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Practical ideas for the Business English classroom: Part Two – Making the most of video

Business English classroom Making the most of videoThis is the second article of a three-part Business English series by ELT teacher, teacher trainer and course book author, John Hughes. Here, he looks at how the use of video can support business English teaching.

One survey into the use of video in education reports that teachers increasingly welcome this tool as a means to support learning. For example, 68% of teachers believe video stimulates discussion, 66% say video increases motivation and 62% think their teaching is more effective by using video. Please see the link provided at the end of the article for more details of this survey.

These figures are all based on responses to education in general, but I’d suggest that if you were to research similar figures for Business English teachers, you’d probably find the percentages were even higher. That’s simply because video lends itself in so many ways to Business English teaching.

Here are five examples of how to integrate video into your Business English lessons, with suggestions for classroom activities.

Presentation skills

The internet is full of videos showing different types of business presentations. They range from the highly professional presentations we associate with speakers on TED to much more basic material. With all of these we can assess the presenters’ performances with our students and decide what techniques and language will help improve their presentations. In addition, we can also video our own students giving presentations. By using the video recorder on a basic mobile device, you can record a student’s performance, use it to give them feedback, and let them self-assess their own presentation.

Watch this presentation taken from TED talks. It’s called ‘The magic washing machine’ and gives students a masterclass in how to use visual aids in a presentation.

Workplace and process videos

I once taught business and technical English in a factory instead of a language school. This was much easier than being in a normal classroom because I could take the students onto the factory floor and have them talk about their workplace. However, we don’t always teach students at their workplace, so video can help. For example, ask your students to make short videos of their workplace and film the key stages of a process. Then they can bring these into class and describe what is happening on screen. You’ll also find a range of videos online that showcase different companies and how they work. These are a great resource to teach the language for describing workplaces and their processes.

Infographic video

One modern genre of video is the ‘infographic video’ (also called ‘kinetic typography video’). It shows animated text on screen which merges with images and may have narration or simply some background music. You can write comprehension questions for students to answer whilst they watch. Many business infographic videos tend to include lots of numbers and figures, so I give students the numbers shown in the video and ask them to note down what these refer to.

This infographic video looks at the importance of using video in business.

Interviews

One of the simplest video formats is the interview or a business person talking directly to the camera. If you want to teach the language of specific business area, then find an interview with an expert in the field. Alternatively, make your own video by preparing a set of questions and interview a real business person to show in class. If you teach very experienced business people, then interview them and ask their permission to show their video to another class. In particular, if you teach different one-to-one classes, interview each of your students with the same set of questions. Then show the videos of the students to each other. It’s a nice way to bring other people into your one-to-one lessons and for students to share their knowledge.

Take a look at this interview with an expert talking about cultural differences in business. It’s taken from the videos in the Business Result series.

Short films

Using short films in a lesson can add some fun and variety. For example, one short video called ‘The Black Hole’ looks at what happens when an office worker photocopies a black hole which has magical properties. Play it to students and ask them to think what they would use a ‘black hole’ for at work. Another short film called ‘Signs’ lasting about twelve minutes offers all sorts of opportunities for use in the classroom. The first two minutes show a young man going through the same work routine every day – a perfect springboard into the use of the present simple, and for getting students to talk about their routines.

Here is the ‘The Black Hole’ video, and here is ‘Signs’.

This article first appeared in the July 2014 edition of the Teaching Adults Newsletter – a round-up of news, interviews and resources specifically for teachers of adults. If you teach adults, subscribe to the Teaching Adults Newsletter now.


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How to give an effective presentation: Part 3 – Deliver

This is the third and final video tip from Ben Shearon, the Stretch Presenting Skills Consultant, as he shares his advice to help students enter The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15 and become more comfortable and confident public speakers.

With less than one month to go until the competition closes, Ben demonstrates how to deliver a presentation with confidence:

 

It’s the last chance for you and your young adult/adult students to take part in The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15!

One of your students could win a two week all-expenses paid scholarship to Regent Oxford, a renowned English school in Oxford, as well as a class set of Stretch for you. Expand students’ public speaking skills, improve their English, and get them presenting in class!

Closing date: January 2, 2015. Enter today!

Related articles:

 


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Classroom Management and Using Smart Devices

Can Smart Devices really be used for learning? Thomas Healy, co-author of Smart Choice Second Edition, shares his ideas ahead of his webinar on 9 and 11 December on the subject. 

I’ve always been intrigued by the lines in the David Bowie song, Cat People (Putting out Fire), where he sings that he’s “been putting out fire. With gasoline.” In a sense, this is what I attempted to do when I first started using smart devices and social media extensively in class, as a response to my frustration with students’ attempts to text and play with their phones in class.  Rather than banning them and reprimanding students, I decided to use the devices whenever it made sense. Since all of my students had them, I used smart technology to turn every classroom into a T.E.C. (Technology Enhanced Classroom).

In order to evaluate the effect of the devices on teaching and learning, I used the following graphic organizer.

Figure 1. Evaluation Graphic Organized

Figure 1. Evaluation Graphic Organized

  1. Dealing with distraction.

First of all, I considered my own role and behavior in class.  I used to be extremely frustrated when students started texting class. Now, for the most part, I ignore this behavior.  I don’t let it distract me. Also, I know from my own texting behavior during meetings and conferences, that it is quite possible (especially for this generation) to do more than two things at the same time. I intervene when the behavior clearly inhibits the student’s individual learning or when an individual student tries to distract other students in the class with something that they are doing with their smart device (like looking at pictures of puppies).

Students also know that at any time I can ask them to take a photo of their work and to upload it to Learning Management System (see fig. 2). We use Facebook groups for this. I can ask them to message the image to me privately or to post to the group for peer review. I have found that this is a very effective way of keeping students on task.

Figure 2. A paraphrasing activity which a student posted to Facebook for peer review.

Figure 2. A paraphrasing activity which a student posted to Facebook for peer review.

  1. Time management

One of my priorities is helping learners develop their presenting skills. This is a very time-consuming process, as in addition to the presentations themselves, we have to give each student feedback. Rather than fiddling with cameras, I have every student record their own presentation with their phone. We improvise camera stands (see fig. 3).

Figure 3. Improvised camera stand.

Figure 3. Improvised camera stand.

 

We also save time by having students upload their presentation slides to the Facebook group before class, rather than fussing with USB drives and the class computer. A great timesaver is doing the feedback outside of class entirely. Students upload their presentations to the Facebook group. We discuss the evaluation criteria in class but use the comments feature of Facebook for the actual feedback, which is done outside of regular class time (see fig. 4)

 

Figure 4. Posting a recording of a presentation and using the comments function for feedback.

Figure 4. Posting a recording of a presentation and using the comments function for feedback.

  1. Classroom procedure: keeping a record.

Pop up grammar refers to grammar points which arise in class and but are not part of the lesson plan (see fig 5.). I used to be quite frustrated that students would sit and listen to me explain a grammar point, but not take any notes.

Figure 5. A pop-up grammar lesson written on the board.

Figure 5. A pop-up grammar lesson written on the board.

 

Now, I ask a student (and as a course progresses, I don’t even have to ask) to take a photo of what I learned on the board and upload it to our Facebook group (see fig. 6).

Figure 6. The pop-up grammar lesson posted by a student to our class Facebook group.

Figure 6. The pop-up grammar lesson posted by a student to our class Facebook group.

  1. Action plan

Using the graphic organizer above (figure 1), I have tried to measure the impact of using smart devices and social media on how I teach. While the potential for students to get distracted (by Candy Crush or any other of the infinite things they can do) definitely exists, I have found that by using the extensive features of social media platforms and the smart devices themselves, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The key is to make the technology a central part of the process, rather than just a fun, occasional thing to do from time to time. Doing so reinforces the notion that the technology is a powerful learning tool, rather than a plaything.

Take part in Thomas Healy’s live webinar – “Classroom Management and Smart Devices” – to discuss how technology can become a powerful learning tool in your classroom. Register today!


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How to give an effective presentation: Part 2 – Practice

In this series of video tips Ben Shearon, the Stretch Presenting Skills Consultant, shares his advice to help students enter The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15 and become more comfortable and confident public speakers.

The more you practice, the easier your presentation will be. But how can you make sure that your practice makes a difference? Ben shares his ideas:

Have your young adult/adult class entered The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15 yet?

One of your students could win a two-week all-expenses paid scholarship to Regent Oxford, a renowned English school in Oxford, as well as a class set of Stretch for you. Expand students’ public speaking skills, improve their English, and get them presenting in class!

Closing date: January 2, 2015. Enter today!

Related articles:

  • Part 1 – Plan
  • Check back in December, when we will post Ben’s third and final video tip. Or visit the competition webpage to see it today.


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How to give an effective presentation: Part 1 – Plan

In this series of video tips Ben Shearon, the Stretch Presenting Skills Consultant, shares his advice to help students enter The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15 and become more comfortable and confident public speakers.

Here, he reveals how to plan and prepare a presentation effectively:

 

Get your young adult/adult students presenting in class by entering The Stretch Presenting Skills Competition 2014-15.

One of your students could win a two week all-expenses paid scholarship to Regent Oxford, a renowned English school in Oxford, as well as a class set of Stretch for you. Expand students’ public speaking skills, improve their English, and get them presenting in class!

Closing date: January 2, 2015. Enter today!

Related articles:

  • Check back in November, when we will post Ben Shearon’s second video tip. Or visit the competition webpage to see it today.