TAILORED

MUSIC VIDEOS IN ELL CLASSROOMS 3

Tailored Music Videos in ELL Classrooms

Music has had a place in ELL classrooms for decades, and while the relevant literature

supports its use, there is a lack of research regarding the use of music videos in the ELL

classroom, and more specifically regarding the use of tailored ELL music videos. The following

case study explored the use of tailored music videos in teaching grammar and supporting a low-

affective-filter learning environment in a sophomore level ELL writing class at Ubon

Ratchathani Universty in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand during the spring semester of 2017-2018.

Statement of the Problem

The exponential growth of technology in recent years has changed the way we interact

with the world around us. We learn from our interactions, and integrating new technology into

our classrooms has become necessary to adapt to these changes. One way in particular that

teachers have integrated technology in the classroom is through digital storytelling—the use of

images, audio clips, music, and video to teach and reinforce learning. Effective digital

storytelling has been shown to support both teaching and learning in classrooms of various

subjects (Robin, 2016). In terms of teaching English language learners, this study will look at the

use of music and video.

Using music in the ELL classroom has been shown to be an effective way to teach many

aspects of the language. Because of the catchiness of music, it works well for the memorization

of vocabulary words (Murphey, 1992). The relationship between music and memorization also

has implications for learning grammar rules (Jolly, 1975). In addition to helping with simple

rote-memorization tasks, music has implications for the learning environment itself, as it has

been shown to help support a low affective filter in the classroom—an imperative component in

language acquisition. Because listening to music is a somewhat passive activity, and because it is
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a naturally occurring use of language among speakers, it is also an effective tool in bolstering

motivation in the ELL classroom (Engh, 2013). The use of video—and in particular online video

sources such as YouTube—is still relatively new, but it is already gaining popularity in the ELL

classroom. YouTube videos have been used to deliver information in an entertaining way and

explain topics that will be subsequently discussed in class. They have also been used to teach

listening and speaking, including pronunciation. One of the biggest challenges in using YouTube

videos in the classroom has been finding effective videos for particular classrooms and students

(Alhamami, 2017).

In terms of the available literature, while there is plentiful research available on the

implications of using music to teach ELLs, it is mostly based on seeking out relevant songs and

implementing them into the classroom. Although this has been shown to be effective in teaching

particular concepts for particular classes, this method is inherently limited due to the fact that the

songs were not composed as educational resources. While many songs happen to help with

things like vocabulary and sometimes grammar, there are more specialized concepts and lessons

that cannot be taught by seeking out popular songs. Additionally, even though online videos have

become used widely in the ELL classroom, there is a lack of research regarding their

effectiveness as educational tools in this context. It has also been noted that finding content-

appropriate videos can be difficult; this can discourage teachers to use them as an education tool.

Also, like music, many of the videos being used in ELL classrooms are not created with the

intent of teaching ELLs.

Finally, while there is a reasonable selection of research pertaining to the use of both

music and video in the ELL classroom, there has been very little research regarding the use of

music videos. In addition, although there are songs and videos created with the intention to teach
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ELLs, there seems to be a lack of music videos created with this purpose in mind. This case

study will determine the effectiveness of creating and using music videos in an ELL classroom in

order to supplement learning.

Student Population (Understanding of Context)

The participants of this case study were my students at Ubon Ratchathani University,

Thailand, where I was placed to work for my practicum. While I was teaching two sophomore

classes there—Presentation Skills and Essay Writing—I decided to focus my research on

students from the Essay Writing class, as one of my primary goals was to foster the retention of

grammar norms as they pertain to writing.

There were 27 students in the Essay writing class, ranging from 19-21 years of age. There

were two men and 25 women, all of whom were English and Communication majors. The class

met once a week for three-hour sessions. The focus of this particular class was to teach students

to write a variety of essay styles while maintaining grammatical efficiency at the paragraph and

sentence levels. Assignments included a grammar midterm exam, grammar final exam, and five

types of essay—recount, description, narrative, cause & effect, and compare &contrast. Essay

Writing is one of three required writing courses for English and Communication majors at UBU.

The class preceding Essay Writing was Paragraph Writing, and completion of Essay Writing

made students eligible to enroll in Academic Writing.

Research Question

To narrow down my research, I decided to focus on how tailored music videos can be

used to teach grammar and how they contribute to a low-affective-filter learning environment.

These two focuses were chosen based on their repeated appearance in the relevant literature

related to music and English language education (see Literature Review) and the needs of my
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students (see Rationale for Chosen Grammar Points). The following questions were used to

guide my study:

Are tailored ELL music videos an effective tool in teaching grammar?

Do tailored ELL music videos help support a low-affective-filter learning

environment?