video/movies really helps?

[hongna li]

Yes, in my opinion , moive in class is a big help cuz in class we have time limit, many other things we can't introduce clearly. when we learn sth about Englsih drama, a movie about it will make the students understand it fully.

[tanya004]

I teach English and I should say that Video and DVD are really very useful.
They enable a teacher to vary and enliven a lesson. After a session of some exercises, which can be rather monotonous and wearisome, Video is a welcom change. Besides it creates a natural atmosphere and develops social and cultural competence.

[eslweb]

When I took my first EFL job, we used to take the students to the cinema once a month. Provided the class were well behaved and not behind in their studies. The students enjoyed it very much and there were a lot of learning opportunities:

1. They read the newspaper in English to choose the movie (and reviews for higher levels)

2. Before the cinema we would walk down and all have lunch together in the hawker stalls and it was a good chance for the students to practice their conversation skills in a more relaxed environment.

3. They bought the tickets in English

4. They watched the movie in English

5. For homework they would write a review.

6. The students would discuss the movie they saw.

James
http://www.jamesabela.co.uk/

[susana marques]

Students like very much this kind of activity, specially if the films deal with themes that they like, for example action films.

[pravko]

I developed 80 hours course for adult ss based mostly on video. SS repeat some sentences, scienes, retell, guess what will happen, try to create their own monologues with video examples, tell news, act in court, conference, advertise smth etc.

[Jen31]

can anyone suggest a few videos that would be great in an adolescent esl class?

[MikeS]

I use videos in some of my Thai uni classes, but while they have advantages, you have to be sure you know exactly what you're trying to teach or it just becomes technical babysitting.
If they want to watch English movies they can do that at home. What is the language point you're teaching?
I find most movies don't work because they go too fast and the students can't keep up, even with English subtitles, so they lose interest after about five minutes.
It's better to use a short clip of a few minutes and play it several times while discussing the vocabulary and meanings.
For instance, in English for Media studies I go to English language news websites which often have short clips of news conferences or items and replay them several times.
There must also be a specific task for the students, either a handout to complete or first you teach them a pattern of language and then they look for it in the clip.
For instance, I teach the media students a standard format for a short news item (newsreader's introduction, vision of something, interview with participant or observer, more vision, newsreader's close etc) and have them fill out the handout with the information as they watch and listen to the news clip. That way a watching and listening exercise results in a written product. If you then make them talk about what they wrote, you've used all four skills in the one exercise.
So thje golden rule is never to show anything unless you've first analysed it, decided on the target language and prepared an exercise for the students.
Do that, and it can be very useful. Otherwise, its just babysitting for lazy teachers.

[cloudcafe928]

I once used video in an EFL class in Taiwan with my American colleague. Our goal was to enhance EFL students’ learning with equal emphasis on the four skills. He was responsible for interpreting and elaborating the content in the video and also engaging students to have relevant discussion about what they learned. As for my part, I prepared handouts which contained key words, phrases, idioms, and grammatical points in the video. In other words, I took care of the reading and writing abilities while my colleague dealt with listening comprehension and speaking competence.
Teaching media that combine both audio and visual aids really help language teaching and learning. In my experience, maybe the successful cooperation between my colleague and I played an important part in utilizing videos effectively in the EFL classroom.

[snowboy]

It is clear that videos can well explain the related background knowledge and vividly show students the very scene and atmosphere appeared in the text.

[lch513]

I think video helps a lot. Once I taught my students phonetics, but I am not good at some pronunciation; so I seek help from the video and the announcer on it does a good job. Also the exercises are very diverse and suitable for the students. So video sovled my problem. Maybe you can try it.

[clio.gr]

All authentic materials are very useful in the classroom.

Even just putting a 3 minute video at the end of the lesson to relax and just listen to authentic pronounciation and intonation will be very helpful.

i use a lot of cartoons or commercials or whole movies.

i design different activities and i have noticed that my pupils enjoy every minute of this.

[Eric18]

Some movies work much better than other films. For instance, the old Bill Murray film Groundhog Day really works for intermediate and high-intermediate students. Why? Because so many actions and dialogs are repeated several times so students get many chances to catch the words and their meaning. It also provokes many laughs with physical jokes and exposes students to many American idioms and slang words.
The trick, of course, remains solid preparation. At UCLA, we used worksheets written for the films. You should have a brief plot summary, character cheat sheet, focused vocabulary, and many listening comprehension questions. I also recommend only showing half the film at a time so students can work together in answering the questions. I have often shown the same film twice - the second time just for pleasure!
As the old American cereal commercial used to say, "try it - you'll like it!"

[JeremyintheCzechRep]

There are lots of karaoke style CDs available. I get my students to perform the song to assist other students whose language abilities may not be as good - and I video them. Songs like, I can sing a rainbow, If I had a hammer, Summertime, are nice easy songs, the students can spend about 45 minutes preparing the props and also preparing whatever choreography they want to do. I then allow them one rehersal and then it is lights, music and ACTION! We all had a lot of fun and the students have a great little video to take home with them.
Jeremy
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu

[CornDogArt]

Creative writing doesn't have to be boring- Use these free resources to inspire creative thought and critical thinking.

http://corndogart.com/portfolio/

[sawlor29]

Hi,
I have been teaching videos in the classroom for years. I think they def help if done write. a couple of suggestions:

-keep them short 1-5min
-don't show the video first (you will loose the students interest in the lesson)
-pre teach vocab
-add discussion questions related to the video topic before or after the lesson

www.SSEcoach.com is a new free video English learning site. but i only noticed one animation video.....i think majority of the videos are for adult learners.

hope this helps:)