This week I read the article "Watching English Movies Helps Me!" Language Exposure and Metacognitive Awareness on TOEFL by Fata and Ismail. While the title initially captured my attention, the content retained my intrigue. The study was conducted at the University of Syiah Kuala in Indonesia which measured ESL student performance on the TOEFL exam - particularly the reading section. I kept reading and asking myself, "What does reading proficiency have to do with movies?" The article went on to discuss the difficulty of being and ESL student in Indonesia because English is not a primary language so there is little, if any, home exposure. Students opportunities to use English in a face-to-face environment are limited to conversations with professors and dorm-mates.
In order to compensate for the lack of input, many students turned to media - music, tv shows, and movies in English. The results of the study found "technology of internet or media (e.g. watching English movies and listening to English songs) takes higher impacts on student reading ability of TOEFL...and teaching students metacognitive awareness, how to employ their metacognitive regulations/skills is considered prominently important for late secondary and university students" (Fata & Ismail, 2017).
I found this article very encouraging and consistent with the material we've been talking about in class. This unit focused on how to develop the 4 language skills using technology and the data from this article confirm our content. I would want to have a discussion with the researchers about the application of certain technologies like Zaption and Abode Captivate to subtitle the movies in English and add comprehension or discussion questions.
Fata, I. A., & Ismail, N. M. (2017, May). "Watching English Movies
Helps Me!" Language Exposure and Metacognitive Awareness on TOEFL. Lingua Cultura, 11(1), 7-12. doi:10.21512/lc.v11i1.1624
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