Towards a Sustainable Local Development of Instructional Material: An Impact Assessment of Locally Produced Videos on EFL Learners’ Skills and Individual Difference Factors

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the sustainability of local videos development, their integration in the EFL classroom, and their impact on students' learning outcomes. The research aims as well to assess the impact of the videos on learners' English language skills achievement and individual difference factors. We recruited a random sample of 100 and 76 students learning different levels of English in our English institute through an online survey. A cross-sectional study of perceived English language skill achievement and individual difference factors such as motivation, attitude, and cultural awareness was carried out. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used for data collection and analysis. Our conceptual framework showed that the sustainability of the local video production and its integration in the EFL classroom depends on the university's funding policy, which is subjected to the positive impact of the videos on students' learning outcomes. Also, the obtained results revealed that the videos fostered learners' English language skills as well as their motivation to learn the language, positive attitudes toward its integration, and local cultural awareness. This work contributes to existing knowledge of sustainable local curriculum development by providing the first empirical evidence on the positive impact of sustainable local videos as an instructional material on students' learning outcomes.

The Use of Local Literary Texts as Reading Materials in English Language Classrooms: An Analysis of Teachers’ Perspectives

“…Malaysian students continue to face difficulty when dealing with foreign cultural elements, particularly in its comprehension. In fact, Nambiar et al (2020) indicate that local culture-based reading materials help the forging of confidence in English of which helps generate sustainable means for encouraging the development of local instructional materials (Lasekan & Godoy, 2020).While there are other papers focusing on perceptions regarding text selection in the literature component (e.g. Rashid, Vethamani, & Rahman, 2010;Mohd Naser & Abd Aziz, 2017;Rashid, Abd Rahman, & Ismail, 2020) and responses on the re-introduction of English Literature as part of the school syllabus (Suliman & Yunus, 2014a;Suliman & Yunus, 2014b), none has yet looked into perceptions on its effectiveness, particularly those used for primary school students.…”

Local-Based Content to Improve EFL Students' English Achievement: A Systematic Review

“…Both studies by Lasekan and Godoy (2020); Zhang et al (2018) showed the positive effect of local-based content on language learning skills. In contrast to , who drove the insignificant impact of local-based contents on vocabulary recall.…”

“…Most studies share a consensus that local-based content increased the learner's motivation (Lasekan & Godoy, 2020;Zhang et al, 2018;Karim & Nafissi, 2017;Segni & Davidson, 2016). Thus, learner engagement increased correspondingly to using local content (Sheridan, Tanaka, & Hogg, 2019;Segni & Davidson, 2016;Qiu & Lo, 2016;Ebe, 2015).…”

“…Which is in line with results obtained by Zhang et al, 2018 andAubrey (2017), who found that learning local content is associated with higher attention, confidence, and relevant feelings. Keep this in mind, several studies reported a positive and strong attitude toward using local content since they reported easier and faster learning in the local-based context (Lasekan & Godoy, 2020;Selvarasu, et al, 2020;Mahardika, 2018;Li & Lai, 2012). Even the positive attitudes toward using local-based content, there is a negative attitude and strongly rejecting nativization process of international content to local content and there is a preference to read the text in their original version rather than anticipated.…”

“…Achievement may include more than two skills of language learning. For example, (Lasekan & Godoy, 2020) measured multiple language skills of reading, speaking, listening, and writing. Meanwhile, Zhang et al (2018) assessed only writing, reading, and speaking skills.…”