The Four Skills and Video in the ESOL Classroom
Making a Video Activity Guide
Activity: What are you doing?
Purpose/Skills: Practice Present Continuous Tense, Develop Listening skills/follow
instructions
Level: Beginning and above
Materials: Video camera, video tape, monitor
Time: About 20 minutes
Directions:
- Assign one student as the director and one student as the camera person
The other students are actors. The role of the camera person is to videotape
everything. The role of the director is to make sure the actors follow directions,
move to the back of the line, etc.
- Actors form a line in front of the camera person
- The actor at the beginning of the line mimes an action (one that can be reasonably sustained). For example, the first actor could mime brushing teeth.
The next actor in the row asks: "What are you doing?"
The first actor replies untruthfully: "I'm dancing."
The second actor immediately starts miming dancing. The first actor moves to the back of the line.
The third actor asks the second actor: "What are you doing?"
The second actor lies and the third actor takes over what the second actor says she or he is doing.
All this is videotaped.
- The whole class views the video. It can be hilarious.
Optional:
Cover the monitor screen and play the sound only. The students take dictation of each new present continuous sentence.
Notes:
- Explain how to use the video camera before you do this activity.
- Make sure you have enough room for the camera to be stationed in front of the actors to be able to record the action. Students can form two parallel lines if there is not enough room.
- Students can rotate between the roles of director, camera person and actor.
Excerpted from - Video, Lavery, M., Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 1991