Top 5 Tips for Effective English Teaching with Videos

Videos have long been a staple in classroom teaching, but today, we find ourselves in a world saturated with video content. This visual medium has evolved into a vital component of both our daily lives and our educational journeys, enhancing the way we learn and connect with information.

How can you effectively teach English using video? With a plethora of options available, selecting the right ESL videos for your online class can be a daunting task. Let’s explore strategies to enhance your teaching and tips for finding the perfect videos to engage your students.

In this post, we’ll explore five effective strategies for using videos to enhance your online English teaching. Plus, don’t miss our bonus section packed with valuable video resources to support your lessons. Let’s dive in!

Using videos to engage your students online

It’s no secret that videos naturally draw our attention. Whether specifically designed for English language learners (ELLs) or sourced from real-life contexts, videos offer a versatile tool to captivate students in the online classroom. Here are several effective ways to utilize them:

Videos as ESL discussion prompts

Students, particularly teenage and adult learners, are often interested in discussing recent topical events in class. 

Your students likely have some prior knowledge and opinions about the subject matter. To engage them effectively, select videos that align with their interests and steer clear of sad or highly controversial themes—unless you’re very familiar with their sensitivities. Great options for online teaching include sports, local events, and intriguing news stories, which can spark lively discussions and enhance learning.

Video prediction activities

Students thrive on challenges, and making predictions can add an element of excitement to learning. Enhance their observational skills by showing a clip from a video and inviting them to guess what will happen next. This interactive approach not only engages them but also encourages critical thinking!

Pre-teach some speculative expressions such as:

• It looks like [they are going to]…
• Perhaps, they’ll
• It might be that…
• I think they will…

To wrap up, continue watching the video to discover which idea came closest to the mark. This activity not only fosters creativity in the classroom but also helps students enhance their essential language skills.

Alternative uses of video

Videos don’t have to be used in a “traditional” sense. Here’s a way of using a video without playing it:

• Silent Dialogue Activity: Instruct students to observe a clip featuring two individuals engaged in conversation within a clear setting, such as an airport, supermarket, or school, with the audio muted.

Have students work individually or in pairs (especially useful in a group setting) to guess the dialogue of the characters. Encourage them to analyze the clues provided and ask questions to piece together the conversation as they engage in this interactive activity.

• Who are the people? 
• Where are they? 
• What are they doing? 
• Is it a friendly conversation or is something else happening? 
• Who seems to be directing the conversation?

After writing their imagined dialogue, they should watch the original with sound and compare. 

• What did they get right? 
• What was different? 
• What new vocabulary or grammatical structures did they come across?

The bottom line: Videos are a great way to increase learner engagement at any stage in your English lesson. 

Using videos as authentic texts in the online classroom

Incorporating authentic videos into your virtual classroom can add an exciting dimension to learning. But what exactly qualifies as “authentic” content? Authentic materials are original texts or videos designed for native speakers of a language, rather than being specifically produced for English language learners. This genuine context enhances engagement and provides students with valuable insights into real-world language use.

You can read more about this in our article on How to use authentic materials in online language classes.

Benefits of using videos in the classroom for online teachers:

• **Motivation:** Authentic videos immerse students in real-world English, enhancing their contextual understanding and motivation. By comprehending genuine content rather than coursebook material, learners recognize their progress and are encouraged to engage more actively with the language.
• Diverse Accents: Students gain exposure to various accents and dialects not typically encountered in daily life or standard course materials.
• **Practice Shadowing for ELLs:** Engage English Language Learners (ELLs) in “shadowing” to enhance fluency, word stress, and sentence stress during one-on-one classes. By using subtitles, students can practice speaking in sync with video dialogue, improving their pronunciation and rhythm.
• Relevancy: Choosing authentic videos that match learners’ interests increases engagement. For example, a child may prefer sports content, while a business professional may seek industry-specific videos.

Video activity ideas suitable for the online classroom

One of the key advantages of incorporating videos into the classroom as an online educator is their incredible versatility. Here are some effective ideas that cater to both group settings and individual students:

Quiz questions

A great way to test your learners’ comprehension is by writing a short quiz to accompany the video content. 

Based on the video’s duration, consider crafting 5 to 10 quiz questions to enhance engagement. You can choose to format these as multiple-choice questions or encourage students to write their answers in full, depending on your teaching goals.

For a highly interactive experience with multiple students, Mentimeter is an excellent platform for creating engaging quizzes. However, you can also achieve similar results using Google Forms, a straightforward Google Doc, or a SharePoint worksheet. Each of these tools offers unique features that can enhance collaboration and participation in your learning environment.

Encourage students to watch the video at least twice while they fill in their answers. When reviewing their responses, pinpoint the exact moments in the video that address each question and replay those segments to enhance understanding.

Jigsaw videos

Practice decision-making language with your students by having them put together pieces of a video. 

Select a video that features a captivating storyline, like a dialogue among friends, a role-play, or a scene from a television show. Break the video into brief segments and then play these clips in a random sequence for an engaging viewing experience.

As an alternative, consider using screenshots or still images from the video to encourage students to speculate about the unfolding story. This interactive approach sparks curiosity and fosters critical thinking as they piece together the narrative.

Next, ask the participants to arrange the clips in the order they think the story progresses. After they’ve organized them, play the full clip to reveal which groups got it right. This activity not only encourages critical thinking but also sparks lively discussions about narrative structure!

Using videos at different English proficiency levels

These video activity ideas can enhance your online classes, but it’s crucial to tailor your grading and questions to match your learners’ English proficiency levels. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind when addressing various skill levels:

• Language skills 

Consider the vocabulary and grammar featured in the video. If it includes expressions, phrasal verbs, and intricate grammatical structures, it is likely more appropriate for advanced learners.

Similarly, videos that feature less dialogue and simple vocabulary will be better for lower levels. 

Pro Tip: When using YouTube or platforms like Ted-Ed that offer transcripts, try running the text through Text Inspector. This tool can help you identify and select more advanced vocabulary to enhance your language skills.

• Video length 

For lower-level learners, videos longer than one minute can be challenging, especially when they contain dense language. To enhance comprehension, it’s best to break content into bite-sized segments that make it easier for them to grasp the material.

Conversely, advanced students are better equipped to absorb longer content. In this case, videos ranging from 1 to 4 minutes in length are likely to be more effective.

• Accents and dialects

Consider the accents present in the video, as they can significantly impact comprehension. Lower-level students often find it more challenging to understand different accents compared to their more advanced peers.

For example, lower-level students accustomed to American accents might struggle to comprehend a video featuring British accents. In contrast, advanced learners can benefit from exposure to a variety of accents, as it presents a valuable challenge that enhances their listening skills.

Dos and don’ts

Before diving into video-based learning in your online classroom, take a moment to review our essential dos and don’ts. This will help you maximize the effectiveness of your approach and ensure a smooth experience for both you and your students.

Do

• Make it fun 

Incorporate a humorous video if you believe your students will enjoy it, or opt for one that explores a captivating topic they’ll find fascinating. Engaging visuals can make learning more enjoyable and memorable!

• Keep it concise 

To create an engaging video-based learning experience, aim for brevity. A duration of 1 to 3 minutes is ideal, as it allows you to convey key information quickly and effectively, keeping viewers focused and interested.

• Provide students with a video script

After your students have viewed the video at least once, provide them with the transcript. This resource can help highlight essential vocabulary and grammar structures, making it easier to clarify any unclear concepts from the content.

• Choose your classroom videos wisely

It’s important to recognize that using video in English teaching can have drawbacks. For instance, choosing a video that is overly complex or irrelevant to your learners can lead to demotivation. To enhance engagement and effectiveness, select your teaching materials carefully, keeping in mind the guidance provided in this guide.

Don’t 

• Forget your class goals 

When selecting a video for your class, it’s essential to choose one that aligns with your language objectives. For example, if your lesson focuses on climate change vocabulary, opt for a video that covers this subject. This approach will enhance the flow of your lesson and keep students actively engaged.

• Ignore key vocabulary

Don’t overlook any intriguing phrasal verbs or idioms in the video! Highlight these expressions for your students and guide them in understanding how they function within sentences. This approach will enhance their learning experience and make the video more valuable.

• Play it only once 

It’s rare for students to grasp everything on their first viewing. To enhance their understanding, consider playing the content at least twice. If they still find it challenging, try showing it once with subtitles to provide additional support.

Bonus! Teaching English online with videos – resources 

Incorporating videos into the classroom offers numerous advantages. They not only enhance student engagement and make lessons more captivating, but they also serve as powerful educational resources for improving language skills.

Here are a few final recommendations and resources:

ESL Video is an excellent resource for video content tailored to English language learners. It categorizes videos by proficiency level, simplifying your search for materials that match your needs!

TedEd is especially beneficial for intermediate to advanced learners. This engaging video platform offers a diverse selection of short to medium-length videos on a wide array of subjects, from art history to physics. Students can select topics that pique their interest, watch the informative videos, and then develop presentations to share their insights in class.

FilmEnglish is an exceptional resource for teaching English through the power of films and video clips. The site offers a treasure trove of creative ideas and comprehensive lesson plans tailored for various language proficiency levels, making it an invaluable tool for educators.

Lesson Stream offers a wealth of engaging and innovative video-based activities for students, all of which can be effortlessly adapted for online language learning environments.

Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey of teaching English online using dynamic video resources? Join LingualNeeds as a tutor and kickstart your teaching career while unleashing your creativity!