Abstract
Successful language learning depends in large part on learner motivation (Anderson, 2010). Therefore, researchers have suggested that English teachers consider two factors to raise learners’ motivation: the form of the teaching materials and the content/subject matter ( Krashen,1989; Brown, 2010). Two forms of teaching materials often used in speaking classes are texts (reading, one-channel) and films (watching and listening, two-channels) (Mayer, 2003; Nunan, 1999; Krashen,1989; Murphy, 1991; Smitter,1994; Hamidi et al., 2011; Hamilton and Woodward, 2010; Brown, 2010) . With regard to subject matter, some teachers choose cultural issues, arguing that it is difficult to really understand and speak a language without knowing something of the culture of the people who use that language natively (Nunan, 1999; Hamilton and Woodward-Kron, 2010; Piechowski, 1967; O’Mara, 1991; Babcock, 1993; Gulliver, 2010). However, past literature examining the correlation between the form (texts or film) and content (cultural or not) of the materials is scant (Mayer, 2003; Murphy, 1991; Smitter,1994; Hamidi et al., 2011; Hamilton and Woodward, 2010; Brown, 2010; Nunan, 1999; Piechowski, 1967; O’Mara, 1991; Babcock, 1993; Gulliver, 2010). Moreover, there seems to be little research investigating how and to what extent this kind of correlation could promote students’ learning motivation and, beyond that, their participation in group discussion (Piechowski, 1967; O’Mara, 1991; Babcock, 1993; Gulliver, 2010). Considering these research gaps, two questions were addressed in this study: (1) Is there any interaction between the form (text or film) and the content (with or without cultural issues) of teaching materials on learners’ English oral fluency (i.e. running words, speaking time, T-units, clauses, and errors)? (2) How do the treatments affect learners' motivation toward (a) the course (b) linguistics self confidence (c) form of teaching materials, and (d) the content of teaching materials between the text-based group and the film-based group?To answer these questions, two intact Freshman English classes at a public university in Taiwan participated in this study. One class (Text-based Group) read textual excerpts of selected films while the other (Film-based Group) viewed the film excerpts. Moreover, both groups received treatments with two cross-cultural issues and two non-cross-cultural issues. In-class discussions which took place within both groups after viewing/reading were recorded and subsequently transcribed to determine whether fluency— (1) the number of running words, (2) the length of speaking time, (3) the number of T-units, (4) the number of clauses, and (5) the number of errors increased after treatment using the different materials. Both qualitative (via oral interview) and quantitative analysis of data (through several statistical tests and questionnaires) was performed in order to discover the relationship between form and content of teaching materials for aspects in promoting English speaking ability. The results show that first, the combination of form of and content of teaching materials does not effectively promote oral fluency. Second, while learners perceived that their oral fluency had not improved, they showed higher motivation toward using text-based materials, more than film-based materials and NCCI more than CCI materials. Though learners’ motivation was not very high and attitudes were not so positive in using cultural films in enhancing oral fluency, they reflected that interest and familiarity with the topics as well as the time management (limited within 12 to 15 minutes) were aspects of treatment that demotivated them. Researcher of this study also found that gender and age could be influential issues to influence learners’ oral fluency performance and speaking motivation.Pedagogically, these results may be of importance in providing teachers with a better understanding of how learner motivation and oral fluency relates to the form and the content of the teaching materials. This could shed some light on future studies, in that the design of a study and the implementation of cultural films should be considered seriously with regard to language learners’ personal factors, since a little mistake in design may demotivate or impede learners from improving their speaking fluency and motivation.