YouGlish for Authentic English Use

Details

Main Website:

https://youglish.com/

Activity Website:

https://youglish.com/

Activity Description

Use YouGlish, a site that generates videos from YouTube that contain a word or phrase that you enter, to find authentic examples of vocabulary and to hear the pronunciation of the words.

Preparation

1. Plan and execute a vocabulary lesson on words taken from a context such as a text, a lecture, or a video.

2. Practice with the site.

3. Make sure that the site is not blocked at your school if you will have students use the site.

How-To

1. Assign vocabulary words to individuals or small groups.

2. Open a web browser and navigate to https://youglish.com/.

3. Demonstrate how to use the site.

4. Have students find one or two samples of their assigned vocabulary words in videos by typing in the word in the search box and selecting “Say It.” Several video results will be provided. On each search results page, the phonetic transcription of the word is provided. Note: You may want to have students select “US” to not have results with other English accents.

5. The video player has a speed control, so the video can be slowed or sped up. There is the option to turn on closed captions. The player will start the video in the spot where the target vocabulary is used. The phrase or sentence in which the target vocabulary occurs in the video is provided in text. To go to the next video, select the right arrow button under the video.

6. Students can be assigned to share the video by copying the link or by sending my email or can be assigned to write down the phrase or sentence from the video or from multiple videos.

Teacher Tips

The site may not work if YouTube is blocked at your site. Check first before having students use the site.The videos are from YouTube and are not filtered, so the results could possibly be videos that are not appropriate for class, so you may want to test out the site before using it with your class, as you would with any website.

More Ways

At higher levels, using the site can lead teachers and students into discussions about register, tone, sociolinguistics, and other sophisticated linguistic topics. For instance, the site can be used to find authentic samples of grammar and registers you are teaching. For instance, if a student wants to know the difference between “Can you tell me…” and “Could you possibly tell me..” when making an inquiry, as well as “Can I have…” v. “I want…” and “I would like…” when ordering in a restaurant. By entering, “Could you possibly tell me,” there were five videos in the result.

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