Article Review

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A) Citation of the Article

Title :

“Teaching EFL to the iGeneration: A Survey of Using YouTube as Supplementary Material with College EFL Students in Taiwan”

Journal :

CALL-EJ Online.

Vol. 10, No. 2, February 2009

Author :

Brent Kelsen (Yuan Ze University, Taiwan)

“Brent Kelsen has been a lecturer in the International Language and Cultural Centre at Yuan Ze University for the past two years. Previously, he has taught English at language schools, universities, governmental organizations and private corporations in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. He is interested in student motivation, the use of technology in education, collaborative learning and second language writing” (Kelsen, 2009).

B) Summary of the Article

The aim of the research:

The main purpose of this study is to measure students’ attitudes towards the use of YouTube in learning English as foreign language. Specifically, this study aims to gauge students' perceptions of using YouTube as a supplement to regular class materials with regard to: (i) making classes more interesting; (ii) being relevant to course materials; (iii) being beneficial to language learning; (iv) motivating students to learn in class; and (v) motivating students to use this material to learn English outside of class, according to Kelsen (2009).

The methodology:

A simple questionnaire was given to each respondent on the first day of class. After that, material from the YouTube website was used to complement their textbook and related classroom stuff throughout the semester. Prior to the lesson, students were exposed with necessary information to enhance students’ comprehension. After students engaged with different kinds of activities involving YouTube material, they were given a follow-up questionnaire.

The subject/sample

The respondents of this study were taken from two second year classes of a northern Taiwan private university. Each class respectively consisted of 31 and 38 students in which all of them were chemistry majors form the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Their age ranged from 19 to 21 years old and Mandarin was their first language.

The findings of the research

The findings of the study were divided into two components. For the first day of semester survey, the researcher found that there were 69 respondents altogether, 56 male and 13 female. Besides that, the researcher found that more than 92 percent of male and 84 percent of female respondents had access to computers. More than 89 percent of male and 79 percent of female respondents had used YouTube before and 56.5 percent of them used YouTube moderately or above. Lastly, most of the respondents encountered YouTube as a source of entertainment but majority did not it as a medium to improve their English proficiency.

For the final day of semester survey, 7 respondents were absent therefore only 50 male and 12 female respondents completed the survey. Out of the total, 92 percent had access to computers and 100 percent used YouTube before. An increase of frequency of use of YouTube was shown as 71 percent used moderately or above. Other than that, 96.8 percent viewed using YouTube in class as interesting and 82.2 percent felt that YouTube material was relevant. A high percentage of 93.6 percent found that YouTube material was beneficial. To find YouTube motivating in class, 62.9 percent agreed while only 46.7 percent agreed that YouTube motivating them to use English outside of the classroom.

C) Reaction

Does the research interest you?

Yes, the research does interest me. It is fascinating to look at the use of YouTube in classroom. Since I have personally used this method during my practicum, it attracts me to look at the research done at other place. It seems that students are attracted to learn English by using non-traditional way of teaching as well. I would assume that current generation of students are more open-minded and can accept the fact that technology revolves around them. However, I am concern about students who might not have the privilege of using this technology in their classroom. For example, rural area students might have the access to computers but to get a high-speed internet connection would be almost impossible as they are in the remote area where most internet providers have not covered yet. Even so, I believe that as time passes by, they will get the chance to experience it soon.

Do you think the research well conducted?

I do think the research is well conducted as the researcher used the pre and post questionnaire as the method of study. This is one of the ways on how to get the respondents opinions before and after implementing a certain change in classroom. This way too best used to discover the effectiveness of the implementation. By getting the questionnaire done before and at the end of the study session, the researcher can compare thoroughly the respondents’ attitudes and opinions regarding the respective matter. Clear conclusion can be made as the result at the end of the study will determine whether there are changes before and after the study was done.

However, although the method of pre and post questionnaire seems to be best fit into the study, I think that the results of the questions posted in the questionnaire might not be 100 percent true as some respondents might have just answer the questions without being truthful to themselves. This may result to invalid answers and the precision of the study would go astray.

What is/are the implication(s) of the research in the teaching and learning of ESL (in the general and Malaysian contexts)?

In this matter, I would like to highlight two important implications. Firstly, this study will benefit future researches related to the use of technology in teaching and learning of ESL. As far as I am concerned, we are now expanding to the use of new inventions and innovative technology companies may revolutionize modern world with gadgets and more. Therefore, more and more methods of teaching will be created to best suit the students of Y2K. In Malaysian context, we are slowly expanding but with the help of this research, it suggests that students love the use of technology. Most schools and higher institutions are now equipped with computers. What needed now is wide coverage and high-speed internet connection to enable all students around Malaysia to access the internet. So, Malaysian government would be aware the importance of such needs to improve the quality of education in Malaysia.

Secondly, this study surely will give impact to educators to be creative in their teaching methodology. It would definitely open up my eyes to vary my teaching methods by reading its results. In general, teachers nowadays have used many approaches in teaching their students. However, in Malaysia there are still teachers who use traditional method of teaching, chalk and talk. This way of teaching is acceptable to some extent but children need change in their live. They are hoping for interesting and interactive methods of teaching as they have been exposed to the same method for years. Teachers with creative side of teaching definitely will produce high quality students. This will definitely help the nation to be more developed by having citizens who are well-educated and well-exposed to various environments.