Prepping for grammar classes during a time crunch has never been easy. Now many teachers are teaching online as well as in-person. Who has the time to prepare EVERYTHING needed for a grammar class? I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, I used to let YouTube teach my class, and now I recommend you do that!
You have probably heard of a flipped classroom, even if you’ve never taught in a public school. Basically, it’s this strategy that thumbs its nose at the traditional way of teaching, pulls in the internet, and turns homework into classwork.
The thing is, even before the pandemic, not all adult students had the time to watch a video at home before class. They had families to take care of, jobs to go to, and lives to live. Enter the pandemic, and it’s all that PLUS likely also having kids at home full-time. So, tweak it just a bit.
How to Use Your YouTube Colleagues’ Videos
Still teaching in person? During class, show a YouTube video of a teacher introducing a grammar concept and have your students take notes.
Got remote/distance learning going on? Well, you can’t get around it–they’ll have to watch the video at home. Just be sure to give them plenty of time to watch it before discussion time. Send them a link to a YouTube video of a teacher teaching a grammar concept and tell them to take notes.
Now your students will be the ones prepping for grammar classes.
Tell your students that they must come up with a minimum of one question about the concept and be prepared to answer questions. This ensures that if they do have a question, it’ll get answered. It also helps prevent mindless notetaking because they know that they’ll have to answer everyone else’s questions.
Once the video is over in your in-person class or the class is meeting online after they’ve had a chance to watch it, have them pair up with a partner to compare notes and flesh out any gaps. Utilize break-out rooms if you are teaching online. Then those partners join another set of two to make a group of four students discussing the grammar concept.
You know what? You might not have to teach anything at all by the time they have finished! They do it all themselves! And frankly, isn’t that how it should be? They should be doing more of the work of learning.
Recommended YouTube Teachers
Don’t know where to start and afraid of getting sucked into a rabbit hole on YouTube? Start here with a few of my favorites:
- JamesESL English Lessons Many of my students have commented on his calm and soothing voice. He’s expressive and uses a lot of body language and gestures, which really helps with engagement. He’s also been making videos for a long time. His go back 12 years! He’s still making new ones, and he covers vocabulary as well. His pronunciation is American English.
- Learn English with Ronnie Like James, she’s been creating videos for a long time–11 years. She does grammar as well as vocabulary. She tackles some adult topics in her videos, which my students always LOVED, but if you are teaching high school age students, be sure to watch her videos in full before sending a link to your students. She’s still making new videos. Her pronunciation is American English.
- English Jade – Learn English Jade hasn’t been around nearly as long as James or Ronnie and doesn’t put out videos as often, but her lessons are quality. She’s also an excellent choice if you have students who plan to take the IELTS as she is a British English speaker.
Which YouTube video teachers would YOU recommend to others? Leave a comment and let me know. I love checking out new teachers, and I want to know if I should add to the list above.
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