不少老师都喜欢在课堂里用youtube以及别的视频。视频有各种功能，最强大功能之一是调节课堂气氛，变换教学节奏，尤其适合善用视觉吸收信息的学生。最强大功能之二是提供大量免费信息。比如我就用过youtube上教做饺子的小片段，还有中国文字演化的动画。以前我还常用BBC纪录片《中国最大的餐馆》放在youtube上的片头介绍，来引出食物和中国吃文化这个话题。
Youtube以及别的视频网站上成千上万的音乐录影也是极好用的语言教学工具。因为录影时常有字幕，便于学生学习。比较年轻的学生总是对流行音乐很感兴趣，所以学一些流行歌曲可以调动学生学习的积极性。最好的一个例子是，S.H.E.的 《中国话》，同学们都百听不厌。这个录影融汇贯通，有中国传统（武术，童谣，绕口令），也有街舞饶舌。北京奥运的主题曲也是很多同学特别喜欢的一首歌，录影带做得特别精心，展示中华不同风俗地域文华，还有拼音字幕。不少音乐录影还可以用来学习音乐这个话题，研究探讨音乐的流派，给学生一个可以感应的语境来学习乐器以及乐队，音乐家，音乐人，乐师，乐手这样的生词。周杰伦的《非常大的大提琴》就是一个例子，既可以介绍大提琴这个乐器，也可以说说周杰伦扮演不同的与音乐有关的角色（音乐人，歌手，等等）。
因为视频有声有色还有字幕，所以可以用来帮助学生练习听力口语以及测试学生的听说读写能力。一个很好的活动就是听看视频，填空。我常常让学生听歌，给学生缺词的歌词，让学生补全歌词。根据视频的内容，学生还能做各种后续活动， 比如续写故事。我用过一个十二生肖故事的动画，只有音乐和画面。看完动画后，学生自己编写十二生肖的故事再表演。
最近我开始把上课用的幻灯片做成影片放在youtube上。我的学生常做的一个功课就是看影片，根据影片提出的要求（有时是我录的音有时字幕）在youtube上留言。我可以在我的聪明手机上随时看到学生是否做功课做得怎么样（gmail直接发送消息显示留言人的姓名与留言内容）。我可以及时给学生点评。更重要的是学生可以看到自己同辈们的水平，同学的创作比起老师的评语更能鼓励学生们做出高质量的功课。 有些老师会担心网路安全问题。我觉得这是一个很好的机会让学生学习根据不同的虚拟场合选择合适的身份语言（比如交作业的时候当然不可以叫自己白雪公主）。
如果大家有兴趣，下一篇我可以说说怎么把幻灯片做成有声有色的小电影。
Recently I set up my Youtube channel (Minhua Gu) and posted a few videos. I am also figuring out how to use Youtube and other other online video resources to enhance interaction in our language class.
A lot of educators like to use Youtube and other online videos. One obvious reason is that it helps change the class pace. These websites also provide free information, and a lot of it. Visual learners can easily retrieve information from these dynamic visual presentations. I used a Youtube video to show how to make dumplings. I am also fond of the animation so delicately made to introduce the evolution of Chinese characters by Shanghai Animation Studio in the 70s, much more interesting and intriguing than any explanation I have given about this topic in person. Well, you can find it on Youtube. One of my favorite is the trailer of BBC's documentary, The Biggest Chinese Restaurant. I often use it to set the stage for the topic on food, Chinese cuisine, and a culture closely related to food.
Music videos on the Internet is another powerful tool for language teachers as well as language learners. Many young students love music. Students learn to sing the songs in another language, which is pretty cool and motivates them to further their study of the language. A ton of music videos have subtitles and offer not only interesting music but also culture-relevant content. My favorites are S.H.E's "Chinese Language", blending Chinese traditions with rapping and break dancing, and the Beijing Olympic theme song, showing different places in Beijing plus different cultural practice. One of my students loved the theme song so much that he found a version with pinyin and Chinese characters on his own. These music videos also give a relatable context for students to discuss about anything related to music. We can talk about music genre, instrument, and various roles such as musicians and music bands. Jay Chou's "An Especially Big Cello" is a good example to introduce the instrument, cello, and the roles Jay Chou plays in the music business, singer, song writer, musician, and etc.
Online videos have audio, visual, and subtitles, excellent for students to practice their listening comprehension and other language skills. The videos are also great tools to conduct assessment. One activity I like to have students do is to fill the blanks to complete lyrics when they watch music videos. Follow-up activities based on the video content can increase students' engagement. Videos with only visual and audio actually give student a platform to create their own language production. One of the Youtube posts I love most is the animation for twelve Chinese zodiac animals, telling the story without words but animated Chinese characters for these animals, brilliantly made. My students wrote their own story about where Chinese zodiac animals were from and performed the story after watching this animation.
I started making my own Youtube posts from my PowerPoint in-class lectures. I use them as review materials for students and students post Youtube comments according to what the video requires as their assignments. I can see the post content and the author's name instantly on my smart phone and give instant feedback if necessary (and know who didn't do their homework). Most importantly, students can view each other's comments and see the quality of their own work, in comparison to their peers'. I think this "peer pressure" works better than my feedback, although the teacher's feedback is important as well. I try to build a contingent online component for our language learning community using my Youtube channel. Some have concerns for security and privacy issues. I believe it is a good practice for students to get used to modifying their behavior based on the virtue environment (for example, when you submit homework, you don't call yourself Snow White).
I will post how to transfer a PPT to a short video next time. Peace.
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