M e t h o d o lo gy

Viewing skills
Journey
What are Viewing skills? Viewing skills in Amazing

Traditionally, educators have focused on developing the
four skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening.
While these key skills underpin the essence of language
learning, 21st century students also need to develop
modern day skills, and this is where the fifth skill,
viewing, becomes relevant.
Visual communication is a fast, engaging and popular
way to share information. Many teachers include
videos in their class time, and many students enjoy this
method of learning. However, passively watching a
video on a screen does not fully aid comprehension and
understanding. Often, it’s necessary to go a little deeper
in order to use the digital material in the most efficient
and effective way.
Learning how to actively process and understand visual
media is important if the children are to learn from the
material they are presented with. By teaching the children
how to maximise their understanding of video-based
material, we help them learn how to gather information
and better appreciate the ideas and information in the
material itself. As they learn about interesting topics, the
video becomes a vehicle for developing language skills
and gives context to their learning.
Furthermore, outside of the classroom the children are
presented with a wealth of video-based material. Many
children are encouraged to watch television in English
in order to improve their language skills, for example.
By including this type of material in class and teaching
the children methods for understanding and processing
video-based material, we encourage learner autonomy
and habits for lifelong learning.
In Amazing Journey the following framework is used to
promote and develop the children’s viewing skills:
BEFORE YOU WATCH The activities in this section
aim to activate previous knowledge about the topic
and ignite their curiosity. Predicting and discussing the
content prepares the children for learning and sets a
purpose for the task.
WATCH Comprehension questions ensure
understanding and encourage the children to pay
attention in order to understand both the general content
and specific details. By watching the video more than
once, children are given repeated exposure to language
structures.
AFTER YOU WATCH Discussion questions personalise
the content and encourage the children to reflect on it,
make connections and consider their own reaction to
the information.
This viewing method is clearly signposted in levels 3-6.
In levels 1 and 2, the activities in the Activity Book are
organised in the same way, in order to develop the skills
the children will need to apply from level 3 onwards.
Finally, the Flipped learning dynamic in the Teacher’s
Book gives further depth to the activities. Additional
comprehension questions in the Activity Book support
understanding of the Virtual tour and Functional
language videos, and the pair work section encourages
the children to learn the new language in a different
context. The children then assess their understanding of
the videos in the Passport and record their knowledge on
a visual map.
­ Levels 1 and 2 – Activity Book: Cultural window video
­ L evels 3 to 6 – Student’s Book: Virtual tour and Our
trip to… videos
­ L evels 5 and 6 – Student’s Book: Functional language
video

Virtual tour
2
eland
Ir

ng
Viewi
ET ART
DUBLIN STRE re in the streets of
ywhe
Ar t is ever tworks fro
m
ere are ar and
Dublin. Th the world
m all over styles.
ar tists fro ferent
e ar e m any dif
ther
Eileen

CH
YOU WAT are grey
or
BEFORE in Dublin
ts
think stree
1 Do you
colourful?

WAT CH
mous for? rking?
Ireland fa t ar tists wo
2 What is the stree
ople watch
3 Can pe
UW ATCH
AFTER YO e you live? GE 20
t ar t wher PORT PA
any stree MY PASS
4 Is there

ion
g A descript Viewing by Hskills Page 1 of 1
Writin e Starry
Night
annah
Van Gogh
.
Th ncent
I like by Vi rk blue.
painting ue and da
This is a e white, bl ntains and hous
es.
olours lik ou