How Video Can Help Students Speak

In this paper, video is limitedly defined as a recording of moving picture embedded with sound which contains some situational or topical dialogs for language learning purposes. Using the video to enhance the students’ language skills is not a new way in EFL teaching. Kelly (1985) shows the video obviously gives the contribution to language learning in many ways. Some of its contributions are that it provides the students a lot of opportunities to view the authentic language use particularly in spoken form serving as the language input of target language. The role of language input may impact to English learning process, and Ellis (1997:5) states the input is an external factor that facilitates language learners in which they are exposed by the samples of language in spoken and written form. Ellis’ idea might show that without the input the language learning cannot occur.

The language input of video segment might help students provide an authentic input of English exposure and contribute to recognize how the language is used, spoken and uttered in the real context. In that way, the students could have an appropriate language model so that they can get the idea to practice some useful words, expressions and a particular language structures in the context. In addition to that, the students also get ready to speak the target language since they have something to say about a certain topic or situation from the video segment. Simply, the language input presented of the video segment can facilitate the students to grasp the idea to speak up and rehearse their productive language. This is relevant to Halfield and Halfield’s idea (2008-105) that in developing the learners’ speaking skills, the teachers need to help them think of something to say and feel confident enough to try to express it.

To the other respects, the combination of sound and vision is a particularly exciting and dynamic way of exposing learners to language and is intrinsically motivating (Walker, 1999:2) and Canning and Wilson (2000) state video can stimulate and motivate student interest. These thought show the video could promote the students’ confidence and motivation to get involved in classroom activities. In line with walker, Stemplesky (2002:364) argues that the video has chances of achieving the importance goals of motivating students’ interest, providing realistic listening practice, stimulating language use, and highlighting students’ awareness of particular language points or other aspect of communication. These two notions confirm that the use of video really boosts inhibited and reluctant students to speak and use their English in the classroom. In conclusion, the video could arouse and trigger students’ encouragement, motivation, interest and also their confidence to get involved in classroom activities provided by the teacher. By involving in the classroom activities particularly in speaking class the students would have an opportunity to speak much then this case would help the students develop their speaking skills. 

The last thing of how video can help the students speak, Erben et, al. (2009:82) point out that the contains of video material for English Language Learners (ELLs) might have communicative acts that help scaffold comprehension since an ELL will also look at a person’s body language and facial expressions to help encode the meaning of a message. This indicates video also presents the significance non-verbal communication in language learning. Through non-verbal aspects of communication, video will provide the students to see non verbal communication such as; gestures, expressions, and posture, dress and surroundings are as eloquent as what they actually say. These non-verbal communications are very helpful for students to learn English in the class (Stempleski and Tomalin,1990:3-4). Briefly, the use of video could offer a unique contribution to English language learning since it can present authentic material of target language linguistically and extra-linguistically (culturally).