SELS Dialogues Journal Volume 3 Issue 1

Research Initiatives
Research questions
Based on the variables in the research, the following
research questions will be answered in this study:
RQ1: Does explicit teaching of compound and complex
sentences in video materials influence ESL learners’
knowledge of these grammatical structures?
RQ2: Does explicit teaching of compound and complex
sentences in video materials influence learners’
successful use of these forms in their writing?
Significance of the research
What is new about the current study is the gap which
is found in language teaching literature regarding the
relationship between teaching and learning L2 grammar
through attention- raising in compound and complex
structures in video input material. The current study
can be useful in providing us with a clearer view about
such influence on L2 learners’ knowledge of syntax
as a language component. Also, the findings of the
present research can be used in utilizing video material
in developing language teaching material, and they can
broaden our views on how such materials can be used
efficiently to meet the requirements of grammatical
accuracy which is an important aspect of any language
teaching in communicative approaches.
Participants
After receiving our former English Department Chair,
Ryan O’Connor’s approval at Centennial College, the
Oxford Placement Test was employed for selecting
20 participants at the intermediate level of English
language proficiency from the population of students
in two classes at Centennial College. Based on the
test results, the intermediate level students were
selected for the treatment in control and experimental
groups(classes), each consisting of 10 participants.
Both groups of the study participants received
instruction as treatment for 10 weeks. They received
treatment from the third week of the course which
continued until week 12.
Materials and treatment
In both groups, the coursebook “Grassroots” was the
main source of the instruction. Meanwhile, both groups
were exposed to video input materials from “The School
of Life” on their YouTube channel, focusing on self-help
topics and issues of everyday life.
The main difference in the two groups is that in the
control group, the students were exposed to the above
mentioned video podcasts without the teacher’s
intervention on the grammatical forms used in the
speeches in the videos, while in the experimental group,
the sentences in the video material which included
compound and complex structures were chosen from
the lectures by the teacher (here as the researcher)
and were written on the board to raise the learners’
awareness to such structures. Another strategy, which
was employed to raise the students’ attention to such
structures, was choosing them as sentences for topics
of further discussion in the class. Also, to provide
more explicit instruction, the teacher provided a brief
explanation on the structure of such sentences along
with a few further examples for each one. The rationale
for this activity was to discover to what extent the
explicit work on the structural aspects of compound
and complex sentences of the videos would benefit L2
learners of English.
The extra material for treatment was the video input
materials from “The School of Life”. The important point
about the videos is that the level of language does not
go beyond intermediate level of language proficiency
because they are used to address audiences from
around the world with average level of education and
English language proficiency. Meanwhile, due to the
authenticity of such material, the talks in these videos
include enough samples of compound and complex
structures which is the focus of the researcher’s
investigation.
Visual input and explicit treatment of
form, a window for input enhancement
Although the current research focuses on explicit
teaching of compound and complex structures, it also
sheds light on the true position of attention-raising in
authentic video material not just as supplementary
material, but also as a device which probably has the
potential to be used as the main material of the course.
SELS DIALOGUES | 19