In this lesson, students watch a TED Talk by Mandy Len Catron, answer comprehension questions, practice asking and answering questions, and discuss the topic of falling in love, dating, and relationships. It is suitable for levels intermediate and higher. Before deciding to teach this lesson, take a look at this article and consider your students’ cultural sensitivity.
TED Talk
TED Talk: Why videos go viral
Students watch a TED Talk by Kevin Allocca and find out why videos go viral. The lesson features a listening comprehension activity, speaking and vocabulary practice. I usually watch it with my upper-intermediate/advanced groups. You can find the video here.
TED Talk: 8 Secrets of success
Here is another great TED Talk I used in class with my students. It is short, funny and most people find it very relevant. This class involves speaking, listening and writing about the topic of success. We all want to know what the secrets of achieving success are so this TED Talk is universally liked and students find it easy to relate to its content. It also opens up some interesting topics for discussion, which all makes for an engaging and dynamic English lesson.
TED Talk: English mania
This TED Talk deals with the topic of learning English around the world nowadays, focusing on China and comparing language learning to a mania. This lesson is based on the TED Talk by Jay Walker. TED Talks are a great source of listening/reading materials as well as inspirations for class conversations and written assignments. I try to choose Talks shorter than 10 minutes (ideally 4-8 minutes long) and topics which are relevant to specific interests of my students.
