Using YouTube Videos to Teach Past Modals

“Have you seen this video?”

My digital natives students easily recognize this phrase. They look at me with satisfaction, and I imagine their thinking that I have finally spoken their language. They are frequently eager to express their interest in new videos on youtube. I was teaching them how to guess what happened by using past modals, but they were distracted, and I understood that they didn't even know what a deduction was. I decided to bring the videos, and prepare a feedback section on learning to help them measure how engaged or not they were, and the awareness of the language structure we were supposed to learn. Here is my trying out with youtube in class. It worked well as students gave me positive feedback and performed the tasks successfully. Besides all that, it's easy to have them share their favorite videos and interact out of the classroom in our virtual space because they always want to ask whether or not their friends have seen the latest interesting video.

• Intermediate
• Teens
• Speaking
• Deductions in the past; Past modals
• Mysterious situations
• You tube videos, worksheet. ( dowload here)
• Retelling
• Youtube - facebook

Guess what

As your teacher I feel great when I teach something you can put

into use straight away.

Two questions I keep in mind:

Would you use it out of the classroom?

Howengaged will you be if I use the material?

With these ideas in mind I prepared this activity for us.

I hope you enjoy it.

I’ll will ask for feedback when we finish. Be prepared to tell me:

Were you engaged?

Did you use the language requested to perform the task?

What did you learn?

How could I improve this activity?

1. “Have you seen this video?”

2. List five possible explanations for the situation in the video. Which ones should tou use if you are more certain? Which ones should you use if you are less certain?

must (not) have could (not) have might (not) have

3. List five possible explanations for the situation in the video. Which ones should tou use if you are more certain? Which ones should you use if you are less certain?

must (not) have could (not) have might (not) have

4. List five possible explanations for the situation in the video. Which ones should tou use if you are more certain? Which ones should you use if you are less certain?

must (not) have could (not) have might (not) have Follow up Upload a video on youtube or look for one. Post on our facebook group so that your classmates can react to it by logical conclusions. Feedback on teaching and learning Were you engaged? Did you use the language requested to perform the task? What did you learn? When yould you use this language out of the classroom? How could I improve this activity?