Exploiting DVDs’ Extra Features: an Added Bonus in the EFL Class

María Palmira Massi and Bettiana Andrea Blázquez, Argentina

María Palmira Massi is Professor of English at Escuela Superior de Idiomas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina. She completed her M.A. in Linguistics in the same institution. She has published articles on topics related to ELT and is the co-author of a book on academic writing. Her main interests are: communication strategies, the development of oral skills and cultural awareness. E-mail: mpmasssi@ciudad.com.ar

Bettiana Andrea Blázquez has an M.A. in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics from King’s College, London University. She is currently working as an assistant in the subjects Phonetics and Phonology I and English II at Escuela Superior de Idiomas, Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Her interests include learning strategies, motivation and prosody in spoken English and Spanish. E-mail: bettianablazquez@speedy.com.ar

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Introduction
Background
DVDs’ extras: a close-up
Criteria for the choice of audiovisual material
A framework for audiovisual instruction in ELT: Task viewing
Preparing worksheets with suitable tasks
Conclusion
Worksheets
Appendix 1 and Appendix 2
References

Introduction

This paper seeks to explore the advantages of the use and exploitation of DVDs’ bonus features (the making of…, documentaries, interactive games, video clips, shorts, etc.) in the EFL setting. The first part of the article covers aspects related to the selection of material in accordance with pedagogical objectives and the learners’ age and language proficiency. Next, a framework for structuring DVD-based language lessons is outlined and then illustrated with a variety of sample worksheets. The meaning-focused and the form-focused tasks are organised in different stages, each guided by specific instructional goals. Finally, a brief list of resources is provided to guide teachers and learners in the selection of suitable audiovisual texts and the design of their own viewing material. Exploring and exploiting the wide variety of text types available on DVDs’ bonus features will eventually lead the learner to self-access and autonomy when encountering similar texts in real life situations.

Background

In present times technology is on the side of language teachers and learners. Our students are immersed in a multimedia world, and exposed to new advances such as the Internet and the multiple possibilities it offers, computer games designed for language practice and consolidation, music, CD-ROMs with whole dictionaries, grammar books and language courses, interactive boards, whole texts on MP3s and iPods, and, last but not least, DVDs with tons of authentic language.

Films and videos have traditionally been used in the EFL setting, as reported in the extensive bibliography on the use of these media (Cooper, Lavery & Rinvolucri 1991, Stempleski & Arcario 1992, Braddock 1996, Brinton 2001, King 2002). DVDs –in particular- are new resources in the ELT classroom. The benefits and obstacles of DVDs as movie media have been explored by Chun 1996 and King 2002, among others. In fact, audiovisual texts in digital versatile disc (DVD) format provide a flexible resource as they offer soundtracks in different languages. Another advantage is the freedom to choose between watching a film, scene or extra feature with subtitles (captioned texts) or without subtitles (non-captioned texts). Teachers often wonder which way will benefit their students the most. The answer is that each one serves different purposes depending on the pedagogical objectives. To take an example, if the aim is to bridge the gap between reading and listening skills, then the best choice is to watch the material with captions. On the contrary, if the purpose is to enhance the students’ listening strategies such as guessing meaning from context, inferring from visual clues, facial expressions, voice, etc., the best option is to show the film without subtitles (King 2002). Thus, the key to using this special feature effectively lies mainly in the teachers’ ability to alternate, so that students can enhance flexibility and adaptability to different options rather than develop a habit that may then be hard to break.

An extra benefit is that fast-forwarding a DVD is very quick and simple. It is therefore easy to play a number of scenes in succession in order to illustrate a character or to give an overall idea of the story. In addition, the image on screen when fast-forwarding and rewinding is clearer than on VHS -video home system-, so, key moments can be found more easily. The high-quality image when pausing a scene on DVD can be a resource for teachers to set descriptive tasks. Students can rely on what they see and speculate on what a character might be thinking, saying or feeling at a particular moment (Languages ICT 2005).

Along with the film itself, DVDs offer a wide variety of extras. Thus, after or before watching a film, viewers have access to documentaries, short clips, some scenes that have been deleted during the process of making the movie. This lively collection of video sequences covers a variety of genres and can be used for whole class activities in the language classroom. The world of extra features has not been systematically exploited. Therefore, this article provides a brief description of these texts and a framework for structuring the English lesson based on DVDs’ bonus features.

DVDs’ extras: a close-up

The texts that are available as bonus features are:

• previews or trailers: movie-flashes that present condensed versions of future releases;
• interviews of actors and filmmakers;
• “The Making of…”, which explains the process of production of the film, the differences between the original script and the screenplay, and the reasons that motivated those differences;
• deleted scenes: scenes that have not been used;
• gags or bloopers: embarrassing mistakes made by actors or actresses while filming the picture;
• interactive games that can provide a great deal of fun;
• documentaries: programmes about a particular topic or a group of people, which present facts and intend to inform the audience;
• shorts: self-contained films that last approximately 15 minutes;
• video clips: short films that are made to go with a particular piece of music;
• galleries: pictures, sketches or drawings of different scenes, generally found in animated films.

As tthese texts are very short -for example, the total running time of a video clip is three minutes-, they can easily be accommodated at any moment of a lesson. Besides, they are self-contained, i.e. they depict a situation that has a beginning and an end, so they can be used as freestanding audiovisual texts. They illustrate different genres or text types. Thus, the main functions of the language, transactional -whose main purpose is to transfer information- and interactional -social-type talk-, are present in the bonus features. For example, in a documentary, transactional language predominates: this message-oriented and business-type talk focuses on content and facts. By contrast, interactional language is person-oriented with short chunks, redundancy and repetition, as in shorts and deleted scenes. From a pedagogical perspective, it is interesting to provide wide exposure to both functions and to instruct learners on their identification and use.

These texts present authentic language in context. The term “authentic” is used here in its broad sense to refer to materials that were not produced for language teaching purposes per se. They contain language that displays most of the characteristics of oral discourse (prosodic and paralinguistic features such as speed, volume, gestures, eye contact, proximity and the like). Finally, these audiovisual texts reflect the customs and traditions of the culture in which they were produced. Thus, they activate and enrich the learners’ background knowledge and pre-existing schemata, while stimulating the development of cultural awareness (Tomalin & Stempleski 1993).

Criteria for the choice of audiovisual material

Guidelines for the selection and use of DVD-based materials do not differ radically from the general guidelines related to using videos and films on VHS. There is agreement on the factors that play an important role in the choice of audiovisual material. The main aspect to consider is its comprehensibility (Arcario 1992, King 2002), which involves a careful analysis of the llinguistic complexity and exploitability of the material, i.e. its visual support, the standard accent used by the speakers, the speech delivery and text length. Another perspective to consider when selecting material is the learners’ linguistic level of proficiency, age, needs and interests. Likewise, their learning strategies and cognitive styles play an important role at the moment of choosing appropriate or suitable audiovisual texts. Teaching purposes and objectives also deserve consideration in the selection criteria. The three perspectives briefly outlined -the learner, the material and the pedagogical objectives- are the fundamental premises to pave the way for careful and suitable choices.

A framework for audiovisual instruction in ELT: Task viewing

The framework below outlines a strategy-based approach following the research line developed by Oxford 1990, Mendelsohn 1994, Mendelsohn & Rubin 1995, Chamot 1995, Morley 2001 and Herbert 2004 in the area of listening to audio and audiovisual material. They have demonstrated that learning occurs in three phases:

1. Preparing for learning or pre-viewing stage: the learners activate prior knowledge, make hypotheses and predictions. They get ready to obtain information from visual and auditory clues and relate this information to what they already know. Some pre-viewing tasks involve asking warm-up questions to introduce a scene, speculating about characters or settings, creating a purpose for viewing or identifying specific lexical domains. The main objective of this stage is to generate expectations for viewing the text by means of a pre-set clear task (Brinton 2001).
2. On-line processing or while-viewing stage: the learners select part of the incoming information and focus on general ideas first and specific ones later on. While-viewing tasks include taking down notes, jotting down new or interesting words or expressions, re-arranging the different parts of the story, etc.
3. Consolidating and extending tasks or post-viewing stage: the learners check comprehension and interpret the text, i.e. they use their background knowledge as well as the new information to establish connections and relationships. In the learning situation, the students are expected to transfer some key aspects of the audiovisual text to similar real-life situations. Post-viewing tasks may involve completing multiple-choice texts, open-ended chunks or gapped texts, reconstructing the story, detecting main issues, carrying out role-plays, dramatisations, discussions and debates, writing a follow-up (e.g. a letter, a review, a report, etc.) and doing project work.

In implementing this framework it is vital to introduce variety in task design in order to cater for the learners’ different learning strategies and cognitive styles.

Preparing worksheets with suitable tasks

When designing a set of tasks for the language lesson it is important to bear in mind the purposes for which audiovisuals will be used. Tasks can be aimed at:

• introducing a topic or issue, for example, feelings and emotions, childhood, environmental problems, etc.;
• illustrating a particular language function in context, for instance, expressing opinions, agreeing and disagreeing, describing people and places, etc.;
• providing exposure to distinct phonological features and accents;
• consolidating a set of grammar structures, for example, conditional forms, passives, reported speech, etc.;
• developing a lexical domain or semantic field, e.g. education, family, the media;
• providing content material for students to get information on a particular topic;
• generating opinion on a controversial issue;
• rounding off a unit of work.

To exemplify both the framework and some of the pedagogical purposes outlined above, this section presents sample tasks that have been designed to exploit a video clip that featured on the Bridget Jones’s Diary DVD. The activities are suitable for an intermediate or upper-intermediate level. The pre-viewing task consists of fast-forwarding the clip so that students watch it quickly without sound (silent viewing). In this way the learners get a summary of the video clip that allows them to make predictions. However, teachers can employ any of the following basic techniques described by Walker 1999:

• still picture: freezing the picture to focus on vocabulary, to help students predict or to check comprehension;
• sound only: playing the video and covering the screen. Students can guess what is happening from what they hear;
• silent viewing: playing the video without sound at normal speed. By focusing on the visual information the students can preview the text and give a simultaneous description of what they see.

In the while-viewing task some of the lyrics have been changed, so students are expected to provide the original version and put a tick when the text is error-free. In the post-viewing task learners are asked to classify the words and expressions they have just heard in the lyrics. Then they are required to reflect on some questions related to their own reality. Finally, some follow-up activities are included to further develop the skill of writing.

OUT OF REACH

Level: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate

Objectives:

• To introduce new lexical options
• To integrate the following functions:
• Expressing feelings and emotions
• Describing likes and dislikes
• To practise listening for specific information

Look at some scenes from a video clip without sound. Work with a partner and try to answer the following questions.

1. What is the main topic of the song?
2. What is the problem?
3. Who are involved?
4. Which of the following words and expressions are likely to be used in the song?

This man is taking a shower and singing the song Out of Reach. Apparently he does not remember the exact lyrics. What words and expressions has he changed? While you watch the clip, add the original lyrics in the corresponding dotted line or put a tick if the text is error-free.

1. Classify the words and phrases from the song into the categories below. Is the song mainly optimistic or pessimistic?

2. The video clip and I
1. It seems as if there were two parallel stories in the video. Do they have anything in common? If so, what?
2. Have you ever felt in this way? Have you ever been dumped? Have you dumped someone? If so, what did you do to overcome this situation?
3. Why do people write love songs? Why do people listen to them?
4. What’s your favourite love song? Why?

1. At the end of the video there is a woman writing something on her diary. What would you write if you were in her shoes? Try to include as many new words and expressions as possible.
2. You belong to a band and you are having a gig next week. You are asked to write the lyrics of a song expressing your true feelings. Create it!
3. Get information about your favourite band or singer. Then write an essay including a biography, albums and a song.
4. Write a love story which should be based on the video clip you’ve just watched. Be creative and provide a sad, happy or hilarious ending to your own narrative piece.

OUT OF REACH

Knew the signs
Wasn’t right
I was stupid
For a while
Swept away by you
And now I feel like a fool

CHORUS
So confused, my heart’s bruised
Was I ever loved by you?
Out of reach
So far - I never had your heart
Out of reach
Couldn’t see - it was never meant to be

Catch myself from despair
I’ll be drowned if I stay here
Keeping busy every day
I know I will be ok

But I’m
CHORUS

So much hurt, so much pain
Takes a while to regain
What is lost
Inside
And I hope that in time
You’ll be out of my mind

And now I’m
CHORUS

Out of reach
So far - you never gave your heart
In my reach - I can see
There’s a life out there for me

In a similar way, other extra features included on DVDs can be exploited. The links below illustrate different samples that are based on:

• Interviews
• A short
• A documentary
• An interactive game
• Previews

The tasks in the worksheets can be used as templates of flexible nature that can be modified according to the objectives of a particular lesson. They can serve as springboards for adaptation, adjustment and further use in other realities and contexts. They may well engage the students and develop awareness of the fact that DVDs’ bonus features play an integral role in the classroom and not just an extra.

DVDs are great resources for classroom use as they have potential for transferability of content and linguistic forms from in-class activities to out-of-school situations. Besides, this medium offers the possibility of selecting relevant parts and creating projects in order to reach particular pedagogical objectives. Appendices 1 and 2 provide brief lists of resources that may serve as starting points in the selection of audiovisual material and task design for different age groups.

Conclusion

DVDs have enhanced the possibilities of exposure to audiovisual discourse and awareness-raising of its characteristics for language learners. In particular, DVDs’ extra features have become valuable resources for our classrooms. A carefully chosen video clip, a worksheet based on grounded pedagogical decisions and actions, plus the points raised by the learners can become a good combination to move towards an approach that gives prior importance to language in use.

These texts also allow us to incorporate culture as another dimension of language teaching and learning. This will certainly contribute to the development of an open-minded learner, who can appreciate -and value- differences in practices in our multicultural globalised world. If we incorporate new media to our daily teaching lessons, our learners will certainly keep on viewing -and learning on their own- after they have ceased to be “official” language students!

Worksheets

Download Worksheet (PDF file)

Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 (PDF file)

References

Arcario, P. (1992). Criteria for Selecting Video Materials, in S. Stempleski & P. Arcario (eds.). Video in Second Language Teaching: Using, Selecting and Producing Video for the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Braddock, B. (1996). Using Films in the English Class. Hemel Hempstead: Phoenix ELT.

Brinton, D. (2001). The Use of Media in Language Teaching, in M. Celce-Murcia (ed). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Chamot, A.U. (1995). Learning Strategies and Listening Comprehension, in D.J. Mendelsohn & J. Rubin (eds.). A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Listening. Dominie Press, Inc.

Chun,V. (1996). DVD: A New Medium for Language Classrooms? Available: http://jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/96/sept/dvd.html

Cooper, R., M. Lavery & M. Rinvolucri. (1991). Video. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Herbert, M. (2004). The Use of DVD in Foreign Language Learning: Strategies Used by Learners for Meaning-focused and Form-focused Tasks. Unpublished dissertation. Available: www.cs.tcd.ie/courses/csll/herbertm0304.ps

King, J. (2002). Using DVD Feature Films in the EFL classroom. The Weekly Column. Article 88. Available: www.eltnewsletter.com/back/February2002/art882002.htm

Languages ICT. (2005). The National Centre for Languages. Available: www.languages-ict.org.uk

Mendelsohn, D.J. & J. Rubin (eds.). (1995). A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Listening. Dominie Press, Inc.

Mendelsohn, D.J. (1994). Learning to Listen. Strategy-based Approach for the Second Language Learner. Dominie Press, Inc.

Morley, J. (2001). Aural Comprehension Instruction: Principles and Practices, in M. Celce-Murcia (ed). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What every Teacher should Know. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.

Stempleski, S. & P. Arcario. (1992). Video in Second Language Teaching: Using, Selecting and Producing Video for the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Tomalin, B. & S. Stempleski. (1993). Cultural Awareness. London: Oxford University Press.

Walker, C. (1999). Penguin Readers Teacher’s Guide to Using Film and TV. Longman. Pearson Education Limited.

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