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16Использование аутентичных видеоматериалов при обучении английскому языку студентов биоинженерных специальностей
Глоткина Антонина Александровна
старший преподаватель кафедры И-13 «Иностранный язык для физико-математических и инженерных специальностей», Московский авиационный институт (национальный исследовательский университет), glotkina@gmail.com
В данной статье рассматривается роль аутентичных видеоматериалов в процессе обучения английскому языку студентов биоинженерных специальностей как для формирования коммуникативных компетенций, так и для расширения лингвистических и фоновых знаний, увеличения активного и пассивного лексических запасов, а также для повышения уровня учебного материала и интенсификации учебного процесса. В настоящее время существует недостаток в современной методической литературе исследований по использованию при обучении студентов неязыковых вузов таких видеоматериалов, как документальные, документально-публицистические, образовательные фильмы и новостные программы. Автор предлагает ряд оптимальных упражнений как лингвистического, так и содержательного характера для формирования и развития этих компетенций. В статье приведен план урока для иллюстрации работы с видеоматериалом. Опираясь на изложенное в статье, автор приходит к выводу, что с развитием новых технологий использование аутентичных видеоматериалов становится одним из современных и эффективных способов обучения иностранным языкам в высшей школе.
Ключевые слова. обучение иностранному языку, аутентичные материалы, тактики и стратегии работы с аутентичными материалами, видеоматериал, коммуникативный подход, мотивация
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Authentic materials vs Coursebooks
I advocate the use of authentic materials without denying the importance of coursebooks. Undoubtedly, the student's books are roadmaps with milestones, which is extremely important for students when they need to see the progress and what they've covered and studied, especially it's helpful for revision and exam preparation. But at the same time the limitations are obvious: «These coursebooks often provide very scripted, stilted, second-rate recordings; they have an air of inauthenticity about them. As a result, more and more teachers are opting for authentic listening texts, such as YouTube videos, clips from the BBC» [7]
What is more, if we take into consideration how long it takes to prepare the coursebook which meets the demands of the audience, it's the work of a number of years, including the research and red tape, it's understandable that for technical specialisations it's inappropriate, as they need to keep up with the trends and be familiar with new notions and terms and feel free and comfortable to discuss the applications of those technologies and systems. Additionally we will never get the coursebook, that «is exactly right for any particular class of students» [1, p 180] Thanks to mobile technologies and the Internet students have an instant access to a wide range of resources, and to my mind it's myopic to deprive them of this opportunity, on the contrary, we should take advantage of it and find new ways how to make the lessons more efficient and exciting for learners. Nevertheless the more tools we have at hand, the better «and using the coursebook only as a guide allows one to think more 'outside of the book'». [5]
Authenticity as a key to success Not exposing students to authentic listening will get learners nowhere. Unfortunately, excellent knowledge of the grammar structures and lexis doesn't guarantee that a student can understand the connected speech and be an effective interlocutor. As speaking requires a lot of practice, listening skills should be trained par-allely. One author writes: «Without exposure in class to authentic listening material, students will never grasp features of connected speech and pronunciation that can hinder comprehension even for advanced learners.» and it's hard to deny. [5]
General difficulties students face while listening:
• people speak too fast to follow;
• students cannot understand where words start and stop;
• students cannot work out the details of what is being said;
• they cannot get even a general sense of the message;
• they cannot make out the attitudes people are expressing;
• they cannot identify what is important.
And Nik Peachey from British Council writes «This is why many times, even higher level students who do very well in the classroom find it so difficult to cope when faced with a 'real' situation.» [6] Without constant work and training students will be frustrated to realize that they are absolutely helpless when it comes to understanding native speakers. It's crucial to mention that avoiding listening activities was a usual tactics, but today we're witnessing positive shifts, even though students might not be exposed to listening so much inside the classroom, they have an endless list of options outside the classroom. And one of the vital skills is to overcome the panic: «Language is a constantly developing form and when we listen in our native language we still hear words that are new to us or that we may not fully understand. This doesn't however lead us to check lists of unknown words in dictionaries or learn word lists before we listen. We have evolved a process of deducing the meaning of new words. This is a process we also need to develop in our students.» [6]
Authentic approach and some problems
As they say the best way out is always through. (Robert Frost, A Servant to Servants)
Undeniably, the first experiences with authentic materials are really tough and require a lot of efforts, that might be described as an ordeal: «Students can easily be demotivated when faced by tasks that are very challenging, particularly the first few times». [6] Yet these challenges pay off and results are soon visible, certainly, if the approach is systematic.
Below you will see a detailed plan of the lesson conducted at Moscow Aviation Institute. The students' reaction was really positive.
LESSON PLAN
Class profile: It's a mono-lingual audience, there are 8 students of the same age of 18 years old, they are first-year students. They study at Moscow Aviation Institute and major in prosthetics. Their first language is Russian. As the university is non-linguistic, the number of hours to study the foreign language is strictly limited, the students have only one class per week. However, their level is pretty high (B1-B2) as they consider learning the foreign language as one of their priorities. Due to this understanding, they are highly-motivated, curious and demanding.
Lesson topic: A listening lesson on the topic of brain-computer interface (BCI).
Materials needed: a whiteboard, a projector, a column, WiFi/Internet connection, worksheets.
Student-centered objective: By the end of the lesson students will have demonstrated the detailed
comprehension of professional topics devoted to BCI after watching the podcast and completing the speaking and writing tasks.
Assumptions: I assume these students are sufficiently technologically smart, and their background knowledge will be the base for the communicative activities. Due to quick Internet research, they can brush up the information they need to brainstorm the ideas about cutting-edge technologies and share the information with the classmates.
Potential problems and solutions: There might be some technical issues with the Internet connection, it's important to double check the equipment before the lesson. The students can be too critical and I need to ask them to clarify their position and provide better examples (or work out much better technical solutions). Introverted students can be reluctant to speak, I need to pay special attention that they aren't swept by the enthusiasm of the extroverted students. It's important to regulate the time of speaking for extroverted students, so that introverted students will have their say.
PROCEDURES
Step I -
15 minute s
Step II -12 minute s
Step III -8 minute s
Step IV
- 5 minute s
Step V -20 minute s
Watching and discussion
a) Lead-in Stage : T=>C;
2 mini-groups
b) Work in 2 mini-groups
(1) SSSS
(2) SSSS
Work with the vocabulary and grammar (based on the podcast)
Individual work
Work in 2 mini-groups
(1) SSSS
(2) SSSS
a) The teacher draws the students' attention to the headline of the lesson «Cutting-edge technologies» and asks them to work in teams. The students join their efforts and discuss the questions from the section «Getting started». The outcome will be a small presentation of the technology that they consider life-changing and crucial for the society, they pay special attention to possible applications and speak about its possible development and prospects.
b) After these presentations the students are switching to one more example of the breathtaking technologies and it is BCI. Their task is to make predictions before watching the video. After their discussion inside the groups, the teacher gets their feedback and the students listen to the opinions of their groupmates
The students watch the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t84lGE5TX A) and make notes, after they work in their teams and analyse in groups what they've seen. The teacher monitors their ideas and the use of language, writes down the good examples of the language and mistakes. After the teacher gets their answers for #1 from the worksheet. The second round of watching is devoted to deeper immersion in the video from the position of the language usage and more detailed comprehension. The students need to complete Ex.2,3 and 5 from the worksheet. Watch a part of the video (3.09-3.51) to complete task Ex.4
It is significant that they could reproduce the lines from the video to demonstrate their comprehension.
Toss the coin to choose the task for the teams (#6). For heads it will be Scenario (a), for tails — scenario (b) from the worksheet. This activity allows the students to practice their communicative skills based on the comprehension of the podacst and illustrate the mastership.
WORKSHEET
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES Getting started
Speak about the technology that you consider game changing:
• How transformative is it for the society?
• What is the current stage of its development? And what are the prospects?
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• What can you say about the research centers and specialists working on its development?
• Characterize the powerhouses of this technology.
• What is the cornerstone of the further development of this technology?
Ex.1 a) Work in teams and make a quick Internet research about BCI. Before watching the video make predictions about the following:
13 How mature is BCI currently? What horizons is it opening today?
14 What does BCI rely on? What sygnals does the computer harvest?
15 What is the target of non-invasive devices developed by the research center?
16 How are the body's actions and functions controlled?
17 What breakthrough have researchers achieved to control devices?
18 How does the research center analyze nonverbal communication?
19 Would you say that electrocorticography is much more accurate? What kind of technology is it?
20 What is a new frontier for neuroscientists?
Ex.1 b) Watch the video, make notes about the questions above. How close were you in your predictions? What new facts does the video reveal?
patterns in the activity of brain cells and (10) correspondingly/accordingly move the artificial device.
Ex.4 Watch the video again and complete the sentences.
Using EEG-cap is not
Some BCI are using
It also records the brain activity but
Due to the fact mentioned above it
For example they can imagine moving the hand
and use the computer_.
The computer can distinguish 2 types of the activity:_.
Ex.5 Match the parts of the sentences.
1 EEG-cap is a series of electrodes... a that specific light is picked up by the visual cortex in a brain and measured by EEG-cap.
2 When a question appears on the monitor the student answers «yes» or «no»... b and moves the cursor in the direction to the response.
3 When the subject's eye are focusing on the response lights the frequency of ... c placed on the scull to record brain signals.
4 12 Herz represents a «yes» frequency... d by looking at one of flashing lights that blink in different frequencies.
5 The computer interprets the signal... e while a «no» frequency is 13 Herz.
Ex.2 Watch the video again and open the brackets.
• BCI
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_(rely) on the ability of the brain to
generate a certain type of responses.
• A certain type of signals generated by the brain
_ (harvest) and _ (interpret) by
computers.
• Currently safe non-invansive devices being controlled by the brain_ (accomplish) things
like controlling prosthetic arms and sending commands to a computer.
• The body's actions and functions_
(control) by neurons.
• Neurons_ (send) electrical impulses
to each other and evetually to the muscles that _(control) the body.
Ex.3 Pick the right option according to what you watched in the video:
Watching how the brain (1) controls/manipulates (2)nerves/muscles researchers can use new technologies to (3) tap/send into the (4) commands/signals to control machines.
The understanding how the brain controls the movement (5) led/resulted to the (6) advancement/development of the (7) devices/gismos and algorithms that can be (8) produced/implemented on the computer that (9) reorganizes/recognizes these
Ex.6 Scenario a) In your group make a summary of what you discovered from the video.
Ex.6 Scenario b) Watch the video without a sound and restore what was said in it.
In conclusion it's vital to say that the importance of communicative competence is significant in the modern world and it's crucial to suppport the development of necessary skills for students.
The speedy development of the technologies makes the approach of using authentic video materials the most efficient method of teaching foreign languages at universities. Watching videos significantly increases motivation of students, improves their knowledge of vocabulary and dramatically beefs up the skills of listening and speaking in their professional sphere. The creation of courses with authentic video materials will definitely diversify the current programmes and intensify the educational process, which will be fruitful for the future generations.
Use of authentic video materials in teaching English to students of bioengineering specialities at universities Glotkina A.A.
Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) The article deals with the role of authentic videos in teaching the English language to students of bioengineering faculties to develop a communicative competence, to expand linguistic and background knowledge and increase active and passive vocabulary and also to intensify the educational process. The topicality of the issue is stipulated by the lack of methodical research on the use of video materials like documentaries, educational films and news programs in teaching foreign languages. The author suggests a number of linguistic and extra linguistic exer-
cises to develop the competence. The article illustrates an example of the lesson with the usage of the video materials. The author comes to the conclusion that the use of authentic video resources is becoming one of the modern and effective ways of teaching foreign languages at universities. Key words. foreign language teaching, authentic material, tactics and strategies of work with authentic materials, video materials, communicative approach, motivation References
1. Jeremy Harmer. The practice of English language teaching. 5th
edition. 2015
2. Jeremy Harmer. Essential Teacher Knowledge core concepts in
English language teaching. 2013
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3. Jim Scrivener. Learning Teaching The essential guide to Engllish
language teaching. 3D edition. 2013
4. Penny Ur. A course in English language Teaching. 2016
5. British Council: Open your books!// URL http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/zahrazuhair/open-your-books
6. British Council: Making listening an authentic experience// URL
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/making-listening-authentic-experience
7. British Council: Authentic Listening, Genuine Tasks// URL http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/anthony-ash/authentic-listening-genuine-tasks
8. Brain-Computer Interface - Mysteries of the Brain // URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t84lGE5TXA
