Using videos in class can be a great way for even lower level students to pick up new vocabulary and expressions. Below you'll find some activities that can be easily used with videos. One thing that needs to be remembered is that it's not necessary to watch the entire video. You can pause after each section or watch the same part over and over and ask the students to do different activities.

Talk to your neighbour. After watching a segment, students turn to the person next to them and tell them a little about what they saw.

Jot it down. Students write down a couple things that happened in the segment.

Describe it. After watching, students write a brief description using as many sensory words (hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, smelling).

Compare/Contrast. Pick two characters and compare or contrast them.

No sound. Play the video, but mute it. Have students guess what's happening or what the characters are saying.

Ask questions. Ask yes/no, true/false, or open ended questions about what happened.

Spot the mistake. Write false sentences on the board or worksheet, and have students fix them.

Guess. Stop the video at a very interesting part and have the students guess what will happen next.

What can you remember? Have students write down as many things as they remember seeing. And details about them. For example, the girl was wearing a red dress.

Back to back. Have the students sit back to back so that only half the class can see what's happening. The half that can see has to describe what is happening to the other half.

Strip script. Take a short dialogue from the film and cut it into strips, so there is one sentence on each strip. Have the students order the dialogue before they watch and check their answers.

Role play. Take some of the expressions from the video and have students create a role play using the expressions correctly.

Interviews. Some of the students can be characters and other interviewers. They have to ask and answer questions based on the character's personality or actions.

For or against? If students are watching a debate or discussion, they can write down the arguements for both sides and then share their personal opinions with the class.

Solve it. When a problem arises in the movie. Stop the film and ask the students how they would solve it.

Questions. Have students answer questions about the movie. They can be multiple choice, fill in the blank/gap, who said it, complete the phrase, or short answer.

Sharon de Hinojosa (naturegirl321) has lived and worked in the US, Scotland, Spain, the Czech Republic, China, Korea, and Peru. As well as teaching short-term in Venezuela and Taiwan.

She has created TEFL Tips which has information for teachers from writing a CV, to giving a demo lesson, learning the local language, teaching tips for the classroom and more.

Since living in Peru since August 2004, she wrote The Ultimate Peru List http://www.theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/. With 80 pages it's a comprehensive guide for those living in or moving to Peru.