TED talks and English classes

TED Talks are usually  very interesting and catch all our attention. People usually feel like watching them over and over. So if we, teachers, find  one whose  topic might be of interest to our students, we can lead them to a lot  of learning concerning not only the content but also grammar, vocabulary and listening skills . However,  you might  raise a question: which one should we choose? Are there any criteria?

It´s importante to evaluate students´ occupation and  free time activities. There is a vast number of TED Talks about several different topics. I usually pick up some related to the topics we´ve been discussing in  our classes  or  which the student might have shown interest.

Due to this period of pandemic and isolation, many people are saying that they are evaluating their lifestyles and needs. Hence, I used The minimalists in many classes. All of them enjoyed it a lot and the TED Talk provided a lot of food for thought.

 There are even some activities ready on the internet exploring vocabulary, grammar and content.

I  don´t usually run the  full video at once. I often stop once and while and ask questions like:

 - What´s the American Dream?

 - What´s your life like nowadays?

 - What´s this vault he talks about? Do you know anybody who feels the same?

 -Would you dare do the same?

 - What do you think happened after this experiment?

Another one which I think is worth  bringing up for discussion is  Amy Cuddy´s Your body language may shape who you are . I´ve used this one many times. Sometimes my goal was to work with some students´ low-steem, others to help them succeed in job interiews  and many times because the theme was being discussed in textbooks.

And last but  not   least,  Rob Greenfield´s How to downsize. To begin I asked my students to focus on the countries mentioned. As soon as they were able to say the countries, I asked them what  Rob decided to do with his passport and why. And bringing this talk  back for their lives I also asked what they can live  without and how they feel about this philosophy. We watched it just up to 3.30 because I didn´t have much time to spare. It´s all interesting, though.

All in all,  I do believe they are a great source of material. I´d like you all to share your experiences and recommend any other ones you have successfully explored in your classes.

Thanks for Reading this post!