At this year’s ELTons awards, John Hughes (ETpedia series editor) was there to represent ETpedia as a finalist in the category of ‘Innovation in Teacher Resources’. He started talking to another finalist in the same category – Jason R. Levine – better known as Fluency MC with his Song and Video Activity Book for English Teachers.

 

If you don’t know about Fluency MC, he combines his love of language teaching with a love for music – especially rap. By the end of the conversation, they agreed that John would send Jason some language from the award-winning ETpedia Business English resource book and Jason would turn it into a music video for practising the language of meeting people.

 

We were really keen to see what Jason would do with the language because Business English classroom materials can often do with a bit more ‘fun’! True to his word, Fluency MC created a video which you can use in class or give to students for self-study. Watch the video and then read ten tips from Fluency MC on how you might make use of this kind of video in your lesson.

 

 

1 Before watching

Before playing the video, tell students they will be listening to a conversation between two business people meeting for the first time. Students make predictions about the two people, topic, location, and language they will use.

 

2 First viewing

Play only the audio of the video from :07 to :49. Students check, discuss, and report on the accuracy of their predictions.

 

3 Second viewing

This time, play the video with the sound off from :07 to :49. Students again check, discuss, and report on their predictions.

 

4 Mixed up

Print the lyrics sheet. Make copies and cut the lyrics (page 1) into strips (phrases or full sentences). Students work in pairs or small groups to put the lyrics in the correct order.

 

5 Personalizing the lyrics

Students complete the gaps on the lyrics sheet (page 2) with their own information and report/compare with classmates.

 

6 Recalling the lyrics

Without looking at the lyrics sheet, students write down as much of the conversation as they can remember and then report/compare with classmates.

 

7 Checking the lyrics

Play the video from :07 to :49, pausing at intervals to give students time to correct/make changes to what they wrote. Students can then check the lyrics sheet.

 

8 Marking stress

Students mark word and sentence stress on the lyrics sheet. Discuss the stress-timed rhythm of English and reduced and connected speech.

 

9 Practice the conversation

Play the video from :50 to 1:33. Students practice the conversation in pairs with the information they wrote about themselves. Then play the video from 1:34 to 2:19. Students practice the conversation again over the instrumental version.

 

10 Create a new conversation

Students rewrite the conversation following the same topic/situation but using similar or related collocations, expressions, and grammar structures they need for their own jobs. Play the video from 2:20 to the end. Students practice their conversation in pairs.

 

To find out more about Fluency MC and watch more of his videos, visit https://fluencymc.com/

 

Fluency MC and ETpedia would also like to thank Vicki Hollett for her vocal talents on the video. We also recommend you visit her excellent video website at  http://www.simpleenglishvideos.com/