Project events

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Explainer Videos in the EFL Classroom – Workshop with Melanie Borchers

A field report

We are all familiar with explanatory videos – be it through our experience in face-to-face or distance learning or through the numerous tutorials that we regularly use on the well-known video platforms. But what makes a good explanatory video for English lessons and how can it be implemented in practice? Melanie Borchers, full-time head of English studies at the IQSH and teacher at the Klaus Groth School in Tornesch, provided answers to this question in her workshop Explainer Videos in the EFL Classroom at the English Department of Kiel University on May 20, 2022.

Why explanatory videos in English lessons? On the one hand, explanatory videos tie in with the daily surfing and streaming habits of young learners; on the other hand, the planning, production and reflection of explanatory videos are an important element in promoting media skills – for both teachers and learners. Furthermore, producing their own explanatory videos offers learners a meaningful opportunity to speak in the foreign language. The in-depth examination of the learning content and its preparation also promotes the learners’ own understanding.

A total of ten participants, including students, research assistants and support staff, discussed exemplary explanatory videos and possible quality criteria such as design, content, structure and language. Despite different preferences regarding the design and conception of explanatory videos, important results were recorded: For example, supportive scaffolding and the preparation of information in simple language are particularly important for good explanatory videos, whereby multimodal elements should also support comprehension in their combination. Furthermore, practical effects of linguistic presentation were also brought into focus, such as the fact that fast, lively speech motivates learners, or that an educational video should ideally have a length of six minutes to avoid information overload. After an in-depth look at various video formats (such as stop-motion, time lapse and green screen), the advantages and disadvantages were worked out and recorded before practical suggestions were given for implementing an explanatory video project in English lessons.

In this final practical phase, all participants were taken back into the classroom and worked in groups to record short sample sequences. Melanie Borchers is particularly familiar with the hesitant behavior when deciding who should record the videos – both from the classroom and from previous training courses. Her conclusion: it is important to put yourself in the role of the learner from time to time in order to understand what we as teachers are asking of them – advice that we should certainly all take to heart.

An overview of possible tools, resources and programs that can be used to create explanatory videos can be found here (coming soon).

Explainer Videos Explained:

Workshop by Melanie Borchers on 20.5.2022

We are all familiar with explanatory videos – be it through our experience in face-to-face or distance learning or through the numerous tutorials that we regularly use on the well-known video platforms. But what makes a good explanatory video for English lessons and how can it be implemented in practice? Melanie Borchers, full-time head of English studies at the IQSH and teacher at the Klaus Groth School in Tornesch, provided answers to this question in her workshop Explainer Videos in the EFL Classroom at the English Department of Kiel University on May 20, 2022.

Why explanatory videos in English lessons? On the one hand, explanatory videos tie in with the daily surfing and streaming habits of young learners; on the other hand, the planning, production and reflection of explanatory videos are an important element in promoting media skills – for both teachers and learners. Furthermore, producing their own explanatory videos offers learners a meaningful opportunity to speak in the foreign language. The in-depth examination of the learning content and its preparation also promotes the learners’ own understanding.

A total of ten participants, including students, research assistants and support staff, discussed exemplary explanatory videos and possible quality criteria such as design, content, structure and language. Despite different preferences regarding the design and conception of explanatory videos, important results were recorded: For example, supportive scaffolding and the preparation of information in simple language are particularly important for good explanatory videos, whereby multimodal elements should also support comprehension in their combination. Furthermore, practical effects of linguistic presentation were also brought into focus, such as the fact that fast, lively speech motivates learners, or that an educational video should ideally have a length of six minutes to avoid information overload. After an in-depth look at various video formats (such as stop-motion, time lapse and green screen), the advantages and disadvantages were worked out and recorded before practical suggestions were given for implementing an explanatory video project in English lessons.

In this final practical phase, all participants were taken back into the classroom and worked in groups to record short sample sequences. Melanie Borchers is particularly familiar with the hesitant behavior when deciding who should record the videos – both from the classroom and from previous training courses. Her conclusion: it is important to put yourself in the role of the learner from time to time in order to understand what we as teachers are asking of them – advice that we should certainly all take to heart.

An overview of possible tools, resources and programs that can be used to create explanatory videos can be found here (coming soon).

A group of people are sitting around tables, working on laptops and discussing. Notes on a blackboard and a clock can be seen in the background. Overlaid text reads

Worksheet design and implementation –
A field report on the workshop by Melanie Borchers on 23.11.2022

Melanie Borchers, full-time head of English studies at the IQSH and teacher at the Klaus Groth School in Tornesch, was back! She had already given a practical workshop on the use of explanatory videos in lessons in the spring. This time, the focus was on the creation and use of worksheets. The four-hour, practice-oriented workshop was a complete success. Around 30 participants took part on site and a further 12 online, and received answers to questions that are often neglected in the theoretical university routine. What criteria do I need to consider when creating a worksheet? And what should I bear in mind when using worksheets in the classroom?

The criteria for coherent worksheets were actively developed by all participants in group work, more precisely by means of an expert puzzle. The first step was to formulate no-goes on the basis of negative examples, which were discussed first in expert groups and then in mixed groups in line with the method. These criteria were then to be summarized in superordinate categories. As there were no contributions to the discussion, Melanie Borchers wanted to know what to do if no one spoke up in the classroom. Shortly afterwards, she then initiated a mumble phase. The participants were then asked to convert the collected no-gos into positive criteria for the four categories of language, didactics, layout and content, which should be taken into account when creating worksheets. This method is called headstand and is also well suited to everyday teaching, as it is much easier to formulate negative criteria than positive ones, according to Melanie Borcher’s practical tip. Once the question of how to create worksheets had been clarified, Melanie Borchers gave some tips on what to consider when using them in the classroom. Among other things, before you start creating a worksheet, you should ask yourself whether another medium might be more suitable. According to Melanie Borchers, alternatives to the classic worksheet are worksheets created by pupils themselves. By creating a worksheet, the pupils would engage intensively with the material. Pupils also usually have a lot of fun creating vocabulary tests, cloze tests or even online quizzes for each other. The latter is very easy thanks to numerous apps with multimedia learning modules such as LearningApps.

We would like to thank Melanie Borchers for an exciting workshop that not only showed us participants what needs to be considered when creating and using worksheets, but also gave us helpful tips for using the methods in everyday lessons!