Teaching Conversational Strategies Through Video Clips

This study explores the effects of teaching conversational strategies through video clips on learners' speaking performance.It was designed as an experimental study conducted with two groups of English majors.All participants received six weeks of instruction on four conversational strategies.The control group received direct instruction from the teachers' handout while the experimental group viewed six video clips and participated in observation tasks.Data was collected via pre-and post-tests on speaking performance and semi-structured interviews.The results showed that after the treatment with video clips, (a) the frequency of the use of these strategies increased, (b) the learners' speaking performance was enhanced, (c) there was a low correlation between the frequency of strategy use and the learners' speaking performance, and (d) the learners expressed a positive attitude towards the treatment.After years of learning English, many students in Asia cannot communicate with confidence or success to meet the demand to use English for their careers (Chuanchaisit & Prapphal, 2009;Kawale, 2011; Xiao & Petraki, 2007).This is also a common problem for Vietnamese learners, even university graduates (Ph!"ng Nguyên, 2006).Possible reasons for learners' inefficiency in communication are low levels of language proficiency, lack of vocabulary to express ideas, shyness or lack of confidence, lack of an environment for practicing and using English, or simply lack of some necessary strategies to maintain a conversation (Thanh Ha, 2008).Although some dynamic and proactive learners can improve their communicative abilities in their own way (finding chances to talk to English speakers or watching English films or TV programs), finding effective ways to prepare students for spontaneous communication is one of the biggest challenges for all current language teaching methodologies (Dörnyei & Thurrell, 1994).Hence instruction in class is important to provide students with conversational strategies to help them avoid or overcome communication breakdowns.Dörnyei and Thurrell (1994) stated that conversational strategies are particularly helpful for language learners who frequently face difficulties in conversations, because these strategies provide them with a sense of security in the language.