'We are people, you know': children's views on the use of video recordings in the EFL class

Abstract

A study is presented with a twofold objective related to child voice: to explore children's views on the use of video recordings in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class, and to promote the inclusion of child voice in decision-making processes in the foreign language classroom. The study was carried out in a primary school setting in Catalonia over a three-year period. Data was collected and analysed within an interpretative phenomenological approach, adopting an ethically symmetrical approach to children as research participants. Findings suggest that video recordings can be a useful classroom resource to encourage self-reflection, but that camera presence and subsequent self-viewing can provoke strong emotional reactions and generate overly critical and potentially debilitating attitudes to language learning. Child voice contributions provide insightful ideas to use video recordings strategically and ethically, while also raising important questions about children's rights to privacy and data protection, and to express their views using their L1 in the EFL class