Language building is another key focus in English Studies, as it's vital for students to develop skills in vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and written and oral communication skills. Videos can help enhance these aspects of literacy by providing multimodal resources that combine audio, visuals, and text, allowing students to see and hear concepts at the same time. This approach helps make challenging language concepts more understandable and engages students in ways that text alone may struggle to do. Whether reviewing grammar rules, analyzing sentence structure, practicing vocabulary, or developing writing skills, videos create opportunities to engage more deeply with concepts that may otherwise feel boring, making the experience richer and meaningful.
Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentence Structure:
Grammar, punctuation, and sentence construction are often challenging concepts for secondary students because they require a deep understanding of the rules of writing and demand that students apply these rules in several contexts. Many students struggle with verb tenses and remaining consistent throughout their writing, using proper punctuation, organizing their writing so that it flows smoothly, and constructing complex sentences. These difficulties can lead to confusion, writing that lacks clarity, and even an inability to complete written work. Furthermore, students who experience difficulties with their writing oftentimes also experience troubles reading, so traditional explanations of grammar rules on paper or workbooks may not be enough, as they can struggle to visualize how these rules are to be applied.
Videos provide a solution to this challenge by breaking these concepts down into clear, visual, scaffolded ways. For example, animated videos can model how to properly use a comma or when it's appropriate to use a colon versus a semicolon within writing, making it clear for students and breaking down these complex concepts. Interactive videos also provide students with the opportunity to pause and rewatch these videos, and will often suggest accompanying ones that will further reinforce these concepts. Additionally, videos can also contextualize grammar within modern-day social contexts, demonstrating to students how it's woven into our daily communication.
Writing Skills
Writing can be one of the most challenging aspects of English Studies, as it requires students to thoughtfully and carefully organize ideas, apply grammar and vocabulary skills, and communicate clearly with their readers. Many students struggle with recognizing different types of essays, starting them, integrating evidence from texts and resources, and revising their work to ensure it's error-free. These challenges can lead to decreased engagement towards writing and an underdevelopment of confidence in their literary skills. However, with the use of videos, teachers can help provide support for students by addressing these difficulties and providing step-by-step models of the writing process that students can follow along with and revisit for additional review. For instance, a video tutorial can help break down for students how to structure an introduction for their essay, the information required, the length, and strategies that they can apply to get started. By providing clear, visual guidance and the ability to revisit each step, videos help students approach writing tasks with greater confidence, clarity, and independence.
Public Speaking:
Lastly, developing speaking and listening skills is a vital part of language building, and something that students will need to do throughout their lives as they pursue various career endeavors. However, many students often feel plagued with anxiety at the thought of public speaking, experiencing difficulties in pronunciation, and being unable to express their thoughts clearly. Videos not only provide students with a visual and audio model of how to speak publicly using strong communication skills, but also help them notice and understand more subtle speaking cues, such as emphasis, pausing, and intonation, which can be difficult to develop an understanding of solely from written text.
Through the use of video, teachers can replay famous speeches, TED Talks, debates, film clips, and podcasts to allow students to observe how speakers use tone, pacing, and body language to convey their message powerfully. Additionally, teachers can also use video to record student speeches and allow them to review their delivery and identify areas for improvement.
Video can be used as a powerful tool to support students in developing essential literacy and language skills. By combining various multimodal elements, videos help make difficult concepts more tangible and easy to apply within various contexts by breaking down elements of language and fluency into manageable steps and providing a clear model for students to emulate, which can be challenging to achieve through text alone. Furthermore, video provides students with greater accessibility and allows them to revisit lessons and review them at their own pace, ensuring that they are building the necessary skills effectively. Ultimately, video transforms traditional language instruction, which can oftentimes be difficult to follow, into engaging and accessible learning opportunities.
References
EasyTeaching. (2018, November 16). Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences | Learning English. (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smgyeUomfyA&t=2s
Khan Academy. (2017, March 3). There, their, and they're | Frequently confused words | Usage | Grammar. (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D54pfccNUQ&t=3s
Scribbr. (2021, January 20). How to Write an Eye-Catching Essay Introduction | Scribbr. (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msaynBwwxkA&t=127s
TED-ED. (2013, July 9). Comma Story - Terisa Folaron. (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHnl1O3NGJk&t=1s
TEDx Talks. (2022, April 11). Lost Art of Literature: In a World of Instant Gratification | William Brittain | TEDxFranklin. (Video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7NuoknBXXM&t=31s