The Present Of Videos For Training English Skills: Second Part
In part 1 of this article, I explained why the conventional video lessons should be modified to be considered as tools for training English. I also proposed a new definition of training. Training English is a subconscious process, in which all English skills – understanding, reading, listening, speaking, pronunciation, and intuitive grammar are trained concurrently. The act of speaking combined with reading the text and listening to the recording develops in the learner’s brain the language patterns and intuitive grammar which the learner, after multiple repetitions and training drills, uses without much effort, i.e. subconsciously.
Below, I describe the recommended new drills to the video lessons which meet all the requirements of the new definition of training English skills. The modified drills are demonstrated for the same video discussed in the first part of the article: The Legend of Tarzan. To open the link, you will need to register at English Attack website.
Drill 1 - Contextual Translation
A contextual translation of every word in the video lesson is available in the user's own language (as an example, I have chosen Russian as the native language) using Google translate. In China, it may be accomplished by using Youdao online translation. The contextual translation is shown and is never articulated. It is used for visualizing the situation shown in the video.
| Prime minister: Lord Greystoke, let me explain the Africa situation.King Leopold controls the Congo. He's defaulting on his loans and needs a business partner to fill the gap. Consider the jobs we would create for the poor natives of the Congo!George Washington Williams: Prime Minister... allow me.You are Tarzan! Lord of the Apes, King of the Jungle. King Leopold is inviting you because you're a celebrity. He wants to show you the schools and churches he built. George Washington Williams: You "ooh" and "ahh" in front of the newspapers, and he's validated by Africa's favorite son. The Congo pays his debts, we make money. Ham sandwich. Easy. |
Премьер-министр: Лорд Грейсток, позвольте мне объяснить ситуацию в Африке.Король Леопольд контролирует Конго. Он не выплачивает свои ссуды и нуждается в деловом партнере, чтобы заполнить пробел. Рассмотрите рабочие места, которые мы создадим для бедных выходцев из Конго!Джордж Вашингтон Уильямс: Премьер-министр ... позвольте мне.Ты Тарзан! Лорд обезьян, король джунглей. Король Леопольд приглашает вас, потому что вы знаменитость. Он хочет показать вам школы и церкви, которые он построил.Джордж Вашингтон Уильямс: Вы «Ох» и «ахх» перед газетами, и он подтвержден любимым сыном Африки.Конго выплачивает свои долги, мы зарабатываем деньги. Бутерброд с ветчиной. Легко. |
Instead of 5 different translations, shown in part 1, the phrase defaulting on his loans has one contextual translation - не выплачивает свои ссуды; therefore, it is easier to remember the chunks (words that always go together) with one meaning or one image.
Drill 2 – Simultaneous Reading, Listening, And Speaking Of The Video Script
Simultaneous repetition is performed by using a text-to-voice robot with nearly human quality voice. When a learner performs simultaneous repetition, he splits his attention between three different processes: listening, reading and speaking concurrently with the recording. As a result, his innate habit of cross-translating of all incoming information into the native language is turned off automatically. Special English, which is about 30% slower than natural speech, is used for the videos which are marked for beginners to help learners recognize, then imitate, and finally produce English phonemes. In all other video levels, regular English speech is used for active training of English skills. The intonation, confidence, fluency, and rhythm will be acquired by the brain subconsciously in the course of multiple simultaneous repetitions.
Simultaneous repetition improves visualization and the ability to form direct links between images or concepts and their descriptors (words) in English, without reverting to cross-translation. Before the learner starts working with the video, he should train the English skills by reading the text, listening to the recording and speaking at the same time. An example of drill 2 is shown in the following video:
Drill 3 – Continue Multiple Simultaneous Repetitions
Continue that until you can do it easily and without omissions. Notice that some word chunks are shown on the display in a bold font. Then, do a few more repetitions with your eyes closed, without analyzing your pronunciation. Closing the eyes greatly enhances a learner’s ability to visualize the situation described in the lesson.
| Prime minister: Lord Greystoke, let me explain the Africa situation.King Leopold controls the Congo. He's defaulting on his loans, and needs a business partner, to fill the gap. Consider the jobs we would create for the poor natives of the Congo!George Washington Williams: Prime Minister... allow me. You are Tarzan! Lord of the Apes, King of the Jungle. King Leopold is inviting you because you're a celebrity. He wants to show you the schools and churches he built.George Washington Williams: You "ooh" and "ahh" in front of the newspapers, and he's validated by Africa's favorite son. Kongo pays his debts, we make money. Ham sandwich. Easy. |
Drill 4 – Complete The Word Blocks
Complete the blocks given below and act out the scene, using your dominant senses. First, use the word blocks from the current video lesson, then you may use word blocks from other video lessons.
- let me explain …
- He is defaulting on …
- needs a business partner …
- Consider the jobs …
- create for the poor …
- You are Tarzan …
- King Leopold is inviting you …
- He wants to show you …
- he's validated by …
- England pays his debts …
Drill 5 –Type As Many Words As You Can
Type as much as possible while listening to the recording and speaking. Splitting attention between speaking and typing develops the skill of automatic typing and correct spelling.
Drill 6 – Compose Sentences With The Words You Have Typed In drill 5
You may create sentences on the topic of the video or add any other sentences ignited by the typed word. For example, to the typed word "explain", you may create a sentence "let me explain the Africa situation"; or you may type "let me explain how you can do self-training of English skills". It does not matter what sentences you type; most important is practicing English by typing.
Drill 7 – Adding Your Own Lesson
You may paste any text from the Internet or a document to create your own lesson and work on it using simultaneous repetition. You may use this drill also for preparation of your homework by typing any text. When the text is created, click on the button 'done', and it will be prepared for reading, listening, and speaking. Any text can be read aloud by the text-to-voice robot with nearly human quality. An example of drill 7 is shown in this video:
Drill 8 – Testing Active Vocabulary And Fluency Is Built Into Every Video Lesson
The learners should put on earphones and say a few sentences containing the word that is randomly displayed from the video lesson. The sentences are automatically recorded and could be shared with friends, or a teacher in the case of guided Training. This drill helps learners develop the habit of automatic speech by thinking directly in English. The learners have an option to turn on the second stage of testing when the words are displayed randomly from the Longman list of the 3,000 most frequent words in both spoken and written English, based on statistical analysis of the 390 million words contained in the Longman Corpus Network. In this case, the learners need to test more than 30 words to be able to roughly estimate their knowledge of this vocabulary.
Drill 9 – Play Out The Video
Play the video out by watching it, listening to the original sound in the earphones and speaking simultaneously without stopping the video. Now, after all the previous drills, you can do it stress-free while actively training your English skills.