Use the TV to teach real life English | Learn English with Cambridge

Hello, everybody.

Greg here with another online teaching tip as part

of the Supporting Every Teacher campaign,

which aims to help you teachers who are now teaching from home.

Your television can provide you

and your students with an unlimited amount

of real-life English in context and,

consequently, lots of potential activities to teach English.

Today I’m going to show you three different activities

for three different levels.

Let’s begin with one for lower level learners.

This involves muting

the television and asking your student to provide

a commentary using the present continuous.

She’s reading and enjoying the time.

A harder adaptation for this activity

for intermediate learners

involves your student watching a short clip and then telling you

what they saw using past tenses.

So, Juanma, can you tell me, what did you see?

Yes, while they were talking, the bus went past.

And finally,

my personal favourite activity is an activity

for advanced learners using reported speech.

First, I asked my student to watch a short clip

in which there is at least one person speaking.

You know, I’ve learnt a valuable lesson in life.

You can’t please everybody and the only person I need

to please is sat next to me.

Then I simply ask them to tell me what was said,

using reported speech.

Well, he said

that he had learnt a lesson and the only person he needed

to please was sat next to him.

Other activities using your television include

encourage them to use opinion language

by giving their opinion

on whatever the topic of the programme may be.

Alternatively,

you may simply choose to watch the TV together

and then talk about any of the multiple language points

that will come up.

So, let’s recap.

Of course,

while I’ve used Skype today as my example,

please remember that this activity is transferrable

to most online platforms.

All you need is a webcam and a TV.

So, before you go,

just a reminder to click on the link below

for more resources.

Also, please don’t forget to subscribe to the channel

and to ask your students to as well.

And I’ll see you next time with another online teaching tip.

See you later.