A picture paints a thousand words…

Using video in your language teaching

(an updated version of an earlier presentation)

T.MacKinnon January 2014

Tutors say of using video:

• “Video is more fun & therefore more motivating than just listening & reading.”

• “It demonstrates real situations.”• “It exposes the learner to a wide range of

accents.”• “Film can demonstrate new and unexpected

cultural or social issues.”• “Video clips offer much more than just listening

practice.”

• Source: BBC Get Talking workshops

video can be used for listening…

video can get people talking…students can get creative with

video…

Video can provide…• A launch pad for conversation• A stimulus for brain-storming vocabulary• A dialogue prompt• Inspiration for a writing activity• Encouragement to read• Practice with strategies to improve listening

skills• A window to explore cultural and social issues

Pre-listening/watching:

• Matching vocabulary with English expressions

• Matching new vocabulary with definitions in target language

• Categorising new vocab or expressions

• Predicting what will happen/be said/used

• Watch with no sound & put descriptions of images in right order

and more…

• Watch with no sound & describe what you see

• Watch with no sound & brainstorm nouns, adjectives, verbs etc

• Answer true/false questions then watch to confirm or correct

• Draw up word families of key vocab

During…

• Tick off vocabulary/expressions as you hear them

• Pause to talk about a particular scene

• Fill in a listening grid with key information

• Identify who said what

• Answer true/false or multiple choice questions

• Fill in gaps in a transcript

After watching…

• Discuss the Who? When? Where? What? How? Consequences? of the clip

• From a list, tick the things seen

• Fill in blanks in a résumé of the clip

• Answer specific questions about what was seen or heard

The techie bit• Video files are large and processor hungry• Format details vary, management can be

complex• Commercial video may have DRM, copyright

restrictions.• Useful free software: For editing and conversion - Freemake For playback - VLC For collection - Myth TV, Miro For sharing – vimeo, youtube