5.2. Limitations
This study sought to investigate how TV materials can be
integrated into the teaching and learning of English at the NUR at second year
English level. However, there are a number of shortcomings in the study which
need to be addressed.
One particular weakness was the lack of opportunity to carry
out classroom observations. I am convinced that insights from such data would
have been very useful. Such observations could have served as a means of
triangulation of the findings from interviews and questionnaires' responses.
Besides, they could also have enabled me to detect pros and cons among my
respondents' responses to the questionnaires and interviews. In addition, I
would have got more information on English learning and teaching realities,
with regard to second-year English students' listening performances and how
their lecturers handled and solved the students' problems. In the spirit of
this research, a number of issues need to be taken into account and further
strategies to be set up. This is what the next section aims at.
5.3. Conclusions and
recommendations
These recommendations are meant to serve as guidelines towards
more effective integration of television materials into English teaching and
learning at the NUR. Since using television materials in the EFL/ESL class
touches upon a number of aspects that are interrelated, I put forward my
recommendations under the following headings:
· judicious course planning and selecting appropriate
television materials for use in English class;
· reinforcing practical activities for activation of
listening skills and other language skills and
· promoting a communicative approach to language teaching.
5.3.1. Judicious course planning
and selecting appropriate television materials for
use in English class.
To begin with, lecturers should know how to handle audiovisual
equipment such as TV sets and videos. The use of these media can only be
effective if they are in all respects `user-friendly' (Els et.al, 1984:290).
Lecturers should also be in a good position to monitor and guide their students
to reach the class or course's objective. Bertram et.al (2001:115) remind us of
strategies that work before viewing and that lecturers should think of when
planning use of television and video materials in class:
- Make sure television sets and video playbacks/ recorders
are working, and that the tape is ready to play at the correct place.
- Stand next to the television screen so that you can pause
and rewind when necessary.
- Show learners that you are the facilitator of the process,
and will not be settling down at the back of the room to `relax'
- Set the lighting in the room. If the room is too dark,
learners will be inclined to watch passively. There should be enough light so
that learners can jot down points and answer the questions that you have set
them.
It is necessary to note that before the actual English lesson
takes place, there are other steps that lecturers need to follow while
selecting appropriate instructional materials. Several scholars suggest a
number of them. In the sentence below I have adapted the ideas of Kortner
(1999:1) and Bertram et.al (2001:109).
· Lecturers should look for quality programming, programs
of appropriate length. In this case, making the best use of television requires
not to record full-length programmes. Instead short clips or short excerpts are
preferable because they lend themselves to easier exploitability. For instance,
a lecturer may have a short clip of a hurricane or the US President's speech
recorded from the news.
· Lecturers should look for motivating and/or stimulating
television materials and the language should also be accessible to learners
(see Section 2.4.3. & 2.6.3.). The materials should arouse learners'
interest and curiosity.
· Lecturers should be urged to use materials that promote
active viewing as opposed to passive viewing which is what happens at home. In
this respect, it is better to support television clips with print media (e.g.
worksheets with questions) to guide the viewing of the learners.
In short, selection of television or video materials must take
into account some factors influencing the learning process. For example, a
primary focus should be put on identifying learner's needs. For example, if the
lecturer's objective is to activate listening skills for a particular group of
learners, then he might have recourse to given television material as a
relevant and suitable resource to assist him in achieving their purpose. The
next section focuses on practical tasks that should be prepared to activate
students' listening skills and other language skills.
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