TED—ideas worth spreading

TED—ideas worth spreading

Last Saturday, I attended TEDx Warwick2013. It's fantastic! Actually,I usually watch some videos on its website before, but it's really great to see it live!

Today I want to introduce this website for language  teaching and learning. Let me give a brief introduction to TEDx first. TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." This program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. It is the third year that our university holds this event. And If you want to know more information about TEDx Warwick, please click  here. Also, there are all of talks and presentations in previous TEDx events of Warwick.

• What is TED?

TED is a non-profit organization, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. Remarkable people give their talks and share ideas on this conference .

• Why TED is relevant to language learning and teaching? What is the advantages?

Similar to Youtube, TED.com is also a video sharing website, and it is totally free to the world. All of these presentations are subtitled in English, the texts of these talks are offered as well. The most merit, I think, is its authenticity. Real people, real situations, and interesting topics, all these things are helpful for audiences to improve their listening skills. On the other hand, these authentic materials and topics are definitely great for discussion and learner-learner interaction.  In addition, since all the talks are provided with advanced ideas and meaningful thoughts, audiences have great opportunities to think deeply. In this case, it's really beneficial for critical thinking as well as generating ideas in their writing. Moreover, students are likely to learn language through video or film, so maybe these vivid talks and presentations can motivate students in some respects. It can engage the learners and get them talking, debating, creating and so on. The last thing need to be mentioned is that the materials in TED website, generally speaking, may be more suitable for advanced learners , or at least for the intermediate level due to the presenters' speaking speed and difficult words etc. 

• Some suggestions of using TED in language learning and teaching.

If you are a teacher, you can use TED like these:

1. Using TED to improve Ss listening and speaking skills. At beginning of the class, make a brainstorm regarding a certain topic. Let Ss generate ideas. Then, teacher can play the inspiring video and ask Ss to take notes down in shorthand. After watch the video two or three times,teacher can group the Ss and let them discuss what they have got from the talk. Also, they need to rebuild the speech together and share their achievements, giving a presentation in front of the class later on.
2. Using TED to improve Ss reading and writing skills. First,teachers can use these videos to stimulate ideas for story writing and film design or something. Second, teachers can select an extract from the script and use this authentic material to either develop Ss' abilities of reading comprehension or teach new vocabulary and grammar.Third, teachers can ask Ss to write a story after they watch the video and generate ideas.

If you are a student, you can use TED for intensive listening like these:

Thousands of talks are available for you here, you can just choose one topic you are interested in and begin your English learning journey. You can also choose subtitle not only English but also your mother tongue when you watching the videos. There are more than 50 languages for you to choose.

Two ways of browsing the content as following:

 

You can watch a speech without subtitle at the first time.Maybe you cannot catch up all the words or sentences at this time. So, watch again with English subtitle to help your understanding. At this second time, you can read the script and repeat several times. Also, you need to look up the new words and try to figure them out. Last time, you can watch the video with L1 to fully understand the content.

• Limitations

1. This website is not suitable for all levels. For example, the intensive listening I mentioned above maybe more useful for English major students in colleges or up-intermediate learners who want to develop their listening ability.
2. It is not an easy work for teachers to find a suitable talk considering both the learners' competence and the speeches' length.