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International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org The Student Perception of Visual Arts in the Speaking Classroom Gaye Bayri, Anadolu University, Turkey Abstract: The use of authentic material in the language classroom has always be...

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International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

The Student Perception of Visual Arts in the Speaking Classroom Gaye Bayri, Anadolu University, Turkey

Abstract: The use of authentic material in the language classroom has always been appreciated in the literature. Authentic materials, as culturally breeding tools, have proved to have positive impacts on particularly speaking skills. However, most of the studies conducted to find out the effectiveness of authentic material use have focused on implementing speaking activities about films, songs, or poetry. There has not been much study on the effects of visual arts as cultural tools for speaking activities. This study aims to find out how a group of learners perceives the use of works of art in the speaking classroom. It researches into their attitudes towards the use of visual arts and interrogates if they consider works of art to be culturally authentic and motivating language artifacts. Keywords: visual arts, culture, language teaching, authentic materials

Introduction Speaking has always been one of the most challenging skills for EFL students. The foremost reason for this challenge is the fact that speaking is a complex skill which requires more effort than putting words together in order to communicate. It consists of several sub-skills: pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, register, listening comprehension, fluency, and body language. This complexity makes teaching speaking harder since each sub-skill should be taught in the best way in order to improve the learners’ oral skills. The course books written for listening and speaking skills try to achieve the combination of these sub-skills via prescribed activities which are really fundamental to learn speaking. However, this obligation makes the course book authors tailor the speaking activities within a framework of limited topics-especially the common ones that the learners may encounter while speaking. Thus, the students’ oral production is limited to the input the course book has to offer. We are grateful to listening and speaking course books as they provide learners with the basics of speaking English; however, learners need to practice improvised speech in order to be motivated to produce the language orally and to acquire the cognitive skills fundamental for forming an idea, stance, or a feeling in the target language within a variety of contexts. Thus, rather than preplanned and controlled speaking activities, the necessity of equipping learners with the authentic language tools for speaking has been appreciated in the literature. It has always been believed that if the students are provided with authentic language materials, they will both have the access to real language and acquire the cultural fundamentals making language learning easier. Learning culture is quite significant as it facilitates language learning and arouses learner’s motivation to use his oral language skills. In this way, the learner can have the opportunity to learn the language in context, and this will make the language communicative and meaningful. Surprisingly, the use of works of art as authentic cultural artifacts of the language is not a common practice for motivating students in the speaking classroom. However, it should be one of the most inspiring tools both for the learner and the teacher. For one thing, a visual

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

cultural product helps the learner to form an opinion, a feeling, or a concept in the target language more easily. Besides, it may reflect the culture and all the elements surrounding it-or included in it- such as history, politics, and cultural values. As each scholar or language teacher might accept, the cultural aspect of language teaching is as important as teaching the structures, words, expressions, and pronunciation. As Westphal (1986) quotes: No matter what the foreign language teaching approach is, the cultural aspects of language will be unavoidably present because of a very simple reason: Those aspects are inherent to language and language use. In other terms, it is virtually impossible to teach or learn any language without teaching and learning its socio-cultural aspects, no matter how devoid of these we think our teaching or learning is. (p. 87) The most important of all, the use of works of art as authentic cultural artifacts can change the nature of language learning from a formulaic isolated artificial experience into a true to life, authentic, “language for communication” interaction. The foremost reason for this is the fact that “the more there is connection to the real world the students live in, the more a lesson gains authencity” (Oguz and Bahar, 2008, p. 328). Hence, in addition to implementing the course book activities, it might be a good idea to supplement our speaking classes with works of art of the target language/culture. Generally, what is meant by “authentic language material” are literary works, films, or songs, though. Any type of visual aid in the language classroom has been appreciated, but visual arts as the cultural artifacts have been excluded from the syllabus. In reality, the use of paintings (or photographs) created by artists living in the target culture can be as authentic as any literary work, song, or movie as well as being reflective of the target culture. As Ortuno (1994), who has implemented a number of activities related with Spanish paintings in her language classes, points out: The art of painting is unique in the way that it visually captures and documents a society's reaction to major social, religious, and political forces…In any class at any level, slides of paintings, either as a focal point or as a supplement, can help bridge the gap between language and culture, and at the same time impart to the task of language learning a vitality and authenticity difficult to achieve through other means. (p. 509) This study mainly targets at evaluating this ignored implementation through the lens of learners by trying to find out if they may find this kind of speaking activity to be authentic and motivating. To evaluate this, the participants were shown some American paintings and photos of the Great Depression Era and they were asked to express their feelings and ideas about these works of art, in other words, to interpret them. The particular choice for the works of art was American since the course book mainly focuses on cultural aspects of the United States. The paintings particularly belonged to the Great Depression Era as the current financial crisis was considered to be a topic of common interest as well as being a good cultural phenomenon since it may have the same adverse-and universal- effects on almost all cultures. The main research question prevalent in this study is if learners appreciate the use of visual works of art in the speaking classroom, a question which is tried to be answered via two related ones:

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

1. Do learners think that the use of works of art belonging to the target language may be authentic language materials? 2. Do they find such an activity motivating to speak the target language?

The Participants The participants of this study are 15 volunteer lower-intermediate level students enrolled at Intensive English Unit of Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages in 2008-2009 academic year spring term. This level’s course book is Interactions 1 Fourth Edition. The book is full of listening materials and relevant comprehension questions which play a significant role in providing the students with the input to produce the language orally in a variety of certain topics. The level preference was lower-intermediate since the students at this level generally constitute the threshold of language proficiency: their proficiency level is neither low nor high. Thus, lower-intermediate students were regarded to have much more potential to push their limits via works of art as cultural artifacts. The group consisted of only fifteen participants since the nature of the activity required a discussion platform on which each participant could do equal and adequate talking in an interactive environment.

The Methodology The students were shown three paintings and two photos belonging to the Great Depression Era, and they were asked to express their reactions to these works of art. (Appendix B) The works of art were displayed on a big screen TV in the video room of School of Foreign Languages. Before starting the activity, they were made to introduce themselves to break the ice. The activity involved a warm up part (Appendix A) aiming to activate the students’ background knowledge, and a discussion part (Appendix C) enabling them to express their general reactions to the works of art they analyzed. Throughout the activity the students were given background knowledge about the era, which acted as a socio-historical analysis of the period. After the implementation of the activity, the students were given an open-ended questionnaire and interviewed in order to find out if they consider the use of visual arts in speaking class to be authentic and motivating. The students, without any prerequisite knowledge, were encouraged to express their feelings and comment on each work of art. They were encouraged to make any extraordinary comments. The background information acted as a starting point to build their ideas on. The warm up part included a photo of people waiting in a line for finding a job in Turkey. The students were asked to describe what the picture conveyed to them. In the second part there were three paintings and two photos which were the icons of the Great Depression Era in the United States. Each participant analyzed and interpreted each work of art individually by expressing his own feelings and reactions. I only interfered to give necessary background information about the era; I never told them to rethink about a certain comment they made. The students discussed each work of art, they listened to each other, but they never agreed or disagreed with each other’s idea.

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

As a post speaking activity the students were asked to reflect on their overall views about the works of art and to comment on the cross cultural differences between their native culture and the target culture. They were asked what kind of similar or different reactions and reflections two different cultures could have towards a financial breakdown. In other words, they were given the opportunity to be aware of the differences and similarities between Turkish and American culture. After the implementation of the activity, they answered five open-ended questions and participated in an oral interview that aimed at making them elaborate on the answers they gave in the interview. The results of both the open-ended questionnaire and the interview are discussed in 5 different categories.

The Results 1. General Views and Feelings In the open-ended questionnaire the participants were asked to express their general ideas and feelings about the activity. It is found out that all the participants of the study pursue positive attitudes towards the activity implemented. The analysis of the data available in both the paper-based questionnaire and interview on the general perceptions of the participants about this activity indicates that although the adjectives that define their views and feelings differ, all of the participants favor and appreciate the activity based on interpretation of the works of art in English. The immediate adjectives that the participants use in order to define their feelings and ideas are categorized into four as favorable, enjoyable, unusual, and beneficial. Each participant reasons his constructive point of view in a different way, and some of them state more than one reason for their positive feedback. The reasons why the participants appreciate the activity are categorized into three as in the following.

1.1 Prism of different perspectives The most referred reason by the participants for pursuing positive attitudes towards the activity is that it is based on learning different perspectives. The language learners reflect on the collective nature of the activity emphasizing that each individual was encouraged to participate in a discussion that centered on making interpretations about visual works of art in the light of comments made and different issues raised by his peers. Thanks to this feature of the activity, each individual was able to convey his own feelings and ideas by learning about those of the others. This created a natural atmosphere that was balanced on the axis of clashing ideas.

1.2 Good practice The second common reason referred by the participants is that they consider the activity to be a good way to practice both speaking and listening skills. The ones raising the merits for speaking skills state that the activity was interactive. For those, this made each individual an active participant getting continuous feedback about his interpretations from the peers and the teacher. Hence, this provided each one with the opportunity of shaping the flow of the discussion going on about the works of art. Some of the participants accentuated the activity’s contribution to the speaking skills in terms of its enhancing improvised speaking as only an immediate response-a one that was highly individualized and free from any prerequisite knowledge-to each work of art was expected.

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

This resulted in relaxation and motivation to say something since the participants did not feel enforced to comment on issues that they did not know anything about. This was positively unusual for some of these participants since the course book asks direct open-ended questions which expect finite answers that should be centered on a certain frame work and a certain type of knowledge. As Ortuno (1994) points out the works of art naturally encourages students to speak: … paintings--visual sensory stimuli with built-in cultural connections--produce a sudden emotional impact. They immediately focus the students' attention and, depending on the picture, can cause an affective reaction--be it shock, surprise, disapproval, or perhaps even a laugh. (p. 501)

The last reason why this activity is a good way of practicing speaking skills for the participants is that the activity encouraged them to make visual analysis in English, which was both an unusual opportunity to use their English, and still a one that required their analytical skills. This group appreciates the activity as it allowed them to use their English for their own visual analysis, which led them to bind their intellect with their language skills. The visual analysis also helped them to express themselves in a more spontaneous and unstressed way since the paintings and the photos activated more ideas and feelings to share with the group. The ones raising the merits of the activity for listening skills report that they had the opportunity to listen to their peers at the same level in order to be able to understand the views and the feelings of the others about the works of art. This was equally important for listening as well as speaking as the pictures aroused interest, and the participants listened for a purposetrying to learn how the others would interpret a certain work of art.

1.3 Real Life Issues Another reason the participants put forward for their feelings and ideas in favor of the speaking activity based on the analysis of American works of art is that they were able to talk about issues that were part of real life. The participants reflect on the fact that they sensed the trueness to life of the works of art since these works conveyed messages of social issues that actually happened. This provided them with the motivation to say something about each work of art, as each was a real artifact created within a specific timeline in history. As Oguz and Bahar (2008) state in their article entitled The Importance of using Authentic Materials in Prospective Foreign Language Teaching: Using authentic materials in language learning environments has lots of advantages. Firstly, they engage both the learners’ and teacher’s attention in the language being taught. They have a high interest value because of their relevance to the real world keeping the students informed about what is happening in the world they live. (p. 330-31) One of the reasons for the participants’ positive views about the use of American works of art, discussing about real life issues, is exactly compatible with what Oguz and Bahar include among the advantages of authentic language material use in the language classroom. This shows, indirectly, the participants appreciate works of art as authentic language artifacts.

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(11): 166 - 180 (2010) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

3.The significance of cultural knowledge The importance of teaching culture has been widely accepted as an indispensable part of teaching language rather than a minor part of it. In fact, as Peterson and Coltrane (2003) points out: “Culture must be fully incorporated as a vital component of language learning. Second language teachers should identify key cultural items in every aspect of the language that they teach. Student can be successful in speaking a second language only if cultural issues are an inherent part of the curriculum.” As one of the research questions was to find out if the participants consider the works of art to be authentic parts of the target language, they were asked if they learned anything about American culture via the works of art they analyzed. However, before asking this question, I tried to find out if the participants believe that culture is significant in language learning. Thus, they were asked if having cultural knowledge about the target language can foster learning it. The data in accordance with this question yields results that favor culture as an essential factor in language learning. 14 of the participants think that language learning is grounded on cultural background knowledge. This view is reasoned in two different, but intertwined, categories.

2.1 Language as the product of culture 7 of those who respond in favor of learning culture back their view up with the fact that language is weaved around culture. They ground their opinions by elaborating on the fact that language is a product of a country’s life standards, societal conditions, and structural elements which form the culture itself. They think that in order to decode the target language and to learn it in the best way; they need to decode the cultural artifacts that it leans on.

2.2 Cultural differences affect perception 7 of the participants who have belief in the significance of cultural knowledge in language learning emphasize that the differentiation of the target culture from their own and consciousness about this differentiation influences perception. They reflect on this nature of cultural knowledge by pointing to the basic elements of a language such as proverbs, idioms, expressions, and different lexical items. They think that lexicon is determined through culture; a word that has a certai...