CHAPTER 4 RESULTS
4.2 RESULTS OF FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
Table 4.4 Mean and SD for Part B-Engagement (n=30) Part C-Efficacy of TED Talk Videos on
Student Learning
Mean
(M) SD Interpretation 13 Using TED Talk videos regularly will help
me improve my vocabulary skill. 4.47 .629 Highest 14 Using TED Talk videos regularly will help
me improve my pronunciation skill. 4.47 .571 Highest 15 Using TED Talk videos regularly will help
me improve my fluency skill. 4.07 .907 High
16 Using TED Talk videos regularly will help
me improve my grammar skill. 4.60 .563 Highest
17 Using TED Talks regularly will help
improve my presentation skills. 4.33 .606 Highest 18 TED Talk videos will expose me to
different speakers of English around the
world. 4.17 .834 High
Average
4.35 .685 Highest Overall Mean & SD for all 18 items 4.34 0.410 Highest Finally, as presented above, amongst the three clusters, cluster 1 interest and motivation were the highest rated with 4.43 mean and standard deviation of 0.341, while cluster 2 “Engagement” was rated the lowest with the mean of 4.24 and standard deviation of 0.488. Nonetheless, considering an overall mean of 4.34, the researcher was convinced that most students exhibited positive perceptions towards the use of TTV in English-speaking lessons.
Baki, 2010 also adds that the use of focus group interviews creates a discussion environment that fosters diverse ideas and gathers individuals' opinions.
Therefore, after implementing the TTVs in English speaking skills, 15 participants were selected based on two criteria: gender and ability. The participants were divided into three heterogeneous groups of five members each with mixed gender, and they responded to six questions through a focus group interview. The responses gathered were organized and analyzed systematically for the three broad clusters: Part A: Interest and Motivation, Part B: Engagement and Part C: Efficacy of TTVs. The detailed analysis for each cluster is presented below.
4.2.1 Interest and Motivation
A cumulative analysis of students’ interviews revealed positive perceptions towards the use of TTVs in English-speaking lessons. Most participants reported that the talks were interesting and motivating and that the speaking activities were enjoyable and engaging. For instance, one participant stated, "The speakers were so fluent, and they motivated me that I can also speak English like them.” (Student 2, group 1). Also, some of them were of the view that the way the speakers presented the ideas were inspiring and motivating. Student 5 from group 2 said, "I enjoyed all the Ted Talk Videos as they were all very inspiring, and their presentations were wonderful.” The participants also shared that most of the speaking activities made even the most hesitant student talk. One participant shared, “The dialogue pair activity forced me to talk in English.” Furthermore, they stated that a variety of activities in just one lesson kept them engaged throughout the 50-minute lesson. A participant shared, “I did not even realize how the 50-minute lesson came to an end.”
Additionally, some participants expressed that the use of TTVs made lessons lively and enjoyable, and they were able to connect with the speakers. Student 3 from group 1 said that he especially enjoyed the video on beatboxer as he also shares a similar talent like the speaker. While others mentioned that listening to different speakers could expose them to the variety of English spoken around the world.
4.2.2 ENGAGEMENT
Almost all the student participants revealed that the TTVs were so engaging.
Moreover, the speaking activities designed for previewing, while viewing, and post- viewing kept them fully immersed in the lessons. For example, one participant said,
“The videos and all related speaking activities were so engaging that I didn’t even realize how the lesson ended.” Also, the researcher carefully planned and executed all the activities systematically which helped to further engage the students. Most of the students stated that they found the speaking activities easy and interesting with guided statements already provided to them through worksheets. A student said, “I found the inside-outside pair activity interesting and easy because it helped me to attempt to speak English by looking at the sentence stems.” Also, some participants acknowledged that repeated speaking activities encouraged them to build their confidence to speak English. One student said, "The speaking activities were all very interesting and fun. So, I feel more activities like these will help me improve my spoken English.” Most of them also agreed that videos helped them to stay awake especially in the afternoon classes. Thus, from their affirmative views, it can be concluded that students found teaching and learning English-speaking through TTV fun and engaging.
4.2.3 EFFICACY OF TED TALK VIDEOS ON STUDENT LEARNING Regarding the efficacies of TTV on student learning, except for a few, almost all the students affirmed that the use of TTV was useful. They shared that using such videos regularly will help them to improve their general language skills such as vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, among others. To affirm this statement one of the participants said, “I feel using TTV regularly will help me to improve my vocabulary skills as speakers use a wide range of words.” Some of the students also confirmed that regular use of TTV could enhance their oral presentation skills, creativity and imagination. One student said, “The role play activity where we were asked to imagine ourselves as a celebrity was very interesting, and it made me think hard to respond to the interviewer.” Further, some of the participants mentioned that
when they were shown such videos, they felt empowered and motivated to be like the speakers in the videos. Besides, most of them believed that using videos will expose them to a variety of English spoken around the world. Hence, it can be concluded that students found learning English-speaking through TTV beneficial. Especially, when students shared their overall impression, many of them expressed affirmative views, except for a few who said the speakers were not very comprehensible. This should be acceptable since not all students have the same competency level and also many students were exposed to such talks for the first time.
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The summary of the study is presented in this chapter as per the sequence given below:
5.1 Conclusion 5.2 Discussion
5.3 Recommendations 5.1 CONCLUSION
The two objectives stated for this study were: 1) To improve the ESL speaking skills of grade six Bhutanese students through the use of TED talk videos. 2) To explore Bhutanese sixth-graders’ perceptions towards the use of TED talk videos in ESL speaking lessons.
This research was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods in one Lower Secondary School in the western district of Bhutan by employing survey questionnaires and focused group interviews. The interview guideline was used for the focus group interview and thematic analysis of the qualitative data was executed. The following conclusions were drawn after analyzing the data collected through a mixed mode.
5.1.1 The Result of Pretest and Posttest Data
The first research objective was to improve the ESL speaking skills of Bhutanese sixth-graders through the use of TED talk videos. Next, the analysis of the result of the pretest and posttest was done through paired sample t-test to compare the difference between the sample group’s learning achievements. The findings from the achievement test are presented as:
1) The Paired Sample T-test statistics analysis of achievement scores revealed a higher mean score in the posttest (15.3) than the pretest (10.8) with a mean difference of (4.5). The standard deviation of the pretest and the posttest of the sample group was 4.5 and 4.6 respectively. The mean score of the posttest was higher than the pretest. The higher mean of the posttest indicated a positive impact of TTVs in improving students’ English-speaking skills.
2) The highest and the lowest scores out of 24 in the pretest were 14 and 8 respectively. While the highest and the lowest scores in the posttest were 18.5 and 11 respectively. Through these differences in scores in pretest and posttest, it can be derived that the highest score of the posttest was 5 points higher than the pretest score. Similarly, the lowest score of the posttest was slightly higher than the lowest score of the pretest by 3 scores.
3) The majority of participants, 26 out of 30 participants from the sample group scored more than 10, out of the total score of 24 scores in the posttest.
Whereas, in the pretest, only 15 students scored 10 and above out of 24 scores.
4) All the participants managed to score higher in the posttest. Among 30 students, student no. G-S10 made the highest surge by 12.5 scores in the posttest than in the pretest.
The quantitative data analysis stated above clearly reveals an increase in students’ post-test scores. Therefore, the findings indicate that TTV was an effective material to improve the ESL speaking skills of Bhutanese sixth-graders.
5.1.2 Students' Perception Results
The second research objective was to study the students’ perceptions towards the use of TTV to improve ESL speaking skills of Bhutanese sixth-graders. To gather the required qualitative data a Focus Group Interview was conducted with three groups of five students each.
Due to lack of time, a total of only 15 students from the sample group were allowed to participate in the interview. The interview data were recorded, transcribed, interpreted and analyzed through a thematic analysis. The findings revealed positive student perceptions towards the use of TTVs in improving their English-speaking skills.
1) All the students affirmed that they enjoyed all four TTVs that were used. This is evident from the responses collected from the participants through Questionnaire and Focus Group Interviews.
2) The majority of the students felt that TTV can facilitate learning as it presents language use in real-life situations. They also shared that watching TTV frequently can help them improve their language skills especially pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Further, some of them expressed that the subtitles of the videos helped them in comprehending the speaker better, and simultaneously improve reading as well. A few participants also said that TTV could also help them in generating and organizing ideas for oral presentations.
3) With a high level of achievement scores in the posttest, students were motivated and expressed their excitement to watch more TTV in the future.
Besides, some of the students also wished that other teachers use TTV as they make learning lively and fun.