To be human is to tell stories. Whether you're sharing one in a conversation, job interview, presentation, podcast or on a date, storytelling is a skill we can all improve.
Learning storytelling is like learning a musical instrument β it takes practice. And to practise telling stories, we need stories to tell.
For this, we can turn to sites like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. These platforms provide an endless stream of visual narratives just waiting to be put into words.
Let me show you what I mean. Hereβs a recording of my father from around 2012, telling me about his favourite viral video of the moment.
This is an example of videotelling β the everyday human activity of telling someone about a video you have seen. And there are plenty of good reasons to embrace this in the classroom. Here are three:
1. Storytelling without pressure
It is notoriously difficult to get students to find and share personal stories in a structured, organised way. Many people struggle to recognise or recall story-worthy experiences β and may feel shy or intimidated about sharing them publicly.
Videotelling allows students to practise telling stories without the pressure of going into their private lives.
Additionally, by starting with a video, we begin with a shared experience. It allows us to compare the different details we notice, and the different ways we express them. For the teacher, it reveals what students want to communicate β and this can be invaluable for feedback.
2. The listener's experience
As you listened to my father's words, your mind's eye will have created images of the escaping toddler. You might now be curious to compare those imagined images with the actual ones he described. So here it is:
Now that youβve seen the escaping toddler, you might feel compelled to revisit my fatherβs description. This could be especially helpful if you're an English learner unsure about some of the words or phrases he used.
'There was a little toddler in a cot. And he was obviously β¦ he was obviously very clever, this little kid. And he β¦ he was eyeing up the bed and he wanted to get onto that bed because what he liked to do most of all was jump and bounce on the bed.
So he managed to get his legs down through the side of the cot, onto the floor, and he manipulated the whole cot across towards the bed. When he got to the bed, he got up, he got onto his feet again, over the side of the cot, onto the bed and boing-boing-boing-boing until his mum came and caught him. And then she put him back in the cot and he did it all over again.'
Videotelling provides a compelling experience for the listener β it activates imagination first, then satisfies curiosity. Learners form mental images, compare them with reality, and are naturally drawn to revisit the language β not out of duty, but out of genuine interest. That kind of engagement is hard to manufacture, but videotelling does it effortlessly.
3. Visual literacy
Putting a video narrative into words requires thoughtful viewing and selective attention to detail. As a guiding principle: the more you look, the more you see.
This is an excellent starting point for fostering visual literacy and critical thinking skills in students.
A new course
LessonStream Videotelling β a storytelling course for ELT professionals β launches on 30th April.
The course will show you how to reclaim students' attention with the most communicative approach to video.
It would be great to have you on board π’
Jamie
βοΈ Special offer βοΈ
Sign up for the course before 30 April and get a free copy of my ebook VIDEOTELLING: YouTube Stories for the Classroom.
Incidentally, you might be interested to know that the book has the following dedication:
To my father Jack β a natural videoteller,
whose enthusiastic descriptions of comedy sketches,
TV moments, film scenes and viral videos
are usually more entertaining the real thing.
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