Project Details
Description
This project concerns laying the groundwork for the development of an online tool for the linguistic analysis of online videos, which can support independent language learning by making it easier for English language learners to judge whether certain content is suitable for their current skill level.
Research indicates that it is common among successful learners of English as a foreign language to engage with English-language TV series and films, online videos, and other web content in their leisure time. However, an important barrier to making use of such informal resources is that many learners have difficulty identifying content which is at an appropriate linguistic level. In addition, motivation to engage with such resources heavily depends how well they align with learners’ personal interests. Many learners who are enrolled in language classes rely on their teachers to signpost materials with which they can engage to practise their language skills beyond the classroom. However, it is difficult and time-consuming for teachers to curate resources for their students, and impossible to tailor their suggestions to every student’s interests.
To help learners in identifying suitable resources, this project explored the development of an Online Video Analyser (OVA) which can download and analyse subtitles from online videos to provide an estimate of their linguistic difficulty. The project focused on fundamental idea development work, with the goal of refining the initial idea enough that it can be taken to potential collaborators and funders in future, and to get a more concrete idea of the technical, entrepreneurial etc. steps necessary for implementation.
Research indicates that it is common among successful learners of English as a foreign language to engage with English-language TV series and films, online videos, and other web content in their leisure time. However, an important barrier to making use of such informal resources is that many learners have difficulty identifying content which is at an appropriate linguistic level. In addition, motivation to engage with such resources heavily depends how well they align with learners’ personal interests. Many learners who are enrolled in language classes rely on their teachers to signpost materials with which they can engage to practise their language skills beyond the classroom. However, it is difficult and time-consuming for teachers to curate resources for their students, and impossible to tailor their suggestions to every student’s interests.
To help learners in identifying suitable resources, this project explored the development of an Online Video Analyser (OVA) which can download and analyse subtitles from online videos to provide an estimate of their linguistic difficulty. The project focused on fundamental idea development work, with the goal of refining the initial idea enough that it can be taken to potential collaborators and funders in future, and to get a more concrete idea of the technical, entrepreneurial etc. steps necessary for implementation.
| Short title | Online Video Analyser |
|---|---|
| Acronym | OVA |
| Status | Finished |
| Effective start/end date | 2021/09/01 → 2022/06/30 |