show a short
section of video, put it on pause, and ask questions about what the people said then show another section. Teachers can also ask questions which are not
about the script but about the scene and what is happening. 2
Ask the students to listen for a specific form of functional expressions, for example, an apology. Write an example of the form of function that teachers
want the students to listen for on the board and get them to raise their hands when they hear one.
3 Use the pause button to stop the video after selected forms of functional
expressions and ask the students to repeat what the last speaker in the video
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said. This keeps the learners listening attentively, and focuses on the forms or expressions have been selected.
4 Use the pause button to stop just before speaker in the video says something
that teachers want to focus on and ask the students to predict what that speaker will say. Then start the video again so that the learners can compare
what is said with what they predicted. 5
Tell the learners to pay careful attention to a short sequence because and ask them to be the volunteers to act out approximately what they hear and see
afterwards. The teacher may play the sequence two or three times. From the theory above, it can be concluded that there are many techniques
in teaching English using video. Teachers have to select the appropriate technique based on the topic of the materials that will be learned by the students. The use of
variety of techniques in using video is also important. Through a variety of techniques and activities in u
sing videos, learners’ language speaking skills can be practiced and enhanced. Videos are expected to help the teachers improve their
quality of teaching and also attract the students’ attention to the lesson and
increase their participation in practice speaking.