Content introduction chapter Developing students critical thinking skills through video materials

1.2. The usage of video materials in teaching speaking skills
A simple fact: a student will never learn to understand English speech if he does not practice hard. He needs to listen to native speakers and he needs to learn to understand them. If he dreams of owning English as his native language, he simply has no choice.
The method of using video materials is based on this principle - to listen and understand. The student learns from a constantly updated database of videos spoken by native speakers - in interviews, news releases, speeches, short excerpts from films.
What are the advantages of such a method?
First, you train his audio perception. You make it possible to listen and remember how native speakers actually pronounce words in real life. Secondly, the need for correct responses on the part of the student forces him to think. He is forced to pay attention to every fragment that you do not fully understand. He is forced to constantly think - why are the words in this order, why is this word here, why is there such a form of the verb. Thinking about such things and trying to find the answer, he involuntarily remembers all the difficult places and will recognize them when he meets them again. This is how the understanding of English grammar comes on an intuitive level. The student will be able to confidently apply certain language constructs based only on his own experience - simply because he knows that "they say so."
Thirdly, this method increases vocabulary. The system has a built-in contextual dictionary that shows the meaning of incomprehensible words. It will be possible to memorize not just abstract words, but words in the context of the meaning in which they were used. Such memorization is much more qualitative and useful than vocabulary replenishment by traditional methods, such as "flashcards". The Video materials can be divided into the following groups: - staging training videos; - music and advertising video clips; - full-length feature films and television series; - additional materials accompanying feature films on DVD, including promotional trailers; - video recordings of various speeches - video programs for studying certain aspects of the language
He Based on the data of pragmalinguistics and taking into account the changed status of a foreign language as a means of communication and mutual understanding in the world community, all the psychological features of teaching a foreign language to high school students are grouped around the need to strengthen the pragmatic aspects of language learning. This means that when teaching, it will be important not only to achieve high-quality results in mastering foreign language communication, but also to search for a real exit to a different culture and its carriers. This is not just a knowledge of the language, but the ability to use it in real communication, that is, the practical knowledge of the language and, consequently, the development of "pragmatic intercultural competence".
In the state standard for the level of education in foreign languages, it is noted that the formation of ecommunicative competence is inextricably linked with sociocultural and regional knowledge, in other words, with “secondary socialization”. Without knowledge of the sociocultural background, it is impossible to form communicative competence even within limited limits. In this regard, it is necessary to adhere to the principle: "only culture in its various manifestations contributes to the formation of a person's personality." (E. I. Pasov).
Let us justify the choice of these psychological aspects:
1. At the present difficult time, the pragmatic needs of a person come to the fore. With regard to teaching a foreign language, this has the following refraction: sociocultural and regional knowledge is able to satisfy pragmalinguistic needs, such as the possibility of traveling abroad, etc. - a very powerful psychological factor in teaching foreign languages.
2. The motivational aspect is also of decisive importance for the activation of all psychological processes - thinking, perception, understanding and assimilation of foreign language material. To do this, it is necessary to increase the levels of motivation, contributing to the development of cognition and intellectual activity among students, ultimately striving to increase the effectiveness of the learning process.
At present, the problem of teaching a foreign language at school is relevant. Foreign language teachers are faced with the task of forming a personality that will be able to participate in intercultural communication. It is important to form communicative competence, which includes both linguistic and sociocultural competence. Knowledge of the sociocultural background is very significant, because without it is impossible to form communicative competence even within limited limits. Therefore, it is necessary to have an idea of ​​the socio-cultural features of the country of the language being studied. The study of culture and language carries not only general educational ideas, but at the same time ensures the development of the individual, supports the motivation of students. Teachers are faced with the task of forming precisely positive motivation, it is necessary to connect it with the cognitive interests of students, the need to master new knowledge, skills and abilities . Those who study a foreign language must have good communication skills. In order to stimulate the development of these skills, it is necessary to choose such forms of the lesson that will most contribute to this. Research and experience of innovative teachers have shown that in order to support the fruitful and effective activity of students, it is successful to use non-traditional forms of conducting classes, for example, such as a video lesson, a lesson-discussion, a lesson-performance, a lesson-excursion, etc. The fact is that such forms of classes support students' interest in the subject and increase motivation for learning. During such lessons, the horizons of students expand, plus with an increase in information about the culture of the country, the language being studied, the socio-cultural competence of students improves [23].
More why do we say that these teaching methods should be applied? The fact is that during, for example, a video lesson, schoolchildren are introduced to the culture of the countries of the language being studied by immersing them in the atmosphere of relationships between native speakers with a demonstration of the features of their facial expressions and gestures. A foreign language lesson has its own specifics, which a foreign language teacher cannot ignore. At present, the global goal of mastering a foreign language is considered to be familiarization with a different culture and participation in the dialogue of cultures. This goal is achieved through the formation of the ability to intercultural communication. It is teaching, organized on the basis of tasks of a communicative nature, teaching foreign language communication, using all the tasks and techniques necessary for this, that is a distinctive feature of a foreign language lesson. Foreign language communication is based on the theory of speech activity. Communicative teaching of a foreign language is active in nature, since verbal communication is carried out through "speech activity", which, in turn, serves to solve the problems of productive human activity in the conditions of "social interaction" of communicating people. Participants in communication are trying to solve real and imaginary tasks of joint activity with the help of a foreign language. The activity essence of communicative-oriented teaching of a foreign language is realized in the conditions of a humanistic approach to learning. With this approach, positive conditions are created for the active and free development of the individual in activity. In general, these conditions boil down to the following: • students get the opportunity to freely express their thoughts and feelings in the process of communication; • each participant of communication remains in the focus of attention of the others; participants in communication feel safe from criticism, prosecution for mistakes and punishment. Yet With a humanistic approach to learning, the cognitive barriers that are characteristic of the educational process disappear, reducing the motivation of students, encouraging them to be irritable. The humanistic approach involves learning centered on the student. This means that teaching, or rather, students interacting with each other are the center of cognitive activity in the lesson. Summing up the above, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of the interaction and cooperation of students, as well as the speech task for organizing communicative language acquisition. Communicative learning includes the formation of a communicative concept, that is, internal readiness and ability for verbal communication, orienting students to "enter" into a different cultural space. Such training is characterized, first of all, by non-traditional forms of conducting classes. Selecting videos for teaching foreign languages ​​is not a matter of following strict rules or restricting choice. Instead, it involves selecting programs that are appropriate for the type of tasks and activities of students in accordance with the material viewed. Since the criteria we have presented are useful as guidelines for making videos fit in the curriculum, it's worth starting with a brief overview of the two main types of activities used when watching a video. These activities or tasks can be classified into two main types:
• actions working with the language produced directly by the video material;
• activities involving the language produced by the students about the video material.
The first type of activity tends to focus on tasks that help students comprehend the language they will hear in the video.
The second type uses video as a stimulus for discussion and writing. In other words, video can be used as a "vehicle" to introduce language to learners; as an incentive to activate and develop students' speaking skills. Both action types can be used in conjunction, which is often the case. Below are factors that contribute to the understanding of the language contained in the video fragment prepared for viewing in the lesson.
Degree of visual support. Visual support is an element that helps in understanding oral messages. When using video in the process of teaching a foreign language, it is important to choose scenes with a high degree of visual support. To check the degree of visual support in a video or excerpt from it, you must first watch it with the sound turned off to understand how clear the story is directly from the video sequence. Keep in mind that camera work can sometimes increase visual support. Location capture can also aid comprehension by establishing a specific context appropriate to a particular scene, which in turn makes the language more predictable for learners.
Clarity of picture and sound.
Most students in the learning process are hindered by the low quality of the soundtrack of the film. In addition, non-linguistic elements (music, background noise) can distract students. From a technical standpoint, it's less likely that a visual element will be so obscure as to hinder understanding of the film. This is only possible if the tape is a poor-quality copy of another tape. If we return to the criterion of clarity of sound, then everything depends on what needs to be obtained as a result of demonstrating the video material: to present the language material or to allow students to identify it on their own. For example, when presenting language material, you can give students a list of vocabulary, phrases, idioms presented in the video material, so that they, for example, raise their hand when they hear a certain idiom. For this activity, a video with good sound quality should be selected as the students focus their attention on the points they have been given. Regardless of what task is given, the quality of the image and sound is the key to a successful understanding of the viewed material.
"Density" of the language.
Another important factor in the selection of video programs is language density - the amount of language spoken during the selected scene. The amount of spoken language in a scene shown can vary greatly: a five-minute video excerpt may contain only four or five lines of dialogue, while another scene of the same length may be very chatty.
Clarity of speech.
Clarity of speech, norms of speech and accent are factors that determine how difficult the video excerpt will be for students to comprehend. Some actors are known for speaking often not clearly, not accurately. Accents can also hinder understanding. Video materials intended for teaching English often do not contain accents, but their use is not always possible or advisable during the lessons.
Language content.
In the use of video, an important factor is the linguistic items (specific grammatical structures, language features, or colloquialisms) present in the scene. One way to locate specific linguistic items in genuine material is to find a situation that exactly contains one of those items and shows its use in context.
Language level.
The level of difficulty of the language in the video program is also an important factor in the selection of material for the lesson. There are at least two ways to use videos that contain language that is too difficult for the learner's level. First of all, don't show the whole program; there are always individual scenes that can be used independently. Secondly, after viewing a complex plot, you can give students an easy task. Thus, the choice of video is determined not only by the language level of students, but also by the tasks for the proposed video.
Interest.
The tastes of students are different: what is interesting to some, others may seem boring. Films based on human relationships or relatively universal problems or themes enjoy great success. The success of films of such genres as horror, action or mysticism is subject to the individual taste of the students and is not so attractive for use in the learning process. News and documentary programs can be successful because most students have some degree of interest in current events. But it is worth remembering that news programs have a particularly high degree of language density and may lack visual support, especially when only the announcer's face is speaking to the audience. Talk shows tend to be interesting, perhaps because they deal with human relationships. For the age we studied, cartoons were the most interesting.
Sequence length.
Many proponents of video-assisted learning advocate the use of short exposures: some recommend using exposures less than 5 minutes long; others offer videos ranging in length from 30 seconds to 12 minutes. The use of relatively short excerpts from films allows students to complete tasks on the material they have watched. 5 to 10 minutes of video viewing can easily provide enough classroom time, using video as a stimulus that engages students before or after watching.
Sequence independence.
The use of a relatively short sequence of scenes often entails a selection of excerpts from films, television dramas, documentaries that can be used independently of the main context of the film. Showing excerpts sometimes has the good effect of stimulating involvement in English outside of school, as many students, after watching some of the excerpts, may become interested in watching the entire video for themselves or thinking about the end of the fragment shown in the lesson. Of course, it is a very difficult task for a teacher to select video material for an English lesson, since it is almost impossible to take into account all of the above video selection criteria. But we can single out the main requirements for the video material, which will ensure the achievement of the goal of its demonstration: it must be of high quality, corresponding to the level of knowledge of students and the topic of the lesson, and arousing interest among students.