TEACHING ENGLISH IN A DIGITAL WORLD: THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INTRODUCING VIDEOS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES
TEACHING ENGLISH IN A DIGITAL WORLD: THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INTRODUCING VIDEOS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES

Summary/Abstract: As the international language of our times, English has benefitted in recent years from a myriad of pedagogical approaches, case-based studies or philosophical musings. This phenomenon has also been doubled by the proliferation of technology in the twenty-first century and the shift in mentality on the part of the newer generations, who now view short video sequences as a commonplace aspect of their lives. As a natural consequence, specialists in the field of pedagogy and didactics have also drawn attention to the opportunities this new technology might bring in the classroom, and have even tried and succeeded to incorporate readily available videos in the teaching-learning process they were a part of. Still, implementing a change in curriculum will inherently bring out obstacles as well; so, disappointed that the change was not revolutionary in nature or all-encompassing in effect, many have given up and returned to the well-trodden paths of dividing English learning in the aspects they were familiar with, leaving videos or films aside in favour of written texts or grammatical exercises. But modest as they may be, and despite the drawbacks which come with this change, I believe the advantages of video clips in the teaching of English are important from a twofold point of view: firstly, videos may prove a very useful tool of placing specialised vocabulary or grammatical structures in a clearer context for the generations who live surrounded by images and video snaps, and secondly, they could provide the students with a chance to be immersed in the culture and frame of mind of native speakers, if only for a short while. Therefore, this present paper will offer an image of the advantages and disadvantages of introducing videos and movie clips in the curriculum of English learners, and will do so by analysing the theoretical foundation of such a change, as well as by giving concrete examples of how a simple video could improve the learning experience for students with various interests and specialisations.

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