Abstract:

This study examines the effect of watching a funny video on learning new vocabulary items among preparatory school students at a university teaching English in Istanbul, Turkey. It investigates if there is a positive effect of feeling relaxed by watching a funny video when the students learn new vocabulary items in a foreign language. In addition, it was surveyed if the subject of video is important or not in this study. The study was conducted with 78 students. The students are preparatory school students and beginners. After 4 classes were chosen, they were termed as Control Group 1 and 2, Experimental Group 1 and 2. A video, which is about pronunciation mistakes, was watched by Control Group 1 and Experimental Group 1. Extracurricular video, about insomnia, was watched by Control Group 2 and Experimental Group 2. Control Groups watched videos which make the students bored. Experimental Groups watched videoswhich make them laugh. At the end of the study, while Control Group 1 has predicted average 1 word, Experimental Group 1 has predicted average more than 2words (2,166667). Similarly, while Control Group 2 has predicted less than 1 word (0,090909), Experimental Group 2 has predicted more than 1 word (1,619048). It is seen that watching a funny video, which is especially about the foreign language, has an effect on learning.

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