ESL in the 21st Century

by Claudio Muñoz

On February 15 2005, the website Youtube.com was born. Funded by three former employees of Paypal, in just a couple of years it has become one of the most visited places on the internet. Last year, 100 million video clips were viewed daily and 65,000 new videos were uploaded every 24 hours.

If you like television, this is the place to go. Music videos and clips from as long ago as the 1940s, classic TV shows, video journals, instructions to become an “official” BBQ chef, Japanese TV shows, Bollywood movies; the possibilities are infinite. You just need to write down what you want to watch and click the search button.

A good tool for leisure, Youtube.com is also a great non-traditional ESL resource for newcomers. All you need to do is search for “ESL” or “English lesson” and several videos will appear on your computer screen. You can learn “error correction techniques” to improve your pronunciation or “Verbs with A” to expand you vocabulary. Once you find a video you like, it is a good idea to click in “user name” to see if the publisher of that video has uploaded more classes. If that is the case, think about “subscribing” (you have to register first, but it is free and doesn’t take long), so you can find these classes easily next time.
Using Youtube to practice English has several advantages, the most obvious of them is the ability to repeat the lesson as many times as you need or watch the videos according to your schedule (after work for example).

As an example, try this link – www.youtube.com/user/grimsdick. The teacher is Jeff, a Vancouverite now teaching overseas in Hangzhou, China. His classes are directed to the Chinese community, but anybody can enjoy them. Through a conversation – about cookies with his mom in the first episode – he explains the right meaning of some verbs. The lessons are funny and very different from the classroom format. Best of all is the accent: 100 percent Canadian.
MisterMath is another teacher. So far, there are four videos available on Youtube and in each one of them MisterMath provides great pronunciation practice, and exercises to improve your communication skills.

Because Youtube is so popular, you will probably find some videos that have nothing to do with learning English. Some are merely jokes – like a Japanese TV show in which ESL students are punished if they laugh at other classmates.

Free ESL videos

If you like, you can look for other sources of free ESL videos on the internet. Many websites offer entire lessons suited to your own level. For example at www.eslvideo.com you can find videos, transcripts, notes and exercises for students at different levels. You only have to click on the “quizzes section”, pick your level and start practicing.

More exercises, combining grammar, listening and pronunciation are available at http://cla.univ-fcomte.fr/english/index_s.htm. In the video section you have to answer some questions immediately, which can be a little hard to follow.

Finally, there are entire lessons available for free at www.english180.com. This American website allows you to sign in, set goals and keep a record of your improvements. There are several videos to watch that teach you how to get directions, to open a bank account or learn the names of vegetables in a market place. There are also podcast, and animated lessons that deal with everyday situations. With special focus in pronunciation, the website is packed with tips to help you communicate.

If none of these videos suits you, you can look for more at www.google.com. Just write ‘Free ESL’ and start your own search.

Remember that all these videos and non-traditional English tools are best used in addition to formal ESL classes. They can help you to practice or get a full immersion, but they are not a replacement for LINC classes. If you are a newcomer struggling with the language, you need professionals who can guide you. Nonetheless, these sources – available for free on the internet – are still good “homework”. The idea is to get all the English you can to accelerate your settlement process in Canada.

CNM