Video-based instruction and students' perception of cultural understanding and motivation in the Chinese foreign language classroom

This paper reports on a study, which investigates the effects of video-based and text based instruction on students’ perception of cultural understanding and learning motivation in the Chinese foreign language classroom. It explores students’ opinions of the use of different teaching tools, both video and textual materials, and their effects on the retention of cultural aspects. The study included 42 high school Chinese foreign language students in Italy. One group of participants was exposed to video-based instruction, and the control group to text-based instruction. Data were collected using a pre- and a post-questionnaire on students’ evaluation of cultural understanding, motivation and the efficacy of the learning tools; content questions were also used to investigate students’ cultural retention. Results of two groups were then compared. The findings confirm that video-based instruction is perceived as more effective and more motivating than written text. In particular, video-based material is more successful in facilitating understanding of a foreign culture and helps enhancement of students’ cultural proficiency. The results of the present investigation, on the one hand, contribute to the research on the effectiveness of the employment of video as a teaching tool, focusing on the specific field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language; on the other hand, support teachers and textbook authors to incorporate video-based instructions as effective tools for the promotion of language acquisition in classroom activities and teaching materials.