Vlogs in University EFL Speaking: Student’s and Teachers’ Perceptions

Abstract

The use of vlogs has increased significantly in the context of English learning, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language education. Yet little has been reported on how university EFL students perceive vlogs for their English learning, e.g. speaking activities. Thus, this paper aimed to investigate students’ and teachers’ perceptions of vlog-mediated English speaking activities. From 99 EFL students and teachers, 49 students of the English department of a private university were recruited to participate in this study. After a week of a classroom project of vloging in speaking activities was implemented, questionnaires were distributed. Then a semi-structured interview was conducted to further explore students’ perceptions of vloging activities. The findings show that vlog-mediated EFL speaking successfully stimulated students for speaking English. Students enjoyed the vloging activities. Students’ learning motivation was also improved. Some implication of the vlog-mediated EFL speaking activities were presented and discussed. Students’ speaking engagement and challenges were also elaborated.
 Keywords: EFL speaking, learning motivation, self-directed learning, vlog-mediated speaking