Language learning using muted or wordless videos - A creativity-based edutainment learning forum

Abstract

From the teacher’s perspective, English language enrichment is more applicable and easier when using videos, resulting in a surge in the student’s receptivity. This paper attempts to bridge the gap by using silent videos to stimulate creative writing with a constructivism paradigm. Conducted in an Engineering college in the rural part of South India, two classes with 60 students each (both male and female) from first-year engineering (heterogeneous classes) at CEFR B1 level were chosen for the study. The researchers were the course instructors themselves, with fifteen-minute silent sports videos used for both groups. A sports video with audio was used for the controlled group, whereas one without audio was used for the target group. The controlled group tape-scripted the video content as they listened, while the experimental group created the script for the video on their own. The scripts were assessed for language quality based on vocabulary usage, sentence formation, and choice of words. The assessment details demonstrated that the experimental group students had demonstrated better scriptwriting skills compared to the control group students, who had relied on the audio and tried to paraphrase the words they had heard, leading to unclear scripting. This research showed that silent videos also help in grasping the English language by ESL learners, especially in creative writing and script drafting, evidentially proving that silent videos stimulate autonomous writing among students as they do not depend on audio for tape scripting. It further enhanced their writing skills with creative ability, and, further, the students preferred silent videos over audio videos due to better outcomes.