LESSON 3: PODCASTS, VIDEOCASTS, DIGITAL STORIES

MY OWN BUSINESS: BANADIR CAFE

Note: This activity will be inserted into a series of 4-5 lessons. In these lessons, each student chooses a small business they would like to start. They give the business a name and choose an employee they need to hire. Then each student writes a want ad for the position, giving the hours, days and rate of pay. Next, each student writes six interview questions to ask applicants at an interview. At this point, the want ads are posted around the room. Each student must interview 2 classmates and write down the answers they give to the interview questions. Finally, each student must choose the best candidate and write two sentences, explaining why this person was the best choice. The students then read their sentences to the class and make their job offers.

Language Learning Objectives: Students will use their reading/writing skills to answer questions about a model help wanted ad. Students will use employment vocabulary to formulate an ad for their own business. Students will gain speaking confidence and fluency through making a video of this ad. Students will learn the strategy of planning what they want to say, before talking to employers on the telephone, in person or at interviews. Students will be able to review their videos and self-assess. Students will learn how to upload a video to Youtube with a cell phone or digital camera.

Level: ESL for Work low intermediate students

0. Homework given 2 days before the videocast activity:

Survey
1. Can you make a video with your cell phone?
2. Do you know how to make a video with your cell phone?
3. Do you have a data plan attached to your phone?
4. Do you have an I-phone or an android phone?
5. Bring your cell phone manual to class.

I. Model script for Faduma's want ad

Hello, my name is Faduma. My business is called the Banadir Cafe. The cafe serves delicious Somalian Food made with halal ingredients. I need a *waitress to work part-time, Monday through Friday, from 11am to 2pm. The starting pay is $7.00 an hour plus tips. If you are interested in the position, you can contact me at 612-377-3188.

(*Waitress is a radical idea that made my female students laugh, because most of the cafes in Somalia are for men only - and all the waiters are male! They were very excited to think that here in Minnesota, women could both own and work in their own cafe) 

I. Pre-write

Find a partner. Read Faduma's ad together. Then answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of the owner?
2. What is the name of the business?
3. What does the business do?
4. What position is available?
5. Is the job PT or FT?
6. What are the work days and hours?
7. How much does it pay?
8. How can you contact the owner?

Ask the teacher, if you have questions that you or your partner can't answer.


II. Learning Strategy Discussion (whole class)


How can you prepare yourself before you make your your want ad video?
(elicit: write it down, practice, know the vocabulary, etc.)
How can you use this strategy in your job search? When?

III. Writing a want ad for your open position


Use the questions above to create your own ad. 
Check your ad with a neighbor. Did you use am and pm? Did you write full sentences?
When you have finished, show your ad to the teacher.


IV. Role-play of want ad


Practice your ad with a partner, then practice theirs.
If you forget something, have your partner ask you a question from the list to help you.
Change partners and practice again.
(Teacher circulates and coaches students as needed.)

Extension/Next lessons: Making a video of your ad with Youtube


Using cell phones or a digital camera, we will film the ads and upload them to Youtube. 
The teacher will post them on the class wiki.


This will probably take 2 days to film everyone's ad. While one student is making their video, the other students can be writing their interview questions in small groups.


REVIEW/ANALYSIS


1. How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?


Instead of posting the written want ads around the room as I have done in the past, we will upload the video want ads to Youtube and post them on the class wiki. Students will be able to view and review the video clips and choose 2 positions to interview for.

Some of the students have an android or I-phone, since this is cheaper than having a phone and Internet access. This lesson series will make use of their phones for learning English. In addition to the phones, I have access to a digital camera with video capability. Students, who do not currently know how, will learn how to make a video with a cell phone and/or camera. Some students may already have made videos and uploaded them to Youtube, but for those who want to learn, this lesson series will show them how to use Youtube.


2. Why is this topic, information or content appropriate for the lesson you plan to create?


 These lessons put a different spin on interviewing. The activity lets the students be the employers, who are doing the hiring, as well as the applicants. Students learn about the hiring process and about how employers think. This lesson will also motivate learners to think about starting a real business of their own in the future. Students will compare the positions available at the different businesses and think about which ones they like and why.


This is a good opportunity for students to film themselves and self-assess their speaking abilities. By making a video of a help wanted ad, students get a chance to practice speaking for several minutes. The learning strategy of preparing what to say, either mentally rehearsed or a script, will be important when making phone calls or going in person to businesses, job fairs, and interviews.


4. Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?


Youtube is very user friendly. Anyone with a gmail account can click on Youtube and bypass the sign-in process, going directly to video upload. For educational purposes, I clicked on "private" limiting the viewers to the class members. The upload is very quick. Youtube also converts the original filming device format automatically to its standard format. Editing is available. It is important that we choose a good keyword and description (tag), in order to quickly find the videos on Youtube for upload to the computer There are only about 5 steps to the instructions. So, for the students, I think it will be a success. I have structured the lesson so that I can work with them 1 on 1 for both filming the ad and teaching them to use Youtube.

5. What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?


There are many potential technical difficulties. The survey will provide information about which students have phones capable of making videos. It will be important to buy or borrow a USB cable to upload the video from the android phones to the computer. By using the cable, we will bypass the phone fees for downloading from the phone. 


If there aren't any students with video capable phones, we will use the camera. The difference in using a digital camera with video capability is that if the filming stops and starts,  the camera will convert it to separate files. So, I need to explain to the students, that even if they make mistakes, they need to keep going to the end.  Either way, the phone or camera lenses need to be cleaned with alcohol before making the videos - to get the best picture possible. 


Students will have a large cue poster held to the side of the camera in front of them, to help them remember the script. Students may get nervous in front of the camera and need to start over a number of times. Interruptions will be kept to a minimum, by filming in the resource center and having all the other students work in the classroom. Even so, this process may take longer than I think. Because this is my first experience with video want ads, my friend, Alexander, has volunteered to come for these lessons. A former Apple Store employee, he will help me troubleshoot and teach me more about the differences in individual phones.