Archive for Videos
Business Meetings: A Form of Thought Control?
Posted by: | CommentsBusiness Meetings and Thought Control
Lessons from “Coffee…” and Business English
As a busy ESL/EFL teacher, business English language consultant and business woman, I have very little free time. So I guard it carefully in order to get the most out of it. However, one of the things I do indulge in is a weekly “e-zine” called “Coffee With Kevin Hogan”. These articles are so interesting and pertinent for my business English clients that I have often shared sections with the more advanced students.
You see, each week Dr. Kevin Hogan treats some very interesting topics from a business perspective, such as body language, persuasion, influence and in the last few issues of “Coffee With Kevin Hogan” he has been examining thought control in the Alinsky method.
This week, part 2.5, “Thought Control: The President’s Method” Dr. Hogan’s introduction to this subject really caught my eye. He wrote:
“Secret Tactic 1 Alinsky teaches that the general goal is to lead
people through loaded questions to the conclusion he has already
proscribed.
This is a well known tactic in corporate brainwashing sessions …I
mean…. brainstorming sessions…
It’s quite simple after you’ve done it a few times. You begin
collecting answers to questions. you can even put them up on the
blackboard, so to speak.
You then gently lead the group toward the conclusions and directions
you, the organizer, wishes to go.
The illusion of collecting opinions, ideas and “input” is extremely
important.”
The “Language” of Business Meetings
This last sentence, in particular, brought a You Tube video to mind which I have used with business English students as a lighter note when we are looking at the lexical language of business meetings. Many of my students told me that it reminded them of what they’d noted in actual meetings they’d attended – except for the drunk.
However, reading the sentence: “The illusion of collecting opinions, ideas and “input” is extremely important.” stopped me in my tracks. Perhaps this YouTube video is not a light and funny joke after all – but an all too true reflection of corporate reality? Take a look at the video yourself. What is the chairperson trying to do? What do the other members of team learn? How do they change their “language” in the brainstorming? And why?
What do you think? And does corporate thought control really make any difference for our business English clients?
Enjoy Teaching English,
Eileen
ESL Lesson and Flexibility
Posted by: | CommentsESL, EFL, ESOL Lessons and Flexibility
While an ESL, EFL, ESOL lesson plan is important for every class, flexibility and following the lead of the students can bring the whole class to new and important insights and life lessons….
ESL Learning & Projects…
The business English students in one of my classes are preparing a short presentation on driving safety for their sector in the company. Their company puts a very strong emphasis on safety in the workplace, behind the wheel and at home; so these students want to do a good job.
In order to help these ESOL students use this experience also as a way to improve their English language skills, I set aside time to work on their project during the classes. Although the presentation will be given in their own language, I felt the coming presentation offered a great opportunity to work on business English skills that they could carry over into other aspects of their job.
So during past lessons, these ESOL learners have discussed how they want to present the material and have prepared a working script.
Today we were looking at possible photos on Flickr that could be used in their Power Point presentation.
The idea of incorporating a short video came up and they searched on Flickr and You Tube for possible material ….
…With The Brutal Realities of Life
… In the search they came across the following graphic video of a tragic true story… It was prepared by a former BBC producer and filmed in Wales.
After viewing it, we could barely speak… it is an excellent, well-made film - but very moving… When we recovered a bit – it led to a very profound discussion in English on the horrible consequences of texting/sms-ing and driving. Their presentation on safe driving took on a whole new dimension.
I am posting the URL here, because I think it is worthwhile going to the YouTube site and reading about who made it, why they made it and how they made it. This video is just a “taste” of the 30 minute that has been prepared to help people remember ….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I54mlK0kVw
I am embedding the video here as well because I think we all need to be reminded that “Good Drivers JUST Drive” as one video motto put it!
But please … if you watch this 4 minute video, be forewarned that it is graphic and deeply moving – and it is based on the true story of a teenage Welsh girl who killed 4 people because she was texting while driving.
“Good Drivers JUST Drive”
Eileen
ESL, EFL, ESOL Lesson: Does Liberty fit into your lesson plan?
Posted by: | CommentsCan Liberty Fit Into An ESL, EFL, ESOL Lesson?
ESL, EFL, ESOL teachers live in the reality of their students’ everyday lives. With our students we rejoice when there’s a holiday – just as much as they do – especially if it’s a beautiful spring day!
Liberation Day!
April 25 is one of those special days! Today we recall how precious the gift of
British POWs near Nettuno, south of Rome, 1944
freedom is: 2o1o makes the 65th anniversary of the overthrow of the Mussolini government and the beginning of the fall of the Nazi regime in Italy. Today we remember all those who fought, suffered and died for the liberation of Italy from tyranny.
As the President of the Republic laid the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, The Altar of the Country, at Piazza Venezia in the heart of ancient Rome this morning, we remembered all the victims of that horrible occupation and war: the foreign soldiers who sacrificed their mind, bodies and lives that the Italian people might be free, the Italian Resistance movement, the many civilian deaths, victims of atrocities, friendly-fire and bombings.
World War II – Echoes in Everyday Life
The Ardeatine Cave, Rome
But World War II is not just a memory in a history book – the scars of that bloody war are still with us: every year many unexploded ordinances are still being unearthed; whole sections of cities have to be evacuated as the deadly bombs are diffused and removed. And here in Rome and its environs we have the sharpnel walls of the buildings on Via Rasella, the Ardeatine Caves where the horrific massacre ordered by Hilter of 335 Italians was carried out in 1944 and many military cemetaries to remind us of the horror of aggression and war – and the cost of our freedom.
ESL, EFL, ESOL Lessons Bringing in History with Social Media
For an EFL/ESOL teacher days like April 25 are an opportunity to bring in photos, film footage, old press releases of the BBC and BBC radio broadcasts - all of which are available for free online.
On YouTube there are several videos of actual footage from the WWII period that bring those past events to life again and commemorate the value of freedom.
Here is one with US General Mark Clark who explains the hardships of the Italian campaign and dedicates a documentary by John Huston to the memory of all those who fought for freedom.
For classroom discussions, teachers can talk with their ESL, EFL, ESOL students about their families’ memories of these events and the value of freedom. They can write in their e-notebooks or publicly blog about those family stories and the liberties that they are now enjoying.
In our modern consumeristic world, we have perhaps gotten a bit soft. We take the freedoms we have for granted…. we forget the liberties we now enjoy were bought at a horrific price: the lives of thousands of people who sacrificed what was most precious - their lives - so that we may be free.
And you, my reader - what days do you want to remember and thank those who sacrificed their lives that we might be free?
Happy Liberation Day to all – may we also prize and protect our freedoms from any tyrant….
Eileen
ESl/EFL Lesson Plan for Kids: Birthday, Age, Rome & Social Media
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does an ESL lesson plan for kids, a birthday, age, Rome and social media have in common?
Well, you have probably guessed that ESL/EFL lesson plans, whether for children or adults, need to teach about age and birthdays – they do go together.
In early ESL/EFL lessons for beginners teachers introduce the language for asking “how old are you?” with the verb “to be” construction for these questions and answers – so loved by children and abhored by many adults. Later, as ESL/EFL students progress we can tie age in with birthdays, especially for children who love to celebrate that special day.
Birthday Grammar and Vocabulary
Both age and birthdays are great to introduce or review:
- the cardinal and/or ordinal numbers,
- days of the week,
- months of the year,
- capitalization of first letter for days and months,
- the correct pronunciation for the year
- correct word order for questions and answers with the verb “to be”
- the question word “when”
- the different ways English speakers speak and write dates, e.g., the 21st of April, April 21, 21 April
- prepositions of time: in April, on Monday, on April 21
- the past of the verb “to be”, as in “When were you born?” “I was born on …”
- the verb “to be born”
Rome in an EFL Lesson?
But in the title I mentioned Rome and social media…. how do they all fit together in a lesson?
Bringing the city of Rome into the ESL/ESL/ESOL lesson adds a touch of history, especially during the month of April. Why? …because April 21 is the birthday of Rome. The ancient city, also known as “Caput Mundi/Head of the World” is 2,763 years old – for extra practice have your students say that number outloud!
There are many stories about the birth of Rome that, depending on the age and level of the ESL/EFL students, are very interesting. I find that a favorite with my older kids is the story of the she-wolf and the abandoned twin brothers. The mother wolf feed the infants and kept them from starvation.
ESL/EFL Review Happy Birthday Video
In my EFL class of 9 year olds, I reviewed birthday and language, question word order and spelling by using Xtranormal animation videos. (I explained how to use Xtranormal in this blog article, if you would like to review.)
However, the kids decided that instead of doing something on Rome they would make a video for one of the little sisters of a classmate. It is a simple animation – but it accomplished its purpose! They students really enjoyed the process, laughing and giggling as they chose the music and camera movements, wrote the script - and then shared it with their parents and other class members…. And I don’t think these EFL students will forget this language or the Happy Birthday song anytime soon!
Here’s the simple video (not exactly competition for the Oscars… but a great learning experience):
Enjoy teaching English!
Eileen
ESL/EFL Lesson: 3 Steps In Using A YouTube Video
Posted by: | CommentsYouTube Video
ESL/EFL Lessons with a YouTube video can make our classes much more interesting and memorable for our students.
First of all, videos provide ESL/EFL learners with real-life English. The English is spoken at normal speed and uses vocabulary and sentence structure that native English-speaking people employ.
Moreover, good YouTube videos are free to access, short in duration and therefore, much easier to plan into an ESL/EFL lesson – and planning is important if we want to make sure we incorporate the videos into the overall class objectives.
A Sample ESL Lesson Plan for a YouTube video
As I noted in a previous post, it is important to prepare our students for the material they are going to watch. We need to give them background to what they are going to watch so that they can put it in context and link it to what they already know in their own language, as well as what they have already learned in their ESL/EFL/ESOL classes. Remember we want to stretch their English – not overwhelm them with unrelated information or grammatical and lexical material.
For this reason, it is very important that we preview the video first. We know our English learners and we know which lexical expressions or grammatical structure could be too challenging for them.
The basic ESL/EFL lesson plans have 3 parts: Preparation, Presentation of new language material, Application – and that is the organization I will be following in this lesson plan for this YouTube video.
The YouTube video I’ve chosen is called “Break Up”. It has won several awards and was produced in 2007 for the Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. It appears to be a story about a romantic relationship that is coming to an end… but is it? It brings in the some of the vocabulary and body language of dating… But it is more…. Read the shirts of the man and the woman. What is the real story here?
With a general group of ESL/EFL learners, we could use in lessons dealing with vocabulary dealing with relationships. With business ESL/EFL clients the video could be incorporated into a training with dealing with communication skills and body language. These are just some ideas; there are many other ways that this video could be tied into a lesson.
ESL Learner: upper-intermediate to advanced
Class time: about 90 minutes
Material Needed: YouTube video, video player or computer large enough for your ESL learners to see and hear.
Preparation
Questions you could ask ESL/EFL learners
In your country/culture:
- How do young people date? (you might need to explain ”date”.)
- How did you first meet your boyfriend/girlfriend or wife/husband?
- Did you go out to eat in special places? Who paid for the meal?
- Do you feel that men understand women? How or How not?
- Do you feel that men listen to women? How or how not?
- Do women understand and listen to men? How or how not?
Presentation of new language material
New vocabulary in context:
Prepare your ESL students for the English language they are going to hear by either explaining or having exercises ready for them to do. Some words or phrases they might have difficult understanding could be the following:
- “I just put down a mil on a TV commercial just to talk to you.” What does “mil” mean here?
- “We don’t even hang out in the same places anymore.” What does the phrasal verb “hang out” mean?
- “You can’t tell me you missed the billboard in Times Square?” What does the verb “miss” mean here? “Billboard”? What is that?
- “Coupons, you want coupons.” What are “coupons”?
- “Let’s just hug.” What is “hug”?
- “I’m out of here!” What does the idiomatic expression”to be out of here” mean?
- “Let’s be like the old days.” Old days? What does this expression mean here?
The Video “Break Up”:
Show the introductory part of the video. Stop, check for oral comprehension, answer any questions students might have.
Continue showing video, stopping and checking for comprehension as needed. Then show the video all the way through from start to finish.
Application and Follow-up questions
- who does the man represent?
- who does the woman represent?
- what does the woman want?
- what’s the man’s reaction?
- what’s her main compliant?
- what does he know about the woman?
- how does he think he can make her happy?
- what is her reaction to his suggestions?
- As a customer do you want to be in dialogue with your service and product producers?
- How do you let your service and product producers know what you want?
- Why do you start using a service or product?
- Why do you stop using a service or product?
There are any number of questions, role plays, etc., that you can could use here in the application part of the ESL/EFL lesson…. How would you apply this video?
Eileen
How to Use Xtranormal Animation Video in Teaching English-Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsAs a follow up to my earlier post about using Do It Yourself Animation when you teach English, in this post I wanted to explain what Xtranormal is and share with you some ideas on why I think this is a valid media tool for ESOL. In other posts, I’ll talk about how to introduce your students to this communication tool and about how to use it in an ESL/EFL class.
I have used Xtranormal.com “drag and drop 3D animation” with both young teens and young adults. The reaction of both age groups has been the same:
THEY LOVE IT!
On its website’s “Who we are“, Xtranormal.com presents its mission as bringing “movie-making to the people”. Their software is designed so that anyone who can type – can make one of their 3D animation films. “You type something, the “About us” page claims, “we turn it into a movie.”
But is it really that e-a-s-y???
Xtranormal.com appears to offer its 3D animation software FREE! You can either download their beta desk-top software onto your PC or use the online verison. As I clicked on the pages I kept looking for the catch – I felt there had to be one – how could a company offer such an intersting product for Free?
So far I haven’t found a catch, but do read well the Terms of Services, here it states clearly that children 13 and under can’t register to use Xtranormal; their parents need to register.
As for the ease of use of Xtranormal….? Yes, it is easy enough for a 10 year old to quickly learn to use it!
(Xtranormal.com recommends downloading to your PC the “STATE” edition of their software “to enjoy the full potential of Educational Showpaks”. However, first read Minimum Requirements under the Products – State button. “Drag and Drop Animation” needs a powerful computer. Therefore for this explanation I am going to follow the online process.)
But before I get into the How To of making a 3D animated film, let’s take a look at the Why of using this tool in teaching ESL or EFL.
- I found this software is great for motivation. Students of various ages got excited by the prospect of actually producing something they could show or send to family and friends.
- Xtranormal can be incorporated in any part of your lesson plan.
- Planned correctly, it can be used with individual students or with groups.
- It is a good review of spelling, sentence construction, question word order, reported speech and reported questions, natural conversational language – therefore, phrasal verbs and idioms, turn taking, dialogue development, etc.
- It can be a fun tool to practice functional language for presentations, testimonals, giving the news, giving a promotional plug for products or services (1 Actor), introductions, interviews, meetings, hosting a talk show, a sitcom (2 Actors)
- Besides typing the monologue or dialogue the students need to choose appropriate ambient noise, background music, expressions for their actors and camera movements or angles to match the dialogue. This helps students become aware of the role body language and sounds play in our conversations.
- These are just some of the language functions that come to mind, but as you use Xtranormal, share what you learn!
to be continued….
Do It Yourself Animation Videos and Teaching English
Posted by: | CommentsTony Ladig of Public Domain Expert sent an email with a great DIY video website.
I made a real quick simple video.
Take a look at it and then please leave your comments. I’ve called it “Enjoy!” It’s just a test video.
I see lots of potential for language teaching with this software…. I’m on my way out the door to teach kids – I’m working it into my lesson plan and will let you know how it went….:-)
Click here to see my test video, “Enjoy!” and see if you can use this tool in your English language teaching.
Can Teachers Persuade?
Posted by: | CommentsDo you feel you need to persuade your students/trainees to study, implement, review, attend classes, make the effort to use the language that they have been trying to acquire?
If so, you might be interested in an interesting video I recently came across. The video is a talk on Persuasion which Dave Lakhani gave at T. Harv Eker’s Peak Potentials Master of Influence workshops in 2008. Lakhani is a noted speaker on persuasion and influence, as well as the best selling author of several books, such as, Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want
At the beginning of his lively, interactive talk, Lakhani explains how he got into the field of persuasion – he was brought up in a cult which he left in his late teens. As a result of this experience, Lakhani studied everything he could on the subject of persuasion, manipulation, cult behavior, etc.
In fact, he starts his talk off by making a clear distinction between ethical and unethical persuasion, that is, between persuasion and manipulation – and in this video he only talks about ethical persuasion (in his book on Persuasion, Lakhani goes much more into manipulation).
“Persuasion,” Lakhani explains, “is helping a person come to their own best conclusions, but which happens to be one you share.” Manipulation (getting the outcome you want no matter what the cost to the other person) is very similar to persuasion, the main difference, Lakhani points out, is the intent of the person doing the persuading or manipulating.
In this video, Lakhani presents several good points that I feel as ESOL teachers/trainers/coaches we could find useful in our work, such as, the importance of story, peak experiences and its role in helping memory, making the language group unique for the students, encouraging our students/trainees to find the solutions for which they are trying to acquire English.
Take a look at his video (it is a bit long: 90 minutes) – but well worth the time, so you might want to put aside a chunk of time to see it or see it in stages. Let me know what you found useful for your own teaching….
Two books by Dave Lakhani:
Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want
How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying: (And How to Sell Even More When They Are)
