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University of Halabja
Faculty of Education and Human Sciences
School of Basic Education
Department of English Language
Undergraduate Research Project

The Impact of Using Movies on Learning English Language

At University of Halabja

A RESEARCH PAPER
SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIVERSITY OF HALABJA
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR
IN
TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

BY

Balambo Jamal Tahir

SUPERVISED BY

Barzan Hadi Hamakarim

April, 2015
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DEDICATION

Dedicated to

My parents

Those who inspired me in my life

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I want to show my sincerest appreciation to my parents who supported

me in my life and my academic study, and my dear supervisor Barzan H. Hamakarim,

who supported and guided me throughout this study.

Im also grateful to my beloved teachers who taught me throughout four years

of my academic study at the English Department University of Halabja, and their

kind relationship with me.

Im grateful to my beloved lecturers: my role model Mr. Ibrahim Murad who

taught me a lot, and Mr. Hameed Hussein Hama-Said, who supported and helped me

in this paper.

At last, I want to show my appreciation to my Friend Hemn Khulaways who

supported me throughout the present paper and stand with me.

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Abstract

This study investigated a relevant topic in the area of language teaching. To

conduct the study 50 EFL learners were selected from three stages: 2nd, 3rd and 4th

from the department of English language in the University of Halabja, aged 18-30

years old. The results of the study showed the significance of using movies as a

modern technology in EFL classrooms to learn English language, its beneficial effect

on English language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing and English

language components. The study concluded that movies help EFL learners to learn

English language faster than other ways. They improve language skills, specifically

listening and reading skills, as well as improving the social relations of the learner,

the familiarity with native speakers culture. Movie subtitles improve reading and

writing skills.
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Table of Contents

Page

Dedication.. i

Acknowledgements........ ii

Abstract... iii

Table of contents..... iv

Table of illustrations... v

Introduction......................................................................................................1

1. Chapter One: Historical Background

1.1 Historical background of using technology in ESL class.......3

1.2 The importance of using Movies to learn English language...5

2. Chapter Two: Literature review

2.1 The impact of using movies on the four language skills..... 10

2.2 The impact of using movies on the four language components...12

3. Chapter Three: The Study

3.1 Purpose of the Study....14

3.2 Sampling...14

3.3 Methodology.....14

3.4 Data collection and analysis, findings and interpretations....14

Conclusion and Recommendations......24

References......25

Appendix............ A
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Table of Illustrations

Page
TABLE I: DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR GENDERS15

TABLE II: DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR AGES ....16

TABLE III: DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR STAGES ...17

TABLE IV: THE EFFECT OF MOVIES....17

TABLE V: DURATION OF WATCHING MOVIES..18

TABLE VI: SELECTING MOVIES TO WATCH...19

TABLE VII: THE USE OF SUBTITLES..19

TABLEVIII: THE IMPACT OF MOVIES ON LANGUAGE SKILLS.20

TABLE IX: MOTIVATING STUDENTS.22

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INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research paper is to determine how students at the

university level are getting benefit from watching English movies in order to support

their learning process. This paper provides a general framework about educational

impacts of English movies as a pedagogical tool to learn English Language.

A survey is conducted in order to explore opinions and expectations of 50

students as a sample from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages in the department of English

language at the University of Halabja. The results display the educational impacts of

watching English movies to improve their language learning.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the impact of watching movies as

a pedagogical tool on learning English Language by the students of English

department and its academic achievements on ESL students. This paper will attempt

to highlight findings that address the following questions:

1. To what extent watching movies beneficial for students to learn

English language at the university?

2. To what extent do students prefer movies as a pedagogical tool for

learning English Language in the department of English language?

This research paper includes three chapters. Chapter one has two sections:

section one is given to the historical background of using Technology in ESL class,

section two is given to discuss the importance of using Movies to learn English

language.
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Chapter two has two sections: section one is given to discuss the impact of

using Movies on the four language skills, and section two is given to discuss the

impact of using Movies on the four language components.

Chapter three includes a conducted study in which all the results are shown

and descriptively analyzed.

The research ends up with the conclusion which summarizes the most

dominant findings of the study, and this is followed by the references.

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CHAPTER ONE

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

1.3 Historical Background of Using Technology in ESL classroom

Technology has always been at the first place. From the days humans carved

figures on the walls of caves, until now, when students are given technological

devices, technology pushed educational abilities to new levels (The Evolution of

Technology in the Classroom, 2015).

Technology can have a complementary relationship with teaching. The

invention of new technologies makes learners understand the course content and

achieve a good result in the classroom. So long as many new technologies have been

invented in history, they had a message for learners to discover appropriate methods

to incorporate these new technologies into the class (Groff, Haas, Klopfer &

Osterweil, 2009).

During the Colonial years till 1900, several educational tools were invented

including: wooden paddles, which helped students learn verses, Magic Lantern, an old

basic type of projector that causes images to appear on glass plates, the Chalkboard

and pencil, and students were expecting for more advanced educational tools. After

that, several advanced technologies invented till videotapes arrived in 1951, which

developed the process of education and made a new exciting method of teaching

(The History of Classroom Technology, 2015).

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Technology has an effective relation with English language education

(Singhal, 1997). Throughout the last century, English language laboratories were

being used in various institutions, and they were consisted of several small cabinets;

each cabinet had a cassette deck, a microphone and a headphone. Teachers use a

dominant control panel to observe their students' interactions. The foremost advantage

of that type of technology was that spoken function of students would help them to

learn the second language faster. Through exercising more practical drill problems the

language skills of the learners can be enhanced (Nomass, 2013). Also these

laboratories were a good step in creating a connection between technology and

language education (Singhal, 1997).

While new technologies came in the 1980s, incorporation of visual materials

in language classrooms has become common (Vanderplank, 2010). Language

teaching is an area in which the utilization in technology has been motivated. So far,

technological devices are being used in language classes (Traore & Kyei-Blankson,

2011).

Using technology, especially movies, as a teaching strategy for learning a

second language in ESL classrooms has become popular today. It supports learning

process among ESL learners and can be utilized in various forms to improve

comprehension skill in their course contents (Hicks, Reid, & George, 2001) and ESL

learners themselves see it as pivotal source for advancing their second language

proficiency as well (Neuman & Koskinen, 1992).

At the present time, technology surrounds humanity. Especially the new

generation is growing up with technology and live with it. Computer technologies

have extremely changed the way people get information, and communicate with
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people around the world. For this reason, schools and educational institutions obliged

to be aware of technological equipments, and instructors at the schools and

institutions are necessary to improve their technological skills to be able to catch the

students` attention and interests (Akyol, 2010). Now teachers are utilizing technology

to help improve and enhance comprehending of their course content (Hicks, Reid, &

George, 2001).

Utilizing various kinds of technological equipments gives ESL learners the

sense of freedom, motivation, and encouragement they need for learning process

(Genc- Ilter, 2009), also makes the lesson more efficient (Akyol, 2010).

According to Lee Wang, incorporating technology in ESL classrooms has

many advantages; it improves the learners language skills like: reading, listening,

speaking and writing skills. English-language learners use computers, software

programs to enhance their fluency, and improve their language skills. They use the

Internet to search for information and read technology texts (Wang, 2005).

1.2 The Importance of Using Movies to Learning English Language

In the world, the cultural heritage of a nation is the language. During the last

decade, learning languages has become more important. Learning a new language not

only develops individual intelligence, but also it gives learners, permission to enter

and gets learners near to another culture and prepares them with the essential skills to

succeed and change their behavior in a rapidly changing world (Chan & Herrero,

2010). Movies are a part of visual literacy and movies are an enjoyable source of

entertainment and language acquisition (Ismaili, 2012, p. 122).

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Using movies in the ESL classrooms or as an outside school activity can

support motivation of the learners, because of their playful component, and they can

be used as task activities to give an ideal environment for learning, as well as

encouraging participation and interaction among students (Chan & Herrero, 2010).

The use of movies in the language classroom can encourage a creative approach

that can have applications across the curriculum (Chan & Herrero, 2010, p. 6).

Many scholars have revealed that movies used in ESL classroom can become

an essential part of the courses. This is based on the fact that movies give exposures to

real language, used in authentic settings and in the cultural context which the

second language is spoken. They also have recognized that movies attract the learner,

and it can positively affect their motivation to learn (Xhemaili, 2013). Watching

movies serve as a bridge between learning skills and language objectives (output) and

using them in ESL classroom provide background information that activates foremost

knowledge, which is important in stimulating the four skills activities in the

classroom (Herron & Hanley, 1992).

Using subtitled movies in the language classroom make students interact with

the movies. When ESL learners watching a subtitled movie, except watching and

listening to the audiovisual materials, they are also understand and interact with the

movie, and they make a translation, between the source language and target language.

This interaction seems to be in its pick in case of watching movies in reversed

subtitled mode. While watching reversed subtitled movies, learners try less to

understand aural input due to their familiarity with the audio language (Gorjian,

2014).
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Furthermore, Scholars have revealed that movie fragments are useful to

enhance memory and improve recovery of information in reading skill and listening

skill (Pezdek, Lehrer, & Simon, 1984). Using the same pattern, movies help the

development of the writing skill of the learner and give interesting and motivating

clues to accompany audio or written inputs, in that way they help understanding and

producing of second language input/output (Ismaili, 2012).

Videos that related to the content of the curriculum can be used in EFL

classrooms, to bring a realistic phase of what is being taught in the class. This issue

work as a supporter and motivator to the learners (Furmanovsky, 1997). For this

reason, many scholars and EFL practitioners prefer to watch the movie adaptations

of famous and current novels as a supplementary source for the reading (Ismaili,

2012, p. 122). Movies pave the way for the EFL learners and give the opportunities to

see the social dynamics of communication just like native speakers incorporate into

real settings (Ismaili, 2012). In addition, movies provide a great chance to students to

gain background understanding, to combine with their own understanding of a story

or concept. When students reading a text, movie features can help them connect to

new information they may have not had a background in and change their new

thoughts, images, and feelings to the text at hand (Gambrell & Jawits, 1993).

The main component of using the movies in the class is actually enabling the

reader to picture or to visualize the events, characters, narration, story and words in

the context (Ismaili, 2012, p. 123). Draper (2012) has described visualization as a

foremost prerequisite for a good reader. Helping students gain visualization skills is

an essential way to advance greater understanding while reading. It permits students

the ability to become more engaged in their reading and they use their images to draw
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conclusions, create interpretations of the text, and recall details and elements from the

text (Keene & Simmerman, 1997).

Draper (2012) has researched and recognized that expert readers impulsively

and purposefully create mental images in their mind at the time, and after they read.

The creation of the images comes from the five senses and emotions, and they are

stored in readers encyclopedic knowledge. They use images to put themselves in

detail while they read. The detail provides depth and dimension to the reading,

engaging the reader more deeply, and making the text more memorable. Expert

readers get the benefit from images to draw conclusions, to create different and

unique interpretations of the text, to remember the essential elements of the text, and

to remember a text after it has been read. This is a good reason to support English

instructors to be more imaginative and motivated using movies in EFL classrooms

(Ismaili, 2012).

Therefore, teachers believed that using movies in EFL classroom can increase

the interaction among learners; they improve learners speaking skill and offer

learners more opportunities to use English (Ismaili, 2012). They also claim that they

faced difficulties while selecting suitable movies for different proficiency levels and

that watching a movie might be very time consuming(Ismaili, 2012, p.125). Students

believe that using movies in the classroom was new and very pleasant experience for

the students. They claim that they enjoyed the assigned activities in the classroom.

Students were more excited to see and hear real-life situations in spite of to follow the

activities in a book, and movies also provide a relaxed atmosphere for students

(Ismaili, 2012)
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In short, films provide an invaluable extension of what we might call the

technologies of language acquisition that have been used to teach students the basics

of English learning in elementary and high schools or institutes(Sabouri, Zohrabi &

Osbouei, 2015, p. 110).

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Impact of Using Movies on The Four Language skills

In terms of instruction, teaching English is supposedly not confined only to

grammar; it should include several aspects of the language, such as the four skills

(Al-Muhtaseb, 2012, p. 4). Language is in terms of the four basic language skills:

listening, reading, speaking and writing. In the oral mode, listening comprehension is

the receptive skill and speaking is the productive skill, whereas in the written mode,

reading is the receptive skill, and writing is the productive skill (Four Skills in the

English Language, 2013).

The aim of learning English language is to improve the four language skills:

reading, listening, speaking and writing of the EFL learner, with support of a great

number of English vocabularies and proper grammar, but this is not enough. The

learners should be able to speak in English language. Furthermore, most of the EFL

learners have a good reading and writing skill compared to listening and speaking

skill. They can easily read and write, but it is difficult for them to speak in second

language and talk about themselves (Chun, 2006), because always the major focus has

been on writing skill. Students do many writing activities from the first year of their

academic study until they write their research paper in last year and during time, they

will have almost some courses related to speaking and reading skills (Al-Muhtaseb,

2012).
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therefore, it is necessary for the instructors and learners to estimate the

exertions and time given to pronunciation as an essential part of second language

learning, and they have to decide which level of proficiency is required for effective

communication (Gimson, 1980).

Varga stated a research question as follows: Which skills can be developed

with the help of feature movies? (Varga, 2013, p. 343). The results demonstrate that

all the four skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing are possible to develop

with one single movie. Using movies in ESL classrooms has beneficial effects on the

learners receptive and productive skills (Varga, 2013), since much language

production work grows out of texts that students see or hear (Harmer, 2007, p. 267).

Most of the instructors, experts and even learners believe that using movies in ESL

classrooms has many advantages as they are essential tools for developing listening

skill (Varga, 2013).

The most dominant advantage of English movies in ESL classroom is their

authenticity (Varga, 2013). Language is presented in everyday conversational

settings, in real life contexts rather than artificial situations (King, 2002:2)

(Varga, 2013, p. 344). Furthermore, movies pave they way to get familiar with the

dialects of English language (King, 2002). Another advantage of English movies is

that in spite of demonstrating real materials related to English language. They offer

learners with paralinguistic characteristics such as; facial expressions and motion of

hands and body to express thoughts and feelings which they can have beneficial

effects in communicative situations (King, 2002; Kusumarasdyati, 2004; Rammal,

2005).
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The way of presenting and selecting the movies is essential for developing the four

language skills. The teacher must be aware of the type of the movies because enjoying the

movie is essential to develop listening skills (Rhinehart Neas, 2012). Therefore,

documentary movies are one of the suitable types which through it, people can

experience something different and educate themselves. However, most of the

students are getting angry while they are studying history; whereas documentaries

disclose history in a fascinating way for the students (Dunlop, 2015).

2.2 The Impact of Using Movies on The Four Language Component

There are a number of components that are universal, but linguists have

identified and focused on four essential components (phonology, morphology, syntax

and semantics) in languages (Popp, 2004). While students attend the universities, they

will face many problems in their English language, including: weak comprehension,

lack of vocabulary, bad grammar and having poor language skills. Movies can be

helpful to deal with these factors and improve them (Sabouri, Zohrabi, Osbouei,

2015).

The process of learning English through watching movies is learning by

input. At the beginning, many correct English statements will store in the head of EFL

learners, and then the learners through the process of drilling can learn the statements

and make their own sentences. While watching English movies, the learner can be

familiar with informal speeches and slangs that He/She is unable to find them in

English dictionaries (Szynalski, n.d).

Movie production companies (Paramount, Universal, 20th century fox and

etc.) are producing movies for native speakers, not for EFL learners. Therefore,
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characters in the movie use the accent and the intonation which native speaker use in

real life. So if EFL learners watch English movies, they will learn their accent, words

and statements they use to communicate. English-language Learners learn lots of

words that they never heard before, because while movie characters speak, they utter

words and phrases that cannot be found in books (Szynalski, n.d).

Watching English movies in EFL classroom can result in a special

experience of real feelings of accomplishment when students understand what is

going on in a situation where native speakers use English (Rammal, 2005, p. 5).

English movies improve EFL learners pronunciation and comprehension of

spoken language, because if they cannot comprehend the movies, they will not have

positive effects on the learners, and they cannot learn anything from the movie, even

they wont enjoy it. Furthermore, to comprehend the movies, the learner needs to

know lots of English vocabulary with correct spelling and correct pronunciation

(Szynalski, n.d). English movies can motivate students to learn vocabularies and

understand English language better (Budiana Putra, 2014, p. 1).

Vocabulary, as a pillar of English language, is believed to form a dominant

part of the process of learning English language. Without enough vocabulary

knowledge, an EFL learner will face many problems in using the four language skills

(reading, listening, speaking and writing (Gorjian, 2014). According to a study which

was carried out for EFL learners, students announced that using movie is a good way

to enhance English vocabulary and provide them more opportunities to use English

language. Most of the students claimed that they would learn new words

(approximately 3-5) while they watch a movie in the class, because of repetition of

those words many times throughout the movie (Ismaili, 2012).

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CHAPTER THREE

THE STUDY

This chapter provides some detailed information of the research subject

instruments and data analysis.

3.1 Purpose of the study

This study aims at investigating the importance of the impact of movies on learning

English language in terms of perceptions, opinions and attitudes of students toward

learning English language. The results obtained may provide the beneficial ideas and

useful information for the departments of English language at any Kurdish university.

3.2 Sampling

The sample of this study consisted of 50 students from 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages of

English department from the University of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan namely.

3.3 Methodology

In order to access the opinions and perceptions of the ESL learners, the

questionnaire tool was adopted. 50 copies distributed among students of 2nd, 3rd and

4th stages from the department in the University of Halabja. The questionnaire was

composed of open-ended, closed-ended questions and rating scales.

3.2 Data collection and analysis, findings and interpretations

In order to determine what trends in the data suggested about the students'

attitudes and perceptions toward the impact of movies on learning English language,
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responses of the participants were analysed descriptively by calculating percentages

and average scores.

Below are the findings obtained from the analysis of the data collected to

evaluate the expectations and perceptions of students of the department of English

language at Halabja University about the impact of movies on learning English

language.

TABLE I

DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR GENDERS

Gender F. %

Male 20 40

Female 30 60

As it is shown in the Table (I), the number of female learners are more than

their opposite gender partners.

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TABLE II

DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR AGES

Age F. %

Up to 18 1 2

19-23 years 30 60

24-26 years 14 28

27-29 years 4 8

Older than 30 years 1 2

Table (II) shows the age of the participants of this survey, it is categorized as

follows: only 2% of the participants is up to 18 years old (out of 50), 60% are

between 19 to 23 years old, which is the highest level, 28% are between 24 to 26

years old, which comes at the second level , 8% are between 27 to 29 years old and

only 2% of the participants is older than 30 years old (out of 50), which he is a teacher

who got Diploma Degree, and he attended University to get BA degree. This table

revealed that at the present time, the majority of the students are between 19 to 23

years old in the universities, and it is believed to be the normal age of students to

study at university comparing to their levels or stages.

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TABLE III

DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR STAGES

Level F. %

Second 15 30

Third 15 30

Fourth 20 40

The participants were chosen to answer the survey were 50 students: 30% of

them were in second stage, 30% of them were in third stage and 40% in fourth stage.

TABLE IV

THE EFFECT OF MOVIES

Yes No

Q1/ Do you think watching English movies has F. % F. %

beneficial effect on learning English language?

50 100 0 0

What is shown in Table (IV) is something quite hopeful. 100 % of the

participants agreed that watching English movies have the beneficial effect of movies

on learning English language. This is an excellent feedback to use movies as a

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purpose for learning a language; from this day forwards, it is a good recommendation

for students to watch movies as a beneficial way to learn English language along with

other ways.

TABLE V

DURATION OF WATCHING MOVIES

Q2/ How often do you watch movies for the purpose F. %

of learning English language?

1-3 hours per week 34 68

4-6 hours per week 9 18

More than 6 hours per week 7 14

As the table (V) presents, the majority of the participants are the light watchers

of movies, which are 68% are watching movies (1 to 3) hours per week. It can be said

that 1-3 hours of watching movies per week is not enough to improve language skills

and learn a language, at least a learner needs to watch movies 4-6 hours per week.

18% of the participants are watching movies (4 to 6) hours per week, and 14% of the

participants whom they are the minorities of the participants are watching movies

more than six hours per week. These participants can be called heavy watchers. Being

a heavy movie watcher will be a good approach to learn English language quite faster

than the other two groups, if followed by attention and focus.

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TABLE VI

SELECTING MOVIES TO WATCH

Q3/ Which genres do you prefer to watch? F. %

Comedy 11 22

Action 28 56

Others 11 22

Each movie has a genre, including: comedy, action, drama, documentary,

horror and etc. Depending on these genres, impact of the movies on learning language

changes, because of the statements in the movie which are the most important feature

and it affects the learner. As it is shown in table (VI), the majority of the participants

(56%) stated that they prefer watching action movies. 22% are watching comedy

movies, and 22% are watching other genres like, romance, drama, documentary and

etc.
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TABLE VII

THE USE OF SUBTITLES

Q4/ Do you think English subtitles help in learning Yes No

English language?

F. % F. %

38 76 12 24

Generally, it is expected that subtitles as a part of the movies have beneficial

effects on learn English language, and they are useful to improve reading and writing

skills. Consequently, (76%) of the participants had same views and agreed that using

subtitles can facilitate learning English and help them better grasp the linguistic

elements of the language.

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TABLE VIII

THE IMPACT OF MOVIES ON LANGUAGE SKILLS

No. Statement 5 4 3 2 1

1 It is more enjoyable to watch movies 27 23

2 It Improves my Reading Skill 6 17 17 9 1

3 It Improves my Writing skill 3 13 21 9 4

4 It Improves my Listening Skill 30 15 3 2

5 It Improves my Thinking Skill 22 17 11

6 It Improves my Social Skill 9 20 19 2

7 It improves my English vocabulary 25 17 5 3

8 It helps me learn English language faster 19 22 8 1

9 It Improves my Communication Skill 23 19 8

Most of the movies have a kind of entertainment and those who watch movies

enjoy it, and getting pleasure from the movies is very dominant to improve and

develop listening skill (Rhinehart Neas, 2012). According to the information of the

table (VIII), 100% of the participants strongly agreed that movies are more enjoyable
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to watch. Language skills are very important to ESL learners, including: Reading

skill, listening skill, speaking skill and writing skill, which is the most difficult one

among the four language skills, development of these four skills makes learning

English language very easier. 46% of the participants agreed that watching movies

with subtitles improve their reading skill, 34% unsure about it, 18% disagreed that

movies have effect on improving their reading skill and only 2% of the participants

strongly disagreed with positive effects of movies on reading skill. 6% of them

strongly agreed that watching movies improve their writing skill, while 26% agreed.

42% were uncertain, 18% disagreed that movies have beneficial effect on their writing

skill, and 8% are strongly disagreed. It is believed that movies are designated for

improving listening skill; unconsciously, movies affect the learners listening skill and

improve it, so Films are the best tools for developing listening skills (Varga, 2013,

p. 344). In the survey 60% of the participants strongly agreed with the impact of

movies on improving their listening skill, 30% agreed. 6% were uncertain and only

4% of them disagreed. 44% of them are strongly agreed that movies improve their

thinking skill and expand their imagination, 34% agreed and 22% uncertain; there are

no participants who disagree, in this regard Movies provide language learners with

the opportunity to view the social dynamics of communication as native speakers

interact in authentic settings (Ismaili, 2013, p. 122).18% strongly agreed with

beneficial effect of movies on their social relations; 40% agreed. 38% were uncertain

and only 4% are disagreed. Movies can improve the learners vocabulary through

repetition of the words and statements. 84% of the students agreed that movies

improve their vocabulary lexicon. 10% were uncertain and 6% disagreed. There are

many ways to acquire a language: reading, communicating, studying, watching

movies and etc. 38% of the participants strongly agreed that movies help ESL learners
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to learn English language faster than other ways, 44% agreed. 16% were uncertain

and only 2% of the participants in the survey out of 50 students is disagreed. 46%

strongly agreed that watching movies improve speaking skill. 36% agreed, and 16%

disagreed.

TABLE IX

MOTIVATING STUDENTS

Q6/ Do your teachers encourage you to watch Yes No

movies for learning English language?

F. % F. %

33 66 17 34

Motivation is a significant key to succeed. Students need to be motivated and

encouraged in order pass the barriers and success. Teachers are the role models of

students. So they have a big role on learning their students and they should be

motivators of their students. In the survey as it is shown in the table (IX) in the

response of the question (Do your teachers encourage you to watch movies for

learning English language?), 66% of the participants said (Yes) which is the highest

percentage, 34% said (No).

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The use of movies as a modern technology in the area of language teaching in

ESL classrooms, have become an essential requirement for the purpose of learning a

second language. This study has analyzed carefully that movies have an essential role

in developing and improving language skills of ESL learners. Also a study was

carried out, 50 students were selected from 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages at university of

Halabja to estimate the acceptability of the participants for the usage of technology to

improve their language skills. As the result, the following concluding remarks and

recommendations can be recorded:

1- With the development of technology nowadays, the use of movies as a part

of technology in the process of teaching has become unavoidable.

2- The students of English department of University of Halabja, highly value

the impact of using movies to improve their English language. Therefore; the policy

makers of the department at the university should give a lot of attention to it and

conduct more researches regarding this topic.

3- Movies can be helpful in putting theory and practice together in learning

second language.

4- English language instructors should motivate and encourage their students

to use movies to develop their language skills.

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Almuhtaseb, D. W. (2012). The Impact of English Movies and Songs on Enhancing

the English pronunciaion and Speaking skills of the Senior English Majors at Hebron

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Appendix

Questionnaire

Research Topic: the Impact of Using Movies on Learning English Language.

Dear Students,
Greetings!

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey by Balambo (Student of 4th
stage, English Dep.). Your feedback is important to us in how we can better improve
our teaching and learning system.
This survey should only take about 5 minutes of your time. Your answers will be
completely anonymous.

We are hoping for your full participation. Thank you and good day!

Part I: Personal Details

1. Gender: Male: Female:

2. Age: Up to 18 19-23 years 24-26 yrs 27-29 yrs older

than 30 yrs

3. Level: First Second Third Fourth

Part II: Facts and Opinions

1. Do you think watching English movies has beneficial effect on learning

English?

Yes No

2. How often do you watch movies for the purpose of learning English?

1-3 hours per week

4-6 hours per week
More than 6 hours per week

3. Which genres do you prefer to watch:

Comedy Action movies Others (specify please)

 38

4. Do you think English subtitles are good in learning English?

Yes No

5. Read the statements about the Impact of Watching Movies on Learning

English Language and then put a tick in the box according to the rating
scales below.

Strong agree = 5 Agree = 4 Uncertain = 3 Disagree = 2 strong

disagree = 1

No. Statement 5 4 3 2 1

1 It is more enjoyable to watch

2 It Improves my Reading Skill

3 It Improves my Writing skills

4 It Improves my Reading Skills

5 It Improves my Thinking Skills

6 It Improves my Social Skills

7 It improves my English vocabulary

8 It helps me to learn English language

faster than other ways.

9 It Improves my Communication Skills

6. Do your teachers encourage you to watch movies for learning English

language?

Yes No