Using the TV in class
 

Does anybody use videos or DVds in class as a teaching aid. If so, which ones and what for?

I like the old Mr Bean sketches. They're short and funny. Even though there is no spoken English I use it to ask questions to the class such as 'What is he doing'? 'Who is he speaking to?' What is he wearing?' etc etc.

You can use this with various tenses. Present simple and continuous, past simple and continuous, going to for predictions, present perfect for recently completed actions etc etc. It's good for vocab too with very low level groups - point to the object and ask 'What's this'' 'What colour is it?' etc

As well as Mr bean I use Fawlty Towers, but only for the higher level groups.

Re: Using the TV in class
 

I use recorded material a lot, in the cr and outside. One of the advantages of DVDs are the subtitles. As a regular part of their homework I get my int + students to choose a DVD and work on it 3 times a week. The first day they watch 10 mins (minimum)with English audio and English subtitles; the second the watch the same ten mins without subtitles, plus the next ten mins with; the third day they watch the last ten mins without and the next with - and so on. I've done it myself to help me improve my understanding of French, and it's really useful.

Re: Using the TV in class
 

What a great idea. I think I will do that for myself to improve a second language. I would love to speak a second language but have no confidence for speaking to native speakers since being in France and the locals not understanding a word I said when I tried speaking French to them. lol
But its never too late so they say!

Re: Using the TV in class
 

Eric and I talked about using video in class. Give it a listen
http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/09/video-in-class/

Re: Using the TV in class
 

I sit on the fence when it comes to DVDs in the classroom, mostly because too many teachers pop one in for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, even 90 minutes, then call that teaching. Small segments in the classroom are great, as are DVDs as home study aids. TV programs end up as more effective tools than movies in the EFL classroom because, with commercial breaks in mind, a scene can play out in a very manageable 5-10 minutes.

That said, although 5-10 minutes works well, you can have an effective 30 minutes, too. It all depends on the activities you build into the lesson. A warm-up discussion, set of questions, or an exercise in speculation, even for intermediate levels, works well to get students thinking about the program. Comprehension questions are important, too. And as with traditional listening exercises, you can build bottom-up or top-down exercises.

Some other ideas include:

1) Cover all, half, or certain quarters of the TV screen, so all the action isn't visible. Students watch, listen, and guess on the missing context and action.

2) Turn the sound off. Pair up students, and have one sitting with his/her back to the screen. Play 30 second segments, with one student describing the action.

3) Speculate on the next scene (or program's conclusion) in pairs/groups. Summarization of what was just watched also works well.

4) Speed reading with subtitles in L2, which they must then use to answer questions, summarize, etc. The sound would be turned off the first time, then turned on to confirm answers.

5) Any cultural questions, questions about nuance or slang, etc.

Chris Cotter
www.headsupenglish.com

Re: Using the TV in class
 

I agree with HUE, in small and snappy segments will prove very effective. If you are teaching kids then I suggest some Disney animation especially for the smaller children or go to www.kidzclub.com (I think that's the right one) which has some short clips and tongue twisters. For kids I guess it's important not to show too much of a film in one go and not to stop the film every two minutes asking questions :)

Also for adults you can get the script I'm sure for pretty much any film or TV series so they can watch the show, read together with the script and try to understand it better. You could let them listen first and then give them the script or visa versa.

Best of luck!