Concluding remarks

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6. Concluding remarks, limitations, and implications for

110438/ Dissertation 63 the meaning of the speech using their own words. Similarly, writing evaluative summaries was the most challenging task the learners confronted since they failed to take a critical stance on the speakers’ ideas and support their points of view based on specific arguments. The integration of Ted talk was thought-provoking urging the students to regulate their learning and make decisions contrary to the passive teacher- centred context they used to work where the teacher took full responsibility for their education.

Ted talk videos introduced authentic English material and exposed the learners to real- life language. Watching people talk about interesting topics in a natural way was intellectually arousing and demanding given the fast pace of speech, the use of idiomatic language, and the complexity of locating major ideas. Through information- gap exercises, sharing notes, collaborative work, class discussion, joint-writing, drafting, peer evaluation learners had to produce authentic language both written and spoken in the classroom. Finally, recursive video watching added to summarizing a speech along with the criteria of summarization (length, content integrity, language accuracy) further encouraged the learners to write meaningfully in English. Evaluative summaries further motivated critical reflection of the incoming information and thus the production of authentic language notwithstanding their difficulty to construct their arguments.

Concerning the students’ exam pressure, it appears that the integration of TED talk videos during the writing lessons did not bring satisfactory results, since almost all learners admitted they felt anxious about the tasks even though they enjoyed the way the lessons were carried out. This can be attributed to the fact that this group of learners has never taken control of their learning before; joint writing, peer-evaluation, autonomous work, and their teacher’s limited intervention caused discomfort and few learners questioned these practices feeling that they would not help them with their upcoming exams. However, but for remote learning, the physical context of their classroom would have offered them greater reassurance to handle the cognitive load of

110438/ Dissertation 64 the video-mediated writing classes. Furthermore, more methodical guidance, over long periods of time would increase learners’ summarization knowledge and skills.

The final question of this paper addresses the teaching context in foreign language institutes and the degree of flexibility they can demonstrate towards the integration of TED talk videos in English language learning. This is by no means a straightforward process, as the shift to a more learner-centred teaching approach requires all stakeholders’ consent, including the parents, the school administration, and of course the learners. The integration of TED talk was met with skepticism from the school administration since the risk of learners’ skipping these innovative classes and losing track of exam practice was imminent because of the school closure. Surprisingly though, the learners’ positive response reassured both the school owner and the parents who were convinced of the educational potential of TED talk videos. Parents’ consent to the recording of the interview was an obstacle the teacher managed to overcome due to the good communication both sides have always shared; this of course is not always possible unless the teacher has gained parents’ trust. It is worthwhile to state that the process of designing teaching materials was long and arduous as the teacher had to interpret the collected data effectively to fulfill the learners’ summarization needs. It was rather time-consuming and mentally exhausting given the teacher’s daily workload, thus we could assume that joint effort and dedication would pave the way to the integration of such an innovation urging all school teachers to cope with so that gradual changes in the existing exam-based syllabus are made and TED talk teaching material is designed and effectively incorporated in.

The results of this survey appear to converge with those of several similar scientific pieces of research showing the discrepancies of the teaching programs private language institutes apply for proficiency classes (Dendrinos, 2013) and the poor summary writing instruction offered, although this is included in the CERF descriptors (2001). Most researchers seem to agree on the idea of a more systematic approach to teaching summary (Frey et al, 2003; Özdemir, 2018; Rinnert & Kobayashi, 2005;

Susar & Akkaya, 2009) and the need for implementing summarization instruction in

110438/ Dissertation 65 the syllabus for younger classes. In Hashimoto, Fukuda, and Okazaki’s study (2015), learners appreciated the opportunity of receiving more explicit instruction concerning summary writing. The use of a TED talk video, collaborative work, peer evaluation based on specific criteria were effective methodological tools allowing learners to get a deeper understanding of the process of writing a summary. Furthermore, similar research carried out by Martínez, Vargas, and Ramirez (2018) confirmed the motivational value of Ted- Talk videos and the complementary role conventional teaching tools (boards, textbooks) can play in the teaching process. The target students paid more attention to a screen than their textbooks which is rational given the impact video technology exerts in the ELT classroom (Antoniou, 2005). Furthermore, Kim’s (2015) and Metruk’s (2018) studies, illustrated the intriguing nature of TED speeches as target learners expressed their confidence to produce an authentic language for a meaningful purpose.