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MUSIC VIDEOS IN ELL CLASSROOMS 27

Limitations and Conclusion

This case study has suggested that the tailored music videos I created were effective in

teaching participle adjectives and indefinite articles to my Essay Writing class at UBU. It has

also suggested that the music videos helped support a low-affective-filter environment and were

well received by my students. While the results are highly in favor of the continued use of

tailored ELL music videos to teach grammar, there are many limitations that must be considered.

First, there were limitations relating to the design of the study. There was a discrepancy

between the way students performed in an assessment situation and in their more organic writing

context. While I chose the two grammar points I did based on initial writing samples, it became

apparent that students understood both grammar points much better when they knew they were

being assessed. It may serve to choose grammar points based on both writing samples and pre-

assessments in future studies.

Additionally, the writing samples were inherently limiting in regards to assessing the

understanding of participle adjectives. While students necessarily used indefinite articles in all

their essays, I was only able to assess students who chose to use participle adjectives in their

essays. While 20 out of 27 students used them in the pre-writing samples, unfortunately only 16

out of 27 students used them in the post-writing samples. This could have been due to the essay

type, which was “description.” In this essay, students were asked to describe a place or a thing.

This did not, perhaps, elicit as many participle adjectives as the pre-writing essay type,

“recount,” in which students were asked to recount an event or short period of time. Ideally, pre-

and post-writing samples would be more cohesive in content. However, as I was required to

follow a predesigned course syllabus, I did not have the flexibility to adjust the writing

assignments, nor would it have been fair to my students to do so. In future research, it may prove
TAILORED MUSIC VIDEOS IN ELL CLASSROOMS 28

better to do this sort of research in a context that would allow for more consistency in writing

sample content.

Secondly, as this was an isolated case study consisting of only 27 participants, these

results cannot be generalizable. Not only is the sample size far too small, but the mono-culture of

the class is also inadequate in reflecting results for “ELL classrooms.” Additionally, only two

music videos and two grammar points were taken into account in this case study. While the

results may favor using tailored music videos to teach about participle adjectives and indefinite

articles, there are numerous other grammar points that may not be able to be taught as well with

tailored ELL music videos. In order to gain real insight, further research needs to be done in a

variety of ELL classrooms in different contexts and with a variety of different videos and

grammar points.

It must also be noted that there was no strict formula in creating the music, video, and

lyrics for these music videos. I created them myself. Even if further research were done, some

standards would need to be established among researchers regarding the content of the music

videos—perhaps lyrically, visually, and musically. This would be quite a feat, and I do not see it

happening in the foreseeable future. However, it is not unreasonable that I might continue this

research on my own, in future ELL classrooms, in order to gain a more comprehensive

understanding of how effective my particular style of ELL music videos are for learning

grammar points and other elements of the language such as vocabulary. This research and those

future studies may prove to serve larger and more comprehensive studies with broader research

questions, perhaps relating to language acquisition and media or creativity in ELL classrooms.

While this study is by no means comprehensive or conclusive, it served as a stepping-

stone for not only further related research, but also for myself as a researcher. Through trial and
TAILORED MUSIC VIDEOS IN ELL CLASSROOMS 29

much error, I was able to complete my first case study. I am confident that I will have a much

better understanding of which mistakes to watch out for when designing future case studies of

this nature. Furthermore, I have discovered a niche of ELL education that suits me not only as a

researcher, but as a creative educator as well. This research sparked the creation of an

educational YouTube channel that I have every intention to continue creating content for, giving

me not only the opportunity to reach more and more varied learners, but also the opportunity for

future research relating to the channel itself. While this study may have come to a close, it marks

the beginning of my future as a researcher and online educator.

TAILORED MUSIC VIDEOS IN ELL CLASSROOMS 30

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