EFL Learners' Perceptions of Conversational Videos Regarding Classroom Engagement at a Language Center in Can Tho City

With the increasing integration of technology into language education, conversational videos have gained popularity for their ability to provide learners with rich content and context while facilitating language acquisition. However, there is still more to learn about how these videos affect student participation in the classroom, especially for Vietnamese students taking general English courses. This study addresses this gap by investigating students’ perceptions of conversational videos’ influence on classroom engagement at a foreign language center in Can Tho City, Vietnam. Using a mixed-method design, questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from 30 intermediate Vietnamese learners in General English classes. The questionnaires were employed to explore the EFL learners’ opinions on the effectiveness of conversational videos through behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In addition, the data collected from the interviews were analyzed to provide detailed explanations in this study. The findings indicate that most learners appreciated the usefulness of conversational videos in enhancing three types of engagement in the classroom learning process. This research seeks to shed light on the effectiveness of integrating conversational videos into language instruction and its implications for enhancing learner engagement, thereby informing pedagogical practices in similar contexts.


Introduction
The rapid advancement of technology is impacting the majority of academic disciplines, English language teaching (ELT) being no exception.It is imperative that ELT teachers recognize how technology can enhance the teaching and learning process.The application of technology has progressively included technical tools that can improve students' learning outcomes and experiences in this age of rapidly evolving technological trends.According to Pribadi (2017), educational information technology has globally created a range of innovative media that can improve learning's efficacy and efficiency.This means that these modifications show that, in the global world, using information technology in the classroom to enhance learning has become necessary and demanded.It is well known that a large number of academics, language instructors, and material designers have recently become interested in examining the efficacy of different approaches and techniques that can be used in EFL classes to support students' acquisition of language skills and enhance the teaching and learning process.The influence of realistic video materials on the learning outcomes of English language learners was highlighted by Thanajaro (2000).Using video resources promotes global communication among English language learners (Sherman, 2003).This prompts numerous scholars to investigate the reasons behind the preferences of certain teachers to use digital technology in foreign language instruction while others do not.

Literature review
Classroom Engagement Reschly and Christenson (2012) asserted that differences in the number of components of learner engagement have impeded research in the field.A range of research studies introduced different models of student engagement comprising two, three, and four components.To be more specific, Sidelinger (2010) defined engagement as actions that take place both within and outside of the classroom.Certain researchers proposed, based on Fredricks and McColskey (2012), that engagement consists of two dimensions: behavior (such as involvement, effort, and positive conduct) and emotion (like interest, belonging, value, and positive feelings).More recently, others have proposed a three-component model of student participation.The three components themselves, which vary from study to study and are typically behavior, emotion, and cognitive in most studies, may change.The four types of engagement are behavioral, cognitive, affective, and psychological.
In conclusion, several studies (Appleton et al., 2008;Carter et al., 2012;Fredricks et al., 2004;Phan, 2014b;Schaufeli et al., 2002;Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013) have revealed that there are discrepancies in the definitions and coverage of engagement.Researchers do, however, generally agree that engagement is multifaceted and consists of a variety of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive elements that combine to represent students' positive learning styles.As a result, the current research adopts this three-component model, and each component is considered within the study's parameters.Stated differently, taking into account the study's context, the researcher described classroom engagement as occurring after behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.

Behavioral engagement
According to Fredricks et al. (2004), behavioral engagement is defined as engagement in positive conduct, including adhering to classroom norms, following rules, and avoiding disruptive behaviors such as being troublesome or skipping school.For this study, behavioral engagement also encompasses positive conduct related to learning and academic tasks within the classroom setting.

Emotional engagement
According to Fredricks et al. (2004), emotional engagement refers to students' positive and negative emotional responses toward their professors, peers, academic work, and school as a whole.This study examines affective factors such as enjoyment, support, sense of belonging, and attitudes toward peers, teachers, learning, and the school environment in general to understand emotional engagement.

Cognitive engagement
According to Fredricks et al. (2004), the cognitive engagement dimension specifically measures students' level of commitment to their education.In this study, cognitive engagement focuses on the learner's commitment to mastering and engaging in learning activities.

Conversational Videos
In the light of this study, the conversational video selection followed the features of Berk (2009).Berk (2009) emphasizes that videos are rated from "G" for general audiences, but more crucial are content ratings for graphic violence, obscene language, nudity, sexuality, and gore.Commercial movies and music videos often use extreme content to attract audiences.Suppose a video clip or an entire film is to be used as a teaching tool.In that case, criteria must be established to determine what is appropriate and acceptable in an educational context.Berk (2009) identifies three sets of criteria to consider: (a) the students' characteristics, (b) the offensiveness of the video, and (c) the video structure.The first set pertains to sociodemographic characteristics such as age or grade level, gender, ethnicity, and language dominance.Instructors must consider these characteristics when selecting a video.The video structure should also be suitable for instructional use.The following guidelines are suggested when creating video clips: (a) length -keep it as short as possible to convey the point; edit ruthlessly to a maximum of three minutes unless the learning outcome requires a longer extract; (b) context -use authentic everyday language unless the purpose relates to language instruction; (c) actions/visual cues -ensure that actions relate directly to the purpose and eliminate anything extraneous; and (d) the number of characters -limit the number to only those necessary to make the point, as too many can be confusing or distracting.

Related Studies
Several studies have been conducted in the field of student engagement, as well as factors that affect EFL student engagement in different contexts.For example, Sengsouliya et al. (2020) researched high school students' engagement and factors predicting their engagement.The researchers used questionnaires, interviews, and observations to collect quantitative and qualitative data.In total, 71 students who studied at a high school in Laos participated in this study.The findings indicated that most of the students had a high level of engagement in all emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions.Particularly, the engagement scores of behavioral and emotional dimensions outweighed the cognitive ones.In addition, teacherrelated factors, including the teacher's attention and caring for students, the teacher's comments, the teacher's teaching methods, the teacher's encouragement, the teacher's interaction, and the teacher's friendliness, had the most importance to students' learning engagement.Besides, the students in the sample also mentioned that interacting and discussing with their peers gave them fun and helped them to be more engaged in learning activities.Apart from these factors, personal motivation, school-level factors, and family factors also affected student engagement in the classroom.
Scoping into the Vietnamese context, Ngo (2021) carried out a study to find out factors that affect non-English students' engagement in their EFL courses at a university.The samples of the study consisted of four groups of students who were selected from four different classes.The participants were all freshmen students.Each group included from four to six students who volunteered to participate in the study.This qualitative study used a focus group interview as its main tool to collect data.There were four focus-group interviews conducted in total.After the qualitative data were analyzed, several factors were identified as affecting non-English students' engagement.Firstly, the findings of the study showed that school-related factors received the most agreement among the participants to affect all dimensions of their engagement in English learning.The respondents also proposed task characteristics as an essential determinant of their engagement.Additionally, the third factor was the students' selfperception of their target language ability.Besides, the students reported that they were more engaged when they became autonomous in learning activities.The findings of this study align well with the findings belonging to Sengsouliya et al. (2020), which show the high level of learners' engagement in all the dimensions mentioned in both studies.
In another context, Tran (2022) conducted a study to investigate EFL Vietnamese students' perceptions of their engagement in the face-to-face learning environment to gain an in-depth understanding of tertiary student engagement.A quantitative research approach was used, and a questionnaire was used to collect the data.The participants of the study were 428 tertiary students, including 241 English-majored students and 187 non-English major students.The findings showed that students were highly engaged in learning English.This study also highlighted that non-English major students were less engaged than English-major students in their English classes.Particularly, the student cognitive engagement degree was the highest, while the student agentic engagement degree was the lowest.The low level of agentic engagement indicated the passive learning style of Vietnamese students.They just received what teachers delivered to them without giving constructive contributions to the flow of the lessons.These findings raised the need for teachers to find out the factors that affect non-English students' engagement as well as strategies to engage non-English students in English learning.
In the responses to the effect of using video materials on English learning, a group of researchers, including Ly, Chu, Tran, and Pham (2024) from Van Lang University, conducted the study to examine students' perspectives on using YouTube for English language learning and its impact on their motivation and autonomy in education.A mixed-methods approach was employed, surveying 333 English-major students at Van Lang University using a 24-item multiple-choice questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).This model includes three factors: Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Intention of Use.Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten students to delve deeper into their individual experiences and perspectives, focusing on themes of skill development, motivation, and autonomy.The data revealed that students generally find YouTube an effective tool to motivate them to learn English and to give them control over their learning.Apart from listening skills, students also experienced some enhancement in their speaking skills.The research recommends that English teachers adapt and adjust the use of YouTube for both inclass assignments and homework to encourage student motivation and autonomy, ultimately resulting in more effective and enjoyable language learning.Besides, using social media in EFL classrooms is also intriguing.Currently, TikTok is one of the most popular online applications.It has recently been recognized as a helpful tool for facilitating the teaching of speaking skills.Recognizing the usefulness of this kind of social media, the study of Nguyen and Tran (2024) aimed to explore the application of TikTok in speaking classes.This study employs a mixed-method research design to explore the perceptions of second-year English major students at Van Lang University (VLU) regarding the use of TikTok for learning speaking skills.Two research instruments were used: interviews and questionnaires.The results showed that students believe TikTok positively impacts their speaking skills.Additionally, TikTok can be implemented in Speaking-4 classes as an additional tool to enhance students' speaking skills outside the classroom.The use of TikTok as a technological tool in this study gained various positive responses aligning with the results regarding the use of YouTube (Ly et al., 2024) to improve learners' language learning.
The effect of video materials on English learning was also found in the study about a test of hypothesis by Ho & Le (2022).Video materials are increasingly used in EFL classes due to their perceived effectiveness.However, using these materials presents challenges as EFL teachers need to assess the suitability of videos for their learners.This study was conducted qualitatively to capture language learners' perspectives on the use of video materials in their English classes.Six hypotheses concerning the use of video materials in the Vietnamese context were explored.Fine focus-group interviews were conducted with 25 English students at a tertiary institution in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.The data revealed that Vietnamese students found video materials effective, with animated videos featuring appealing sounds enhancing their learning motivation.Given the availability of video materials on various online platforms, students could learn outside the classroom and increase their learner autonomy.However, integrating video materials into classroom activities requires English teachers to have the skills to select appropriate videos for their learners.Consequently, the study proposed several practical implications for educators who wish to incorporate video materials into their classrooms.
In summary, as evidenced by earlier studies, numerous researchers have focused on examining learners' engagement with multiple elements in different learning environments.Elements related to schools, teachers, students, and families have all been evaluated.Moreover, various studies have highlighted the value of using videos or social media such as YouTube or TikTok in EFL classrooms.However, limited research has been done on the combination of videos' effectiveness and learners' engagement, particularly in the Vietnamese teaching context.To address this gap and contribute to the insightful aspects of engagement in language teaching, the current study aims to investigate learners' perceptions of conversational classroom engagement, including behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.

Research Questions
To achieve the study's objectives, the study aimed to respond to the following research question: What are EFL learners' attitudes towards the effectiveness of conversational videos concerning classroom engagement at a foreign language center in Can Tho City?

Pedagogical Setting & Participants
The participants in this study are thirty learners.They are considered intermediate learners who participated in an 8-week general English course at a foreign language center in Can Tho City.Additionally, the researcher conducted all aspects of the study and taught the entire learning process from the beginning to the end of the intervention.

Design of the Study
A mixed-method design was employed for 8 weeks in this study due to its inherent simplicity, flexibility, and utility for exploring in-depth EFL learners' opinions on the effectiveness of conversational videos through behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.
For quantitative data collection, the researcher first introduced the study's aims and piloted the questionnaire, then administered the questionnaire to the learners on the final day of week 8 to survey their perceptions of engagement through conversational videos.
For qualitative data collection, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews via Zoom in week 8 to gain a deep comprehension of the effectiveness of conversational videos.Five interviewees, selected based on the questionnaire analysis, participated in approximately 10minute interviews.Ultimately, the researcher analyzed the qualitative data.

Data collection & analysis
This study utilized two instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview.The researcher developed all instruments based on the framework of engagement proposed by Fredricks (2004).

Questionnaire
The researcher developed questionnaires based on the definition of engagement provided by Fredricks et al. (2004), containing 15 items to collect quantitative data.These items focused on various aspects of classroom engagement and were divided into two main sections.The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" to assess reliability and validity.The standard deviation (SD) and mean scores were used to analyze the data, with interpretation based on the following levels: strongly disagree (1.00-1.80),disagree (1.81-2.60),neutral/moderate (2.61-3.40),agree (3.41-4.20),and strongly agree (4.21-5.00).The questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to ensure clear understanding by all learners.
Section 1 of the questionnaire gathered personal information.Section 2 addressed three classroom engagement dimensions: behavioral, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement.It used the 15 items to measure the impact of conversational videos on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom engagement.Specifically, the items were categorized as follows: behavioral engagement (items 1 to 5), emotional engagement (items 6 to 10), and cognitive engagement (items 11 to 15).The questionnaire's reliability was demonstrated by the results (alpha = 0.96).

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 0.96 15

Semi-structured interview
The researcher designed seven questions to gather qualitative information on the learning experiences of five interviewees regarding classroom engagement through conversational videos.Each interview lasted approximately ten minutes.Initially, the researcher explained the purpose of the interviews to provide context and clarify the study's aims.All interviews were recorded for accuracy and later reviewed.Learners' responses and comments were carefully documented for qualitative data analysis.

Findings and Discussion
This section discusses the study's findings on the prominent learners' perceptions and the possible factors affecting their engagement in English learning processes through conversational videos.Table 1 details the questionnaire results about learners' perceptions of conversational videos regarding classroom engagement.
Table 1 demonstrates how most students responded to favorable outcomes.Fifteen assertions obtained a high mean score.They were all higher than 3.41 points.With 4.28 points, Statement 14 had the highest mean score.When learning English with conversational videos, the learners agreed that they could easily understand the challenging target expressions.With 4.16 and 4.14 points, respectively, statements 6 and 8 had the second and third-highest mean scores.The students concurred that they experienced a range of emotions when watching educational videos hence these claims were connected.Conversely, statement 3 had the lowest mean score (3.41 points), suggesting that students who are trying to learn English through conversational videos cannot estimate the target language without the teacher's help.
The questionnaire's result also pointed out that the other statements gained a mean score of over 3.41 points.It is demonstrated that students engaged actively in conversational videos through behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.They gained from statements 1 and 2 in the sequence of 3.54 and 3.49.Most students accepted that they could communicate well in reallife situations and pay more attention to the lesson when interacting with conversational videos.Furthermore, behavioral engagement through conversational videos was also obviously performed by statements 4 and 5, which achieved a mean score of 3.56 and 3.50.Both showed that an interactive learning environment and some discussion activities motivated learners to participate more in the lesson.Then, learners engaged emotionally in conversational videos.Both statement 9 and statement 10 had approximately the same mean scores (3.72 and 3.73 points), showing that learners have a strong sense of emotion, such as confidence, curiosity, and motivation, in communicating with their classmates after learning English through conversational videos.
From the result of the questionnaire, four statements got mean scores in the range of 3.58-3.77points.Statement 15 had a mean score of 3.77 points, showing the learners to have a good awareness of English self-learning with conversational videos to improve their language skills.
In addition, statements 11 and 12 showed a positive response from the learners that conversational videos provide various advantages, such as grammar awareness, vocabulary expansion, cultural comprehension, and visual context.Moreover, learners also responded that they could memorize the target expressions easily through vivid scenes of conversational videos.
Importantly, the questionnaire results provide some facts proving learners' engagement in the conversational video learning process.
Last but not least, Table 2  The interview results revealed several factors affecting the learners' perceptions of conversational videos regarding classroom engagement.The following selected learners' interpretations were triangulated and exacted to emphasize the important role of conversational videos through three clusters of engagement.
Most interviewees responded positively to the effectiveness of conversational videos.They were very comfortable sharing their experience in learning with videos.
Yes, I have learned English with conversational videos for over two months.It's more engaging compared to textbooks, as in the video, I can see real people talking in reallife situations, which makes it feel less like studying and more like eavesdropping on a conversation.(Interviewee 3) Yes, I have learned English with conversational videos.It was a fun and engaging way to learn.The videos contain multiple real-life scenarios, which made the learning process practical.Seeing real people acting things out makes me feel more involved.(Interviewee 5) Moreover, in terms of behavioral engagement, learners also claimed that they had good performances in classroom activities due to the benefits of conversational videos.
Conversational videos are usually more practical and entertaining compared to traditional learning methods.The knowledge is visualized, which helps keep my attention and makes the learning process more enjoyable.Seeing real people and hearing realistic dialogue makes it easier to stay focused.(Interviewee 1) Yes, often I could guess the meaning of new words or phrases through context.For example, if a character in a video expressed thanks and the other replied with "You're welcome", I could understand that "You're welcome" is a polite response.(Interviewee 3) In terms of emotional engagement, when the researcher mentioned the feelings that they got in the classroom, a range of learners had positive responses.
Overall, I find learning with conversational videos to be a great experience.It's way less boring and stressful than traditional classroom learning, as I can learn at my own pace and choose topics that interest me.(Interviewee 2) Studying with conversational videos is enjoyable and less stressful than traditional methods.I feel more motivated and curious about the content.It's fun and engaging to see how language is used in different situations.(Interviewee 1) Regarding cognitive engagement, learners also raised their language awareness and enhanced their language self-study after 8 weeks of learning with conversational videos.

Discussion
In light of the results, the findings revealed that most learners appreciated the usefulness of conversational videos in enhancing three types of engagement in the classroom learning process.Learners' attitudes toward the effectiveness of conversational videos regarding classroom engagement were interpreted meticulously as follows: In terms of behavioral engagement, the study's results demonstrated that learners engaged in classroom activities positively and enthusiastically.To be more specific, they were able to show constructive behaviors in classroom participation, such as communicating well in real-life situations through conversational videos, paying more attention to the lesson when learning with conversational videos, guessing the target language without the teacher's explanation when learning English with conversational videos; reaching more interactive learning environments when learning English with conversational videos; and being motivated to participate in some discussion activities when learning English with videos.
In terms of emotional engagement, learners concurred to having a vibrant sense of feelings about classroom engagement towards the use of conversational videos.The results extracted from both quantitative and qualitative studies indicated that learners were happy and enthusiastic when learning English through conversational videos.They were also attracted by the sound and vivid scenes when learning English with conversational videos.What is more, they perceived that task-based activities in conversational videos are fun.Additionally, most learners felt curious and stimulated when they did not understand how some target expressions are used in conversational videos.Last but not least, they got much more confident in communicating with their classmates after learning English with conversational videos.
In terms of cognitive engagement, various positive outcomes were recorded from the study's results.Most learners made progress in their language acquisition.Learners claimed that the use of conversational videos improved their grammar awareness and vocabulary expansion.Moreover, they could have a cultural understanding and visual context and memorize the target expressions easily through vivid scenes in conversational videos.They could easily comprehend the difficult target expressions when learning English with conversational videos for difficult daily conversational situations.Ultimately, learning English with conversational videos motivated them to self-study.
In summary, the findings indicated that most learners accepted the efficacy of conversational videos in enhancing three types of engagement in the classroom.This research seeks to shed light on the effectiveness of integrating conversational videos into language instruction and its implications for enhancing learner engagement, thereby informing pedagogical practices in similar contexts.
In comparison to other studies, it is commonly perceived that this study and previous studies bring out various advantages for learners' learning processes.Specifically, this study explored the digital factor of conversational videos to motivate learners' engagement.The study findings demonstrated that conversational videos not only significantly impacted learners' engagement but also encouraged language improvement, similar to previous studies regarding digital factors such as YouTube (Ly et al., 2024) and TikTok (Nguyen & Tran, 2024).Furthermore, the findings of this study align well with several hypotheses explored in the study by Ho and Le (2022).
Particularly, the qualitative and quantitative results of behavioral engagement are consistent with the first hypothesis: "Video materials could be used as authentic input for English learning in the Vietnamese context," and the fourth hypothesis: "Video materials could be integrated into classroom activities to accommodate an active classroom environment in the Vietnamese context."Additionally, the quantitative and qualitative data on emotional engagement align with the second hypothesis: "Video materials could be used to enhance students' learning motivation in the Vietnamese context."Finally, cognitive engagement corresponds well with the third hypothesis: "Video materials could be integrated into classroom activities to improve Vietnamese students' learning results," and the final hypothesis: "Video materials could increase learner autonomy in the Vietnamese context." On the contrary, this study also has some limitations compared to other studies.Specifically, the size and length of the study are not extensive enough.Moreover, this study only examined three types of engagement, including behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement, instead of four or more types, such as agentic engagement.Furthermore, this study identified differences between the three clusters, in contrast to Tran's (2022) study, which found that the degree of student cognitive engagement was the highest while the degree of student agentic engagement was the lowest.

Conclusion
In conclusion, these fundamental results align with studies showing that most students had favorable opinions about their participation in conversational videos.The researcher would be happy to acknowledge that using videos in EFL classes gives students access to a wealth of information and helps them transition from listening to speaking.Learners were able to maintain focus, generate curiosity, and be motivated by conversational videos.Videos also encourage the growth of abilities.They made the language more accessible to language learners by placing it in a visual context.Our brains are hardwired for visual stimuli, so this massive change in how people learn-by watching videos instead of reading books-will help with language acquisition.This article has covered the use of videos in EFL classrooms in great detail thus far.The recommendations listed above should inspire you to work and open doors for the use of videos in language instruction.The researcher has been effectively observing them in my language classes for a considerable amount of time.
This present study has a limitation.The narrow range of the sample size limits how broadly the results can be applied.The roles of the learners may have varied more if there had been a larger group from various courses.This study also indicates several areas that warrant further investigation.Future studies could concentrate on the participant data from various onsite learning platforms, allowing the researcher to investigate the reasons behind how these learning platforms influence learners' responsibilities.Understanding the characteristics of conversational videos also enables instructors to better assist students by offering a variety of interactive exercises and educational resources during discussions or assignments.More study in online or hybrid platforms is required to enhance student engagement and perhaps improve and sustain learners' roles during an online learning process.
involvement or engagement with the learning process.Therefore, this study may provide further insight into how students use digital technology.

Table 1
below indicates the general scores of three clusters in engagement.The mean score gained 3.36, 3.49, and 3.47 points in the order of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement.It is demonstrated that most learners have the same level of engagement in learning conversational videos.
To sum up, both quantitative and qualitative data revealed various advantages of conversational videos' strong impact on classroom engagement.