Using Video Materials to Facilitate Students’ Creative Thinking and Improve Their English Skills.

Bogdan Pavliy

During this presentation I will discuss the ways to facilitate students’ creative thinking and improve their English skills with the help of some video material (short clips from the Internet). It is always difficult to engage students in any language leaning activities if they consider them too difficult, dull or unrealistic. I will present some practical ideas on how to make our lessons more interesting to the learners with poor command of English. One of the methods to motivate such students is to give them reasonable tasks that finally have to be fulfilled in English, while allowing them to communicate using their native language during the activity. The primary goal of each activity is to help students feel relaxed and enjoy their English lessons. There should be also said that if we want our students to enjoy their activities, we have to enjoy them ourselves.

Biography

Born in Kiev, Ukraine. Native languages: Ukrainian and Russian. Started to study English in elementary school. In 1993 temporarily studied in Webutuck High School, Amenia, New York. In 1995 entered Kiev National Linguistic University, Ukraine (majors: Japanese/English linguistics, translating/interpreting). In 1999-2000 studied in Nagoya University as a Monbusho Scholarship student. Graduated from Kiev National Linguistic University in 2002. Working in Japan since 2003. 2003-2006 Taught English at Meisei Academy (juku), English Center Hamamatsu and some other language schools

2006-2011. Full-time English lecturer at Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology. April 2011-present. Full-time English lecturer and academic adviser at Toyama University of International Studies.