Researching on the appropriateness of video materials for\ud
learners of, EIL, has required in-depth discussion of the\ud
role of the medium of" video in the' field of'crosscultural\ud
communication in an EIL context - the ASEAN\ud
countries generally and Malaysia specifically.\ud
This has drawn into the picture two perspectives. The\ud
first is sociocultural; the consideration of the role of\ud
English as an International language in Malaysia and the\ud
other ASEAN countries, the recommendation of a suitable\ud
pedagogical model of speech for audio-visual materials in\ud
Malaysia, the components of cross-cultural communication\ud
that are essential for any language learner who aspires to\ud
communicate in English with persons who come from varying\ud
sociocultural backgrounds.\ud
The second perspective is that of the role of video for\ud
the teaching of intercultural language teaching. What is\ud
it in the medium that enables it to play a pivotal role in\ud
delivering the message - aspects of cross-cultural\ud
communication?\ud
These perspectives provide the background to the main\ud
research question at hand, which is, how appropriate in\ud
2\ud
sociocultural content and design are ELT video materials\ud
for language learners in Malaysia?\ud
ELT video materials have been commercially produced since\ud
the mid-70's. The majority of these materials are based\ud
in Western sociocultural settings, portraying native\ud
speakers interacting with-each other.. Given the dominant\ud
role of English as an, International language, linking\ud
countries communicatively that otherwise would have great\ud
difficulty doing so, yet there has been minimal change in\ud
the sociocultural nature of the materials.\ud
Therefore, this research aims to investigate via critical\ud
analysis and questionnaires, the appropriateness of the\ud
sociocultural and design features of existing and\ud
potential ELT video materials for EIL language learners. ,\ud
The information from the two sources will, it is hoped,\ud
provide useful recommendations for the future-production\ud
of appropriate ELT video materials for EIL- language\ud
learners in- Malaysia specifically and the ASEAN countries\ud
generally
