Humorous Videos and Idiom Achievement: Some Pedagogical Considerations for EFL Learners

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Tabaran Institute of Higher Education, Iran

2 Islamic Azad University of Iran (Torbat Heydarieh Branch), Iran

3 University of Bojnord, Iran

Abstract

Employing a quasi-experimental design, this study examined the efficacy of humorous idiom video clips on the achievement of Iranian undergraduate students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL).  Forty humorous video clips from the English Idiom Series called “The Teacher” from the BBC website were used to teach 120 idioms to 61 undergraduate students at the University of Bojnord (UB). A 40-item idiom pretest was given to the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG) while an independent-samples t-test was used to compare the means of these two groups based on posttest scores. A 15-item attitudinal questionnaire captured participants’ attitudes toward learning English idioms through video clips. The results indicate that there was a significant difference between the EG and CG mean scores: humorous video clips do facilitate EFL learners’ idioms achievement and learners exhibit a positive attitude toward their application in the classroom.

Keywords


Volume 5, Issue 3 (Special Issue)
October 2017
Pages 109-127
  • Receive Date: 08 October 2016
  • Revise Date: 31 July 2017
  • Accept Date: 20 September 2017
  • First Publish Date: 01 October 2017