Reflection on Liou

Interactive Videodiscs (IV) , as suggested by Liou, is a good teaching resources of communicative approach. IV presented the slices of life and the visual stimulus for encouraging students discussing with their friends.

In my teaching, videos and films play an important role that make the lesson more interesting and interactive. I often use films for teaching grammar like reported speech. I jot down some conversation between the characters and I asked students to change those direct speech into the reported speech. This authentic material is especially good for training students identifying the use of pronouns. When there are more than 2 characters included in that plot, they have to state, with the use of pronouns, clearly whom the characters are talking to.

Another teaching idea I used in my lesson is to write summary of a short clip of the film. This also echoes with the learning strategies suggested by Liou in the article. Teacher can take a short clip, may be a few plots and ask students to write the summary. This can train students to be a active listener and active audience. Students make use of their auditory and visual memory and complete the story.

IV should be carefully chosen by teachers. Some IVs are quite culturally specific and students may not able to understand what was going on in the film. Moreover, films from some countries, like England, are quite slow in pace and these may not be suitable for students, whom can be bored easily.