There is now more video content on the internet than ever before, and it looks certain that the amount will continue to increase. A trend is beginning to emerge, however, for more specialist channels, with video content based around specific topics, and I am providing you with a few good examples at the end of this article.
We can use video in a variety of ways:
We can use it as the source of language input, where we get our students to watch a video and then exploit the content for discussions, language work, comprehension work, etc.
We can also make videos ourselves and with our students. Getting our students to create videos is particularly rewarding because they often learn a lot through the process, as well as having a tangible outcome to show at the end. YouTube, for example, allows you to create videos using the webcam of your computer with just one click of a button. So you can get your students to interview each other, act out part of an exam situation, create a mock news programme or advert, etc and see the results immediately online.
We can also use video for communication. We might create ‘how to’ videos that explain grammar points to our students, or demonstrate how to write the introduction to a discursive essay, etc.
Video for All
Video for All is a great website for learning more about using video in language teaching. It provides around 50 different examples of ways that language teachers can exploit video (referred to as practices). For each practice, there is an example video, a short description and then a pdf file with additional information and suggestions for using the idea with different levels or in different contexts. Additionally, there is a large range of useful resources, including two guides on creating educational video. These are especially useful if you are interested in making your own videos or getting your students to create them. There are also some ‘how to’ videos, covering a whole range of technologies you might like to learn, as well as a comprehensive repository of useful articles, books, websites and even some PhD projects.
The website has been set out to make it as easy as possible to use. The opening page offers a range of ways of navigating the content, but perhaps the easiest is to click on the ‘Make’, ‘Use’ and ‘Communicate’ tabs. You will find a whole range of ideas under each section, as well as a search box on the right-hand side. Remember to look at the pdf files, as they really extend and expand the basic ideas exemplified in the videos. Many of the video examples are directed towards low-level classes, including primary school.
The objective of the site is simply to provide teachers with a collection of ideas on how video can be used in language teaching.
The emphasis is not on long lists of videos or video collections, but rather on clear examples of what you could do with your students in class.
So once you have your ideas, you are going to need some video sources. We all tend automatically to dip into YouTube, but there are many great other places to find video content. Here are a few of my favourites:
Alternatives to YouTube
If you are teaching English for Academic Purposes, this can be a very useful site to explore. It contains a well-organised set of lectures which can be used to expose students to different accents and topics. I have used these for practising note-taking, promoting discussion, as homework assignments and even as models for presentations.
This is a really nice site which has interviews with a range of people about their lives. Although I have noticed that the interviewees are nearly all white males, so the site really needs some variety added, I like it because the videos are broken down into snippets, often just one or two minutes long.
This is a very easy-to-search website with a nice collection of documentaries. I often use it to find documentaries for myself, but it could also be useful for higher-level and EAP students.
I don’t teach young learners myself, but I came across this site not long ago and noticed that it is really well organised, with material on a great many different topics. The content is immediately accessible, and this could be a great site for CLIL.
This website has great documentaries. National Geographic often let the images do the talking, so the content can be appropriate for lower-level students. A lot of it is very up-to-date.
Help videos
Here are two useful videos to help you:
Russell Stannard is the founder of teachertrainingvideos.com, which won a British Council ELTons award for technology. He is a freelance teacher and writer and also a NILE Associate Trainer.
Keep sending your favourite sites to Russell: [email protected]
