|
|
AN EVALUATION OF THE VIDEO COURSE: |
| CONTENTS |
| INTRODUCTION |
I have chosen Meeting Objectives to evaluate for this part of the assignment because of my experience with it with my intensive Business English courses. In this course it is used to supplement the Business Objectives coursebook, but I will look at the video material as a course in itself.
Meeting Objectives is a course composed of a video cassette (VC), an Activity Book (AB) for the students and a Video Guide (VG) for the teacher. This video course is aimed at a lower-intermediate level for business English and can be used on its own for a short course or, as I mentioned above, with the Business Objectives coursebook.
The video shows 8 business situations which are not "authentic" in Harmer's definition, that is, being "designed for native speakers" (1991, pg. 185) nor does it attempt to appear authentic. This made me skeptical of the material, since I felt there would be less to be gained from the parodies the VC provides. Hutchinson & Waters (1987, pg. 159) counter with the conclusion that "We should not be looking for some abstract concept of authenticity, but rather the practical concept of fitness to the learning purpose." It is this 'practical concept' that I would like to look at in this evaluation.
I will first evaluate the individual parts of the course starting with the VG, moving on to the VC itself and then going on to the AB to see how it mirrors the possibilities in the VC. I will then look at the course as a whole with respect to Hutchinson and Waters' statement above.
| THE VIDEO GUIDE |
The video guide is designed to help teachers use the VC and AB in class. The function is equivalent to that of a teacher's book in a book-based course. Although the guide is very thin, it contains a lot of information.
The introduction gives information about the students for whom the course is designed. It attempts to cater to quite a diverse group from lower- to higher-intermediate levels who either work in the business world or are preparing for their first step into the business world (pre-work). The guide also claims to be usable for student self-access and is, in fact, also directed at this group. Those using the guide are asked to read the description of the course in order to understand how it is set up. Here, self-access students will probably find the level of language too high, but they are told not to worry about it in the Notes for Students. One may perhaps assume that anyone willing to do the course on their own, is also able to overcome this language barrier.
The next section is addressed to teachers and gives a general description of the different parts of the AB such as vocabulary work, pre-viewing, etc. It explains the objectives of the various tasks and what to watch out for while doing the activities with the class as well as difficulties pre-work students may have.
The section for students using the course material in self-access is a good step towards learner training. It gives specific information as to how to use the material and the types of tasks are described to help students understand the purpose of what they are doing. Here students are also directed to the introduction mentioned above.
The rest of the guide gives suggestions on how to teach using the VC and the AB. Optional activities are described and, of course, the answers are given. There are additional notes to the teachers on grammar, vocabulary and cultural points which can be useful for students as well.
On the whole, the VG provides enough guidance for teachers new to the material and/or new to using video in the classroom to use it with confidence. For self-access students it probably is somewhat difficult to follow, since it is obviously directed at the teacher, and I wonder if students will use it for other than checking their answers.
| THE VIDEO CASSETTE |
The eight sketches illustrate different situations common in general business encounters. They are comical and body language is exaggerated, what Kerridge (pg. 107) refers to as "semi-authentic", i.e. scripted, though "not ... made for learners of English." My experience has been that students enjoy the scenes and are motivated by them, thus "the video films can create a climate for successful learning" (Lonergan 1984, pg. 5).
The language does not flow naturally. People speak more slowly than is natural and there is very little usage of expressions and sounds intended to keep the other person talking or to show that you have not yet finished. However, this does not seem strange within the comical way it is used. The pace assures students' understanding of what is the focus of the course - vocabulary, i.e. phrases commonly used in business situations and makes use of intensive listening, that is "listening for specific words and/or phrases with a view to eventual production." (Sheerin 1982, pg. 123)
I find this appropriate to the target students' needs and level. However, extensive listening skills described by Sheerin as "training (the learners) to follow the main theme and recognize the most important points" within more complex (authentic) discussions is not possible because of the nature of the sketches.
The VC lends itself well to the presentation or reinforcement of phrases within a particular context. One example is the second unit in which telephoning is the topic. Here the structure of a simple telephone conversation with its distinct discourse is used. In this case prediction of language would suit the objective of learning telephone phrases quite well since the sketches all use very common language expected in the individual situations. Prediction of what is to happen next can make the story more interesting, thus promoting learning. The viewer sees people tied up in an office of a bank during a hold-up. What do the bank robbers do when the phone rings while they are opening the safe? They are going to try to be as neutral and polite as possible, which is what students at this stage are aiming for themselves.
Behavior study is another aspect which can readily be used because of the exaggerated facial expressions and body language. Unit 1 Making Contact illustrates this quite well when a man is speaking about his boss who arrives at the scene unnoticed. When the boss' presence is realized, the tension and insecurity is made visible between the three parties. The employee doesn't know if his boss has overheard the conversation and the boss is quite sarcastic to the third party. Here students can be made aware of the discrepancies between what we say and how we act.
Other techniques especially appropriate for a business class have students transfer what they have learned or practiced to another situation integrating skills. One technique deals with applying what has been learned or observed in the form of role-play. This allows students to "transfer language from the situation on the screen into their own usage ... and [is] also valuable for developing fluency and confidence in speaking."( Tomalin 1990)
There are two possibilities here. Students play a similar scene to what they have seen, or it can be a transaction which does not appear on the VC but is an extension of what has been viewed. In each case students have their experience with the VC and its clear models as well as their personal experiences gained through work either in their own language or, more preferably, in English. Students have found this particularly useful in finally 'getting it right'.
Written exercises are also a valuable extension to what has been learned and is relevant to business students' needs. When the character in unit 5 Presenting Facts and Figures finds his company has burnt to the ground, his colleague hands him the newspaper and advises him to starting looking for a new job. What better way to use this than to have students write a job application? This is just one of many possibilities of transferring what has been learned through the VC to real-world activities.
This is also the purpose of the AB in connection with the VG.
| THE ACTIVITY BOOK |
The AB takes each unit and divides it into the following sections (also described in the VG):
Like the VG, the AB is easy for teachers to use and provides enough support even for teachers with no experience with video. On the other hand, the self-access students are not given enough guidance. For example, under While You Watch there is one question followed by "Watch the video and find out." This is fine, however this is not the only question in this section. Should students try to answer them after viewing or read them before and answer them as they come along?
The tasks themselves are diverse, especially in the Before You Watch and After You Watch sections which provoke controlled and free language usage, as well as thoughts about the language. The While You Watch section, though, uses only comprehension questions such as sentence completing, matching and true or false. Unfortunately, very little is done with behavior or body language, which can be a central factor when making business transactions. On the whole, the focus is on discreet objects. The visual aspect seems to be looked at only as humor and is rarely exploited with the exception of unit 5 Facts and Figures where the charts are specifically looked at.
Considering the possibilities made evident in the VC, the AB falls short. However, the teacher has the freedom to use the video whatever way he or she considers appropriate. Overall the material is easily usable and has the potential to stimulate the imagination. "Every program is potential material for your classes" (Arcario pg.116).
| SHORTCOMINGS |
Considering the language level, one could assume that students have experienced business situations in their L1 and had little to no experience in L2. Therefore, the cultural differences in behavior, which often play a key role in business transactions, need special consideration. Likewise, the ability to use the 'right words' is of equal importance. Students should know what constitutes being impolite and also how to express importance, negation or unsureness about suggestions, ideas or events.
However, as I mentioned earlier, students are not provided with extensive listening of true "authentic" situations, which often show the language used much more subtly, often contradicting what is 'really being said'. Viewing an "authentic" scene in which the language level is higher than the students' encourages them to interpret what is being said (or not said) through gestures and behavior and how it compares with the words they say. I consider this important enough for the business English student to warrant more authentic i.e. natural situations. I would like to stress this point because of my experience with these students. They expect to find themselves in similar situations, otherwise they would be taking a general English course.
| CONCLUSION |
I will now return to the quotation in the introduction: We should not be looking for some abstract concept of authenticity, but rather the practical concept of fitness to the learning purpose.
The video does focus on functions and appropriate expressions and the activities mirror the importance given in the video. This aim justifies the "inauthenticity", allowing students to understand exactly what is being said by slowing the pace and simplifying the language in order to give this focus. It also supplies opportunities for practicing the structures in a variety of ways. The exaggerated behavior and reactions of the characters are a good stimulus for discussion about a comparison of manners and what is acceptable in different cultures. The discrepancies between what is said and what the speaker actually feels can be brought to discussion as illustrated in the video section above. Thus we find that the concept does fit the learning purpose.
| BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| Click here to go back to the Video page. |
