[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 16 | June 30, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]
CompellingConversations’ compilation of YouTube videos for ESL teachers and students alike
“We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn.”
1. English Pronunciation – vowel changes in stressed and unstressed syllables
This 2011 video by AccurateEnglish uses common words to highlight how to pronounce English vowels in stressed and unstressed syllables. In seven minutes, Lisa Mojsin, author of “Mastering the American Accent,” reviews common mistakes she encounters in her English classes, and uses a rubber band as a visual tool to demonstrate which vowels should be stressed.
2. Being a Good Conversationalist – Responding to Good News and Bad News
VOA Learning English, in a 19-minute Google+ Hangout session, displays the proper responses to good news and bad news in English. This video from 2013 features Guest Jane Mairs, writer of the Ask the Editor column for Merriam-Webster, who explains why certain responses are polite or impolite in conversation.
3. Job Interview – Learn English
Duc Lai gives a six-minute breakdown of the job interview process while providing several tips along the way. In two different job-interview settings, this video from 2010 explains why certain questions are asked and notes that the word ordering changes when a sentence is transformed into an inquiry.
4. How do Accents Work?
Made in 2014, this video covers a very relatable topic to English learners. Brainstuff – HowStuffWorks delves into the explanation of how accents work in roughly six minutes. This concept is explained in terms of social, geographic and scientific aspects, and with the help of diagrams, is made easy to understand.
5. The World We Explore- Sir Ken Robinson Zeitgeist Americas 2012
In this video from 2012 by zeitgeistminds, Sir Ken Robinson, known for his work covering the imagination and education, explores creativity in our education system and society. Throughout the twenty minutes, Robinson engages the audience and uses anecdote to push forward his point that the standardization of school systems is stunting creativity. This leads many to ask: are we educating or miseducating in our classrooms?
6. How to Improve Spoken American English – Sound Like a Native Speaker
Rachel’s English, a prolific YouTube Channel for teaching ESL, uploaded this six-minute tutorial in 2013. By using a “Ben Franklin exercise,” Rachel shows that with just a recording of a native speaker, students can begin to sound like ones themselves.
7. Advanced English 1a – Vocabulary – Olympic Games
The first in a 2008 playlist by JenniferESL, this eight-minute video is designed for upper-level students wishing to learn the vocabulary of a common conversation. Jennifer, well-known for her YouTube channel, teaches Olympic vocabulary words in context by using a multiple-choice scenario. The other videos in this playlist follow a similar structure for different topics, such as Olympic Games grammar and Yard Sale vocabulary.
8. Difficult words “world,” etc
AccurateEnglish uploaded this 5 minute lesson in 2009 in order to help students pronounce the most difficult words. In this quick guide, Lisa Mojsin presents little tricks to show how students should “imagine” the spellings of these words in order to pronounce them correctly.
9. What Makes a Word Real?
TEDtalk host Anne Curzan discusses in 17 minutes what makes a word “real” and why people should not resist the emergence of new words, like “adorkable.” This video, which came out in 2014, explains why certain words are in the dictionary, and at what point does a word become “real.”
10. Daniel Gilbert- The Surprising Science of Happiness
In 2012, TEDtalk host Daniel Gilbert discusses how our “psychological immune system” determines our happiness, independent of whether or not things go according to plan. His interesting examples of people who face adversity yet are still happy lead us to wonder what the true path to happiness is–and all in just 21 minutes.
How do you use YouTube in your classrooms?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Indeed a ‘Fantastic YouTube videos for the ESL classroom’ compiled by Eric Roth . Thanks for such useful posts.
This is really helpful and it saves my time for searching good videos.Thanks a lot.