Using Content Videos to reduce Interlingual and Intralingual
Transfer of Vocabulary in an EFL Context:
A small - scale study done foron Intermediateon Intermediate students in Mega Soft Institution
M.Ed. in Specification and Qualification in English Language Teaching
By: Lillian Isperdon
Supervised by: Dr. Dima Farhat
Table of Content:
NOTES:
1. A LAST TIME REMINDER:
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME DRAFTS WITHOUT PROOFREADING. YOU ARE ENGLISH TEACHER: Check structure,coherence, spelling and punctuation errors: Check consistency in writing.
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1. INTRODUCTION:
Vocabulary learning is one of the major challenges foreign language learners face during the process of learning a language. Knowing a word is defined as knowing its spelling, pronunciation, collocations (i.e. words it co-occurs with), and appropriateness concerning its contextual use (Nation, 1990[E1]:33). During English language learning in in EFL contexts, there seems to be some interlingual or intralingual errors that learners commit while using vocabulary in their target language speech. This study seeks to present empirical data on the claim that using content videos inside the classroom can reduce interlingual and intralingual aspects of vocabulary transfer in the classroom drawing on a survey study [E2] of on twenty pre-intermediate students aged around 18 years old, who took part in the study in Mega Soft Institution. Throughout this paper, Firstlyfirstly, I will discuss the difficulties that students in an EFL context as Syria go through in learning vocabulary especially and the use of video to undermine the interlingual and intralingual errors. Seconly, I will talk review about the literature discussing this topic. Thirdly, I will talk aboutpresent the study context and the methods of obtaining information as well as the analysis of the results found.
1.1. The research problem:
One of the problems that Most EFL learners face problems concerning vocabulary during the process of learning a language[E3] is learning vocabulary. Schmitt (Schmitt (2000[E4]:23[L5]) suggests that the term word is not specific enough to cover the complexity of vocabulary and to capture different aspects of lexis. Factors such as what mother tongue a student has, levels of motivation and how much contact the learner has with the target language are all variables that affect the learning of vocabulary (ibid[E6]: 14.). Since learners are rarely exposed to any English input in the EFL Syrian context, (Gas and Selinker[1], 2008:102)research[E7] shows that learners resort to literal translation of their mother tongue utterances (interlingual) or they overgeneralize the use of vocabulary in the wrong contexts (intralingual),), thus making interlingual and intralingual errors. Based on a small scale study, this paper proposes the claim that teachers should use additional realia [E8] (content videos) along with the traditional pen-and-paper method to help students in overcoming such errors by exposing them to comprehensible visual and auditory input that can help in representing new words visually and aurally in their actual contextual and enhance uptake for vocabulary through audio- visual channels.
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1.2. The purpose of the study:
The purpose of the study is to find out the influence of using content videos in minimizing interlingual or intralingual errors of vocabulary that EFL learners commit while using the target language.
1.3. The objectives of the study:[E9]
Throughout this study, I want to explore the effects of using content videos inside the classroom on interlingual and intralingual aspects of vocabulary transfer.
1.4. The research questions: (Still need revisiting)
1- Do intermediate students at Mega Soft commit interlingual and intralingual errors? (you need to have pre-tested them)
2. 2. To what extent does mother tonguedo these errors influence vocabulary learning?
(Only mother tongue? What about intralingual errors)
23.-To what extent can the use of videos help in aiding vocabulary learning?
3. LITERATURE REVIEW:
3.1. Difficulty of teaching vocabulary in EFL contexts:
Vocabulary learning is one of the major challenges foreign language learners face during the process of learning a language. Knowing a word is defined as knowing its spelling, pronunciation, collocations (i.e. words it co-occurs with), and appropriateness concerning its contextual use (Nation, 1990:33). Therefore, as suggested earlier Schmitt (2000) suggests that the term word is not specific enough to cover the complexity of vocabulary and to capture different aspects of lexis. He uses the example of the single word die to express the contextual complexity of vocabulary. The word die can mean pass away (phrasal verb) and kick the bucket (idiom) (p. 1) but each meaning is used in a different context. Other examples which highlight the complexity of vocabulary in its morphological complexity is the use of affixes, suffixes and different verb tenses or word classes such as the verb permit and the noun. The error of overgeneralizing the use of certain words are the result of faulty or partial learning of L2 and such errors are called intralingual errors as suggested by Gass and Selinker (2008:102).
Laufer (Laufer (1992:75-76) on the other hand talks about factors such as what mother tongue a student has and its effects the learning of vocabulary. Errors that result from language transfer and are caused by the learner's native language are called interlingual errors (Gass and Selinker, 2008:102). Laufer (1992:76) offers an error such as *He went to the home which is a reference to the use of the preposition to and the article the with the noun home and the possibility of interlingual transfer from Arabic since the Arabic alternative of go needs a preposition Yazhab ela and home needs a definite article in Arabic which is Al Bayt unlike English.
3.2. Use of Videos videos to avoid interlingual and intralingual errors in terms of vocabulary:
During English language learning in in EFL contexts, there seems to be some interlingual or intralingual errors that learners commit while using the target language vocabulary. Interlangual errors are errors attributed to the native language. They are very frequent at the initial stages of L2 learning since the L1 is the only language system the learner knows and can draw on and therefore negative transfer takes place (Brown, 1980:173). On the other hand, intralingual errors are those due to the language being learnt (target language), independent of the native language. As Richards (1971:1) suggests, they are items produced by the learner by the influence of generalizations based on partial exposure to the target language. The learner, in this case, tries to derive the L2 rules behind the data to which he/she has been exposed, and may develop hypotheses that correspond neither to the native language nor to the target language.
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As a teacher, it is necessary to find some teaching strategies to overcome such errors in the classroom and keep the students motivated at the same time. There are many media that can be used to improve students vocabulary like audio aids, visual aids and the audio-visual aids etc. Examples of audio aid are radio, music, and so on while examples of audio-visual aid are video, film/movie, animation, and television, etc. In this study, content videos are chosen as media for teaching vocabulary and overcoming problems of interlingual and intralingual Transfer.
Kress (2010) suggests that because of the increasing importance of visual and media images, videos have a great potential in the language classroom, as they bring together a large variety of modes (p. 30). They would address the 5 senses of the learners and thus attract their attention and keep them involved for a longer period of time (compared to traditional teaching methodologies). They can also be considered as pedagogically valuable sources of language input which can be used inside or outside the classroom as long as they are relevant to the point or have been designed with a specific pedagogical purpose in mind and levelled carefully to the linguistic and cognitive development of young learners.
In relation to vocabulary learning specifically, visual representations encourage learning, as emphasised by Miller (Miller (2012:203), who asserts the positive effect on vocabulary learning that is achieved when students are able to represent new words visually in their actual contextual use. That is, in authentic video, where second language speech is delivered naturally with the visual cues that are either in still (verbal) or kinaesthetic form, such as eye contact, facial expression, body language or actions and movement offered by characters that can compensate for the learners lack of contextual use of vocabulary in EFL context which lead to intralingual errors. A study conducted by Secules and Tomasello (1992:480) documents the effectiveness of visual cues empirically, where the researchers compared video-based instruction with traditional approaches that mainly focus on exercises and drills for university English speakers learning French. Their findings show that the video-based instruction group outperformed the traditional approach group across comprehension tasks.
Content videos with their combination of visual and audio channels can also form a major source of lexical input with high level for retention to compensate for the need to fill gaps in the learners L2 with their L1. According to the dual-coding theory of Paivio (1971), verbal information, such as the audio track, and written text in the case of subtitles, as well as non-verbal information, such as images and actions within the video, are sorted separately in the receiver brain, but are linked by referential connection, which connects the two systems in a complex associative network (149- 210). Therefore, when learning a word that has more than one mode, the word will be coded dually, which may facilitate a successful retention of the word. In this sense, there should be a high semantic match between the audio and visual channels in the video materials in order for the potential effectiveness of audio-visual materials to increases learners comprehension and vocabulary recall.
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3.3. Choice of videos: Content videos:
Selecting effective video is an essential component of integrating this medium into practice. Fabos (2001:131) explains that one of the most significant factors in the success or failure of an educational technology is the quality of the content, rather than the technology itself. Selecting video that has strong, visually-rich educational content is a critical element for maximizing the effectiveness of video. Ready-made videos like cartoons, movies, etc sometimes contain elements which are pedagogically inappropriate such as violence or imitation of other peoples negative behaviour for humour or they may be too long or have no relation with teachers lesson and therefore, teachers will be wasting their time just for searching that animation suitable for their lessons. Apart from pedagogical inappropriateness, videos can be linguistically and culturally incomprehensible as they contain instances of authentic language. These are usually made for native speakers and have references to social and cultural items that often need to be explained. The language proficiency may also be too high for the students, which makes the task of inferring the meaning of new vocabulary too demanding. Since videos convey information that is both auditory and visual, these two modes must work in concert for videos to be most effective. Overly-dramatic sound tracks, visuals and narration that are not supportive of one another, and excessive use of still frames or slides can all detract from the educational message.
Consequently, teachers have become interested in utilising controlled content videos that are often provided with various TEFL course books which can teach the teachers targeted aim for a certain lesson. They also assist teachers in locating and presenting short, targeted clips of no more than two to five minutes in length as Most educational experts agree that video is best shown in short segments so as to maximize learners concentration (Shephard, 2003, p. 296).
4. THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY:
4.1. Research Design:
During collecting information for this project, I depended on the qualitative methodology which focuses on gathering of mainly verbal data rather than measurements. Gathered information is then analysed in an interpretative, subjective, and diagnostic manner which suit best suit my small [E10] scale project as it depends on observation and experimenting the effect of videos on vocabulary learning.
Context and Sampling
This study seeks to present qualitative empirical data on the claim that using content videos inside the classroom can reduce interlingual and intralingual aspects of vocabulary transfer in the classroom drawing on a survey [E11] study of twenty pre-intermediate students aged around 18 years old, who took part in the study. I will be teaching these students in Megasoft institution in Jableh which offers education service in various fields of knowledge supported by high-tech equipment including TEFL. Learners come from different age groups (around 15 9 years and above) and are placed into groups using a English File placement test which is based upon Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The course books are Oxford Discover for young learners and we dealtaught is with is English File which is area Four-skill English courses with fun lessons, digital resources and strong online support. The institute is equipped with a large screens and projectors and I use a variety of content videos to support the course book and help to consolidate vocabulary learning for students.
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Data Collection Methods
For this research, two different methods are combined: experiment, and Testingtesting. According to Dörnyei (2007[E12]:335), using mixed methods for research serves various purposes, such as helping the researchers to investigate complex educational issues and enriching the researchers thoughts, enabling them to draw conclusions. Additionally, combining more than one strategy means that they are able corroborate each other and hence increase the validity of the research. Typically in an experimental study design, participants are assigned to one of two groups, the experimental group, whose members are exposed to special treatment or certain condition (which is here watching videos), and the other group, who receives normal instruction or operate in standard conditions. This distinction will mark measure the effects of the intervention using a pre- and post-test format (Dörnyei,[2] 2007:70). [E13]
In this study, both of the experimental group (10 students) and the other standard group (10 students) will attend a lesson and read through the textbook the passages and do the exercise required of matching some pictures to their vocabulary. (Activity included in appendix A). Next, the students are going to read the dialogue of what happens at the check in desk and act it out. (the dialogue is included in appendix B)
The experimental group will watch two extra videos after the lesson and I will observe their interaction with it. Both groups will be tested after[E14] [L15] two days of our meeting on their vocabulary recall by asking them to translate several sentences. (See test in appendix C)
1.1. Data Analysis (THIS SECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHAPTER. IT I VERY SHORT A IT IS NOW.. YOU NEED EXTRA DATA AND YOU NEED TO DISCUSS FINDINGS FROM TESTS AND OBSERVATION NOTES IN LIGHT OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW. In other words, what do your findings contribute to the existing knowledge in the field? How is your small scale findings similar/different from what other researchers have done over ten of years? What do you want to tell readers? Explain what your finding meanetc
1.1. So, lets answer your questions. Do you believe you have enough data to support your answers to these questions?
4.4. 1. Do student at Mega Soft commit interlingual and intralingual error while learning vocabs[L16]? I tried to test their abilities after the actual lesson but before using the videos as the experiments are done in an EFL context and students are not even familiar with the vocabulary. I am trying to compare results of traditional reading-and- doing exercises ways of teaching with the results of using videos. I dont know if I am thinking properly or not. I wanted to ask you again Dr. Dima before I make any changes.
2. To what extent do interlingual and intralingual errors influence vocab learning?
3. What are the effects of the use of videos in aiding vocab learning? (you provided data but you didnt not explain or relate this findings to your research questions do not only report findings; report findings
Qualitative data analysis (QDA) is the process of turning written data such as interview and field notes into findings (Lenny et al. 2011[E17]:302). One of the strategies used in this concern is Constant Comparison/ Grounded Theory [E18] where the researchers have to look for signs/ indicators of certain processes, events and behaviour for a certain group, name them and code them on documents. Then compare these codes with codes taken from the other group to find consistencies and differences to make up certain findings (Strauss, 1987[E19]:28). The results taken from my small scale project showed an increasing recall of vocabulary as students were able to translate words such as مكتب تسجيل الدخول, مقعد بجانب الممر, تغادر الطائرة, etc. which show overcoming of vocabulary errors caused by interlingual and intralingual transfer.
Here are sample of group 1the students answers after the traditional lesson (appendix a):
Students A, F:
Where is the registration office for the plane? (students a, f)
Students B, E, D:
Where is the check in office for the office? (student b,e,d)
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Student C, G:
Where is the check in room? (students c,g)
Only 33 out of 10 students answered the correct answer which is where is the airport check in desk? even though they have been all introduced to the vocabulary word several times through the matching exercise, the reading task, and discussions while doing the dialogue.
Students A and Fs answers showed literal translation of the Arabic word تسجيل which can be considered as interlingual error of vocabulary production. Students B, E, and Ds answers showed examples of literal translation for the word office which is مكتب in Arabic as mentioned in the sentence they had to translate. Students C and G overgeneralized the use of the word room to represent the concept of desk or counter and by this committing an intralingual error as well.
On the other hand, the experimental group who had the chance of watching the videos had better results.here are the results of the group after watching the videos. 7 students out of 10 answered with the correct translation using Where is the airport check in desk? while the other 3 were able to recall the new vocabulary items but they changed the structure saying Where is the check in desk for the plane? Their translation shows better mastery of vocabulary learning but it still needs some more practice and use of at the sentence level.
The third sentence showed similar results. The first groups answers were the following:
Students A, B, D, G, and J translated the sentence like this, I want a seat next to the aisle without considering the use of the word aisle as an adjective which is part of the vocabulary knowledge because of the literal translation of the sentence from Arabic بجانب.
The experimental group, however, noticed throughout the dialogues in the videos that such structures as aisle seat and window seat always together especially that they recognized even the facial expressions and the rising intonation with which they ask about these vocabulary items. As Castro[3] (2009) states that videos can be an effective tool for language learning since they are created for native speakers which allow the EFL learners to learn lots of expressions or collocations. In this study, Aall the students were able to give the right translation which shows great development and avoidance of interlingual vocabulary errors.
The fourth sentence shows intralingual errors on the part of group 1. After all the repetition of the word boarding throughout the reading task, but all the students of group 1 used the vocabulary leaving which doesnt carry any reference to the airport or planes. This is an overgeneralization of the use of the vocabulary leave in contexts where other vocabulary should be used. However, the experimental group showed better results as 7 students used the word boarding after they realized the consistency of the use of the words boarded and boarding throughout the two videos in relation with airplanes.
The second sentence shows similar results to the ones I have previously discussed. 7 sStudents from group 1 translated the sentences in the following way:
Can I see the plane ticket?
This is baggage delivery card
These translations show literal translation of these sentences from Arabic without recalling the right vocabulary items which are the boarding pass and baggage reclaim. While students in the experimental group showed better results as 6 students were able to translate the sentences correctly out of their better engagement, interest, and therefore recall of the correct use of airport vocabulary. As Thanajaro[4] (2000) remarks, The use of videos in ESL or EFL classrooms has a positive effect on learners motivation to learn the language.
The second study was done 5 advanced students studying the course English File:Advanced. This group of students read a dialogue between a Professor of Classics in the university of Cambridge and an interviewer and did the related tasks involved with it (look at appendix H and I) and they were asked after 3 days to translate these sentences:
- كل مكان ينتهي ب caster كان حصنا رومانيا في أحد الايام.
- حصلت مؤامرة إرهابية لإغتيال القادة السياسيين و إحراق المدينة و إسقاط الحكم.
The results were the following:
3 students answered the sentences in this way:
Each place ending with caster was a roman castle once upon a time.
A terrorist plot happened to kill the political leader, burn the city, and .
2 students answered the sentences this way:
Every place with caster was a roman .. one day.
A terrorist conspiracy happened to the political leaders, burn the city, and authority.
The results show evidence of intralingual errors of vocabulary learning such as kill, once upon a time, castle which are used out of their actual context. The word kill does not have any political implication which the context of the sentence implies. The words once upon a time are usually used in stories and therefore using them when talking about real historic incidents that actually happened in an academic narration of events is out of contect. The word castle used to mean حصن is also wrong as forts are used to protect cities and people and have political implications unlike the word castle. Castles are built to protect the royalties (kings and their noble men) and their servants only which does serve the purpose of the meaning. The gaps that the students left blank refer to their inability to recall these words and when they read their answers aloud, they used their mother tongue (Arabic). After the test, the teacher integrated two videos into his teaching (The first video with pauses and the second is the same as the first one but without any pauses or subtitles). He took advantage of the video features including visual and auditory channels, ability for pausing, engagement and motivation. The students were able to read the subtitles of every piece of the dialogue in the first video and the teacher asked them to say aloud each part. Using videos, therefore, allowed receptive knowledge along with productive use. The same instructions of the previous methods were used including answering comprehension question after watching the second video and completing different sentences. After three days the students were asked to translate these sentences (look at appendix J) and the results were the following:
3 students wrote the following
Every place that ends -caster was a Roman fort.
Politically, many of the problems that we face now were faced by the Romans.
A famous event in Roman history in 63 BC.
A terrorist plot happened in the City of Rome to assassinate the political leaders, to burn the city, and to take control.
He decided to execute the conspirating leaders without trial, summary execution.
After two years he was exiled.
2 students translated the sentences this way:
Each place that ends -caster was a Roman fort.
Politically, many of the dilemmas that we face now were faced by the Romans.
A famous accident in Roman history in 63 BC.
A terrorist conspiracy happened in the City of Rome to assassinate the political leaders, to burn the city, and to take over.
He decided to execute the conspirators without court, summary execution.
After two years he was exiled.
Their answers showed increasing vocabulary recall and less frequent amount of intralingual errors. The word accident represents an intralingual errors as accidents are unplanned and happen by chance which makes the word out of this context where the interviewer is talking about conspiracy. The word conspirating represents a literal translation from Arabic (interlingual error) and the wrong derivation of the gerund conspirating out of the adjective conspirator which is inapplicable. However, students ability to recall words and overcome interlingual and intralingual errors evidently increased as they used face, dilemmas, take over/control, summary execution, and exile.
Another study was done on two groups of ESP students (intermediate English proficiency) studying Electrical and mechanical engineering and aiming at speaking about different machines with their components and the method in which these machines operate as well as the ways for their further development. For this study, there was a group of 10 students who were given a lesson taken from their course book Oxford English for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering using traditional reading and matching strategies (see appendix E). After two days from the lesson, they were tested and then given the lesson using two content videos I designed for this lesson. Then, after another two days they were tested again to check their use of vocabulary.
The students in the first lesson had a reading extract discussing the main components of electrical motors how they work and produce motion and then two tasks where they basically had to match pictures with their relevant description. The text contains lots of technical vocabulary items that students should comprehend well in order to use them properly in speaking and writing tasks. After two days of this lesson, the students were tested based on the accuracy of choosing vocabulary (see the test in appendix f).The results were the following
6 students (a, c, e, j, f, i) translated the sentences in the following way:
In the electrical motor, electrical and magnetic field produce rotation.
If the electrical flowed in of wire with a .. iron, the iron becomes magnetized and it is called electrical magnet.
General motor works on and continuous
four students (e, b, g and d) translated the sentences in the following way:
In the electric engine, electric current and magnet field produce circular movement
If the electric current flowed in .. of wire with an iron bar inside, the iron becomes magnetized and it is called electric magnet
General motor works on Direct and AC Current
Students translation show wrong use of vocabulary such as electrical, circular movement, and works on which are based on wrong overgeneralization of words out of their context. The word electrical is used as an adjective to refer to something related to electricity i.e. electrical faults, electrical component but not running on electricity (the word electric means running on electricity). The word circular when it is associated with movements means moving in circles and not exactly rotating which means spinning around oness self. The verb work can be generally associated with making a machine, device, etc. operate but for motors and cars, the collocation used is the verb run. In this sense, these errors done by these students are intralingual vocabulary errors as they are caused by wrong overgeneralization of rules in contexts where they do not belong. Words like electrical magnet and continuous show examples of literal translation of the words حقل مغناطيسي and مستمر and thus are considered interlingual vocabulary errors. Some words like current, alternating, and loop were left blank and the students couldnt recall them or replace them with words that may have similar meanings.
The second teaching methodology was based on using two content videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVjBWfZTN1I, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbmPHNCASq8)
These videos were designed by me as to pause every sentence and allow learners to listen and then read aloud what was said each time with the use of some illustrations. The features of the videos allow more opportunities for vocabulary awareness and interaction as the students were reading aloud with the video at each pause. The ability for the students to rewind the videos again in the class and at home offered help to the teacher H.. N.. who simply asked the student to repeat in the pauses and summarize what they comprehended at the end. After two days, the students were tested again (see appendix G). The results of this experiment were the following:
4 students translated the sentences in the following way:
The electric current goes through the brushes to the commutator which consists of one or more split rings
Electromagnet consists of a coil of wires rotated around a piece of iron.
The electric current in the armature interact with the magnetic field in the coil to produce motion.
The direction of the motion depends on the direction of the magnetic field and the current
There are two types of currents; Alternating and direct current
One student produced similar translation with these changes:
The electric current runs through the brushes to the commutator which consists of one or more .. rings.
There are two types of currents; .. and direct current
3 students forgot also the meaning of ملف المحرك and made this slight change (compared to the first 4).
The electric current in the .. interact with the magnetic field in the coil to produce motion.
2 students translated the sentences with this change.
There are two types of currents; .. and continuous current
The direction of the circulation depends on the direction of the magnetic field and the current.
Based on these results there are still some interlingual errors like circulation instead of rotation and continuous instead of direct but the numbers of errors decreased and the learners are now more aware of words like current, brushes, commutator and electromagnets since they all used them properly which means decreasing interlingual and intralingual vocabulary errors.
Participant Classroom Observation Form [E20]
Instructor: ___________Lillian Isperdon ______________ Course _______English File Intermediate _______
Peer/Observer: ________ Lillian Isperdon ____________ Date and Time: _______ 20/7/2016 ____________
