AGU Annual Symposium - 12th April 2008 - YouTube Channels

by Brant Hardgrave

As I am unable to attend the Symposium this yearI have put together this information sheetfor any teachers who are interested in becoming YouTubers. Those who have attended previous years’Symposiumsmay remember my presentations on using a video iPod and AV cable to bring audio-visual material into the classroom. EventhoughI was very passionate about that as recently as one year ago, I have since discovered an even better system. If you are fortunate enough to have your request for a computer room granted, even if its only for a few classes, using YouTube is a much more efficient, hands-on and interactive method of introducing some audio-visual materials.

During the 2007 academic year, I have learnt about many YouTube functions I wasn't initially aware of. For example students can make a channel, personalize it, add favorites, subscribe to other channels, introduce themselves, make links to SNS sites and exchange comments with classmates. Most university students are often surprised to discover that YouTube can be used for more than just watching videos. They tend to be in the habit of browsingYouTubea couple of times week, usually to watch Japanese variety shows or music videos, or to check out the latest TV-related gossip. But YouTube can also be used by EFL teachers to view audio-visual material relevant to a certain topic or reading, to introduce thought-provoking news for group discussions or presentations, and for students to create a web presence in English and express themselves, both online and in class.

However some are of the opinion that YouTube is a blatant copyright infringement video site that should be prosecuted and shut down. Even some students initially frown upon the idea of their senseiusing YouTube during class. What I do is show them how YouTube is evolving and is challengingmainstream media (MSM). I show them how music artists, politicians, American sport associations, news organizations and even the Royal Family realize this and seem tohave adopted a “if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them” approach. So to avoid potential copyright issues, you could direct your students to such officialchannels as those outlinedbelow:

What I like most about YouTube is you get this cross pollination of interests. For example, simply by looking at another student’s favorites, one can discover that a classmate also likes a certain band, or artist, or movie, or soccer team, or sports personality or Hollywood star. Or the student next to them likes a band who they have never heard of, or the latest song from an artist they both like, so they check it out and add it to their favorites too. It’s this discovery and collection of English audio-visual materials, prompted in most cases by genuine motivation, along each individual student’s interests that really adds variety and color to my classes, and allows the students to express themselves beyond what is otherwise usually possible. And by observing each student’s YouTube Channel develop,the teacher also has a window into the students ‘relationship’ with English, enabling him or herto learn a lot more about each individual studentthan would otherwise be possible over the semester.

2007 was the first year I actively used YouTube in my classes, and required students to use it for homework assignments and presentations, andI am impressed with the results. Basically I establish a channel as the teacher. I then have the students establish their own channels and invite all students to be my friend.The students then invite their classmates via my channel until everyone is a friend of everyone. From there the students are able to personalize their YouTube experience and express themselves however they wish, as long as they use English. The end result looks something like this: I named my IE2 Core Channeluguie2 ( and my Oral English 1 class Channel is oralenlgish1 ( Please have a look at these two channels, and go into my friends lists (i.e. the student lists) and randomly click on some to see what they have achieved.

When the students set up their own channels I tell them they don’t need to use their real name, as it’s most probably taken already anyway. They can use their nickname, or a combination of their nickname and favourite number, for example Tomochan77, or something else like Tomolovesenglish. And depending on the overall proficiency of their English, I allow them to set up their accounts via the Japanese site than the Global site . Ithen pass around a class list and they write their YouTube Channel names next to their names so I can assess their work and assign a grade at the end of the semester. So only the teacher has this key. Then during the semester the students try to decipher who’s Channel belongs to who, not so much as a set activity but more so out of sheer curiosity.

Finally, another activity YouTube is good for is viewing people’s vlogs, which are on almost every subject matter you can possibly think of. Students can watch one, read some blogs, watch video responses or other videos made by the same vlogger, and of course discuss it, ask me/other students questions to clarify and possibly write about it on a People & Blogs Video Reportdepending on its relevance to the course, the students' abilities etc. Here are some good examples of Video Blogs, or VLOGS, from the YouTube Peopleand Blogs category:

I wish

Are you anybody’s favourite person?

The Luke Johnson Phone Experiment

So that is how I use YouTube for TEFL. Please have a play with YouTube yourself first, and then, if you have any questions, and need to speak with a more experienced YouTuber, you can email me at