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Towards integrating television materials into english teaching and learning at the national university of Rwanda: an exploratory case study of the second year english course

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par Pravda Mfurankunda
University of the Western Cape, Cape Town - Masters in Education 2005
  

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4.6. Conclusion

In short, Chapter 4 analysed the data which looked at NUR English students' and lecturers' views on ways and opportunities of effectively integrating television materials with English teaching and learning. Findings put forward in this study demonstrate that there is no major obstacle that could prevent this practice from being realised despite the current lack of use of such materials. The next chapter deals with conclusions and recommendations.

Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

The preceding chapter presented and analysed the data. This chapter summarises the main findings, concludes the study and suggests some recommendations. The major concern investigated in this mini thesis has been attitudes towards integrating television materials into English teaching and learning at the National University of Rwanda. It is necessary to state that television materials refer to any television programme broadcast live or off-air in English. These programmes, as explained in Chapter 2 include news, documentaries, movies, etc. Another category of television materials comprises video recordings that are mainly based on television programmes.

As my topic required investigating on a given population's views or opinions on this matter, I chose to examine how second year English students and their lecturers view such integration and how it can be effective in the Department of English in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The methods used to collect the data were questionnaires and interviews, supported by document analysis. I conducted interviews with three lecturers from the six who also responded to my questionnaire. I also administered a questionnaire to second year English students. An evaluation of the content of academic English programmes at the NUR was also undertaken by me.

Using television materials at the NUR has received very little attention and I assumed that exploring this issue could benefit EFL/ESL students in Rwanda as they are not exposed to native speakers of English. Thus, television materials could help to improve the students' oral and aural abilities. From my informants' responses to questionnaires and interviews and analysis of the English programmes in use at the NUR, a number of issues have emerged and need to be restated here.

5.1. Summary of the findings

Firstly, students and lecturers provided ideas and insights on how television materials can be exploited to enhance English acquisition at the NUR. Secondly, a number of observations and remarks came out of the examination of the content of the programmes in use at the NUR.

To begin with, research findings indicate that second year English students strongly support the integration of television materials with English teaching and learning at the NUR. This is evident from the value they attach to television as a learning medium. There were no significant discrepancies between lecturers' attitudes and students' ones on this matter. The lecturers I interviewed and those who completed my questionnaire, acknowledged the importance of using television in the English class. However, they expressed disappointment at the lack of facilities to do so. The data also provides information on students' self-reporting on their listening abilities in relation to English television programmes. These views are summarised below.

5.1.1. Students' listening abilities in watching TV programmes in English

Responses to students' questionnaires (see question 7: how well do you follow TV programmes in English?) revealed that 16/30, that is 53.3 %, are unable to get both main ideas and details from watching programmes on TV. The data indicates that this failure is due to several factors some of which are as follows: unfamiliarity with various English accents namely American English and lack of exposure to native speakers' intonation. The findings also show that there are other underlying factors to the students' incomprehension.

Firstly, the students mentioned that they are unfamiliar with American English accents. In addition, lack of exposure to the native speakers' cultural environment adds to their listening difficulties.

Secondly, lack of exposure to native speakers' intonation also constitutes a major hindrance to the students' listening performance. In fact, they are not familiar with the way native speakers change their voice when they want to convey certain meanings. This phenomenon is also linked to difficulty of discrimination between the sound systems of British and American English accents.

Thirdly, there are other underlying factors to listening difficulties. One could be the fact that 23/30, that is 73%, of my informants had never been exposed to TV in their language class. This could be a potential cause of their incomprehension as TV is a medium they are not familiar with in the classroom.

Lastly, the students indicated that they would sometimes have recourse to some hints or clues to improve their listening situation. For instance, while watching TV news (a programme that the students favoured most, that is 30/30) they would follow headlines or titles that appear on the screen to grasp the message.

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