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  4 Skills Adults  How to Use Video in the ESL Classroom

How to Use Video in the ESL Classroom

How to Use Video in the ESL Classroom

Do you remember how

exciting it was when the
teacher wheeled the big TV
into class? It felt like the school
holidays had come early! Sure,
you usually ended up
watching a stuᴀ촄y old
documentary but it was better
than yet another hour of book
work.

Video has been inspiring excitement and motivation in students for decades.
If you’re not using video in your English language classroom, you’re missing
out on a wealth of learning opportunity.

Why Use Video?

Extensive research shows that video is a really eᴀ촄ective tool for learning,
particularly for English language learners. No matter the age of your students,
it’s highly likely they will respond well to the combination of visual and audio
stimuli.

Here are just some of the beneᴀ㔄ts of using video:

It’s fun and can help make a lesson more memorable

It’s great for visual learners, or students who have not yet learned to read
and write well
 It provides context to the language and brings the subject to life
The language used is often more natural, so students can hear the natural
stress, intonation, pronunciation and rhythm
It’s excellent for practicing a wide range of language skills, beyond speaking
and listening

Types of Video

You can use almost any type of video content in your lessons. From TV shows,
ᴀ㔄lms and trailers to documentaries, adverts, news clips, weather forecasts,
27 sports events and funny animal videos – the list goes on.
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14 Of course, the material you use will depend on the aim of your lesson and the
age and ability of your students. You may also need to take into account
school rules and restrictions.

Great content can be found on YouTube, Vimeo, English Central and the
British Council website. You could also pick from your own collection of DVDs.
For a more comprehensive list of video resources, check out this article.

Five Fun Video Activities

Using video in the classroom is

only truly eᴀ촄ective when the
students engage with it. It’s
not enough to just sit back and
watch the screen, they need to
be active! Here are ᴀ㔄ve fun
video based activities you can
use in your EFL classroom.

How to Use Video #1: Dubbing

Students watch a video clip of a conversation with the sound oᴀ촄 and in
groups create the dialogue for the characters. You can then have the
students perform their script as the video plays. To ᴀ㔄nish, you can watch the
clip with the sound on and compare the original to the students’ versions.
This is always popular with students. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to
improve conᴀ㔄dence in both themselves and the language.

How to Use Video #2: Order the Events

After watching a clip, students are given a set of event cards. Each card
contains one or two sentences describing events from the video. Students are
then asked to rearrange the event cards into the correct order.

This reading-based activity is excellent for memory building and improving

recall power.

How to Use Video#3: Buzz In

Put the students into teams. Before starting the clip, ask a question such as,
“What object is [character] holding?” or “What is the colour of [character’s]
hair?”. When a student knows the answer they ‘buzz in’. If the student is
correct, move onto the next question, if they’re wrong replay the clip.
This activity tests the students’ power of observation, and encourages them
to think fast.

How to Use Video #4: True or False

Students watch a video clip and write three sentences about what they see.
Encourage the students to write a mix of true and false statements. Every few
minutes, pause the viewing and ask a student to read a sentence; the rest of
the class must decide whether it’s true or false.

This is a great multi-skills activity, ideal for advanced students. It tests their
observation, writing, reading, speaking and listening skills, whilst encouraging
creativity.

How to Use Video 5: What Happens Next?

This is another activity that tests students’ power of observation, reasoning

and creativity. A very simple task: just pause the video and ask the students
to guess (based on context) what will happen next.
Try Out Videos in your Classroom Today

We hope this article will encourage you to use video in your classroom and if
you want even more information on the best ways to use video in your
lessons, have a look here. As you can see it’s engaging and fun, both for
student and teacher!

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