Using Videos to Teach English

Using Videos to Teach English

Prof. Traian Alina-Ileana, Colegiul Tehnic „Costin D.
Nenițescu” Piteşti

Video is a great resource to use in class and there are an endless
number of ways to exploit it to create motivating, memorable classes
with a high level of language production.
When you’re working in ESL/EFL, sometimes the connection to the
wider world that you aim to bring your students is harder to come
by. You may be teaching in a place where there are not many English
speakers available for the students to practice with, or perhaps you
feel that they see the classes only as a school subject and not a
communication tool. One way to bring the world into your classroom
is by using video to teach English. These are some tips for
effectively teaching with video, presented by Coleen Monroe, an
English teacher:
1. Prepare learning objectives for your video lesson plans.
If you’re using a video to teach English, it can be tempting to
simply put the video on and hope that it makes sense to the
students. Especially for lower-level learners (CEFR A0-B1), this is
not appropriate. The video could overwhelm them and make them think
that they really don’t know any English at all, simply because it
was made for native speakers and contains rapid, high-level speech.
You’ll want to make sure that you have a specific ESL learning
objective in mind for the video section itself (i.e. “By the end
of this section, learners will be able to identify the three main
characters in the story by name”). Making a concrete goal for the
video will simplify things so that the students know they are not
expected to understand everything in the video.
2. Create structured activities to accompany the videos.
Make sure that you have a plan for what the learners need to do
before, during, and after the video that relates to your language
goals for the lesson. Try to keep things integrated with the rest of
the course and never simply put on a video to kill time.
Preview any questions that you will want them to answer and make
sure that they have the background knowledge to understand the words
in the questions. Consider pausing the video for “turn and talk”
discussions with their peers, just after an answer is given in the
video itself.
3. Check to make sure that your equipment and Internet work.
It’s extremely important to prepare beforehand to use video in the
classroom.
How is your Internet connection? In some cases, you may choose to
download a video before using it in class. That way you eliminate
the possibility that the Wi-Fi simply cannot handle the bandwidth.
Check the sound system and consider how noisy your classes normally
are in order to choose a volume level. You want the level to be low
enough that the students need to pay attention to the video closely,
but not low enough that it is drowned out by background noises.
This also goes for teaching English online. If you are not able to
play the video without a complex routine of screensharing or the
sound doesn’t work for some students, it won’t be very
effective. Always precheck using the software that you will be using
for the class.
4. Introduce the video to your students with a predictive task
A good way to start a video lesson is to display the first shot of
the video (paused) and tell the class you will be watching a video
for this section of the lesson.
Then, before you start the video, do a “predictive task” with
your students using that first shot as a still frame. Have them
predict what the video may be about, who will appear in it, or even
how long the video will be. You can have them write their answers on
the board or more privately on a piece of paper so that after the
video, they can return to their predictions and see what they
guessed right.
This is a great way to engage your students in higher-order thinking
even before the video begins. You’ll be able to activate the
students’ background knowledge prior to having them view the
video.
5. Pre-teach difficult vocabulary words, idioms, and expressions
from the video.
If there are specific language concerns with some key parts of the
video (i.e. places where you think the vocabulary used goes beyond
your students’ level) consider putting these words on the board
and previewing what they mean and how they’re used. Or, make a
list of relevant vocabulary words and have the students discuss with
a partner what these words mean.
6. Preview the video to check for the content, language, and
cultural appropriateness.
Always ensure that the video will not offend or upset your students,
nor violate any local taboos or laws. In many places, the rules
about what is allowed to be covered in classes or shown to different
age groups may differ widely from your own norms. Whenever you use
videos in the ESL classroom, you need to be aware of local culture
and laws. If in doubt, make sure that you’ve chosen an appropriate
video by asking a local friend or colleague to preview it.
Some awkward situations could e easily avoided if the teacher
previews the viedo before using it in class.
7. Keep videos for ESL classes PG-rated whenever working with
children.
Related to the previous tip, this one applies to your choice of
movies used when teaching English. In general, it is wise to stick
to PG (parental guidance suggested) as the upper limit for a movie
rating. If you would need a permission slip to show the full movie
in school back home, don’t show any part of it! Remember that
21st-century learners are savvy and will be able to find the full
version of any movie you recommend online, so if you show a
presentable clip from a movie that was rated R you could be
implicated if a student watches inappropriate things outside the
classroom.
8. Use videos when teaching English to spice up reading lessons or
to demonstrate difficult concepts.
Got a lesson about Tibetan handbells, and your students are
low-level beginners in English? That sounds like it would be very
hard to communicate to them without confusion or a ton of
translation. However, by using videos to teach ESL, you can show
rather than tell.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a short, illustrative video
can be worth much more! You’ll be able to use a well-selected
video to cover abstract concepts or demonstrate a process that is
difficult to explain. Examples of how you can use video in the ESL
classroom to illustrate complex topics include videos or clips of
processes like how chocolate is made, musical performances for
lessons about the performing arts, and lessons that include
comparative looks at cultures around the world.
Using video to teach English is a brilliant way to connect your
classroom to the wider world, and can be a doorway to showing the
learners just how they might be able to put their hard work into
practice someday beyond school walls. With careful selection and a
well-planned structure for your lessons, you’ll get the most out
of using videos in the ESL classroom.
Video is a great way to make students love learning a foreign
language and gives them examples of real-life experiences.

Bibliography
https://bridge.edu/tefl/blog/tips-for-using-video-to-teach-english/
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-video-2