Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Fun in the classroom or what would you do with this stuff?

Ok, I know that fun in the classroom must have a clear educational objective. It's the first and the foremost commandment of the educational process. But oh so often we teachers are tempted to add some entertainment to the tedious routine and make students happy. 
There's nothing wrong with that. But I must confess that I don't often take pains to create a set of activities for the fun stuff in the classroom. Be it the absence of free time or tiredness, it stops me from developing a cool idea into something interesting and useful. From now on I'll try to fix this.
So, ladies and gentlemen, check out the first post on the  'Fun in the classroom or what would you do with this cool stuff' page. This week we'll look at video in the classroom.

What is That?

It's a web site with lots of short videos in English. Once you open the page, it asks you to choose your mother tongue (the choice is sufficient: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Indonesian, Portugese and Russian). Once you've made your choice, you are welcome to a succession of short video clips. After watching them (you can use the script as well) you are asked whether you understand what was said (or sung) in the video. Once you agree you are offered two variants of the script in your mother tongue. Success? Proceed to the next episode.
Your progress is measured by points and the timer. The sooner you make your choice the more points you get.  

Evaluate me, Please:

This resource is brand-new and still beta-tested. It declares it'll be free forever and it is not interrupted by ads, so don't worry that anything nasty pops up while using the web site in class. As for the developers of this resource, the information is not stated yet.
The web site requires a Flash Player and runs nicely if you have broadband connection. Otherwise, the performance slows down and kills the fun.
For now, you don't have to sign in or create an account. If you wish to, you can log in with your Facebook or Twitter account (which allows you to share your achievements, btw).
The videos I've seen were non-violent, no strong language (does kick asses count) or nude scenes detected. Still, I would not recommend to use this with youger learners (which is logical, their chances of getting what the Godgfather mumbles are very poor).

Why Use it?

I think it's a good way to check the listening skills. 
Activity 1
All-class. You watch the clip together and ask students to guess its meaning one by one or in teams, when they vote for the best option. BUT: the latter is more time-consuming and can cause arguments.
Activity 2
Individual: Each student gets access to the computer (if you are lucky enough) and is given a certain time limit (say 10 minutes). At the end, you compare the resuls and discuss what was difficult and what was easy. You can keep track of the results to show the progress and the development of the listening skills. 

Beware!

  1. I'm still dubious about the content - it's a pity they have no rating system on this web site.
  2. Don't let the kids log in with their Facebook accounts in class - or they'll end up watching each other's party photos. If they like the idea, they are free to experiment at home (for their benefit, of course).
  3. The web site does require broadband connection - the uploading can disrupt the task.
  4. Like any web based activity it's advisable to have "Plan B' in case of zombie apocalypse, alien invasion and failed connection.

Diagnosis: 

6 out of 10. 
A good way to get some fun and remind your students their skills can be used outside the classroom, at least for watching movies. The activities can have a competitional element.

Feedback:

Still plan to use in in class. I'll update the impressions asap.

Your Turn, Please:

What do you think of this resource? Are there any activities which can be carried out with the help of this web site?
  

2 comments:

  1. I wish I had had such a nice resource when I was a teacher!
    I am a great stickler for having fun with students while learning the modals or infinitive constructions and it was such a hard job to make them use new grammar material in everyday situations! Such short videos can do the kids a world of good while providing them with conversational skills and a motivation to ameliorate their level of English.
    godfather, though)!

    P.S. thanks a lot for your practical advice as I am a real technical geek... hmm

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    1. Yeah, when the students see that the language is actually spoken (even by gangsters and ants:) it works miracles with their motivation.
      Godfather is cool, that's true, but it's Joe Cocker who makes me really desperate:)

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