Quick answer: To use video well in ESL classes: choose clips carefully for beginners (short beats long); prep students with key language and prediction questions before pressing play; give a clear task to focus each viewing; follow up with a related speaking or grammar activity; and set video watching as homework. A 30-second clip with a good task beats a 10-minute video without one.
Videos can be the perfect accompaniment to your ESL lesson. Visuals are always a winner, and the right clip can help bring your theme to life, consolidate and extend the language, and provide valuable context.
But how to use video for optimal results? Here are my top five tips:
1. Why be careful with videos aimed at beginners?
I find most recordings aimed at beginners too fast, too complex, and too long. You’ll need to choose wisely and likely, not play the whole video - thirty seconds may be long enough.
Watch me as I demo how to use video with a new beginner class in the video below.
Good hunting grounds for level-appropriate clips include BBC Learning English, VOA Learning English (which grades its speech speed) and the free video resources at American English. When you preview a clip, listen for three things: speech speed, the amount of unknown vocabulary, and how much the visuals support the meaning – strong visual support lets you use a clip slightly above your students’ level. Knowing that level accurately matters here, so if you are unsure, start with our guide to selecting EFL material at the right level.
2. How should you prep students before watching?
You may need to explain the new language in advance of the recording so they can understand it better.
If your students have enough language, I’d also advise warming up your class, getting them ready for the listening by pausing the first frame and asking questions like:
What can you see?
What do you think this is about?
This pre-teaching stage matters with video just as it does with reading texts – it keeps the viewing flowing rather than stalling on unknown words. (The same principle appears in our five essentials for leading an EFL class.)
3. What task should students have while watching?
It gives your students something to focus on. For the first viewing, ask something simple – an overview question. For example:
Why is it funny?
Who speaks the most?
Describe the speaker’s mood.
The second time, you can ask some more detailed questions to check they’ve understood the concept.
4. What can you do after the video?
Here are some ideas. For lower levels, you could pause after each spoken phrase and get the class to repeat it.
After, you could recreate the dialogue on the board, eliciting some of the words from the class. Then, you could rub out some words and have them tell it again. Continue rubbing out words and have students retell the dialogue each time.
For higher-level classes, you could:
- ask students to suggest what happens next
- get students in pairs to continue a dialogue/start a dialogue based on the video
- write some questions on the theme for students to discuss in pairs
- isolate some of the language from the clip, write it on the board and explore the grammar as an introduction to a grammar lesson
A short clip is one of the best springboards into a discussion lesson – our tips for TEFL discussion classes show how to structure the conversation that follows. Whichever follow-up you choose, keep the chain tight: the language students meet in the clip should be the language they use in the task straight afterwards, while it is still fresh.
5. How can video work as homework?
Most students don’t like homework but will happily watch YouTube videos in their free time. So, why not make it easier for them to progress in English by setting video watching as a homework task?
You can simply ask them to watch the class video at home again to consolidate the language. Otherwise, you could ask them to view a new video. Then, write three questions based on it for their classmates to answer next time.
If the video has subtitles, encourage them to talk along with it, using the same speed and intonation. It can be powerful for students to hear themselves speaking English so naturally.
A quick-reference lesson shape for any video
| Stage | What happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Pre-teach key words; predict from the first frame | What can you see? What do you think this is about? |
| First viewing | One simple overview question | Who speaks the most? |
| Second viewing | Detailed comprehension questions | Why does she change her mind? |
| After | Repeat/rebuild dialogue, discussion or grammar focus | Disappearing dialogue on the board |
| Homework | Rewatch, or find a new clip and write questions | Three questions for classmates |
Frequently asked questions
How can I adapt video lessons for beginners?
Use very short clips – thirty seconds is often enough – with clear visuals and slow, simple speech. Pre-teach the key words, play the clip more than once, and use repetition tasks such as pausing after each phrase for the class to repeat. Sources that grade speech speed, like VOA Learning English, help.
Does teaching with video work in online lessons?
Yes – share your screen with the sound on, or send the link and synchronise viewing. Keep clips shorter online, use the chat box for prediction and comprehension answers, and move follow-up speaking tasks into breakout rooms. Video homework works especially well for online learners since they are already on a device.
How long should a video clip be in an ESL lesson?
Short. For beginners, thirty seconds to a minute; for higher levels, two to four minutes is usually plenty. The learning happens in the tasks around the clip – prediction, focused viewing questions and follow-up speaking – not in the length of the video itself.
Should students watch with subtitles on or off?
Both have value. First viewings without subtitles push genuine listening; a later viewing with English subtitles lets students connect sound to spelling. For homework, subtitles are a plus: encourage learners to talk along with the video, copying the speed and intonation of the speakers.
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Do you use video in class? Please comment on the above or share your top tips below.
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Want more on beginners?
20 beginner lesson worksheets - ready-to-use, minimal prep, most with links to supplementary video, available here.
Teaching beginners guide - go deeper and discover more on how to teach beginners effectively here.
Prefer print-and-go lessons across all levels? Try our 30 ready-to-print instant TEFL lessons, many with video links built in.