How can you best use Youtube to teach English online?

Question

Hi

I’m doing a bit of a research on the best way to use short clips from Youtube for teaching English and I would be grateful for your opinion/advice on the following:

§ Is it a good idea to teach English online using a short Youtube clips?

§ Best practice in constructing a language lesson around a short video clip for online teaching

Thank you so much in advance.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, Waleed-- and welcome to English Forums.

I will give you this general caution about using audio and video in any form (and it is advice that is ignored by most teachers, who usually see using media as a break from a personal teaching effort).

Audio and video can be useful if and only if:

1-- It is used in very short segments (a minute or two at most)
and
2-- If it is accompanied by activities that challenge the student to listen, understand, interpret, and extrapolate the text.

What I am saying is that the students should have to comprehend and remember only a manageable part of the presentation, and they should be given tasks (gapping, graphing, illlustrating, mapping etc) that help them thoroughly explore the text and its implications. Simply sitting with the students while they listen to a YouTube video is not enough.

Waleedwahsh · Answer

Hi Mister Micawber! Thanks a lot for responding to my post - valuable advice

Based on what you said I think I'm half way there.

All the clips I've chosen so far (except one) are shorter than 2 mins. I've also provided the script for each clip. Now what would you recommend the activities be? I'm thinking of something students can do on their own - perhaps a discussion? What do you think?

Have a look and let me know what you think.

Cheers

Waleed

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hello, Waleed,

1-- It is an excellent length and a good topic. You should always be sure that the script matches the spoken word precisely. Here is the precise wording I hear, which varies slightly from your transcript:

Hello America! It's time to wake up.
ABC Friday March 26th, one man will lead the American food revolution.
The fries counted as a veggy?!
The fries count as a vegetable.
Right!
A french fry is not a vegetable.
Jamie Oliver is coming to one American city.
Yes, it is a massive country; yes, there is loads of people; but we can do this.
To start the ultimate food fight
Think I can't do it?! Watch me.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution premieres Friday March 26th on ABC.

2-- Don't let the students see the script, at least in the beginning.

3-- One general task procedure (but they can't really do it on their own; you are needed):

a) They listen and watch.
b) You ask them what kind of video it is ('a show promo'), what it is about ('a British chef visiting fast food stores in the US') what he said (in any detail they can-- I heard the word 'french fries''), etc.
c) You give them a gapped version of the transcript, i.e. the transcript with about 5-7 words replaced by a blank space.
d) Have them try to fill in the blanks from memory.
e) If they miss any, have them turn the paper over, watch the video again, and then again try to fill in the blanks.
f) For low level students, have them fill in the blanks while they are watching the video.
g) Address any vocabulary or grammar questions the students might have.
h) Discuss the healthiness of fast food.

Feel free to do anything else that you think might be productive.

How can you best use Youtube to teach English online?

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