Television and Video Cassette Recorders are technologies that
have been widely used since their inception. In the foreign language
classroom teachers have been using them for showing movies on
the target language. This is definitely a great resource when
it has been integrated into a well developed instructional lesson.
As with any other technology, the teacher needs to present the
material in an orderly fashion. Students need to be acquainted
with the material they will be seeing and to work on activities
based on it. Students also need to be evaluated on their final
performance. Exposing students to a foreign language film that
is to difficult for their language level will only frustrate them
and diminish their confidence in learning the language.
Different activities when using these technologies will awaken
students enthusiasm and interest in the class. An idea that will
provide many links to other different learning experiences is
having the students produce their own video. Teachers can give
a specific topic to be developed or just leave an open topic so
students may be even more creative. This will allow them to work
cooperatively using the target language. Since they have to produce
the entire project they will be studying vocabulary and grammar
for a real purpose which will give them many hours of fun and
entertainment.
Remember that movies are not the only thing that can be seen through
a VCR. Teachers are encouraged to record any valuable material
that presents grammar and vocabulary in context. Students will
find more meaningful a class where they can actually see and hear
real life situations lived by native speakers. Once this is accomplished,
the teachers can be certain that he/she has given the students
a life-long learning experience.
TV and VCR are technologies that are here to stay. The foreign
language classroom must find the benefits of studying the language
through a variety of different and creative activities using them.
Students will be exposed to authentic language modisms, expressions,
and culture thanks to the effective and continuous utilization
of these technologies.
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