Using video in the classroom can be a great way to engage students, and you don’t need to create your own to achieve this. Here is a fun activity from Language Learning with Digital Video, which utilises existing video available for free online.
Outline
Learners watch a promotional (or ‘promo’) video and analyse the techniques that it employs.
Primary focus
Resource: identifying the characteristics of a promo video
Secondary focus
Language focus: identifying linguistic strategies of a promo video and creating a voice-over
Time
15–30 minutes
Level
Pre-intermediate and above
Preparation
Find a short promo video. The Power of Video is used as an example and is available on the Cambridge University Press ELT YouTube channel. However, you could use any clip which shows how a product or service operates and what its benefits are. Other good examples would be promos for new software programs, apps or other internet services.
Procedure
1. Learners brainstorm a product or service that has been demonstrated to them recently via a video promo. Ask these questions to get learners thinking:
– How long was the promo video?
– Why was it in video format?
– How convincing was it?
– Did you buy the product or service?
If learners cannot think of a particular promo, give an example of your own, for example:
I recently saw a promo about advantages of buying a ‘premium’ well-known music streaming service. It was only 30 seconds long; it explained that with premium there are no adverts …
2. Tell learners they are going to watch a one-minute promo video about the medium of video itself! Ask learners to make a list of reasons why video is such an effective tool for persuading people to buy something. For example, it’s fast-paced, it captures your attention, it’s memorable, it conveys lots of information extremely quickly.
3. Learners watch The Power of Video with the sound off. In pairs or small groups, the learners then attempt to create a voice-over (no more than 150 words long). The animated text used in the clip will be very useful, but you can also provide some key vocabulary or collocations from the original narration, for example:
capture attention online world engage customers
visual information purchase a product
4. Play the clip as many times as necessary, freeze-framing different images. Ask learners to look carefully at these, as many give clues to the content of the voice-over message. For example, you could ask: What’s the connection between a goldfish and your attention span? (This is explained in the first ten seconds of the clip.)
5. Learners take it in turns to read out their voice-overs, synchronising their narration with the promo’s animated text where possible. Conduct feedback with the whole class and analyse the differences and similarities between the various narrations.
6. Learners now watch the promo with the sound on. How similar was their voice-over to the original? What differences did they notice? Give learners a transcript of the voice-over if necessary – see below.
7. Next, learners discuss which persuasive techniques were used in The Power of Video. Did the
promo include:
- Statistics and facts?
- Satisfied customers’ comments?
- A list of impressive results or benefits?
- Familiar and / or memorable images?
- Information about competitive pricing / value?
- A combination of text and audio messages?
- A lot of information in a small amount of time?
8. Finish by asking these questions:
– Is the promo as engaging and convincing as the message it is trying to transmit?
– What images or facts most stick in the mind?
– Who is it aimed at? How do you know?
– How could the promo be improved?
– Is animation the best way of communicating the message?