Using Films to Teach Proverbs and Idioms for Lifelong Learning*

© Kamla-Raj 2016 Anthropologist, 24(1): 373-379 (2016)
Using Films to Teach Proverbs and Idioms for Lifelong Learning*
Yasemin Yilmaz Atagul
Istanbul Sehir University, School of Languages, Istanbul, 34662, Turkey
E-mail: yaseminatagul@sehir.edu.tr
KEYWORDS Audio Visual Aids. Cultural Dimension. Lifelong Education. Teaching Language. Television series.
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to measure the efficiency of teaching learners of Turkish as a foreign
language, through television series, the proverbs and idioms which can be considered important socio-cultural
instruments in terms of the lifelong learning approach. An experimental pattern with pre-test and post-test
experiment-control groups are used in this study. The research data were obtained from 137 foreign students at B2
level who study at Fatih University TOMER and Gazi University TOMER. Using the responses of the students to
the pre-test and post-test questions, their competence of using proverbs and idioms was examined. It was observed
that while the level of success of the experiment group and control group was equal before watching the films, the
experiment group’s level of success increased after watching them. These findings suggest that this practice is more
successful than the classical method of teaching proverbs and idioms.
INTRODUCTION
Turkish is a great and strong language with
roots dating back to very old times. Throughout
history, people of many different nations wanted
to learn Turkish due to political, economic, religious
and cultural reasons. The demand for
teaching of Turkish as a foreign language has
considerably increased again in today’s world.
As a result of this trend, many people from a
variety of nations learn Turkish in institutions
founded both in Turkey and all around the world.
The role of proverbs and idioms as sociocultural
language tools in teaching Turkish as a
foreign language cannot be ignored. “Proverbs
and idioms contain a nation’s culture, thoughts,
life experiences, traditions, morals and world perspective.
Proverbs are the best indications of
nations’ keen intelligence, broad imagination and
sensitive emotions. Each proverb is marked by
its own nation” (Aksoy 1988). Idioms, as much
as proverbs, include traces of a nation’s culture.
They are like a nation’s fingerprints. The importance
of teaching proverbs and idioms stems from
this very deep meaning that they have.
Poyraz and Titrek (2013) also claim that there
are lots of barriers to to develop lifelong education
and language is one of them. Developing
lifelong skills teaching a language is an important
tool and also teaching a language also conveys
a culture. Teaching proverbs and idioms is
a process of acquisition of the language together
with the culture. “As the researchers of culture
transfer state, teaching foreign learners of
Turkish our culture will help them learn our language
more efficiently” (Arslan and Durukan
2014) for lifelong lerning. Via films, these cultural
elements can be conveyed to people who want
to learn Turkish as a foreign language. Many
proverbs used in daily language and idioms can
be encountered in films. The film as an audiovisual
art form truly reflects a society’s cultural
and aesthetic images by shape to express certain
thoughts and feelings, reflecting the national
spirit. Film is a mirror that reflects real life, popular
culture and art (Iscan 2011). Using natural
language in the classroom plays a vital role in
teaching Turkish truly, effectively and in a communicative
way. Teachers and course books used
to be the core of multimedia learning for a long
time. Today, however, thanks to the use of modern
technology in education, different resources
help the teacher-course book combination in
maintaining multimedia learning in the classroom
(Barin 2007). Although a huge variety of video
materials are used in the teaching of English and
German as a foreign language, unfortunately
using videos in teaching Turkish is far behind
the times. That is why there is a huge need for
the development of audio-visual materials to be
used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language.
Films are of the greatest importance among these
materials (Gur 1997).
In some publications on teaching Turkish as
a foreign language, there is a misuse of terms like
“film, series and video” as audio-visual materials
because of their wrong interchangeable usage.
The online dictionary of the Turkish Language
Association (2015) provides the following
definitions: “film: a piece of art shown on
374 YASEMIN YILMAZ ATAGUL
movies”; “series: film, series or TV series broadcasted
in episodes with mostly a continuing story”;
and “video: a series of motion pictures, digitally
compiled or placed on magnetic tapes, a
videotape”. Besides these definitions, a video
can also be defined as a short film prepared for a
special purpose. As there is no other significant
difference between films and series but length
and unity of story, “film” as a comprehensive
term is used for both. Short films, series with
episodes and cinema films with unity of story
are all of great help in teaching languages.
In the teaching of languages through films,
learners have the chance to learn the living language.
Their listening skills improve. Films enhance
success in learning as they enforce the
use of more senses in lessons. “The more senses
are included in lessons, the easier the learning
will take place and the harder the forgetting
will happen. Teaching a subject by seeing it and
examining it via observation and experiments is
making learning possible with the activation of
perceptions and knowledge from experience.
Since students’ emotions accompany their senses
in such studies, their learning will be exact,
firm and true. This kind of knowledge will not
only be permanent and long-lasting but also easy
to apply” (Kucukahmet 1999; Barin 2010).
Communication images of the language to be
taught can be shown to students as concrete
and live via video films. In a video, a student can
easily see people in a dialogue; their gender,
clothes, relationships, social status, what they
do and how they feel. Furthermore, students can
observe those people’s gestures, hand movements,
intonations, all of their behavior and understand
the context much better. That is why
videos have recently become one of the most
commonly-used tools in teaching foreign languages
and the video teaching has become one
of the most important techniques (Demirel 1999).
Each student may have a different type of strong
intelligence, which is why their ways of learning
will be different too. Since films can refer to both
the visual and auditory senses, students with
different types of intelligence can be reached
through films. As they include entertaining elements,
films enhance students’ motivation during
lessons. As the students’ motivation rises,
they can easily learn difficult structures like proverbs
and idioms with the help of films without
any boredom, but through fun. Many other studies
have already revealed that films and videos
increase students’ motivation and those students
with higher motivation experience easier
learning (Stoller 1990; Wang 2014; Woottipong
2014).
There are criteria in choosing films for the
purpose of teaching proverbs and idioms. First
of all, the films must have an adequate content
regarding the use of proverbs and idioms. Another
point to be kept in mind is that the films to
be shown should not be too long. Films longer
than 30-35 minutes will make students’ motivation
decrease. Instead of foreign films with Turkish
dubbing, Turkish films with Turkish subtitles
should be preferred. Teaching Turkish language
with series or films created by Turkish
culture will be more effective. “Before presenting
a film with rapid foreign speech, the teacher
should arrange for each student in the class to
be provided with a script of the documentary. As
a class exercise, the students could read the script
in the foreign language” (Lottman 1961). Teachers
should not consider films as a way of killing
time; instead they should pause the films when
needed and provide the necessary explanations.
A film watched non-stop from beginning to end
will be of no help in educational terms. Repeating
the proverbs and idioms of the day at the
end of the lesson and discussing similarities and
differences will increase their permanence.
In the teaching of Turkish as a foreign language,
numerous techniques are employed to
teach proverbs and idioms along with the cultural
traces of the very nation where they flourish.
Yet, there are no sufficient concrete data showing
how successful these techniques are. The
success of these techniques should be measured;
techniques that enhance learning should be identified
and these techniques should be given priority
in instruction.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to measure the
efficiency of teaching learners of Turkish as a
foreign language, through television series, the
proverbs and idioms which can be considered
important socio-cultural instruments in terms of
the lifelong learning approach.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The research is designed in an experimental
pattern. An experimental pattern with pre-test and
post-test experiment-control groups are used in
this study. Experimental patterns are research
USING FILMS TO TEACH PROVERBS AND IDIOMS FOR LIFELONG LEARNING 375
patterns used to identify the cause-effect relations
between variables (Buyukozturk 2007). An
experimental pattern is usually based on two
groups such as experiment and control groups.
The experiment group goes through some specified
training and later this is evaluated. On the
other hand, the control group continues with
their regular training. At the end of the application
of the experimental pattern, the variation of
success rates in the experiment group before and
after the training is statistically compared with that
of the control group. In addition to this, pre-test
and post-test success variations between the
groups are statistically evaluated. The findings
reveal the success of the training program used.
If the success variation of the experiment group is
higher than that of the control group proves that
the educational program is successful.
Participants
The research data were obtained from 137
foreign students at B2 level who study at Fatih
University TOMER and Gazi University TOMER.
Two different work groups were identified. The
experiment and control groups were chosen randomly.
81 students were included in the experiment
group and 56 students in the control group.
No significant relationship was found between
gender and group (χ2
=0.318; p=0.350>
0.05). The experiment group consisted of 28 (34.6
%) females and 53 (65.4 %) males; the control
group consisted of 22 (39.3 %) females and 34
(60.7%) males. No significant relationship was
found between nationality and group (χ2
=0.875;
p=0.928>0.05). The experiment group consisted
of 9 (11.1 %) people from Europe, 19 (23.5 %)
from Africa, 6 (7.4 %) from Middle Asia, 37 (45.7
%) from the Middle East, and 10 (12.3 %) from
the Far East; the control group consisted of 6
(10.7 %) people from Europe, 10 (17.9 %) from
Africa, 4 (7.1 %) from Middle Asia, 27 (48.2 %)
from the Middle East, and 9 (16.1 %) from the Far
East (Table 1).
Data Gathering Tools
The research data were obtained from 137
foreign students at B2 level who studied at Fatih
University TOMER and Gazi University TOMER.
The experiment and control groups were chosen
randomly. 81 students were included in the experiment
group, and 56 students in the control
group. Using the responses of 137 foreign students
at B2 level who study at Fatih University
TOMER and Gazi University TOMER to pre-test
and post-test questions, their competence of
using proverbs and idioms was examined. During
the preparation phase of the pre-test and
post-test questions, each proverb and idiom appearing
in the series was used a minimum of twice,
once in the question itself and once in the choices.
No proverb or idiom that does not appear in
films was used in the tests. The pre-test and posttest
questions were composed of 24 questions,
where each proverb and idiom was examined
twice. Although the pre-test and post-test questions
were the same, they were presented in a
different order. The first question in the pre-test,
for example, was the 24th in the post-test. The
reliability coefficient for the film application success
test was calculated. The KR21 coefficient
was found to be high as 0.877, and the KR20
coefficient was found to be high as 0.886.
Application of the Experimental Pattern
For the research, a series with adequate content
with regard to proverbs and idioms was chosen.
During the whole educational process, a
series was preferred so as to maintain the unity
of the story. In order to finish the whole applicaTable
1: Descriptive features of the film application students
Experiment Control p
n % n %
Gender Female 28 34.6 22 39.3 χ2
=0.318
Male 53 65.4 34 60.7 p=0.350
Nationality Europe 9 11.1 6 10.7 χ2
=0.875
Africa 19 23.5 10 17.9 p=0.928
Middle Asia 6 7.4 4 7.1
Middle East 37 45.7 27 48.2
Far East 10 12.3 9 16.1
376 YASEMIN YILMAZ ATAGUL
tion in one lesson hour, the episodes of the series
were shortened in a way that would not destroy
the unity of the story. The plot of the series
that was shortened to 30-35 minutes was
disclosed and the proverbs and idioms in it were
located. With the help of the disclosed text, Turkish
subtitles were prepared and these subtitles
were uploaded to the episodes. Students of Turkish
at B2 level were chosen randomly to represent
the experiment and control groups. A pretest
was used to measure the students’ competence
in the target proverbs and idioms before
the learning process. After the pre-test, the experiment
and control groups went through different
processes. After the pre-test, the experiment
group was given an eight-week training
course via series to teach them the proverbs and
idioms. During this process, the experiment
group was taught 40 different proverbs and idioms.
Each week before the film session, instructional
documents on the proverbs and idioms to
be taught in that lesson were handed out to the
students. These documents included explanations
of the proverbs and idioms in the film, the
time of their appearance in the film, and example
sentences. The students were asked to read aloud
the target proverbs and idioms together with their
meanings from the distributed documents. The
scenes where the proverbs and idioms appeared
were paused and necessary explanations were
provided. After this application, presentations
including screen shots of the proverbs and idioms
in the series were given as repetition. For the
control group, on the other hand, the regular curriculum
was followed and no extra effort to teach
the proverbs and idioms was made. The control
group was given lists including the target proverbs
and idioms. At the end of the course, the
experiment and control groups were given the
post-test, and variations in their pre-education and
post-education success rates were observed.
Statistical Analysis of the Data
The data derived from the study were analyzed
using the SPSS software (Statistical Package
for Social Sciences) for Windows 22.0. Numbers,
percentages, means, and standard deviations
were used as descriptive statistical methods
in the assessment of the data. As the research
variables showed a normal distribution,
parametric statistical methods were used in the
research. A coupled group t-test was used for
the comparing quantitative continuous data between
two dependent groups (repeated measurement).
A t-test was used for comparing the quantitative
continuous data between the two independent
groups, and a one-way Anova test was
used for comparing the quantitative continuous
data between more than two independent groups.
A Scheffe test was used as supplementary posthoc
analysis to identify the differences after the
Anova test. The findings were assessed in a 95
percent confidence range and on a 5 percent significance
level.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The findings concerning the film application
are covered in this part. The difference between
the group means was not found to be statistically
significant after the t-test that was conducted
to identify whether the pre-test points of the students
participating in the study showed any
significant difference from the group variable (t(1-135)
=-0.347; p=0.729>0.05). The students in both the
experiment and control groups had similar results
from the pre-test questions, and thus they had a
similar level of knowledge and competence prior
to their application (Table 2).
However, the difference between the group
averages was found to be statistically significant
according to the t-test that was conducted
to find out whether the latest test means showed
any significant difference compared to the group
variable (t(1-135)=6.718; p=0.000<0.05). The final
test scores of the experiment group (x=18.230)
was higher than the final test scores of the control
group (x=12.500). These data prove that the
training which the experiment group went
through improved their success rates. No significant
progress was observed in the control group
(Table 3).
Table 2: Averages of the pre-test points in groups
Group N Av Sd t p
Total Pre-test Points Experiment 81 11.120 4.802 -0.347 0.729
Control 56 11.410 4.717
USING FILMS TO TEACH PROVERBS AND IDIOMS FOR LIFELONG LEARNING 377
The differences between the group averages
found by the t-test conducted to identify whether
the average score variation among the students
participating in the study differed significantly
from the group variable was found to be
statistically significant (t(1-135)) =10.659;
p=0.000<0.05). The score variation of the experiment
group (x=7.111) was found to be higher than
that of the control group (x=1.089) (Table 4). The
level of success of the experiment group and
control group was equal before watching the
films. However, the experiment group’s level of
success increased at the end of the training period.
A rise was also observed in the level of success
of the control group. The variation of success
was higher in the experiment group than
that of the control group. These findings suggest
that the practice applied to the experiment
group for teaching proverbs and idioms is more
successful than the classical method.
The differences between the group averages
that were found by the one-way variance analysis
(Anova) which was conducted to find out
whether the average pre-test scores of the students
participating in the study showed a significant
difference on the basis of nationality was
found to be statistically significant (F(1-135)=4.620;
p=0.002<0.05). A supplementary post-hoc analysis
was carried out to identify the origins of
these variations. The pre-test scores of African
students (14.030 ± 5.609) were higher than European
students (10.670 ± 6.411), Middle East students
(10.970 ± 3.821), and Far East students
(8.530 ± 3.272). The highest pre-test scores were
those of African students, while students from
the Far East had the lowest pre-test score averages
(Table 5).
The differences between the group averages
found by the one-way variance analysis (Anova)
which was conducted to find out whether
the average post-test scores of the students participating
in the study showed a significant difference
on the basis of nationality was not found
to be statistically significant (F(1-135)=2.262;
p=0.066>0.05). The students’ success scores after
the film application were similar regardless of
their nationality (Table 6).
Table 3: Averages of the post-test points in groups
Group N Av Sd t p
Total Post-test Points Experiment 81 18.230 4.902 6.718 0.000
Control 56 12.500 4.925
Table 4: Average score variations in the pre-test and post-test groups
Group N Av Sd t p
Variations Experiment 81 7.111 3.997 10.659 0.000
Control 56 1.089 1.643
Table 5: Averages of the pre-test points of the experiment group based on nationality
Group N Av Sd F p Variation
Total Pre-test Europe 15 10.670 6.411 4.620 0.002 2 > 1
Points Africa 29 14.030 5.609 2 > 4
Middle Asia 10 10.900 3.725 2 > 5
Middle East 64 10.970 3.821 4 > 5
Far East 19 8.530 3.272
Table 6: Averages of the post-test points of experiment group based on nationality
Group N Av Sd t p
Total Post-test Points Europe 15 14.000 7.397 2.262 0.066
Africa 29 18.100 5.434
Middle Asia 10 15.400 4.789
Middle East 64 16.020 5.063
Far East 19 13.840 6.021
378 YASEMIN YILMAZ ATAGUL
The differences between the group averages
found by the t-test which was conducted to find
out whether the average pre-test scores of the
students participating in the study showed a significant
difference on the basis of gender was
not found to be statistically significant (t(1-135)=
-0.299; p=0.782>0.05). Prior to the film application,
both male and female students had similar
success scores (Table 7).
The differences between the group averages
found by the t-test which was conducted to find
out whether the average post-test scores of students
participating in the study showed a significant
difference on the basis of gender was not
found to be statistically significant (t(1-135)=-1.307;
p=0.193>0.05). Following the film application,
both male and female students had similar success
scores (Table 8).
There are many studies available in the field
regarding the use of films in language teaching.
In these studies, the significance of using films
for language teaching was given special stress
and it was stated that students benefited in numerous
ways (Johnson 1956; Lottmann 1961;
Fehlman 1996; Berk 2009; McNulty and Lazarevic
2012). “The use of video in the foreign language
classroom has been the subject of numerous
studies, with nearly exclusive emphasis
placed on its linguistic benefits and its effectiveness
in increasing listening comprehension”
(Weyer 1999). Despite the recent increase in the
number of studies regarding teaching Turkish
as a foreign language, there are still no studies
about teaching structures with depth in language
meaning, such as idioms and proverbs. If materials
for special teaching purposes are designed
and research is carried out, then the chances of
success will rise.
CONCLUSION
Considering the pre-test score averages of
the participants, we can conclude that students
in the experiment and control groups had similar
scores as the tests on proverbs and idioms,
which means they were equally knowledgeable
and competent before the application.
The post-test score averages showed that
pre-test score average of the experiment group,
which was 11.120, increased to 18.230 as a result
of the eight-week training they received. This
finding suggests that the training was successful.
When it comes to the control group who
received no training, their pre-test score average
rose from 11.410 to 12.500. So, the control group
showed no noteworthy improvement.
Examining the variation of scores, one can
see that the score variations of the experiment
group (x=7.111) were greater than the control
group (x=1.089). It is also understood that the
level of variation in the experiment group was
much higher than that of the control group.
These findings suggest that the practice applied
to the experiment group for teaching proverbs
and idioms was more successful than the classical
method.
The analyses carried out in order to find out
any possible significant difference among participants
regarding their nationalities revealed
that there was a significant difference in the pretest
scores in terms of nationality, while the posttest
averages showed no such significant difference.
While the African students had the highest
pre-test score averages, the lowest averages
belonged to the students from the Far East. The
students’ success scores after the film application
were similar regardless of their nationalities.
As a result of the analyses carried out in order to
find out any possible significant difference among
the participants regarding their gender, no significant
difference was found in either the pretest
or post-test score averages. It was clear that
the success scores of both the female and male
participants were similar prior to the film application.
Likewise, the post-test score averages were
not found to be statistically significant in terms
Table 8: Averages of the post-test points of the experiment group based on gender
Group N Av Sd t p
Total Post-test Points Female 50 15.060 6.186 -1.307 0.193
Male 87 16.370 5.301
Table 7: Averages of the pre-test points of the experiment group based on gender
Group N Av Sd t p
Total Pre-test Points Female 50 11.080 5.591 -0.299 0.782
Male 87 11.330 4.228
USING FILMS TO TEACH PROVERBS AND IDIOMS FOR LIFELONG LEARNING 379
of the gender variable, and similar results in the
success scores were gathered for both the male
and female students. After the training period,
similar rates of a rise in success were observed
for both the male and female participants. No
difference in terms of gender was discovered.
In the light of the above findings, one can conclude
that teaching proverbs and idioms through
films produces fruitful outcomes. Thus, the regular
inclusion of teaching through films in lessons will
be of great help for students’ education.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It was observed that making use of films in
foreign language teaching significantly contributed
to students’ language learning. Materials
including the use of films in language teaching
should be prepared and these materials should
be utilized in class. Hence, the problem about
insufficient materials in teaching Turkish will be
overcome and there will be significant results.
NOTES
*
This article was presented at the 1st International
Conference on Lifelong Education and Leadership,
in Olomouc, Czech on October 29-31, 2015.
The present study has been created by the PhD Thesis
named “A Comparison on the Efficacy Levels of
the Film and Story Techniques in the Turkish Proverb
and Idiom Teaching as Foreign Language” presented
to the 1st International Conference on Lifelong
Education and Leadership in 2015.
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