The Implementation of YouTube Resources in Language Learning PDF

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Łukasz Zarzycki Pedagogical University, Kraków, Poland The Implementation of YouTube Resources in Language Learning Abstract: YouTube is now used by over 1.8 billion users every day.1 This chapter aims at exploring YouTube’s resources in order to clarify whether YouTube can play an educational role ...

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Łukasz Zarzycki Pedagogical University, Kraków, Poland

The Implementation of YouTube Resources in Language Learning Abstract: YouTube is now used by over 18 billion users every day1 This chapter aims at exploring YouTube’s resources in order to clarify whether YouTube can play an educational role in language learning YouTube video clips are becoming more and more popular among English language learners The author presents numerous language learning resources which can be watched free of charge to practice various language learning skills The chapter offers a detailed analysis of different YouTube channels which are recommended for effective classroom application Moreover, the chapter presents ideas on how to implement YouTube resources to improve the learning process of the English language and provides the criteria for assessing YouTube learning clips Lastly, the author focuses on the pros and cons of implementing YouTube in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Keywords: YouTube, CALL, language learning

1. Introduction In 2005, YouTube was founded by three former PayPal employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim (Burgess & Green 2013: 1) Over 2 billion loggedin users visit YouTube each month and every day people watch over a billion hours of video and generate billions of views More than 70  % of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices YouTube has launched local versions in more than 100 countries2 The webpage is designed to upload, download and share video clips of both educational and entertaining purposes Soon after its launching, the webpage started gaining acceptance The availability of audiovisual content has expanded considerably in the recent decade The wide variety of materials and their interactive content make YouTube a remarkable tool for learning initiatives Therefore, language educators and students are encouraged to use YouTube clips for educational purposes A large number of studies have found that students prefer learning with online resources (see Kumar & Turner 1 2

https://wwwbusinessinsidercom/youtube-user-statistics-2018-5?IR=T https://wwwyoutubecom/about/press/, YouTube statistics, retrieved March 13, 2020

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2006, Jin & Deifell 2013, Stephen & Edwards 2017) However, they frequently need effective methods to identify useful online resources It is the teacher’s duty to make these tools accessible to the students There is insufficient literature that reviews the use of YouTube resources in language studying This chapter aims to propose an informed selection of ideas on how to use YouTube in CALL Furthermore, the author will review the channels on YouTube concerning English language teaching and provide a short analysis of them Finally, some possible drawbacks that could be encountered while using online clips will be considered

2. Review of literature The connections between YT and the language classroom have been studied from a number of perspectives: the evaluation of YouTube resources (Morain & Swarts 2011; Alhamami, 2013, Tolentino, 2016), categorizing YouTube videos (Berk, 2009; Ghasemi et al 2011; Hansch et al, 2015), enhancing language skills (Berk, 2009; Watkins and Wilkins, 2011; Buzzetto-More, 2015; Olasina, 2017; Kabooha & Elyas, 2018; Arndt & Woore, 2018), motivation (Oddone, 2011; Klobas et al 2018), effectiveness (Kelly et al, 2009; Wang and Chen, 2019) and attitudes (Seilstad, 2012, Azurawati et al 2018) Learning English with the help of YouTube is therefore not a straightforwardly recent phenomenon

2.1. The types First, the evaluation of YouTube resources was studied by Morain and Swarts (2011) who presented an approach for evaluating the instructional content of YouTube videos Their rubric is based on data derived from a comparative study of user-rated YouTube videos Alhamami (2013) presented a rubric to help teachers select and evaluate the appropriate YouTube language videos for the target audience Tolentino (2016) conducted the content analysis to examine the content and design quality for videos providing instructional strategies for English language learning teachers on YouTube Other studies dealing with the categorization of YouTube videos were made by Berk (2009: 7), who presented a set of video categories which can be implemented in the process of lesson planning The author distinguished the following types of videos: drama, action, romantic comedy, documentary, TV programs, commercials, college music videos and faculty or student-made videos Ghasemi et  al (2011) categorized YouTube videos depending on the teacher’s instructional language eg Is the teacher’s instructional language his or her mother tongue or second language? The first type of video, with instruction

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in teacher’s L1, is the one produced by educators who discuss grammar or present a lesson online The second type is the video produced by native speakers in the form of video blogs The first types are better for beginners, whereas the second ones are more suitable for more advanced students Video clips are implemented in teaching in a number of ways, eg as lectures (Filius and Lam, 2009) and video streaming (Swager, 2008) Hansch et al (2015) presented video types based on the following features: • • • • • • • • •

Building Rapport Virtual field trips Manipulating time and space Telling stories Motivating learners Historical footage Demonstrations Visual juxtaposition Multimedia presentation

The figure below shows a comprehensive list of video types which are popular in YouTube learning:

Figure 1: Types of videos in online learning (Hansch et al, 2015: 12)

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Hansch et al (2015: 20) present an overview of “production styles” They add that “it is possible to combine two or more of them in one video” Here is a list of several production styles:

The Implementation of YouTube Resources in Language Learning

Figure 2: A catalogue of various production styles (Hansch et al 2015: 21)

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In the “production styles” catalogue by Hansch et al (2015), a list of questions are posed to assist the instructor in determining which “production style” is relevant for the specific teaching lesson For instance, in the case of “Actual Paper/ Whiteboard,” they ask: “Can the viewer easily read what is being written?,” “Is the content obscured as it is being written?,” “What is added by recording physical writing, rather than digital?”

2.2. The use Watkins and Wilkins (2011) analysed diverse ways of using YouTube by teachers to teach English and to stimulate students They stress the usefulness of online streaming videos to improve conversation, listening skills, pronunciation, vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing: YouTube can be a valuable tool through which multiple foreign language skills can be taught Using YouTube both inside and outside the classroom can enhance conversation, listening, and pronunciation skills YouTube videos can also be utilized as realia to stimulate cultural lessons, enhance exposure to World Englishes, and promote authentic vocabulary development Even reading and writing activities can be structured around YouTube videos (Watkins and Wilkins, 2011: 113)

Ghasemi et al (2011) described the advantages of YouTube in language learning in the following passage: The real advantage of YouTube – at least from a language learning point of view – is that it offers authentic examples of everyday English used by everyday people Yes, this is the challenge as well Students may enjoy watching these clips, but poor sound quality, pronunciation and slang can make these short videos even more difficult to understand At the same time use of YouTube videos enables teachers to attach the students to the “real life” nature of these videos By creating context for these short videos students can be helped to explore a world of online English learning possibilities YouTube videos can be used in an ELT classroom for various teaching: vocabulary, accents, pronunciations, voice modulation (Ghasemi et al, 2011: 66)

Buzzetto-More (2015: 55) found in her research that YouTube videos “enhance the engagement, depth of understanding, and the overall satisfaction of students” Some recent studies showed positive educational values of YouTube videos for academic writing (Olasina, 2017) as well as for vocabulary learning (Kabooha & Elyas, 2018; Arndt & Woore, 2018) Furthermore, studies dealing with the category of the affective sphere, and more specifically enhancing students’ motivation were conducted by Oddone (2011) who explored the potential benefits of implementing CLIL classes in language learning contexts with the help of technology She explained the

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importance of using YouTube clips as it improves the motivation of students In her paper, she examined the characteristics of videos and offered several constructive ideas on how to use them in the classroom Klobas et al (2018) analysed the compulsive use of YouTube by university students They also examined the influence of compulsive YouTube use on academic motivation Their studies revealed that entertainment motivation has a stronger effect than information motivation Some studies in the category of the effectiveness of YouTube resources have revealed that YouTube videos are effective as a supplement material and cannot replace a lecturer (Kelly et  al, 2009) However, Wang and Chen (2019) evaluated EFL university students’ self-regulated language learning on YouTube outside of the classroom and found YouTube videos very useful for students They interviewed twenty students who had experience of watching Englishteaching videos in order to explore their perceptions of their self-learning experience The study revealed that learning English through watching video clips was more engaging, flexible and more interactive than traditional learning at school However, this approach was considered less successful for learners who wished to improve English for tests Azurawati et  al (2018) investigated the students’ interests and perceptions on the use of YouTube in learning English Their study revealed that YouTube helped students complete their course assignments and study tasks Finally, Seilstad’s (2012) research on students’ attitudes explored the use of YouTube clips as a new way of teaching English in Morocco The study emphasized that implementing YouTube videos in the classroom teaching is a fairly easy technique for producing appropriate and accurate teaching content Data from students’ questionnaires contrasted with the final results of students in previous semesters showed the legitimacy and usefulness of using YouTube videos In conclusion, the literature reveals that YouTube as an educational tool has been studied from a number of perspectives:  the evaluation of YouTube resources, categorizing YouTube videos, enhancing language skills and motivation, exploring the effectiveness and attitudes However, there is not enough research yet on the specific YouTube resources Some studies focused on how to assess the YouTube resources but did not provide any feedback in the form of pedagogical recommendations for teachers ie teaching channels This chapter seeks to fill this gap The proper selection of YouTube teaching channels is essential as clips can have a strong impact on the emotions and success experience of a student In a learning scenario, language instructors have to determine the result they wish to achieve After watching videos students may feel relaxed,

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excited, whimsy, angry or even sleepy If implemented improperly, videos may distract and minimize students’ learning

3. Criteria for evaluating and choosing YouTube language learning materials. According to Mackey and Gass (2005: 175) watching clips “allows the researcher to analyse language use in greater depth” In most cases, YouTube videos are uploaded after a lesson has taken place Therefore, educators are able to evaluate the online material before they show it to the students or before they prepare their own teaching video Alhamami (2013) provided several legitimate criteria of evaluating YouTube learning videos or creating new ones He classified them into five groups: 1 Video characteristics This group covers technical elements of clips eg sound quality, video quality The sound and video quality has an influence on the content of the lecture For instance, producing low sound quality of clips can cause misunderstanding – the voice of educators can be difficult to hear Moreover, the clip should be of appropriate length so as not to distract students The tags here need to be correlated with the clip under the right category 2 Attractiveness Learner should have fun while watching videos Furthermore, the clip must include items like music in the background, subtitles and pictures Educator should show enthusiasm about the lesson while teaching online and has an eye contact with students 3 Clarity This group concerns questions about teacher’s body language, materials and the speed of voice Effective language educators should try to speak neither quickly nor slowly and should use appropriate body language The subtitles should not be used in different colours so as not to distract students but some grammatical issues need to be highlighted with various colours using pens, rulers and even signs 4 Reaction Teachers should answer students’ questions in the comments and delete vulgar comments under YouTube videos YouTube is a self-study resource and teachers

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need to react to comments and check how many people liked or disliked the video, how many times the video has been watched 5 Content The last group in the assessment process of YouTube videos is content For instance, teachers should check if the video contains steps such as introduction, main stage and conclusion It is also essential to avoid unnecessary commercial ads, personal stories in the videos, culturally sensitive materials The title of the video should reflect the content of the video The educator needs to define difficult terms or words, repeat important grammar points and summarize the video lesson The above criteria for assessing and choosing the appropriate learning content are not the only ones in the field of research Berk’s criteria (2009) are rated from “G” (for general audiences) to “NR” (no restrictions) “G” videos can be used for general audiences with no restrictions, whereas “NR” clips are not allowed to be watched at all since they are extremely vulgar Berk (2009) continues that: More important are the content ratings for graphic violence, obscene language, nudity, sexuality, and gore Commercial movies and music videos are out of control Anything and everything are used to attract audiences If a video clip or the whole movie is going to be used as a teaching tool, criteria must be established for what is appropriate and acceptable in a teaching-learning context (Berk 2009: 6)

Berk (2009), following his research, proposes a few additional sets of parameters to judge and consider before producing or using a video from YouTube: 1 The students’ characteristics (age, grade level, gender, ethnicity, language dominance) 2 The offensiveness of the video (irrelevant content for showing the video: putdowns or ridicule of females, racial and ethnic groups, professions, politicians and celebrities; mental or physical abuse of anyone; drug use 3 The video structure (length  – as short as possible; context  – authentic everyday language use; actions/visual cues – action should relate directly to purpose; a limited number of characters – too many can be distracting Lastly, YouTube contains a great number of ads They are frequently displayed every few minutes and can distract students’ attention significantly Some clips are protected by copyright law and are illegally uploaded on YouTube

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4. The analysis of English learning resources and channels on YouTube 4.1. Methodology Choosing the appropriate keywords is essential in searching for videos on YouTube Keywords below will support teachers in finding the target clips: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Learn English, English grammar, Learn English for beginners, English pronunciation, English spelling, How to learn English, Language learning methods, Advanced grammar of English, Language clips, Language learning music, English for kids, Animated learning videos, Learn English with subtitles.

The following section concentrates on the analysis of selected video materials available on YouTube according to the criteria put forward in the subject literature and outlined in the previous section

4.2. The Analysis The amount of materials, English teaching resources, video clips and YouTube channels is immense The creators of YouTube English learning videos are school teachers, university lecturers, companies and language product providers The produced material on YouTube can be either professional and helpful in learning English or amateur and unattractive An extensive research into informative and stimulating resources consumes a lot of time but certainly is valuable for future lesson planning YouTube allows to find useful learning resources due to categories such as education (available on wwwyoutubecom/ education) The selection of YouTube channels listed in the following part was made on the basis of Alhamami (2013) and Berk’s (2009) criteria for assessing the learning content In accordance with Alhamami’s recommendations, the channels with learning clips include items like music in the background, subtitles and pictures, they are of good sound and video quality Teachers often

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use body language in the clips and speak neither slowly nor quickly Moreover, teachers react to comments below their clips and no vulgar language was found The YouTube teachers introduce the content of their lessons and summarize it Finally, the clips offer lessons for all language proficiency levels If implemented appropriately, the channels below can improve language learning by teaching pronunciation, vocabulary, accents, varieties of English, grammar and improving students’ listening comprehension

4.2.1. The list The collection below offers the names of professional YouTube channels with the links and information on the content of the channel It testifies to the variety of topics and instructional modes used

A. Spoken language.

Figure 3. YouTube channel: Speak English with Mr Duncan.

Webpage address: https://wwwyoutubecom/channel/UC8pPDhxSn1nee70LRKJ0p3g Content: lessons on various topics such as fashion, slang, news The emphasis is put on spoken English

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Figure 4. YouTube channel: VOA Learning English.

Webpage address: https://wwwyoutubecom/channel/UCKyTokYo0nK2OA-az-sDijA Content:  the channel offers subtitled news reports which are read at slower speeds

Figure 5. YouTube channel: Learn American English.

Webpage address: https://wwwyoutubecom/user/learnenglish232?feature=...