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!
- I'm still dubious about the content - it's a pity they have no rating system on this web site.
- 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).
- The web site does require broadband connection - the uploading can disrupt the task.
- 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?
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