ESL on YouTube

My students have the joy of listening to me teach grammar and other interesting English-related topics every day. Some of them actually take a moment away from texting and listen to me. Some also take their eyes away from the only book they consistently read, yes, Facebook, and actually listen to me for a few minutes. And let’s be honest, there a few things more interesting than the past perfect tense, unreal conditionals, or everybody’s favorite, the subjunctive mood. However, while I tell them everyday that are very lucky to have the best teacher they will ever have in their lives, the best of the best, sometimes they do find me boring.  In these rare, very often moments, I find that my students will listen to the same concepts being taught if they watch it on YouTube.

jenniferesl provides interesting and excellent ESL videos. Whenever I need to reinforce a concept, I can always find a useful video by this excellent teacher. She explains grammar in interesting and entertaining ways. Her videos are an excellent addition for your lesson plans.

I first learned about EngVid from their related site, GoodLuckToefl, an excellent site for students who are preparing for the TOEFL exam. One day I played a video from EngVid by a teacher named James. The students stopped texting, Facebooking, and paid attention to class. I don’t remember the topic that James was teaching but upon completion of the video, the students told me something earth-shattering. They said, “James is crazier than you!”

I’m very laid back and don’t need a lot of compliments to feel good, but I will defend my honor. “Crazier than me?” I challenged my students. I never met a joke that I couldn’t build a lesson plan around. In fact, when I teach my students real conditionals, for example, If I tip this bottle of water over my head, I will get wet, as I say that sentence, I tip a bottle of water over my head and drench myself. I strongly believe that when it comes to teaching, insanity is underrated.

We played a few more of James’ videos and yes, my students were convinced that James was crazier than I. And, they learned English from him. So, if you want to learn English from a teacher who is equally as crazy as I, check out James’ videos on EngVid.