Effectiveness of Two to Three-Minute Movie Segments as Teaching Materials : A Pilot Study Based on Surveys and Ability Tests

Abstract

The past six years of teaching have been challenging for the researcher since most of her students have had no interest in learning English. At which stage did the students lose their interest in English? Is there any way that students can regain their motivation to learn English? These questions have always been with the researcher because no matter how hard a teacher tries, if the students have no interest in learning English, his/her classes will end in vain. In this paper the researcher will show how she creates her classes in such a manner that they motivate students and how effective her classes are due to her use of movies as learning materials. To give evidence of this success, she tested students twice during the semester of 15 weeks. She also conducted surveys on the degree of the students' motivation in terms of learning English. The first test was done immediately after semester started and the second was carried out at the end of semester. The test results and motivation surveys give English teachers a hint of how just two or threeminute movie segments can inspire students' interest in learning English. The researcher previously presented sections of this paper at the ATEM Conference in Tokyo, July 1, 2006.