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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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 Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:36 am Post subject: |
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"some are much better than others"
But that is one of the great benefits of using video. You are concentrating too much on oral comprehension.
It's not an audio file. Visual images allow everyone in the room to participate.
The visusal scene gives the whole class a common foundation of comprehension you can work from. Much more so than other items you might start from - like a written text or listening to something.
If you pick scenes where there is action and movement, the students will understand much of it without the English. At minimum, you can ask them questions about what the person is wearing, colors, and so on. All the person needs for that is a pair of eyes.
This also answers your question about verbs: If the people in the scene are moving around and doing things, there are plenty of common verbs you can pull out to focus on.
The lower the level of class, the easier it is for the teacher to discover vocabulary in the scene that is useful in their day-to-day lives -- vocabulary they need to know.
The higher the class, the more discussion you can have about the scene and how it connects to real world society and so on. (Or focus more on accuracy in listening comprehension: "What did he say?")
Higher level students will understand more of the English dialog and thus understand what they are seeing more than those lower, but even the lowest level students will be able to participate based on what they have seen...
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| If you had very, very basic students how long of a video would you show? |
In general, I think it isn't a matter of length. I concentrate more on what kind of questions I ask different classes. The lowest level will focus on nouns of what they see and verbs. "What is that?" "What did he do?"
I want enough material to cover the class. Usually, we'll never see the end of the episode. We won't finish the whole thing. Every once in awhile, they will complain about this, but usually I am starting and stopping it so frequently, they forget that it is telling a whole story.
I rarely let a clip play more than 1 or 2 mintues before I stop it to ask questions. I'm really focusing on a scene more than an episode of a show or movie. The scene might be 5 mintues long or so. It might take us 20 mintues to cover it.
However - if I'm trying to give the students a break instead of pushing them to learn - I might let it play 5 minutes at a time or more -- ask a few quick questions that fit the class' level -- then let it play for 5 minutes or so more... You can't keep pushing the students hard every class without productivity collapsing... And variety in how you use clips helps keep their interest too.
In the US where I teach 90 minute classes and have total control, I might use it as a unit plan stretching 1 30 minute episode over 3 or so classes - (not using the whole class period for just the video lesson but mixing it in with other work).
If the class is very low, I might add subtitles in their native language. I've done this in Korean and Spanish back home. I'm not worried about how much of the English they understand. The hope is that they will understand enough from the scene and action to be able to talk about it, and that the scenes draw their interest enough to pump up motivation.
That is why Mr. Bean clips are good for beginning level. Virtually no spoken English, but a great motivator and with plenty of verbs and nouns you can pull out to teach...
The key is giving them something they are interested in and something that they can understand without needing to know the English very well.
Clips that have more action than talking are better. Or, a scene with a unique setting - like a period piece or science fiction or set in a location they see in the real world: a hospital, police station, classroom...
In the US with almost all Spanish-speaking students, I used old Flash Gordon serials from the 1930s or so. These were high school students who had some interest in history and culture.
Flash Gordon were shorts shown before the full feature movies back then. Each episode was 15 mintues long. Lots of action. So even with stopping and starting frequently, we'd cover much of an episode.
It was easy for the students to understand what was going on even for the lowest level students. For the higher level students, some of which could handle themselves in mainstream classes, we could discuss stereotypes, racism in Hollywood, archetypes, like in a regular Language Arts/literature classroom.
These Hispanic kids really liked it when I brought in old Zorro shorts to do the same since we'd been talking about how in the old days you could tell the good guy from the bad one by what color hat they wore and whether they had blond or dark hair.
I also used a Mexican sitcom that was very popular at the time. (It was Spanish language.) We only watched maybe 10-15 total minutes of an episode in a 90 minute class, but I'd watched the whole series with English subtitles ahead of time. Almost every one of the students knew the show very well ahead of time too. So, if discussion of the scenes we were watching lagged, I was in a better position to ask a question to get things rolling again.
In this exercise, the idea is the students would teach me what the scene was about because every one of them understood the Spanish, but I didn't because I never studied the language.
With the class in the US, the gap between levels was very high and the class about evenly divided. In that case, I had to have a clear idea of which group I was going to focus on most that day: sticking closer to basic vocabulary and making simple sentences to describe what we were watching - or - asking questions that led the students to analyze and describe the scenes in more detail.
There is a whole lot you can do with video. The limit is our own imaginations.
One activity I've used here in Korea in the elementary school is have the students sit in groups of about 4 or 5 and give each group a small poster. We'll watch 2 mintues or so of a clip. The students are to write down as many words connected to what they see and hear as possible.
After the clip has finished and they have stopped writing, the group will talk to each other in Korean about the words on the poster: If a student doesn't know a word, someone else will explain it.
Next, I'll take up the posters and highlight the most useful vocabulary. Groups will get stickers based on how much effort they put into it and how many words they were able to write down.
The next class, I'll give each student a list of the most important words the class found. I'll show the clip again stopping and starting to point out where the key words can be found. Sometimes, I'll use a video editing program to show the word as a text when it comes up in the images or the action.
Last edited by iggyb on Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 8:26 am Post subject: |
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Just before winter break, I used scenes from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's 50 minutes long. I cut it into about 4 scenes totally about 20 minutes. The first two scenes we did with much stopping and starting with questions focusing on vocabulary that would be useful for their level.
When they started getting brain tired, I just let the other clips play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3z1iOvXpeY
I didn't use the Youtube version at the link. I downloaded it from isohunt then used a video editing program on my homecomputer to cut it up and add English subtitles. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:07 am Post subject: |
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Here is an activity I did with 5th and 6th grade first semester:
[url]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScnN0o1dzvk[/url]
It was based on a short 30 second Youtube video.
Below is a project from summer camp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOgfJuGSjow&feature=related
In both activities, we started with a short clip. The 2nd is 40 seconds from scene in A Bug's Life with Korean subtitles.
After watching the clips and talking about useful vocabulary, I had the students work in small groups creating a dialog describing the clip as if doing a news report.
After writing, editing, and practicing the dialog, I recorded it. After class, I put the "news report" together with the original video clip and added subtitles. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:19 am Post subject: |
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Here is a similar one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLgu8i8VG4M&feature=related
The 30 second or so Youtube clip was one my Hispanic students in the US showed me. In preparation for this "news reporting" activity, students can bring in or email me links to videos online. I'll preview them and pick a good one for this class activity.
Instead of having the students create the dialog, you can write one out for them to read, look up words they don't know, and practice. That variation works for classes that are too low and take too much time creating their own dialog or for classes with very low motivation. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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| iggyb wrote: |
Just before winter break, I used scenes from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's 50 minutes long. I cut it into about 4 scenes totally about 20 minutes. The first two scenes we did with much stopping and starting with questions focusing on vocabulary that would be useful for their level.
When they started getting brain tired, I just let the other clips play.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3z1iOvXpeY
I didn't use the Youtube version at the link. I downloaded it from isohunt then used a video editing program on my homecomputer to cut it up and add English subtitles. |
How do you do that? I am all for using video to help encourage them to learn more English some of my mates simply showed movies to kill time, and, for beginners, that's useless. I would like to know what you do to edit the videos and what not. How do you add subtitles? I am referring to typing in English subtitles. How can that be done? Is that what you did?
I started this whole thread because I wasn't happy that someone I knew showed movies to beginners, and I didn't see any planning done. You can't learn much from that. I have, however, seen how video clips can be effective more than whole movies. A short show, as someone mentioned, is a good idea. A 30 minute show wouldn't be too long, and you could stop it and pause it, you could prepare vocabulary in advance of viewing the film and what not.
You could have comprehension questions at the end. |
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diver
Joined: 16 Jun 2003
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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I use video editing programs for my home PC. It gets a little complicated. It isn't hard if you are basically software friendly.
I have gotten by with basics: downloading the movie or episode I wanted then use MS MovieMaker that comes free with Windows to cut out the scene(s) I wanted and then save it to the computer in wmv or avi format.
You can add subtitles with it, but it can be cumbersome if you want subtitles for the whole thing...
You can also download srt subtitle files with many contemporary movies and very popular TV shows....
I use a variety of programs depending on what I want to do: MovieMaker, better quality video editing software, audio ripper, snagit, and video splitter.
You don't have to have full subtitles for a scene.
Again, listening comprehension is not my primary focus when deciding to do a video lesson --- except for advanced level classes. I'm using video for the images and action. If I pick good scenes, they provide much of the comprehension I need to make the lesson work.
With a beginning level class, I'm not expecting them to understand everything. All I care about is whether or not the students can understand enough of the overall video to participate in learning the target vocabulary and other material.
Beginning level students have so much material that is useful for them, you can pull material out of most scenes - but those with action are better.
Last edited by iggyb on Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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Usually, I'll cut a 30 minute episode into 3 or 4 scenes of 1-5 minutes long.
I asked the comprehension questions as we go. I use the whiteboard to write down the key words, phrases and maybe sentence patterns. Students copy it down in their notebook.
Last edited by iggyb on Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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I'm looking at maybe using the Simpsons for graduation week. I'm previewing episodes looking for scenes students can easily understand visually and can produce useful vocabulary.
Here is a scene where a character drives along a busy highway. Parks at the sidewalk. Gets out. Crosses the busy lanes dodging cars and almost getting hit and killed. He is nervous. He darts quickly. He is scared...
In this 30 second to 2 minute little scene, there is PLENTY of words and expressions useful for my 4th through 6th grade classes - and nobody has spoken a word...
It works well for mixed level classes too because when they do speak, it is short expressions or 1 or 2 sentences - using common everyday speech. There are a couple of expressions that my intermediate level students should know but don't.
It doesn't matter if much of the class only understands 10-25% of the dialog -- some words here and there.
If they understand what is going on via the images and motion, I can teach them the vocabulary items I want. I point out to the them the target material.
This Simpsons episode is 21:35 long. I might end up only showing 10 minutes of that in broken segments. We might watch those segments a few times over 1 or 2 classes.
Along with it, I'll make other activities like a bombgame to drill the target vocabulary. And we will usually do some kind of short writing activity to describe the scene. What I've used this year here in Korea is the "broadcast news" style I showed in the links in an earlier comment.
I'm not using a video lesson to practice listening comprehension skills.
I want to establish a common foundation of understanding using visual images to open the door to learning useful vocabulary and using that vocabulary in writing or speaking to describe what they have seen.
If I had higher level classes, listening comprehension might be my primary focus. It isn't with lower level ones. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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I occasionally use short under-5 minute clips and either do a dialogue with students, or get them to fill in the blanks.
As for showing a full-blown movie, that's at the end of the semesters when they are done their finals. I just show them a movie for the last one/two classes. |
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bbunce
Joined: 28 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:27 am Post subject: |
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| I know when I've used youtube video clips, (no more than 3 minutes) the students really pay attention. For English beginners, they loved watching the ABC phonics ones because they have music and video. I've never used them for higher-level students. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:51 am Post subject: |
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Great discussion and some nice clips.
For me, you got to limit video to clips/scenes and provide a language focus to the clip. This can be of any of the 4 skills or just to use it as a topic engager.
I have a lot of suggestions on this blog post in the ebook I made - The Video Teaching Revolution. http://bit.ly/kEzsq8
I've used the movie BIG and have a full "movie book" for it. Full of activities. Note how it is cut up into scenes. http://community.eflclassroom.com/page/big
I also love this Harry met Sally scene - L2 subtitles can really be helpful. These subtitles are definitely unique.... http://community.eflclassroom.com/video/when-harry-met-sally
But overall, I'm with Adventurer that just putting on a movie in a second language classroom without a plan, really has no more objective than to fill time.
DD |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:32 am Post subject: |
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I'm not against playing a full movie or better - a full TV show - though I'd only do it once or twice a year...
It goes against the "bell-to-bell instruction" craze in the US right now, but sometimes --- students need to veg out. They need a class to relax in order to increase production in later classes. Maybe this is more so with teenagers (and adults). Elementary school kids seems to have more energy and resiliance.
With teens, I've walked into a classroom with a good plan, took one look at their faces, and knew there was no way I was going to get anything close to what I wanted out of them that day.
Language learning is a very brain-taxing thing to do. When I have full control of the class (not co-teaching), I push the students to give me production.
But ocassionally, I will end up getting more out of them in the long run if I let them take it easy one class and just chill instead of fighting through the lethargy class after class hoping they will come around.
(I probably picked this up from my wrestling coach who used to kill us all the time, but once in a blue moon would come in while we were streching and just chat for 20 mintues then tell us to go home.) |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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Here is an example of how it can be a little tricky but not too much to prepare video material for class:
I want to use short scenes from a Simpsons episode. I can't find Korean subtitles I'd like to use for the low level classes I have. So, I will use English subtitles.
I want to cut out the scenes and save them individually using MS MovieMaker that comes free with Windows. But, as far as I know, the srt file subtitles will not show up when I make the short movie: The subtitles show up on the preview screen but not the final film after I make it.
So, I use Ultra Video Splitter. It is simple to use and includes an option to show subtitles. I use it to cut the episode into scenes I want.
Now, I can use these MovieMaker or some other video editing problem to edit the short scenes I've created using Video Splitter. I can add titles, different type of subtitles - for example, just single words that show up on the screen to highlight vocabulary I will focus on.
Using Video Splitter and a video editing program, I can edit individual scenes from a movie or episode and have it showing the original subtitles I downloaded for the movie or episode I'm using. |
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