You may have noticed that some of the videos appear to have very advanced content for elementary school EFL learners. Well, yes AND no. If viewed in the context of L1, the way these videos present these topics is developmentally and intellectually appropriate for young students who are preparing to enter junior or senior high school, so no problem. But from an L2 perspective, the videos appear to be too difficult because they bombard students with new English vocabulary and complex sentence structures that do not occur in regular English textbooks. The solution is to let the students be self-directed. This means that they are self-paced; they choose to focus on easier parts and then cycle back to try hard parts again; they choose how many times they will review and attempt to complete the learning tasks; they choose to work alone or with classmates, etc. When students have access to the subtitles and speed controls in the video, they understand because they study the content at their own pace. And when they understand the message, they are intrinsically interested. They will keep learning on their own.

So, what is left for the teacher to do if the kids all learn DIY English ? Well, the teacher still has to provide learning tasks which function as a framework to guide the students from simple to more complex learning in an orderly sequence. The teacher must become a facilitator, someone who helps the students reach the learning objective without constantly telling them what to do. A collection of worksheets and gamified learning comprise a learning module which serves as this framework.

Ｇenerally speaking, a module has 3 components

1) Worksheet and video (QR code): students work as self-directed learners to complete vocabulary and comprehension questions. The second or third worksheet of a set may have some open-ended questions to develop application and analytical thinking skills.

2) Bilingual vocabulary flashcards on Quizlet

3) Kahoot games to consolidate and review. Premium Kahoot accounts can use "poll" questions which can provide opportunities for students to share thoughts.

After going through the three components 1-2-3, continue to review by mixing up 2 and 3 anytime in any lessons before the exam. Do it often. Intellectual /abstract vocabulary which is taught at the surface level with translation is easy to forget unless the students are regularly challenged with recall tasks.

Worksheets with QR codes and gamified learning can be found at the bottom of this page. Good luck and good teaching.

RESULTS:

The students organically organize themselves into pairs and learn to use the Youtube playback settings, like switching between subtitle languages and adjusting playback speed. Students naturally turn to Google translate first, but when they realize that Google is not returning the same results as the expected answers on the worksheets, they return to the video playback methods. The most successful students return to the gameplay records on Kahoot and return to Quizlet sets on their own because they noticed that the games reinforce the vocab and phrases on the worksheets. Kahoot, in particular, exercises comprehension questions (5W1H) and even provides sample responses to open-ended application questions (Kahoot poll questions). In this way, successful learners adapt to the situation and learn to incorporate multiple modes of information search and retrieval. Unsuccessful learners first try to work by themselves, and second, persist with the Google translation method despite its drawbacks; which is why I try to get them partnered or grouped with others.

Conclusion: The main factor in English learning success is the learner's tendency to diversify and adapt problem solving techniques. Successful learners are ready to break away from their usual heuristics because they are constantly evaluating the efficacy of those heuristics.