A picture speaks a thousand of words

I want to introduce you to American filmmaker on the web - Ted Chung. His short films are perfect for English teaching. You can use them in many different ways, depending which skills you want your students to improve or develop. Ted Chung's films concentrate mainly on pictures so you can use them with students from elementary to advanced level. More importantly, these films are beautifully made, they have the element of mystery in it and are filled with - what I call - the soul. Ted Chung's films are about feelings and emotions. He makes us think.

Here are my ideas for lessons. If you have your own it would be great if you share them.


1. A Thousand words by Ted Chung

Students may narrate the story or speak the male character's thoughts (that is my friend Tom's idea).
Students may predict what happens next. A group task: write the ending of the story.
Low level students may name all the things they see in the video, e.g. a camera, a shopping bag, to be on the bus etc. Or they can practise Present Continuous tense.


2. One time by Ted Chung

You can revise Future tense here.
You can start the discussion: Would you like to see what happens in 30 seconds ahead of you? You can divide students into groups: those who would like to see the future and those who wouldn't.


3. Mike's by Ted Chung

You can find it here on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/2880633

This is a great opportunity to practise the use of possessive. Ask your students: what is Mike's?
You can ask your students to compare: what is Mike's and what is Tony's? Stop the video at 00:48 and elicit the correct vocabulary. You can also stop at 1:48 and ask your students to predict the story. Ask the question: What do think Mike is going to find out?
Students can also narrate what is happening.
Ted Chung's film are essentially visual stories open for discussion.
With more advanced and mature students you can start discussion on relationships between people and communication problems.


*I found the video Thousand of words on the website: film-english.com. Feel free to explore this website, as it is very creative and offers a lot interesting videos and materials, which you can use your own way