Not looking to re-create the minor tiff in another thread where another person was offended at the idea I showed English cartoons in my English classes. Just interested in how people here use videos in their classrooms, and how they assign them as homework.
First, I love native audio in classes as it gives students a greater variety of voices and accents to hear outside of my own voice. I also prefer images since that adds context that improves comprehension far better than any pantomime I can do. Videos just merge these two quite well.
Second, there's the pause button with a skip forward button so with videos you can turn them into slide shows/power points.
Third, there's a mute button which I've used to great effect. For songs, I can have the students sing select parts. Sometimes I even have them sing along with the video muted because the images on screen tell them what's next.
Fourth, I love the idea of getting kids interested in watching cartoons in English. Probably the biggest things students don't do is have fun or do any immersion in English (especially outside the class). Get them hooked on a simple cartoon in the class, they might watch it for fun at home. In class though, I show it actively by explaining, pointing out stuff, asking things about what's on screen, and asking about the cartoon afterwards. For these I use Peppa Pig for 5 to 7 year olds, Bluey for 7 to 10 year olds, and Handy Manny for 10 and above.
For homework, a few years back I compiled the videos I made to use in class into a full unit video (anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes depending on the book's level) and uploaded them to YouTube. Then we created a video homework sheet to tape to the student's workbooks that have the QR code for all 8 units, three weekly sections per unit, with two initial lines for parents to sign that their child watched the video twice (or once for the longer videos).
To me, soon after I started doing this I notice the biggest increase in student abilities (pronunciation and comprehension). It pushed me to improve the videos so there's more context and specific text. Also, cause it's "homework" parents are ok making sure the kids have time to watch it and not just try to cram it in the car right before class like they do with the workbooks.
by Nukemarine
7 comments
Many Japanese students think that the only serious thing to do in a university class is occupy a desk and pretend to be interested in a Japanese guy standing in the front with a microphone, cranking his way through a powerpoint file being projected on the screen.
So as soon as I try to show a video for, for example, a listening class, many of them put their heads down and catch up on sleep. The only way they will take it seriously, take notes, etc. is to have a comprehension quiz at Google Classroom waiting for them after the class. This also involves putting up a copy of the video on Google Classroom so that the ones who still slept in class can watch the video online and do the same quiz.
That being said, I don’t think cartoons are the best for authentic materials because they don’t really show real facial gestures, the ones that actually help fluents speakers of a language to understand each other in face-to-face communications. They can also be very distracting in terms of the visual actions taking place while the dialogue is being spoken.
The uptick you say that you notice in their abilities, etc. could just be a figment of your imagination.
Cartoons for kids sounds like a great idea to me. I have several friends from EU countries who told me they learned English from TV, including cartoons. Keeps kids interested, and while immersion alone isn’t the key, you’re doing in-class instruction as well as having them do worksheet activities to reinforce what they are hearing/seeing.
I’m just wondering what is on the worksheets? If you tell us, we might be able to give you some ideas for while-watching activities that you haven’t thought of yet.
I generally set videos as homework assignments, when I do show them in class they are either short to show a learning point or if longer usually with a worksheet. I get students tochoose their own videos each week based on something we are studying to add to a private Youtube playlist or to Padlet. I generally prefer Padlet for most assignments as students can easily write a description about the video.
Personally I **tuned out** when I realised I was **reading ChatGPT nonsense**.
Have some more pride in your work bro.
For me, videos are great in showing context for certain points I want to teach. Else, they make great cultural and student interest oriented content that draws attention and motivation.
You can do it in class, and have targeted listening. You can give them a synopsis of the situation, and they can be listening for specific information, such as what different characters think about a topic. Something not terribly difficult that they will likely be able to get simply from paying attention. After watching they can share their answers with a partner. Then have a related discussion question that has the kids talk about a question related to the topic but that draws on the kids’ feelings or experiences. Then work with another partner and summarize what they and their partner said.
Try Edpuzzle. You can assign videos with built-in quizzes.
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