The effects of viewing pre-selected video clips on low-level Turkish EFL learners’ use of speech acts

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of video clips on low-level Turkish EFL learners’ pragmatic competence in using speech acts. The pre-test in a DCT format was administered in low-intermediate level classes at the Department of Basic English (DBE) at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey. After the analysis of it, the speech acts in which the participants had difficulty in using were determined to be explicitly taught. The treatment sessions included the tasks during which the participants watched the video clips and discussed the relationship between the characters. Then, some other appropriate structures were covered to improve the participants’ pragmatic competence in speech acts. The analysis of the DCT items in the mid-test revealed that participants formed more appropriate responses in the post-test. Four weeks later, a post-test which included DCT items was administered. The participants were able to write mostly appropriate responses in the post-test, which also revealed the effectiveness of the integration of the video clips while teaching English speech act to low level Turkish EFL learners. The semi-structured interviews with the teachers also indicated the importance of instruction while teaching speech acts. The findings related to the perception questionnaire revealed the importance of providing input via the use of video clips which offer conceptualized input and facilitate learning by having students get more motivated and pay attention during treatment sessions for a longer period. The analysis of the index cards showed that watching videos outside the class can contribute to learning speech acts to some extent because the participants who did not watch videos a lot outside the class performed well because of the treatment sessions.