How to teach with TED Talks
Section 1 – how to choose ted talks for the language classroom
Unit 3 – How to teach “Magic houses, made of bamboo”
Link to Elora Hardy’s Ted Talk Magical houses, made of bamboo
DOWNLOAD Elora Hardy worksheet
Section 1 Taking it further
Watch some TED Talks and find great examples of matching modality. When you show them to your learners, are they able to understand the material in a way that they wouldn’t if they were only listening? Here are a few ideas:
Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously (9:26)
Karen Bass: Unseen footage, untamed nature (10:21)
Lewis Pugh: My mind-shifting Everest swim (9:38)
Rana El Kaliouby: This app knows how you feel (11:05)
Renny Gleason: 404, the story of a page not found (4:04)
Section 1 Additional resources
For a detailed explanation of Cognitive Load Theory, see Cognitive Load Theory: Helping People Learn Effectively at mindtools.com/pages/article/cognitive-load-theory.htm.
For more on the power of video check out Video vs Text: The Brain Perspective by Liraz Margalit, Ph.D. at wondermouse.us/blog-post/blog-test-1/.
You’ll find more information about National Geographic Learning's courses that feature TED Talks at eltngl.com/assets/html/ted/.
Section 2 – making the most of the pictures in video
Unit 6 – Images in the classroom
Link to Michael Pritchard’s TED Talk Making filthy water drinkable
Unit 7 – How to teach “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much”
Link to Stella Young’s TED Talk I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much
DOWNLOAD Stella Young worksheet
Section 2 Taking it further
Watch some TED Talks that are visually rich. What language and big ideas could you bring into the classroom just by looking at the images? Here are few ideas:
Richard Browning: How I built a jet suit (7:09)
Erik Johansson: Impossible photography (6:15)
Chris Burkard: The joy of surfing in ice-cold water (9:42)
Sue Austin: Deep sea diving … in a wheelchair (9:38)
Section 2 Additional resources
For practical ideas on teaching with images, see Visual Literacy in the English Language Classroom by John Hughes at infocus.eltngl.com/2017/01/20/visual-literacy-english-classroom/.
To learn more about about visual literacy skills in the school curriculum see Kids, take a look at this! Visual Literacy Skills in the School Curriculum by Lode Vermeersch and Anneloes Vandenbroucke, from the Journal of Visual Literacy at beeldgeletterd.mediawijs.be/sites/default/files/artikels/bestanden/cis_beeldgeletterdheid_journal_of_visual_literacy.pdf.
For a quick review of the Picture Superiority Effect see 30-Second Explanations: Picture Superiority Effect – a super-short explainer video at youtube.com/watch?v=cLLDUyy8utY.
The Image in Language Teaching edited by Kieran Donaghy and Daniel Xerri is an excellent (and free!) downloadable book at visualmanifesto.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/the-image-in-english-language-teaching-2017.pdf. You can read more about it on Kieran Donaghy’s website at film-english.com/2017/11/04/my-latest-book-the-image-in-english-language-teaching/.
For even more practical ideas about using images, check out Using Pictures in ELT by Mark Hancock at hancockmcdonald.com/ideas/using-pictures-elt.
You can find rree images for classroom use at pixabay.com and etlpics.com.
Section 3 – making the most of audio
Unit 8 – Listening at all levels
Audio 8.1 link: youtu.be/rw-djk_8Y2M
Audio 8.2 link: youtu.be/0mZlXrwyLzs
Audio 8.3 link: youtu.be/D6wU2mHfL74
Unit 9 – Listening beyond the spoken word
Authentic Listening Step by Step, by Annie McDonald: hancockmcdonald.com/ideas/authentic-listening-step-step.
Audio 9.1 – Motorcycle starting and pulling away. Link: youtu.be/t7StKh5wrgw
Audio 9.2 – Car staring and idling. Link: youtu.be/NrA9pFX0DP8
Audio 9.3 – Child crying. Link: youtu.be/vlzqEsUTTVU
Audio 9.4 – Adult crying. Link: youtu.be/tG20vS3W0LU
Audio 9.5 – Music sample A. Link: youtu.be/js1d9o5OlMg
Audio 9.6 – Music sample B. Link: youtu.be/wjEKSFdFIJs
Audio 9.7 – Music sample C. Link: youtu.be/IBJqBDOeS0A
Unit 10 – How to teach “The orchestra in my mouth”
Link to Tom Thum’s TED Talk The orchestra in my mouth
Section 3 Taking it further
Watch some TED Talks that have a strong audio component. What language and big ideas could you bring into the classroom just by listening? Here are few ideas:
Bobby McFerrin: Watch me play … the audience! (3:04)
Sleepy Man Banjo Boys: Teen wonders play bluegrass (5:02)
Sirena Huang: An 11-year-old’s magical violin (24:38)
Section 3 Additional resources
For more tips on listening, see Authentic listening step by step, by Annie McDonald, at hancockmcdonald.com/ideas/authentic-listening-step-step.
For an exploration of teaching with authentic materials, check out Dos and Don’ts for Using Authentic Materials in the Language Classroom by Dave Dodgson at modernenglishteacher.com/2019/dos-and-don-ts-for-using-authentic-materials-in-the-language-classroom.
Section 4 – using ted talks as models for speaking
Unit 12 – ELF in the classroom
A politician from Scotland speaking to Parliament in London. You can watch the video at youtube.com/watch?v=I4k8dR04TzA.
A schoolboy from Ireland at youtube.com/watch?v=pj705DvCSxg.
Astronaut Samantha Cristoferetti. Watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZWjdP74aA.
Unit 13 – How to teach “How to build with clay … and community”
Diébédo Francis Kéré’s TED Talk How to build with clay … and community
DOWNLOAD Diébédo Francis Kéré lesson plan
Section 4 Taking it further
Watch some TED Talks that deal with ideas of culture, identity, and communication. What big ideas do they talk about that you could use in the classroom? Here are few ideas:
Safwat Saleem: Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent (10:48)
Hetain Patel: Who am I? Think again (9:06)
Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different? (2:35)
These are some great talks by second-language English users:
Alessandra Orofino: It’s our city. Let’s fix it (15:15)
May El-Khalil: Making peace is a marathon (10:16)
Section 4 Additional resources
For some great insight into ELF and pronunciation see Pronunciation Teaching Post-ELF by Mark Hancock at hancockmcdonald.com/ideas/pronunciation-teaching-post-elf.
A Chat about Pronunciation, ELF and listening is an excellent interview with Mark Hancock athancockmcdonald.com/ideas/chat-about-pronunciation-elf-and-listening.
Stress timing is a useful video on using chants to teach stress timing with young learners, but the ideas may apply to older students as well at https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/stress-timing.
English: A stress-timed language by Rachael’s English provides some tips about stress-timing and teaching atrachelsenglish.com/english-stress-timed-language/.
Teaching English as a Lingua Franca: The journey from EFL to ELF by Marek Kiczkowiak and Robert J. Lowe, Delta Publishing is a super-practical book on ELF in the classroom.
TEFL Equity Academy: How to teach English as a Lingua Franca is practical online course in how to teach pronunciation at teflequityadvocates.com/category/teaching-english-as-a-lingua-franca/.
Section 5 – How to make ted talks accessible to learners
Unit 14 – Talk length
Here are three short talks that have plenty of visual information:
Derek Sivers: How to start a movement (2:54)
Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different? (2:34)
David Sengeh: The sore problem of prosthetic limbs (4:43)
Four other shorter talks that may be of interest, depending on your class, are these:
Camille Seaman: Haunting photos of polar ice (4:02)
Jessi Arrington: Wearing nothing new (5:24)
Sanjay Dastoor: A skateboard, with a boost (4:20)
Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter (4:07)
Unit 15 – Speaker comprehensibility and subtitles
Talks by second-language English speakers:
May El-Khalil – Making peace is a marathon (10:16)
Daria van den Bercken: Why I take a piano on the road … and in the air (9:30)
ShaoLan Hsueh: Learn to read Chinese … with Ease! (6:10)
Matt Mills: Image recognition that triggers augmented reality
Unit 16 – Technical and high-level language
David Sengeh: The sore problem of prosthetic limbs
Matt Mills: Image recognition that triggers augmented reality,
Greg Gage: How to control someone else’s arm with your brain.
Unit 18 – How to teach “How to control someone else’s arm with your brain”
Greg Gage’s TED Talk How to control someone else’s arm with your brain.
DOWNLOAD Greg Gage lesson plan
Section 5 Taking it further
Watch some TED Talks that include some jargon from different fields. What would be the challenges of uses these talks in the classroom? What would be the benefits?
Tim Leberecht: 3 ways to (usefully) lose control of your brand (6:30)
Joy Sun: Should you donate differently? (7:35)
Hans Rosling: Global population growth, box by box (10:04)
Tan Le: A headset that reads your brainwaves (10:31)
Section 5 Additional resources
Find out more about using scripts in How to Maximise Audio Scripts by Alex Warren at infocus.eltngl.com/2017/08/25/listen-maximizing-audio-scripts/.
Tricks of the trade: teaching English for engineering by Lewis Lansford is a blog post about dealing with technical language at oupeltglobalblog.com/2012/10/30/tricks-of-the-trade-teaching-english-for-engineering/.
Some useful online collaboration tools can be found at padlet.com, etherpad.org, jamboard.google.com.
Teaching with Zoom by Keith Folse is a useful book for learning the basics of teaching with Zoom: For more details see wayzgoosepress.com/authors/keith-folse/#zoomenglish.