Teaching English oral presentations as a situated task in an EFL classroom: A quasi-experimental study of the effect of video-assisted self-reflection

Abstract

Video-assisted self-reflection (VASR) has been identified as an effective pedagogical tool in teacher education, and yet it has been rarely researched in the context of teaching EFL students to make oral presentations (OPs). This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of VASR in teaching EFL students to make OPs and the students’ perceptions of its pedagogical use. A quasi-experimental two-group pre-test post-test comparison design was used. The experimental group (n = 14) and the control group (n = 15) experienced the same instructional procedures for 14 weeks, while only the experimental group made VASRs. Two questionnaires were used as instruments, one completed by both groups first as the pre-test and then as post-test to investigate the effectiveness of VASR, and the other completed by the experimental group to examine students’ perceptions. The results suggested that VASR was effective in developing students’ use of non-verbal elements in communication and that students perceived VASRs as beneficial activities. A structured protocol was recommended to facilitate students’ VASRs and maximize its pedagogical effect. The findings have implications for the design of VASRs in teaching EFL students to make OPs.